Tax Justice Network

On the Taxcast we ask - do politicians believe in the societies they serve or not? Are they really a part of them, or do they live in a parallel world with different rules to ordinary people? The so-called 'NonDom' scandal goes all the way to Downing Street, the heart of the British government and the UK Chancellor/Finance Minister whose wife is taking advantage of an archaic tax status that leads to reduced taxes on her inherited fortune - just as her husband raises taxes on everyone else. 

In this episode Taxcast host Naomi Fowler explores the results of revealing new work on the data with economist Arun Advani of Warwick University: and co-author of a new report "The UK’s ‘non-doms’: Who are they, what do they do, and where do they live?'

Economist John Christensen speaks on the breaking of the social contract and the need for a new set of governing principles to re-establish fairness for all regardless of wealth in all nations.

Transcript of the podcast (some is automated)

Further reading and listening:

Report: The UK’s ‘non-doms’: Who are they, what do they do, and where do they live?

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/manage/publications/bn36.2022.pdf 

Taxcast interview with journalist and anti-corruption campaigner in Pakistan, Umar Cheema, on his inspirational achievement in making Pakistan only the fourth country in the world to publish the tax returns of its Parliamentarians https://taxjustice.net/2015/05/22/the-tax-justice-network-podcast-may-2015/

The Wealth Tax Commission: https://www.ukwealth.tax/the-team 

Tax Legislation in the UK Benefits the Interests of the Rich:  https://leftfootforward.org/2022/04/prof-prem-sikka-tax-legislation-in-the-uk-benefits-the-interests-of-the-rich/ 

In this episode of the Taxcast, Naomi Fowler speaks with journalist and anti-corruption campaigner Oliver Bullough about his new book ‘Butler to the World: how Britain became the servant of tycoons, tax dodgers, kleptocrats and criminals.’  "You cannot have unquestioning acceptance of the wealthy AND democracy. You can't treat everyone the same before the law AND give rich people anything they want, because rich people want to have immunity from the law. Do you want democracy, or do you want to be a Butler?" With Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, even the most hardcore 'let the planet burn' believers can no longer deny that fossil fuel dependency is a national and an international security issue. We know the resource curse goes hand in hand with corruption. Is this a time like no other for the world to finally see that the key to it all is financial secrecy? Transcript of the show: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The-Taxcast-March-22-Transcript.pdf 

Link to Oliver Bullough's book ‘Butler to the World: how Britain became the servant of tycoons, tax dodgers, kleptocrats and criminals.’ https://uk.bookshop.org/books/butler-to-the-world-how-britain-became-the-servant-of-tycoons-tax-dodgers-kleptocrats-and-criminals-9781800812734/9781800812734 

Further reading: 

Why has no progress been made on an international financial registry? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/16/russia-rich-wealthy-western-elites-thomas-piketty 

The ‘Wild West’ of Scottish Limited Partnerships, covered on the Taxcast: https://taxjustice.net/2016/01/22/the-january-2016-tax-justice-network-podcast/ 

The resource curse and the finance curse, hand in hand with ‘Butler Britain’ (and other tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions.) Includes the Taxcast interview with Daria Kaleniuk of Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Action Centre: https://taxjustice.net/2022/03/03/ukraine-russia-the-finance-curse-and-the-resource-curse-goes-hand-in-hand-with-financial-secrecy/ 

10 measures to expose sanctioned Russian oligarchs' hidden assets: https://taxjustice.net/press/10-measures-to-expose-sanctioned-russian-oligarchs-hidden-assets/ 

Our website: https://www.thetaxcast.com 

In this episode we bring you the story of a pensioner robbed of his dream retirement and his fight for justice in multiple jurisidctions. Tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions don't just hurt us because they're places of impunity for the rich and for criminals. Quite ordinary people can get caught up in them too. And when thngs go bad, it becomes clear how toxic these places are, and that you may not get the help from regulators and law enforcement that you really need.

Plus, we share the news of a great loss to Malawi and to the world of tax official Mr Alinafe Bonongwe, who was taken from us for doing his job bravely and in the public interest. You can read more about him here: https://taxjustice.net/2022/02/17/in-honour-of-a-tax-collector-taken-from-us-in-the-line-of-duty/ May he rest in peace.

Here's the transcript of the show: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Taxcast_Feb_22_TRANSCRIPT.pdf

And here's our website with more Taxcasts: https:///www.thetaxcast.com 

In the first Taxcast for 2022, Naomi Fowler talks with tax justice and anti-corruption campaigners and experts in Europe, Africa, the US and Latin America. What are our hopes and fears for 2022? And what should we be looking out for?

The transcript of the show is available here: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/The-Taxcast-Jan-22-Transcript.pdf 

Further information:

Paper questioning the legal validity of the IMF’s Stand-By Arrangement with Argentina by Kariina Patricio Ferreira Lima:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4004595

The Tax Justice Network's monthly podcast for French-speaking Africans is available here: https://www.thetaxcast.com/?lang=fr 

A previous Taxcast which includes more information on Kenya's Financial Transaction Tax https://taxjustice.net/2020/12/17/taxing-wall-street-the-tax-justice-network-december-2020-podcast/ 

The ‘cowboy cocktail’ in Wyoming story from the ICIJ

Our website with more Taxcasts and information is here: https://www.thetaxcast.com