The Taxcast

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 

In edition 117 we take you to the tax haven of Jersey off the coast of France and the intruiging story of the discovery of 333 boxes of incriminating evidence of fraud. Those boxes have revealed some ugly truths about this small island tax haven that affect us all.  The transcript is available here (some is automated and may not be 100% accurate): https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Taxcast_transcript_edition-117.pdf  You can hear the Taxcast edition on rising inequality and dysfunction in Jersey here: https://taxjustice.net/2019/04/26/inequality-and-dysfunction-in-the-tax-haven-of-jersey-a-taxcast-special-edition/  You can also read more about this story on the following links: https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1qwpnk6j1zv70/The-Heiress-the-Queen-and-the-Trillion-Dollar-Tax-Shelter https://eic.network/blog/huge-new-tax-haven-leak-reveals-specialist-money-laundering-company   https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2020-10-05/lost-trust-leaked-files-expose-jerseys-inaction-on-fraud-scandal

In this episode: Ireland only has 0.1% of the world’s population, but they became one of the biggest tax havens on the planet. What’s that meant for Irish people, and their road ahead? Naomi Fowler speaks with authors of a new book Tax Haven Ireland. There's a special deal for Taxcast listeners for the paperback or the ebook version, wherever you are in the world. Go to the publisher’s website, PLuto Books: https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745345314/tax-haven-ireland/  and enter the code TAX40. Also: we discuss the latest Tax Justice Network's annual State of Tax Justice report. You can check out how your country threatens others, and/or how it suffers at the hands of other offender nations here: https://taxjustice.net/reports/the-state-of-tax-justice-2021/  Transcript of the show: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/TaxcastTranscript_Nov_21.pdf  You can read more about the finance curse here: https://taxjustice.net/topics/the-finance-curse/  The true costs of the City of London (How the City of London is making us poorer) https://taxjustice.net/2018/10/05/how-the-city-of-london-makes-us-all-poorer-infographic/  The true costs of the US finance sector is available here: Overcharged: The High Cost of High Finance https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/overcharged-the-high-cost-of-high-finance/ 

In this episode Taxcast host Naomi Fowler discusses degrowth, rethinking economies and value in part 2 of her conversation with economic anthropologist Jason Hickel. Plus: the Pandora Papers - 3 things the latest offshore leak is showing us. Why some countries rejected the OECD's 15% minimum global corporate tax deal And, as COP26 begins in Scotland, it's the 'last chance saloon' to take meaningful action to minimise ecological disaster - can politicians learn from nations leading the way with good policies on energy? A transcript is available here: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Taxcast-Oct-21.pdf  You can find out more about Jason Hickel's books, Less Is More and The Divide here: https://www.jasonhickel.org/  Our website is here with more Taxcasts: https://www.thetaxcast.com

In this episode, Naomi Fowler explores degrowth and how we liberate ourselves from ‘growthism’ with economic anthropologist Jason Hickel. (The full converation will be released soon as a Taxcast Extra, the full thing is too good to miss!) Plus: there can be no liberation without tackling monopoly power, or the role of finance sectors and States, investing in death and destruction across the world. Here's our website with more Taxcasts: https://www.thetaxcast.com The transcript is available here https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Transcript_September_21_Taxcast.pdf  The People's Agreement of Cochabamba is here: https://www.climateemergencyinstitute.com/uploads/Peoples_climate_agreement.pdf 

This month Naomi Fowler speaks with Paul Caruana Galizia, one of the sons of Malta’s incredible investigative journalist and anti-corruption champion Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated in 2017. Paul Caruana Galizia discusses his mother's legacy, the capture of Malta through an aggressive, over-sized finance sector with financial secrecy at its heart, and his hopes for the future. The transcript is available here: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/The-Taxcast-July-21-Transcript.pdf  As mentioned in the show, here's a video of the story of the 'firestarters of the tax justice movement' from the tax haven of Jersey: https://youtu.be/VXeLGd7ejAw  The Taxcast special on the tax haven of Jersey: https://www.taxjustice.net/2019/04/26/inequality-and-dysfunction-in-the-tax-haven-of-jersey-a-taxcast-special-edition/  The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation: https://www.daphne.foundation  Here's our website with more Taxcasts: https://www.thetaxcast.com   

We’ve had the honour before on the Taxcast of speaking with law Professor Dorothy Brown in Part 1 of the Whiteness of Wealth Taxcast Extra. She’s been doing trailblazing work on systemic racism and tax justice in the United States for many years. She’s author of the seminal book ‘The Whiteness of Wealth: how the US tax system impoverishes black Americans – and how we can fix it’. In this Taxcast Extra, you can hear Professor Brown’s keynote speech which she gave to the Tax Justice Network’s annual conference. A transcript of her edited keynote speech is available here https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TranscriptTaxcastEXtra150721.pdf  You can also hear Professor Brown in conversation with Taxcast host Naomi Fowler and polticial economist Keval Bharadia in Part 1 of the Whiteness of Wealth, in this Taxcast Extra. You may also be interested to hear Taxcast episodes 102 and 103 where we looked at just some of the complex issues around tax and race in the US and the UK context, the roots of structural racism and the lived experiences of people of colour today as citizens, taxpayers and economic actors.  For more Taxcasts and more information, go to our website on https://www.thetaxcast.com 

This month Taxcast host Naomi Fowler talks to millionaire and wealth tax campaigner Djaffar Shalchi of Millionaires for Humanity about his experience of moving from Iran at an early age to grow up in Denmark, and how highly he values the high tax Scandinavian society, as an entrepreneur, and as a human being. He also talks about his campaign for a 1% wealth tax on the world’s top 1%. Plus: US President Biden drops his proposal for a minimum global corporate tax rate from 21% to 'at least 15%.' However, so far the US administration is sticking to its plan to invest $80 billion in its tax authority, the IRS. Tax collectors will be able to refocus on the wealthiest and on corporate profits. Tax collectors could pull in an additional $700 billion over the next decade. And also, how degrowth must begin with the very wealthy.  The transcript is available here: https://www.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/The-Taxcast-Transcript-112.pdf  For more information on the Taxcast, the website is here: https://www.thetaxcast.com 

In this Taxcast Extra Naomi Fowler speaks to Jim Henry, economist, lawyer, investigative journalist and Tax Justice Network senior advisor about the campaign to persuade New York State (which is broke) to reinstate its (tiny) Stock Transfer Tax. It would have created an important precedent for the world but for now, Wall Street has escaped. At the same time, in Hong Kong they have raised their Stock Transfer Tax in an example of “tax competition in reverse,“ or a “race to the top.” The transcript of this podcast is available here (some is automated and may not be 100% accurate)  https://www.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TaxcastExtra_27_04_21.pdf  Further reading/listening: Edition #107 of the Taxcast explores how transformative financial transactions taxes could be https://www.taxjustice.net/2020/12/17/taxing-wall-street-the-tax-justice-network-december-2020-podcast/  Submission to New York State Assembly: the case for financial transactions taxes https://www.taxjustice.net/2021/02/19/submission-to-new-york-state-assembly-the-case-for-financial-transactions-taxes/  A Wall Street tax that could lift many out of poverty already exists — it's just not being collected https://www.salon.com/2020/11/01/a-wall-street-tax-that-could-lift-many-out-of-poverty-already-exists--its-just-not-being-collected/  Keval Bharadia's "Recalibrating financial transaction tax policy narratives": https://www.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Recalibrating-financial-transaction-tax-policy-narratives-Keval-Bharadia.pdf More Taxcasts are available on https://www.thetaxcast.com and we're on most podcast apps. Or you can subscribe by emailing naomi@taxjustice.net