The Taxcast

What really happened at the Google Shareholder meeting vote on a proposal for ethical tax principles? Plus: we discuss what the new tax haven-friendly EU Commission President might now do (or not do), anti-democratic moves in Hong Kong by the big four accountancy firms, and: forget the OECD's global tax reforms - developing countries can, and are doing it for themselves. But will the new BRICS Development Bank do any better? And much more...

In the June 2014 Taxcast: the guillotine vs progressive taxation. the Taxcast looks at Thomas Piketty's book Capital in the 21st Century. Also: welcome to the temporary tax haven of World Cup Brazil; the EU Commission begins investigations into illegal state aid for tax havens; and are developing countries really not interested in tracking illicit outflows from their countries? Plus more scandals

In the May 2014 Taxcast: the Taxcast looks at privatisation and tax: what happens when public assets or services get into private hands? Also, Google's challenged on its tax affairs by its own shareholders; will Congress block the US government's decision to agree to the G20's global transparency standard? And whatever happened to the UK's 'leadership' on public registers of the real owners of companies now it turns out it'll 'encourage' but not 'force' its overseas territories and crown dependencies to sign up to the initiative?

In the April 2014 Taxcast: Forget Congress! The Taxcast looks at the latest US state to take matters into its own hands and legislate against tax havens. Also: the scandal of how the Bank for International Settlements has kept offshore wealth data to itself, the British government tries to impress its friends in Washington with a 'tough' new tax evasion offence, taxing problems in Nigeria and...how will UK Parliamentarian Lord Blencathra manage now his £12,000 (c. $20,000) a month contract with the Cayman Islands has been terminated?

In the March 2014 Taxcast: Russia, Ukraine, Londongrad and the offshore threat to global security. Also: modern day colonialism? Niger battles France over fairer revenues from its uranium; it's official - inequality IS bad for economic growth: the IMF becomes an unlikely advocate for tax justice. And, the European Parliament moves against anonymous ownership of companies by voting for public registers of beneficial owners.

In the February 2014 Taxcast: Are European tax havens getting 'illegal state subsidies'? The European Union's Competition Commissioner thinks so. Are the world's tax havens really going to become more transparent? We analyse the OECD's automatic information exchange proposal, warts and all. And, the tax haven of the Bahamas is broke – the government's solution? Tax the poor! We look at the Bahamian campaign against a Value Added Tax and their demands for a freedom of information act.

In the January 2014 Taxcast: Tax justice goes to the Cayman Islands; we look at the latest fall-out from #OffshoreLeaks, the expose on tax havens from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; and HOW much is Africa spending on corporate tax breaks??? The Taxcast looks at tax incentives, Africa-style.

In the December 2013 Taxcast: the clock's ticking for Swiss banks, OECD countries are failing to collect enough information on the real owners of companies, and the Taxcast looks at tax and human rights: lawyers have escaped pulic scrutiny for their role in tax abuse. So far...

In the November 2013 Taxcast: the movers and the shakers in the 2013 Financial Secrecy Index, the pariah states trying to wreck new global transparency measures, and 50 years ago this month US President John F Kennedy was assassinated. Did you know he was trying to tackle tax havens?

In the October 2013 Taxcast: Swiss villagers send some of profit shifting mining giant GlencoreXstrata's money to humanitarian projects, tax havens do some window dressing and HOW many sets of accounts does a multinational corporation really need to file their tax returns? The David and Goliath story of tax collection - even for the United States.