Author: Martin Hearson

The government adopted tax campaigners’ rhetoric at the G8, but much of the status quo is still intact

Here’s my post on the LSE Politics & Public Policy blog. The Enough Food for Everyone If campaign – successor to Make Poverty History – has succeeded in making tax haven secrecy the centrepiece issue of public debate around the G8 summit, which closed yesterday in Eniskillen. It also chalked up a genuine success, in… Continue reading The government adopted tax campaigners’ rhetoric at the G8, but much of the status quo is still intact

UN transfer pricing manual: what Brazil, India and China do differently

‘Country Practices’. The title of Chapter 10 of the new United Nations Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing [pdf] doesn’t exactly set the pulse racing. But as I noted in my blog on the manual as a whole, this document is politically very significant. It’s probably the only detailed description of Brazil, China, India and South… Continue reading UN transfer pricing manual: what Brazil, India and China do differently

The United Nations Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing: a bluffer’s guide

Last week saw the official launch of a 495-page document by the United Nations tax committee, its new Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing for Developing Countries [pdf]. The final product has been four years in the making and is an impressive, introductory-level guide to transfer pricing. So definitely worth dipping in and out of if… Continue reading The United Nations Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing: a bluffer’s guide

Treating tax incentives like illegitimate debt

I’m at the United Nations tax committee, which yesterday hosted a day’s discussion on taxing the mining, oil and gas sectors. Quite a bit of the discussion dwelt on the stability clauses that are often built into contracts between the governments of developing countries and extractive industry companies making investments. In general these clauses insulate… Continue reading Treating tax incentives like illegitimate debt

Clamping down on Google’s tax avoidance: don’t hold your breath

This is a post I wrote for the LSE Policy & Politics blog. Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt will stand up to give a talk at the LSE this evening after a week of unprecedented criticism of the search giant. I wonder if he still feels the same way today as he did last October,… Continue reading Clamping down on Google’s tax avoidance: don’t hold your breath