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/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/July-24-Taxcast_Transcript.pdf (some is automated)

Geoff White's book Rinsed. From Cartels to Crypto: How the Tech Industry Washes Money for the World's Deadliest Crooks https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455031/rinsed-by-white-geoff/9780241624838 and https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/rinsed-how-tech-is-revolutionizing-money-laundering-geoff-white/7618854?ean=9780241624838

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/rinsed-how-tech-is-revolutionizing-money-laundering-geoff-white/7618854?ean=9780241624838

How the crypto industry is buying political support https://popular.info/p/how-the-crypto-industry-is-buying

Gabriel Zucman on G20 country commitment to work cooperatively to fix global taxation of the super-rich. 'an important step in the right direction' https://x.com/gabriel_zucman/status/1816602072068026422

G20 Must go further in fight to tax the rich, ICRICT statement https://www.icrict.com/international-tax-reform/g20-must-go-further-in-fight-to-tax-the-rich/

G20 countries agree on need to tax the super-rich — but later https://www.politico.eu/article/g20-countries-agree-on-need-to-tax-the-super-rich-but-later/#:~:text=In%20a%20statement%20Zucman%2C%20who,%2Drich%20must%20be%20fixed.%22

Ten tax reforms to raise £60 billion for public services and a fairer economy (UK) https://patrioticmillionaires.uk/latest-news/policy-recommendations-2024

For more information on all our podcasts go to https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/

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 unacceptable."

Transcript of the show: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Transcript_Taxcast-June-2024.pdf (some is automated)

Further Reading:

OECD tax reforms risk violating human rights law, UN experts warn in special intervention:

https://taxjustice.net/press/oecd-tax-reforms-risk-violating-human-rights-law-un-experts-warn-in-special-intervention/

Formal letter from UN Human Rights experts to the OECD raising human rights concerns over tax reforms: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=28676

Litany of failure: new briefing sets out OECD’s manifold shortcomings in international tax talks: https://taxjustice.net/2024/05/28/litany-of-failure-new-briefing-sets-out-oecds-manifold-shortcomings-in-international-tax-talks/

The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America by Andrew W. Kahrl: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-black-tax-150-years-of-theft-exploitation-and-dispossession-in-america-andrew-w-kahrl/7592145?ean=9780226730592

The living new deal: a website with a collection of all the public infrastructure, bridges, roads, swimming pools, community centres etc that were built during the 1930s and 40s: https://livingnewdeal.org/

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Souls of Black Folk, by W. E. B. Du Bois: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/408/408-h/408-h.htm

All our podcasts are available with more information on https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/production/taxcast/ and you can find all our other podcasts (all separate monthly productions in Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish) here https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/