The Taxcast

The US government has spent an estimated $1 trillion on their 'war on drugs.' But, over more than 50 years, the cross-border flows of illegal drugs, arms and money have increased. It's a mess. And it didn't need to be this way. We look at the failed so-called 'war on drugs' and how to stop wasting precious lives. In part one of a two part series, we start with the supposed 'goodies' and the 'baddies.' Featuring: Criminology lecturer Karina Garcia-Reyes of the University of the West of England, author of Morir Es Un Alivio (Dying is a Relief) Las Reveladoras Historias De 12 Ex-narcos Que Lograron Escapar Del Crimen Organizado. Available in Spanish here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Morir-alivio-Dying-Relief-Reveladoras/dp/6070777298/ref=sr_1_1?crid=SC60TMBCGZVM&keywords=morir+es+un+alivio&qid=1674560099&sprefix=morir+es+un+alivio%2Caps%2C64&sr=8-1 Eric Gutierrez, of the International Centre of Human Rights and Drug Policy https://www.hr-dp.org/contents/1620 Associate Professor of International and Organised Crime at Bristol Law School, Dr Mary Young https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mary-Young-13 Further Reading: Inside Mexico's war on drugs: Conversations with 'el narco' https://theconversation.com/inside-mexicos-war-on-drugs-conversations-with-el-narco-129865 Poverty, gender and violence in the narratives of former narcos: accounting for drug trafficking violence in Mexico (Karina Garcia-Reyes) https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/193726176/Final_Copy_2018_11_06_Garcia_K_G_PhD_Redacted.pdf Debunking the Narco Myth https://www.mexicoviolence.org/post/debunking-the-narco-myth A world fit for money laundering: The Atlantic alliance's undermining of organised crime control: Young, Mary Alice; Woodiwiss, Michael https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5935899 Organised crime and security threats in Caribbean Small Island Developing States: A Critical analysis of US assumptions and policies: Young, Mary; Woodiwiss, Michael https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/849208 More podcasts are available on our website https://www.thetaxcast.com where you can also subscribe.

We're experiencing the hottest global temperatures ever recorded. For millions of us, the climate crisis is already hitting hard. And we need to know, we must know - WHO are the beneficial owners of the climate crisis? It's surprisingly difficult to find out... Featuring: Franziska Mager, Senior Researcher and Advocacy Lead (Climate & Inequalities), Tax Justice Network Dario Kenner, Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sussex and author of the book Carbon Inequality Victor Galaz of the Stockholm Resilience Centre Peter Ringstad of Tax Justice Norway Andres Knobel, Lead Researcher (Beneficial Ownership), Tax Justice Network George Monbiot, Environmental campaigner and journalist Kenya's President William Ruto Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network Transcript of the show (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Transcript_Taxcast_July_23.pdf All the Taxcasts are available here where you can also subscribe: https://www.thetaxcast.com Further reading: Beneficial ownership and fossil fuels: lifting the lid on who benefits: https://taxjustice.net/2023/06/30/beneficial-ownership-and-fossil-fuels-lifting-the-lid-on-who-benefits/ Delivering climate justice using the principles of tax justice: a guide for climate justice advocates https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Policy-brief-climate-justice_2206.pdf Carbon Majors Report: https://cdn.cdp.net/cdp-production/cms/reports/documents/000/002/327/original/Carbon-Majors-Report-2017.pdf Links to Dario Kenner's work: The Polluter Elite Database: https://whygreeneconomy.org/the-polluter-elite-database/ Carbon Inequality: the role of the richest in climate change https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/carbon-inequality-the-role-of-the-richest-in-climate-change-dario-kenner/2920056?ean=9780367727666 Lobbying and other tactics of big oil companies to delay the transition away from fossil fuels https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102049 Why we need to look at how global oil and gas industry lobbies G20 governments and how this is slowing progress https://www.climatechangenews.com/2021/11/16/oil-gas-avoided-censure-glasgow-26th-time-lets-not-make-27/ Post-war reconstruction involved taxing the richest: https://theconversation.com/post-war-reconstruction-involved-taxing-richest-it-could-be-a-model-for-building-a-low-carbon-economy-137717 White knights, or horsemen of the apocalypse? Prospects for Big Oil to align emissions with a 1.5 °C pathway https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621001420 Carbon Billionaires, Oxfam report: https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/carbon-billionaires-the-investment-emissions-of-the-worlds-richest-people-621446/ Cereal crops decimated by Europe's heatwave https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/sourcing/cereal-crops-decimated-by-europes-heatwave/681361.article "I thought fossil fuel firms could change. I was wrong" https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/7/6/i-thought-fossil-fuel-firms-could-change-i-was-wrong Stockholm Resilience Centre, the hidden environmental consequences of tax havens https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2018-08-13-the-hidden-environmental-consequences-of-tax-havens.html New study raises red flags on tax haven role in environmental destruction https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2018/08/new-study-raises-red-flags-on-tax-haven-role-in-environmental-destruction/ New data exposes the links between tax havens, deforestation and illegal fishing https://www.su.se/english/archive-news/research-news-archive/new-data-exposes-the-links-between-tax-havens-deforestation-and-illegal-fishing-1.396018

In this episode Naomi Fowler looks at how the very wealthy shape the world, why the rest of us really, really can't afford them. And, how it never ends just with the pet mansions and the cashmere-lined private jets, as the fascinating story of the EU Court of Justice ruling (reversing progress on public registers of beneficial owners of companies) demonstrates...But, there's plenty we can do about it! Featuring: Florencia Lorenzo of the Tax Justice Network Mark Bou Mansour of the Tax Justice Network Brooke Harrington, Professor of economic sociology and wealth manager anthropologist Luc Caregari, journalist at https://www.reporter.lu in Luxembourg Also featuring: spoiled dogs, private jet business colleagues, a disillusioned youtube jet entrepreneur, a new jet owner and his excited friend, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton (plus her dogs and a reporter), a millionaire who's ditching his jet, author of 'How Bad Are Bananas?' Professor Mike Berners Lee, Dun & Bradstreet youtube briefing Produced and hosted by Naomi Fowler, Tax Justice Network Here's a transcript of the show (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/The-Taxcast_transcript_June_2023.pdf Further reading and viewing: Launching the Tax Justice Network's new climate initiative (there'll be more on this soon) https://taxjustice.net/2023/06/22/launching-the-tax-justice-networks-new-climate-initiative/ How to stop Russian Oligarchs in Their Tracks, from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists https://www.icij.org/investigations/russia-archive/analysis-of-icij-data-shows-how-to-stop-russian-oligarchs-in-their-tracks/ Brooke Harrington speaks at Follow the Money – War, Climate and Tax Havens, a Tax Justice Norway event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waY73LOEOUg Brooke Harrington interview on Offshore Wealth as a Complex System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WiOzQryvd4 Complex systems of secrecy: the offshore networks of oligarchs, by Ho-Chun Herbert Chang, Brooke Harrington, Feng Fu, Daniel N Rockmore: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/2/3/pgad051/7059318 This Luxembourg Businessman got Europe's Public Corporate Registries Shut Down: but whose privacy was he protecting? By Dragana Peco (OCCRP/KRIK), Alina Tsogoeva (OCCRP), Antonio Baquero (OCCRP), Tom Stocks (OCCRP), Luc Caregari (Reporter.lu), and Carina Huppertz (Paper Trail Media/Der Spiegel) https://www.occrp.org/en/beneficial-ownership-data-is-critical-in-the-fight-against-corruption/this-luxembourg-businessman-got-europes-corporate-registries-shut-down-but-whose-privacy-was-he-protecting Comparing the carbon footprint of private jets to owning pets is a waste of time: https://inews.co.uk/news/comparing-carbon-footprint-private-jets-owning-pets-waste-time-2373116 Mishcon de Reya to continue to act for Russian clients, from Law.com International (pay wall) https://www.law.com/international-edition/2022/03/04/mishcon-de-reya-to-maintain-russian-vip-service/

When dominant multinationals get to run the world, it's not a happy place. Or a very secure one. For a long time governments have failed to take the threat from monopolies and the corporate concentration of power seriously, and deal with it. But recent crises have demonstrated how the neoliberal era is crumbling around us and governments must take action. In this episode we look at the challenges and how to tackle this in the public interest. And, in the US, Minnesota nearly took a historic step for tax justice this month that could have changed everything by bringing corporate profit shifting to heel. The lobbyists said it was the end of the world as we know it - and sadly, they won - for now. What was the big deal? And what are the possibilities for other states and other countries? Featuring: Nick Dearden of Global Justice Now Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network Nick Shaxson, Balanced Economy Project Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, MEP and Competition lawyer Christopher Gopal of the Global Supply Chain Center, University of Southern California Produced and hosted by the Tax Justice Network's Naomi Fowler Transcript of the show: (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Transcript_The_Taxcast_May_2023.pdf Further reading: Monopoly capitalism: What is it and how do we fight it? https://www.globaljustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Monopoly-capitalism-primer-WEB-FINAL.pdf The 5 'R's of tax: https://taxjustice.net/faq/what-are-the-four-rs-of-tax/ Actually the fifth one needs adding (Reparations, or Repair) Resisting Monopoly Capitalism (Global Justice Now event in London, March 2023) Opening plenary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MszQ-aj_0a8 Resisting Monopoly Capitalism - Closing plenary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXbOzYKGizA Pharmanomics: How Big Pharma Destroys Global Health (published October 2023) https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3036-pharmanomics How Monopoly Threatens Democracy and Security, an Open Markets Institute and Balanced Economy Project event Corporate taxation to curb monopoly power: a brief history and a proposal https://taxjustice.net/2022/11/02/corporate-taxation-to-curb-monopoly-power-a-brief-history-and-a-proposal/ Tax havens meet monopoly power: why national competitiveness harms competition https://taxjustice.net/2021/08/12/tax-havens-meet-monopoly-power-why-national-competitiveness-harms-competition/ If tax havens scare you, monopolies should too. And vice versa. https://taxjustice.net/2019/11/01/if-tax-havens-scare-you-monopolies-should-too-and-vice-versa/ How local, state, and federal tax policies in the us undermine small business and fuel corporate concentration https://taxjustice.net/2022/11/01/us-tax-monopoly/ Reframing tax policy to reset the rules of the monopoly game https://taxjustice.net/2022/10/27/reframing-tax-policy-to-reset-the-rules-of-the-monopoly-game/ To tackle corruption, start with monopoly power https://thecounterbalance.substack.com/p/to-tackle-corruption-start-with-monopoly Nick Shaxson: Leaving the Tax Justice Network (setting up the Balanced Economy Project - the journey) https://taxjustice.net/2023/05/19/nick-shaxson-leaving-the-tax-justice-network/ For more information and podcasts go to our website: https://www.thetaxcast.com

It's horrific that there are so many people across the world who still don't have access to 'survival rights.' Things like basic sanitation, clean water, quality education, decent healthcare so that mothers can survive childbirth - and so their children can even survive their childhood! This is where tax justice gets the most urgent, because tax literally saves lives. And we're going to prove it to you. In this Taxcast edition, host Naomi Fowler talks to people who've looked at new data that demonstrates this. We wish every CEO, every company board member, every shareholder and every government minister in the world would read this report. Then look us in the eye and tell us why they're not moving every muscle in their body to do what is in their power to protect people, mothers and children. Because when they don't, they do have blood on their hands. A transcript of the show is available here: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Taxcast_April-2023_Transcript.pdf Featuring: Eilish Hannah, University of St Andrews Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network Rachel Etter-Phoya, Tax Justice Network Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler, Tax Justice Network More information and further reading available on our website https://www.thetaxcast.com

After 30 years on the run, Italy's most wanted fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro of the Cosa Nostra has been arrested in Sicily. We look at the costs of organised crime, both economic and societal, the contagion that financial secrecy facilitates, and how to reverse the rot. Secrecy jurisdictions and tax havens have made it possible for mafiosi to progress from crossing physical borders with bank notes stuffed in suitcases, to being able to pour unlimited amounts of money into the financial system. Dirty money in, 'clean' money out. That money destabilises economies and corrupts democracies, while organised crime toxifies societies. The problem is that financial secrecy and tax havens are also the friend of commerce, multinationals and wealthy, powerful people worldwide... Featuring: Professor of Criminology, Federico Varese Journalist, Stefano Vergine Surgeon in Malta and opinon piece writer, Kevin Cassar Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network Transcript available here: https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Taxcast_Transcript_Feb_2023.pdf (Some is automated) Our website (with links to further reading) is available here: https://www.thetaxcast.com

In this extended special episode of the Taxcast, we look at the 'Desai Papers' - the story you probably never heard of: it goes back decades and looks at a key player in the making of tax haven Mauritius that's been hurting Indians and Africans ever since. We speak with a whistleblower and the journalist who broke the story. Is the Indian government investigating? What does the story tell us about the global economy? Transcript available here (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/The-Taxcast-Transcript-Jan-2023.pdf Our website is https:///www.thetaxcast.com

There's been a shift in global power, a tax justice milestone, and the powerful nations couldn't stop it... In this episode, Naomi Fowler gives you a fly-on-the-wall take on what happened at the United Nations on November 24th 2022. We look at the power plays around a fundamental global power shift - the beginning of the end of the OECD's 60 year reign as the world's leading rule-maker on global tax. Featuring: Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network Rachel Etter-Phoya of the Tax Justice Network The UN Chairperson, UN Secretary and UN representatives of Nigeria, South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Liechtenstein, Republic of Korea, and Eritrea. Produced and hosted by the Tax Justice Network's Naomi Fowler. Transcript (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Taxcast_Transcript_Dec_22.pdf WATCH this historic UN meeting here (starts about 20 minutes in): https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1b/k1bummpe5z Further reading: https://taxjustice.net/2022/11/22/%f0%9f%94%b4-live-blog-un-vote-on-new-tax-leadership-role/ https://taxjustice.net/2022/12/15/un-resolution-for-an-intergovernmental-tax-framework-what-does-it-mean-and-whats-next/ https://taxjustice.net/press/un-adopts-historic-decision-to-take-on-new-tax-leadership/ https://taxjustice.net/press/un-secretary-general-signals-support-for-un-tax-convention/ Our podcast website is https://www.thetaxcast.com

In this episode, Taxcast host Naomi Fowler discusses sovereignty, the 'boomerang effect' and the relevance of the 'Third World Movement' today to our global economic system, with Dr Kojo Koram, author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire. "Decolonisation, from the 1950s and 1970s, was quite simply the greatest multiplication of democratic power that the world has ever seen" Plus, we look at two big failures this month: the collapse of crypto exchange company FTX (secrecy jurisdictions, enablers, investigations...) the Tax Justice Network writes an open letter to alert the G20 to the failings of the OECD as global tax rule-setter, as they miss another deadline. A transcript of the podcast is available here: (Some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Taxcast-transcript-Nov-22-1.pdf "The kind of loss of feeling of control in the United Kingdom, that loss of feeling of sovereignty, that loss of feeling of democratic accountability is connected to the erosion of sovereignty and erosion of democratic accountability that was allowed to happen to the former colonies of particularly the British Empire but all empires. What happens in the colonies doesn't simply stay there, but it comes back on the homeland and it starts to impact how its economy, its society, and its politics operates. And I think that's a lot of what we see in Britain right up until today." Featuring: Dr Kojo Koram of Birkbeck, University of London and author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire. Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network Professor Nouriel Roubini speaking in the UAE Taxcast host and producer, Naomi Fowler, Tax Justice Network Further reading: Kojo Koram's book Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire is published by John Murray Press: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/uncommon-wealth-britain-and-the-aftermath-of-empire/9781529338621 Governments can recover billions from tax havens by publishing withheld transparency data https://taxjustice.net/press/governments-can-recover-billions-from-tax-havens-by-publishing-withheld-transparency-data/ UN Secretary General signals support for UN tax convention: https://taxjustice.net/press/un-secretary-general-signals-support-for-un-tax-convention/ Tax Justice Network's Open letter to G20 on OECD failure to deliver on G20 mandates https://taxjustice.net/2022/11/15/open-letter-to-g20-oecd-failure-to-deliver-on-g20-mandates/ Why Didn't the Government Stop the Crypto Scam? by Matt Stoller: https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/why-didnt-the-government-stop-the The World Series of Crypto Rackets, by Judd Legum: https://t.co/wEh4TihGYz Seven politicians are returning FTX's tainted money — others are keeping quiet, by Judd Legum and Rebecca Crosby: https://popular.info/p/seven-politicians-are-returning-ftxs WATCH ~ BOOMERANG: Empire and Britain's economy (featuring Kojo Koram): https://youtu.be/kmOK4tNc31A

In this episode: Nelson Mandela famously said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Yet millions of children in the world still don't even get to walk through the school door. This month on the Taxcast host Naomi Fowler looks at education and tax justice. The challenges, and the ways forward. Plus, we explore two important developments which really pushes forward steps towards a UN Tax Convention: the economic commission for Africa, the declaration of their finance ministers calling for the UN to begin negotiations on the convention (that's more than a quarter of the member countries of the United Nations) plus the head of the United Nations has pledged his support for negotiations. How will wealthier nations, who are too often the world's worst offenders for draining tax revenue from other nations, now respond? Transcript: (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/The-Taxcast_Oct_22_Transcript.pdf For more information and more Taxcasts, go to https://www.thetaxcast.com