Page 78 – Tax Justice Network

On using tax holidays to ‘pay for’ stuff

“A strangely popular proposal would give companies a temporary tax holiday, letting corporations bring back their money on paper, or “repatriate” it at an extremely low tax rate, thereby encouraging more corporate tax dodging in the future. The most ridiculous part? Some Members of Congress want to use this tax break that costs money to “pay for” badly needed infrastructure investments. How does that even make sense?“

Our emphasis added. Indeed. A good generic question not just for the United States, the subject of this particular article.

The UK Gold – watch the UK Network Premiere

The documentary film UK Gold, looking at Britain’s role in the world of tax havens and in international tax issues more generally, is having its first network premiere tonight, on London Live. The music score is now available, courtesy of UK Uncut, here.

Details are here, with background reading from Richard Murphy, here.

And here is another reminder – as if one were needed – that the tax haven industry has achieved quite a degree of ‘capture’ not only of the UK policy making apparatus, but the media too.

It’s time to stop extraditing public-interest whistleblowers

TJN has just co-signed a letter published by the U.S. Governmental Accountability Project (GAP,) drawing attention to the topsy-turvy situation where whistleblowers acting in the public interest are being extradited to other countries, under procedures that were originally created to fight against Mafia organisations, terrorist financiers, international criminals and so on.

Tools for fighting for the public interest are being turned against the public interest.

This letter focuses on tax evasion and it is aimed at public authorities in the United States. See GAP’s version of the letter here.

But this extradition issue obviously has relevance well beyond tax evasion, and far beyond the United States. Continue reading “It’s time to stop extraditing public-interest whistleblowers” →

Whistleblowers – the new countercultural heroes

The Luxleaks whistleblower Antoine Deltour. Let’s not forget the others

From Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone magazine:

“This is the age of the whistleblower. From Chelsea Manning to Edward Snowden to the latest cloak-and-dagger lifter of files, ex-HSBC employee Hervé Falciani, whistleblowers are becoming to this decade what rock stars were to the Sixties — pop culture icons, global countercultural heroes.”

Among other things, it’s time to start treating jailed whistleblowers as prisoners of conscience.

We should exempt people blowing the whistle in the public interest from extradition procedures originally created to crack down on Mafia money, terrorist financing, and that kind of thing (update: see our co-signed letter on this, here.)

And much more.

Women and Tax Justice at Beijing+20: Registration Open

Registration is open for the Queen’s University
Feminist Legal Studies International Women’s Day conference

Women and Tax Justice at Beijing+20: Taxing and Budgeting for Sex Equality
Mar. 6 from noon through dinner
Mar. 7 from 9 am to 5 pm

To register email [email protected]

Keynote lecture:
Dr. Attiya Waris, School of Law, University of Nairobi, Kenya;
Faculty of Law, National University of Rwanda, and
Queen’s University Principal’s Development Fund International Visitor –
‘Rights of Women and Taxation: Developing Country Perspectives’

For the complete program see: Programme – Women and Tax Justice at Beijing+20.

Sponsored by Feminist Legal Studies Queen’s, Women for Tax Justice,
FemTax International, Canadians for Tax Fairness, Faculty of Law,
Queen’s University, and SSHRC

Fact of the day: how often has Britain’s ‘non-dom’ rule been challenged?

Britain’s domicile rule is one of the greatest tools available to the world’s wealthiest people to shake of the pesky burden of tax, leaving the rest of us to kindly pay their share for them. It’s a slippery, vague concept, and lots of people who claim domicile status really ought not to be able to. With this short background, here’s our factoid of the day, courtesy of UK barrister Jolyon Maugham:

“In the last ten years (which is as far back as I checked), there’s only been one concluded challenge to domicile, nine years ago. There’s also a single indication of a challenge to come.”

Goodness. Coming in the wake of the HSBC scandal, which shows a resolute determination on the part of the government not to do anything to inconvenience the world’s wealthiest people, this is quite a shocker.

Yeah, right. Photo: Jill & David

How the ‘competitiveness’ dogma made banks corrupt

For non-UK readers, HMRC is the UK tax authority. Source: Private Eye #1386

We’ve come across an interview in The Atlantic with Stephen Platt, an expert on financial crime prevention, contained in an article entitled How Dirty Money Gets Into Banks. As much as anything, we’ve taken it as an excuse to reproduce this fabulous cartoon in Britain’s Private Eye magazine, which rather speaks for itself in the wake of the HSBC scandal (see TJN’s “high grade tosh” comment in the New York Times yesterday on one element of this multi-headed hydra of a scandal.) Continue reading “How the ‘competitiveness’ dogma made banks corrupt” →

The Tax justice Network’s February 2015 Podcast

Just what does a bank have to do to lose its licence?! We look at the fall out from #HSBCLeaks and ask how can we genuinely tackle criminality in global finance? Also: the latest research on fines and crimes in banking; why a recent threat to have UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas territories blacklisted won’t exactly have them shaking in their shoes; plus more scandal and unique analysis.

“The worst thing that can happen to you as a CEO of HSBC is to retire and move on and have to face the press 5 years down the road if you’re caught…” Jim Henry

Featuring: Director of The Tax Justice Network John Christensen, author of Treasure Islands NicholasShaxson, Economist and asset recovery specialist Jim Henry, HSBC whistleblower Herve Falciani. Produced and presented by @Naomi_Fowler for the Tax Justice Network.

You can download from this link here to listen anytime offline:

You can subscribe to the Taxcast either by emailing naomi [at] taxjustice.net and ask to be added to the mailout list

OR go here: rss feed

OR join our Tax Justice Network channel

We’re also on iTunes

Transparency International calls on UK to prosecute HSBC

The leading anti-corruption group Transparency International has called on authorities in the United Kingdom to launch a criminal investigation into HSBC in light of recent accusations against the bank. Continue reading “Transparency International calls on UK to prosecute HSBC” →

Settling accounts: what happens after SwissLeaks?

From Koen Roovers, re-posted from Open Democracy:

Settling accounts: what happens after SwissLeaks?

By Koen Roovers, Financial Transparency Coalition

A major leak of incriminating HSBC records last week resulted in print and television news coverage around the globe, trended on Twitter for several days and prompted several governments to start long-anticipated investigations. Continue reading “Settling accounts: what happens after SwissLeaks?” →

How to deal with the likes of HSBC

We’re going to quote from an article in 2012 by Matt Taibbi, in Rolling Stone magazine, which was examining the latest HSBC mega-scandal of the time.

He was outraged, as we all should be, at the lightness of the sentencing in a case that had involved shifting money for the massacre-happy Mexican Sinaloa cartel, for groups linked to Al Qaeda; for Russian gangsters; and also the provision of help to countries like Iran, Sudan and North Korea to evade sanctions.

HSBC got away with a fine equivalent to five weeks’ profits, and HSBC itself agreed to “partially defer” bonus compensation for its most senior officials. It was sickening then. If you want to be sickened now, then read this.

Here is Taibbi’s recipe for how the action should have gone: Continue reading “How to deal with the likes of HSBC” →

New official warning: too much finance is bad for your economy

This is devastating. The Economist has just picked up on an issue that is at the core of TJN’s Finance Curse analysis, with a new article entitled Warning: too much finance is bad for the economy. It notes:

“One of the biggest political issues in recent years has been that Wall Street has done better than Main Street. That is not just a populist slogan. A new study from the Bank for International Settlements (the central bankers’ central bank, as it is dubbed) shows exactly why rapid finance sector growth is bad for the rest of the economy.” Continue reading “New official warning: too much finance is bad for your economy” →

How much wealth does the median household have?

Forgive us for another UK-focused blog today, but there’s a lot of British sleaze about at the moment. In this one we are going to highlight a graph, courtesy of the Bank of England (p10 here), which rather speaks for itself.

Courtesy of David Quentin.

Yes, yes, this ignores housing wealth and so on. But still.

And the reasons for this shabby state of affairs?

Well, this is one good place to start. Or you might try this rather interesting little gender-focused piece. Or . . . even if we were to cite only the possible reasons listed on our own site, the list would seemingly be endless.

Anyway, that’s the UK. How is it in your country?

The “Miracle of Minneapolis” and a local ceasefire in tax wars

The Minneapolis Skyline

From The Atlantic in the U.S., an article entitled “The Miracle of Minneapolis” which looks at the demonstrable outperformance of this mid-sized U.S. city, in terms of being a good place to live. It’s summed up in an old adage:

‘It’s really hard to get people to move to Minneapolis, and it’s impossible to get them to leave.’

The lure of this city will of course be rather a matter of opinion, but the evidence marshalled suggests that there is something pretty good going on here, in comparison to other places. And The Atlantic author, Derek Thompson, asks why this might be. Well, the answer is interesting: Continue reading “The “Miracle of Minneapolis” and a local ceasefire in tax wars” →

HSBC scandal latest: how the bank captured a British newspaper

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]From Peter Oborne, former chief political commentator for the UK’s mainstream Telegraph newspaper, a tweet that effectively illustrates the ‘country capture’ aspect of the Finance Curse.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_js]JTNDYmxvY2txdW90ZSUyMGNsYXNzJTNEJTIydHdpdHRlci10d2VldCUyMiUyMGxhbmclM0QlMjJlbiUyMiUzRSUzQ3AlM0VXaHklMjBJJTIwaGF2ZSUyMHJlc2lnbmVkJTIwZnJvbSUyMHRoZSUyMERhaWx5JTIwVGVsZWdyYXBoJTNBJTIwJTNDYSUyMGhyZWYlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnQuY28lMkZkZ3FXd2ZvOUxDJTIyJTNFaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ0LmNvJTJGZGdxV3dmbzlMQyUzQyUyRmElM0UlM0MlMkZwJTNFJTI2bWRhc2glM0IlMjBQZXRlciUyME9ib3JuZSUyMCUyOCU0ME9ib3JuZVR3ZWV0cyUyOSUyMCUzQ2ElMjBocmVmJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ0d2l0dGVyLmNvbSUyRk9ib3JuZVR3ZWV0cyUyRnN0YXR1cyUyRjU2NzczOTM3MDE0NTU4NzIwMCUyMiUzRUZlYnJ1YXJ5JTIwMTclMkMlMjAyMDE1JTNDJTJGYSUzRSUzQyUyRmJsb2NrcXVvdGUlM0UlMEElM0NzY3JpcHQlMjBhc3luYyUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMiUyRiUyRnBsYXRmb3JtLnR3aXR0ZXIuY29tJTJGd2lkZ2V0cy5qcyUyMiUyMGNoYXJzZXQlM0QlMjJ1dGYtOCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ==[/vc_raw_js][vc_column_text] The article by Oborne, for those interested in Britain or keen to understand one of the tools that financial institutions use in ‘capturing’ the minds of the general public, it is well worth reading in its own right. It’s devastating.

The Telegraph, we should add, is owned by two very peculiar wealthy brothers, the Barclay Brothers, who have a long and unhappy tax haven history (also here.) Continue reading “HSBC scandal latest: how the bank captured a British newspaper” →

How Corrupt is Britain? New book coming soon

Watch David Whyte discussing the nature of corruption in Britain:

Banks accused of rate-fixing and promoting tax evasion. Members of Parliament cooking the books. Major defence contractors investigated over suspect arms deals. Police accused of being paid off by tabloids. The headlines are unrelenting these days. Perhaps it’s high time we ask: just exactly how corrupt is Britain? Continue reading “How Corrupt is Britain? New book coming soon” →

We’d go to prison for this! Petition for tax justice

Please, everyone, sign this Avaaz petition:

HSBC bank has just been caught red-handed helping some of the world’s mega-rich dodge taxes! We’d go to prison for this, but governments are treating these powerful people like they’re too big to jail. Let’s show them they’re not. Continue reading “We’d go to prison for this! Petition for tax justice” →

Tweet of the day – London as the front office for global tax avoidance

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Following our blogging on Bill Black’s rightful excoriation of See-No-Evil London, a tweet from John Butler, a former managing director at Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_raw_js]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[/vc_raw_js][/vc_column][/vc_row]

HSBC, tax evasion and the link to lax financial regulation

The race to the bottom, London-style

Two quotes of the day, both from an article by Prof. Bill Black, a former U.S. bank regulator:

“Taxes were once termed the price we paid for civilization, but they now represent the price the wealthy brag to each other about refusing to pay as they pillage civilization.”

Quite so.

And then, in the following sentence:

“Because the City of London “won” the “regulatory race to the bottom” it is the worst “vector” for the epidemic of sleaze led by our most elite bankers.”

The first quote is, as we will explain, the direct consequence of the second, with the result being what the Washington Post call places like London “Tax havens for despots, criminals and the Fortune 500.” Continue reading “HSBC, tax evasion and the link to lax financial regulation” →

Quote of the day – Swiss whitewash

From John Gapper in the Financial Times:

“In the past, the Swiss private banking industry operated very differently to the way it does today,” HSBC said this week in its mea culpa. Perhaps so, but I recall Swiss banks claiming in the mid-1990s — a decade before this happened — that tax evasion was in the past. After a while, one stops believing.”

Read our lips: Swiss banking secrecy is alive and well.

Drug cartels, terrorist financing risk and sanctioned regimes also on HSBC’s books under Lord Green

Press release from Global Witness

Systemic failure to stop money laundering or comply with US laws shows need for sanctions for senior executives at big banks

The HSBC tax scandal shows that UK law needs to be changed so that senior bankers are held criminally responsible when they oversee their institutions repeatedly breaking the law, said Global Witness in a new briefing today.
Continue reading “Drug cartels, terrorist financing risk and sanctioned regimes also on HSBC’s books under Lord Green” →

Tax transparency after #SwissLeaks

Cross-posted from Uncounted: Alex Cobham

Yesterday I suggested some specific transparency measures to rebuild trust in light of #SwissLeaks. Today my colleagues at TJN pointed out that they are way ahead of me: here’s how.

Continue reading “Tax transparency after #SwissLeaks” →

Thank you!