Tag: ActionAid

The European Union’s tax treaties with developing countries: leading by example?

Yesterday a report I wrote for the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in the European Parliament was published. It was used as input for a hearing of the Parliament’s TAX3 committee, at which Hannah Tranberg from ActionAid, Eric Mensah from the Ghana Revenue Authority and UN Tax Committee, and Sandra Gallina of DG Trade… Continue reading The European Union’s tax treaties with developing countries: leading by example?

New data and working paper: measuring tax treaty negotiation outcomes

Today the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) and ActionAid are launching a new dataset that I’ve developed over the last year. It’s the product of over a year’s work, mostly by an intrepid team of research assistants in the LSE law department, to code the content of over 500 tax treaties signed by… Continue reading New data and working paper: measuring tax treaty negotiation outcomes

Capital gains tax avoidance: can Uganda succeed where India didn’t?

I’m writing this post from under a mosquito net on a close Kampala evening. Since arriving on Wednesday I’ve had a whistlestop tour of the issues facing Uganda as it embarks on a review of its tax treaties. So far I’ve met with four tax inspectors, two finance ministry officials, four (count ’em) tax advisers,… Continue reading Capital gains tax avoidance: can Uganda succeed where India didn’t?

Tax incentives cost $138 billion…?

Congratulations to ActionAid on the launch of its new Tax Power campaign – an impressively internationalised version of the work ActionAid UK has been doing for five years now. I love the gallery of #taxpaysfor photos. As part of the campaign launch, ActionAid asked me to help them come up with an estimate for the… Continue reading Tax incentives cost $138 billion…?

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