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The Taxcast

The Taxcast

By: Tax Justice Network
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 The Taxcast is a monthly podcast/radio show from the Tax Justice Network with the latest from the world of tax havens, financial secrecy and tax abuse. We explore these most challenging ethical and economic issues of our times with transformational economic analysis you won’t hear anywhere else. Available on most podcast apps: https://pod.link/620020246 Website: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/production/taxcast/ Subscribe by email: naomi [at] taxjustice.netThe Tax Justice Network Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Millionaire exodus myth

    Millionaire exodus myth
    Jun 27 2025
    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 UK Media Told You About Never Actually Happened, Byline Times https://bylinetimes.com/2025/06/10/the-millionaire-exodus-the-uk-media-told-you-about-never-actually-happened/ Citizenship must not be up for sale, speech by the Vice-President of the European Commission, EU Justice Commissioner https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_14_18 EU Court Rules Malta's Golden Passport Program is Illegal, OCCRP https://www.occrp.org/en/news/eu-court-rules-maltas-golden-passport-program-is-illegal Influencer Andrew Tate got Vanuatu Passport Around Time of Arrest on Rape Charges https://www.occrp.org/en/news/exclusive-alleged-rapist-influencer-andrew-tate-got-vanuatu-passport-around-time-of-2022-arrest Vanuatu: Council of the EU ends visa exemption https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/12/12/vanuatu-council-ends-visa-exemption/ Logged Pushbacks to Libya from Malta’s SAR Zone Triple Since 2020, Over 5,000 People Forced Back https://www.amphora.media/2025/06/logged-pushbacks-to-libya-from-maltas-sar-zone-triple-since-2020-over-5000-people-forced-back Malta Migration Archive https://maltamigrationarchive.org/ Times of Malta Editorial: A shameful abdication of duty https://timesofmalta.com/article/editorial-a-shameful-abdication-duty.1107005 £160 billion could have been raised for the UK’s public finances over the past three decades if UK tax residents on the annual rich lists had been asked to pay a two per cent wealth tax on their assets over £10 million - equivalent to the cost of building 80 new hospitals in that period. (Patriotic Millionaires UK) https://patrioticmillionaires.uk/latest-news/special-report-on-the-sunday-times-rich-list-the-missing-billions?mc_cid=2f5977ff81 Family statement: Robert Agius and Jamie Vella sentenced. Despite her murderers' attempts to silence her, Daphne's legacy endures. (Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation) https://www.daphne.foundation/en/2025/06/10/sentence-complicity Vanuatu, Financial Secrecy Index country profile, Tax Justice Network https://fsi.taxjustice.net/country-detail/#jurisdiction_id=VU&scoring_id=268 Reporting from the Passport Papers, Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation https://www.daphne.foundation/passport-papers/ Passport Papers: Henley and Partners’ leaked documents show most applicants are from countries where dual citizenship is not permitted https://theshiftnews.com/2021/04/22/passport-papers-henley-and-partners-leaked-documents-show-most-applicants-are-from-countries-where-dual-citizenship-is-not-permitted/ The Passport King who Markets Citizenship for Cash, a Daphne Project investigation, OCCRP https://www.occrp.org/en/project/the-daphne-project/the-passport-king-who-markets-citizenship-for-cash Why rich foreigners may not rush to buy Trump's $5 million 'gold card' visas, Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-gold-card-visa-demand-rich-immigrants-green-card-lutnick-2025-5 The Taxcast website with all the Tax Justice Network podcasts in five different languages are available at https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/
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    46 mins
  • How to spend 14 billion

    How to spend 14 billion
    May 29 2025

    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) https://taxjustice.net/2025/04/24/pope-francis-1936-2025/

    Top EU court rules Apple owes Ireland over $14B in back taxes https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/top-eu-court-rules-apple-owes-ireland-over-14b-in-back-taxes/

    EU’s Apple ‘victory’ highlights the failure of international tax rules (Tax Justice Network) https://taxjustice.net/press/eus-apple-victory-highlights-the-failure-of-international-tax-rules/

    A response to the European court’s bad Apple ruling, (Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network) https://taxjustice.net/2020/07/15/a-response-to-the-european-courts-bad-apple-ruling/

    Tax Haven Ireland, a book by Brian O'Boyle and Kieran Allen https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745345314/tax-haven-ireland/

    Previous Taxcast episode featuring Brian O'Boyle and Kieran Allen talking about their book Tax Haven Ireland. https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/episode/116-tax-haven-ireland/

    Budget Analysis by Social Justice Ireland (they have also written about managing the windfall gains) https://www.socialjustice.ie/system/files/file-uploads/2024-10/Budget%202025%20Analysis%20and%20Critique%20%281%29.pdf

    People Before Profit calls for Apple taxes to fund State construction firm, RTE https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2024/1104/1479063-pbp-state-construction/

    Our podcast website with all our podcasts: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/

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    35 mins
  • #153 Criminalising Journalists

    #153 Criminalising Journalists
    Apr 29 2025

    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 Fowler and co-produced with Leo Schick.

    Transcript of the show available here: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Criminalising-Journalists_-Script.pdf

    Further reading:

    Suisse Secrets https://www.occrp.org/en/project/suisse-secrets

    Bastian Obermayer: 'In Switzerland, I face prison – for exposing wrongdoing.' https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bastian-obermayer-9ba8805b_we-investigate-corruption-swiss-law-calls-activity-7316409781127159808-EgfS/

    US overtakes Switzerland in global ranking of financial secrecy hotbeds https://taxjustice.net/press/financial-secrecy-index-2020-reports-progress-on-global-transparency-but-backsliding-from-us-cayman-and-uk-prompts-call-for-sanctions/

    Tax Justice Network's Financial Secrecy Index https://fsi.taxjustice.net/

    Swiss Government Motions for Press Freedom in Country’s Finance Sector https://www.occrp.org/en/news/swiss-government-motions-for-press-freedom-in-countrys-finance-sector

    Swiss parliamentarians refuse to overhaul banking secrecy laws https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/swiss-banking-secrecy-law-clashes-with-freedom-of-speech/47365724
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    36 mins
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