Introduction

While we wait for a global tax body at the United Nations, what are the ways forward for nations desperate to tax multinationals fairly? We talk unitary taxation in a special extended interview with Emeritus Law Professor, coordinator of the BEPS Monitoring Group and Tax Justice Network special advisor Sol Picciotto.

Plus: the return of our analysis slot - Taxcast host Naomi Fowler talks to Zorka Milin of the FACT Coalition about the US's new beneficial ownership registry and its shortcomings; and a tale of two crimes: the punishment of a whistleblower versus a magic circle lawyer in a $6000 suit.

Transcript available here: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Feb-2024-Taxcast-Transcript.pdf 

Guests:

• Alison Shultz, Tax Justice Network
• Zorka Milin, FACT Coalition
• Sol Picciotto, veteran tax justice champion, emeritus professor of law, coordinator of the BEPS Monitoring Group which analyzes efforts to tackle profit shifting by multinationals, and Tax Justice Network senior advisor
• Produced and presented by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network.

Further reading:

Beneficial Ownership Reporting Begins Under Corporate Transparency Act: https://thefactcoalition.org/u-s-beneficial-ownership-reporting-begins-groundbreaking-anti-bribery-bill-signed-into-law-just-the-facts-1-8-24/

Roadmap to Effective Beneficial Ownership Transparency (Tax Justice Network) https://taxjustice.net/2023/02/07/roadmap-to-effective-beneficial-ownership-transparency-rebot/ 

Charles Littlejohn pleads guilty to one count of disclosing tax return information https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68131435

The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax (ProPublica) https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax

Former Freshfields partner sentenced to jail for German tax fraud https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ex-freshfields-partner-gets-35-year-sentence-german-tax-fraud-2024-01-30/

Ex-Freshfields lawyer convicted over tax fraud received €2mn severance pay (FT paywall) https://www.ft.com/content/28fc06cb-b9db-4af4-a854-297c3ba5b4e4

Beyond the Two Pillar Proposals. A Simplified Approach for Taxing Multinationals https://www.southcentre.int/tax-cooperation-policy-brief-no-36-26-october-2023/ 

BEPS Monitoring Group: https://www.bepsmonitoringgroup.org/ 

Our website with further information and more podcasts: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/