The Taxcast By The Tax Justice Network

Britain has turned its capital into a global money laundering machine. The pavements of central London are home to a soaring number of rough sleepers, yet its streets are lined with empty mansions. Who owns these houses? Often, no one knows – because the wealthiest people in the world have built the perfect system to hide their assets.    In this explosive new podcast series Death in Westminster Professor Kojo Koram (author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain And The Aftermath Of Empire) and Dr Dalia Gebrial (Novara Live co-host) will uncover how  secret offshore billions are ruining Britain.   Produced by Planet B Productions and released by Novara Media in March 2026. Available wherever you get your podcasts. More details here: https://novaramedia.com/category/audio/death-in-westminster/ 

"Tax is one of the smartest investments you can make." That's Professor Chris Harrop's promise to companies, and his new tax funded impact model proves it by helping quantify how paying tax is not only good for their businesses, but for the economies they're operating in, and of course for people and society. Plus: Why have OECD countries just bent the knee to Donald Trump and given up their  sovereign rights to tax US businesses operating within their own borders? Naomi Fowler speaks with Zorka Millin of the FACT Coalition about how US companies now have an exemption from the global minimum corporate tax. Also, Zorka discusses some progress on the Corporate Transparency Act's rollercoaster journey in the US towards setting up a beneficial ownership register - a court ruling has pushed things a little further forward, which is good news since the United States is the world's biggest financial secrecy offender. Now some of the watering down of the act needs to be reversed... And finally, the UK has strengthene

The Corruption Diaries is a journey through the eyes of anti-corruption veterans with their unique perspectives on combating one of the most compelling ethical challenges of our time. In Series Two: Richard Allen's passion was alternative music and he set up in the music business with his own record label, managing and touring with bands like Porcupine Tree. But a tax loophole took all of that away from him and he unexpectedly became a campaigner, taking on tax dodgers and the British authorities from his garden shed. Produced by Leo Schick and hosted by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network. Our podcast website is available here where you can also listen to Series One featuring white collar crime lawyer Jack Blum https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/production/the-corruption-diaries/  The Corruption Diaries is available wherever you get your podcasts. 

Countries can either capitulate to President Trump's tax bullying. Or come together to fight for the sovereign right to tax multinationals fairly. In this episode host Naomi Fowler explores whether US economic policy is actually good for the US economy and its people. We've done some number crunching looking at what really happened after Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It tells us a lot about the state of tax justice, its real effects on people, and the misguided exercise of power. Transcript of the show: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Transcript_Taxcast_Nov_25.pdf Featuring: The Tax Justice Network's Mark Bou Mansour, Alison Schultz and Sergio Chaparro-Hernandez. Produced and hosted by Naomi Fowler. Further Reading: $475bn lost to US-backed global gag order shielding corporate tax cheaters, Tax Justice Network https://taxjustice.net/press/475bn-lost-to-us-backed-global-gag-order-shielding-corporate-tax-cheaters/ UN tax convention: Everything you need to know about current neg

When tax officials and law enforcement do manage to recover assets and money from criminals, what happens next? How are those seizures used to benefit taxpayers and society? We think there are lots of missed opportunities here and the Taxcast goes to West Yorkshire in the North of England to see social reuse of seized assets in action. It's pretty heartening. Plus: President Donald Trump has pardoned convicted money launderer Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. We speak to Scott Greytak of Transparency International US about what this means for the financial integrity of the US financial system and the ramifications for the rest of the world. A transcript of the show is available here: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Taxcast_Transcript_Oct_25.pdf Produced and hosted by Naomi Fowler and Leo Schick. Featuring: Scott Greytak of Transparency International US Dr. Amber Phillips, University of Bristol, Senior Criminology lectur

We look at the outsized influence of a small and secretive Catholic institution, Opus Dei, from Spain's dictator Franco, right up to the present day. And the bank it secretly controlled for sixty years: "This sounds a bit like a bit of conspiracy theory but trust me, it's very real. It's in almost every major city around the world and it's quite ruthless. It's close to the Trump regime because they share a lot of common ground." ~ Gareth Gore, journalist and author Plus: in the latest twist in the epic battle to end anonymous ownership in the United States, the US's financial regulator FinCEN has announced that only 'foreign businesses' with 'foreign owners' will now be required to report ownership information to the federal government. It's announced plans to actually delete ownership information that ‘US companies’ have already submitted. We look at the options to stop the US sliding even further into a corruption abyss: "The US is making a commitment to stay at the back of the pack compared to the rest

The persecution of anyone suspected of being an undocumented immigrant in the United States is not only taking the form of armed, masked ICE agents. Tax is being weaponised against them too. An estimated 10.9 million undocumented immigrants are the powerhouse of the United States economy, and also an exploitable workforce with minimal rights. It turns out that they're paying a higher effective tax rate than 55 mega-corporations and several billionaires: There's something very wrong with our tax system, that people with that much wealth could be paying a lower tax rate than undocumented immigrants who are generally working in low paying jobs. A nation that's focused on persecuting and purging specific groups of people is not a healthy one. And as people are being ripped out of their communities, we look at the data that show how devastating it is for the economy and public services too. Plus: bullying at home, bullying abroad: President Trump is deploying tariffs and threats of tariffs against countries who

Millionaires are not fleeing countries to escape taxes. The Tax Justice Network has analysed these claims and found it's questionable data published by a firm that helps the super-rich buy their way out of rules that apply to everybody else. In fact, things are changing for people in the business of helping to sell passports and residency. Some doors are closing... Plus, we look at the latest results from the Financial Secrecy Index - what are the latest global trends and have you heard of an anocracy?! Transcript of the show: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/June-2025-Taxcast-script_-millionaire-exodus-myth.pdf Further reading: Millionaire exodus did not occur, study reveals, Tax Justice Network https://taxjustice.net/press/millionaire-exodus-did-not-occur-study-reveals/  Millionaire “exodus” claim backtracked but media re-run story anyway, Tax Justice Network https://taxjustice.net/press/millionaire-exodus-claim-backtracked-but-media-re-run-story-anyway/  The ‘Millionaire Exodus

The life-changing, life-saving, transformational nature of tax - for people and planet. Ireland's got a tax windfall of about €14 billion - that's roughly  $15 billion. What are they going to do with it..? "This is the kind of moment that doesn't come around often and we really need to seize it. Or if we let the opportunity slip through our fingers, it's going to have impacts for future generations." ~ Mansi Rawat, Social Justice Ireland We don't do enough about blue sky thinking on how tax can transform our lives. This is our chance to unlock our imaginations. It's also time for Ireland to rethink its tax haven model and for many countries, not just Ireland, to ask who its economy is serving. The Taxcast is produced by Naomi Fowler and Leo Schick of the Tax Justice Network. Further reading: Here's the transcript of the show (some is automated and may not be 100% accurate: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Taxcast-May-2025-Transcript.pdf Pope Francis, 1936-2025 (Tax Justice Network)

The Taxcast looks at the battle for freedom of the press in Switzerland and the implications for the rest of the world. Investigative journalists like Bastian Obermayer risks arrest, fines and imprisonment if he sets foot in Switzerland again, and Swiss journalists are having to turn away strong public interest stories - for fear of not just rich and powerful people coming after them, but also the Swiss state. Switzerland's always been famous for its banking secrecy laws and it's never been the friendliest place for investigative journalists. Now the situation threatens to get even worse. Featuring: Bastian Obermayer, one of the Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalists who broke the Panama Papers story and many other groundbreaking scandals. Swiss investigative journalist, Oliver Zihlmann, co-head of the Investigative Unit at Tamedia, the leading publishing and broadcast media company in Switzerland. Policy and advocacy manager at Reporters Without Borders Switzerland, Valentin Rubin Hosted by Naomi

How easy is it to get filthy rich selling arms to anyone who'll pay? There may be sanctions, there may be laws, but even though he's the FBI's most wanted fugitive, a Chinese arms dealer and manufacturer has evaded arrest for two decades. Who could be better to investigate one of the world’s most dangerous men and tell this story than Panama Papers journalists? Taxcast host Naomi Fowler speaks to Frederik Obermaier about the book The Chinese Phantom: the Hunt for the World's most Dangerous Arms Dealer. What does it tell us about sanctions and financial secrecy at a time of rising autocracy and global insecurity?   Also in this episode: the latest on efforts by powerful people to block the US's Corporate Transparency Act which was supposed to set up a register of the real owners of companies;   And, in the UK - a new whistleblower incentive scheme - the tax authority HMRC will give whistleblowers who bring actionable information a cut of between 10 and 25% of any fine that HMRC imposes. Also, as the British go

Listen to the Taxcast wherever you get your podcasts. You can subscribe by email and get lots of resources and further reading on our website here: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/production/taxcast/  The Tax Justice Network has monthly podcasts in different languages focused on different regions of the world, all available here https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/ Also available there is our series The Corruption Diaries; a journey through the eyes of anti-corruption veterans, with unique perspectives on combating some of the most compelling ethical challenges of our time.

The rollercoaster story of the battle in the US (the world's biggest global financial secrecy offender) over the implementation of a beneficial ownership register, the attempts to stop it and the (many) lessons learned from the UK's registers. The US's Corporate Transparency Act seemed to be on track. Until it wasn't... "Everything is bigger in Texas, that's what they like to say! And as we've learned, even court orders are bigger in Texas." Meanwhile, we take a look at UK company registration progress, since the days when "you could just set up a company for 12 pounds and say you were Mickey Mouse with a shareholder Donald Duck and no one asked any questions." (Spoiler alert: there's still a long way to go) Guests include: Zorka Milin and Ian Gary of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition, Cynthia O'Murchu Financial Times Investigative Reporter, Graham Barrow, financial crime sleuth and podcaster, the Dark Money Files, campaigner and author Oliver Bullough Hosted and produced by Na

We look at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism story about a Syrian kleptocrat and alleged war criminal, and the British Crown Dependency of Guernsey. It throws up all kinds of questions about policing compliance, enforcement and the need for public beneficial ownership registers, with good quality information. Also, on day one of his presidency, Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the OECD's global minimum tax deal. So what now? We'll talk to the Tax Justice Network's Alex Cobham. Featuring: Reporter at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Ed Siddons  Guernsey-based investigative and podcast journalist, Rob Byrne Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler, Tax Justice Network Transcript of the show is here (some is automated) https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jan_25_Taxcast_Transcript.pdf  Further reading: ‘Butcher of Hama’: Assad’s uncle used Guernsey fund manager to stash millions looted from Syria (Bureau of Investigative Journalism)

A world where someone pays $6.2 million for a banana duct-taped to a wall is a world that needs wealth taxes. But when wealth taxes are considered by politicians and governments, unsubstantiated spin and myth making dominates the debate. (If you can call it a debate). We look at the Tax Justice Network's modest wealth tax proposal which could help governments increase their national budgets by 7 percent a year, a potential global revenue of more than 2 trillion US dollars annually. And we discuss what research really says about so-called 'tax flight' by the very wealthy because of tax reforms. Will they really leave in droves? Featuring: Mark Bou Mansour, Tax Justice Network Alison Schultz, Tax Justice Network Victoria Gronwald of the London School of Economics. She's co-author of their report, Tax Flight. Britain's wealthiest and their attachment to place. Various AI-voiced excerpts from interviews with High Net Worth Individuals from the LSE report. Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler, Tax Justice Network T

What are the implications of Donald Trump's election victory for tax justice and the anti-corruption fight in the US and globally? We see a moment of clarity... Host Naomi Fowler talks to Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network based in Europe and Zorka Milin of the FACT Coalition in Washington, US. We also have two very good pieces of news: one is the latest vote at the UN as countries vote overwhelmingly to take negotiations on the UN Tax Convention to the next step, leaving the blocker nations in a tiny minority. And the second piece of good news is that despite huge lobbying to try to stop them, Australian politicians have shown how politicians really can act in the public interest - they've just passed legislation that means all major multinationals operating in Australia will now have to publish country by country reporting data on the scale of their activities, including profits declared and tax paid in a list of jurisdictions deemed as 'high risk.' It's not only good for Australia, it's going to shed l

Campaigning for change can feel like banging your head against a brick wall sometimes, but change is coming. On the Taxcast this month host Naomi Fowler talks us through three big tax justice wins:  First, the draft UN convention - showing exactly why the United Nations is so much better and more democratic a place for the world to truly reform international tax rules. Second, the Financial Action Task force has announced important changes which indicate a shift away from the colonial mindset that established a system that's not working because it fails to hold the really big offender nations to account. And third, the Australian government seems to be holding its nerve against major lobbying pressure and is getting closer to implementing its world leading country by country reporting legislation, which is superior to the one the European Union uses and the OECD advocates. It'll cast light on the genuine activities of multinationals for other nations as well, so they can tax them more fairly too. Featuring: 

Are banks claims about their financing of fossil fuel companies true, or are they green laundering? The Tax Justice Network has been following the money, and our investigations show how financial secrecy is allowing banks to hide the true scale of their backing for activities that are accelerating the climate crisis. It's an international scandal. Plus: the judgment is final: Apple must now pay back taxes in Ireland of 13 billion euros, over 14 billion dollars. It's a big win for the European Commission. We discuss the implications. Featuring: Margrethe Vestager, EU Competition Commissioner, Tax Justice Network researchers and co-suthors of the report How “greenlaundering” conceals the full scale of fossil fuel financing Franziska Mager and Alison Shultz, economist Joseph Stiglitz of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation, Tove Ryding, tax coordinator at the European Network on Debt and Development, Eurodad in Europe, and Zorka Milin, former tax lawyer and policy direct

There are some massive heists happening that many of us have never heard of. Taxcast host Naomi Fowler talks to investigative journalist and author Geoff White about  how crypto and the tech industry are impacting money laundering, and  challenging national and international security. The rights and responsibilities for the tech and crypto industry, and 'freedom of speech' defences are being tested in court. The outcomes will have profound effects on all of us. "625 million is a serious contender for the biggest theft of all time. In terms of money stolen from one victim in one go, it's hard to find a case bigger than that. I think people should know about this case, but the subsequent freedom of speech epic battle, the sort of battle royale that's now going on, I think it's really important." Plus: a short news round-up of news including Trump's tax plans should he become US president and wealth taxes move centre-stage. Further reading and resources: Transcript of the show: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/w

In this episode: we go to the US to look at how African Americans were overtaxed and dispossessed - a lesser known story of struggles against tax injustice, from the experience of George Floyd's great great grandfather to this day. Taxcast host Naomi Fowler speaks to historian and author Andrew W Kahrl of The Black Tax: 150 years of theft, exploitation, and dispossession in America: "Every stage of the research on this book was one revelation after another. These legalized forms of theft actually happened at far greater frequency than historians have ever really recognized. Historically, and still today, taxes are both a problem in the US, but they're also the solution." Plus: the OECD ignores a formal letter from UN human rights experts raising concerns about the detrimental and discriminatory impacts on the Global South of OECD and G20 tax policy: "There has been no response. One way to describe it would be to say it's disappointing. Another way to describe it would say it's shocking and downright unaccepta