Taxes

8 September 2016

When the European Union decided to fine Apple €13.5 billion for tax evasion in Ireland last week, it didn’t take long for the Irish government to join with Apple to announce it would appeal the ruling. When the European Union decided to fine Apple €13.5 billion for tax evasion in...

Featured Articles

26 May 2016

Tax ‘Super Changes’ are Taxing

Any change in taxation invariably raises questions about distribution. Who loses, who wins – and who loses most – will always be an issue. However, such analysis should be applied with care, lest it miss the bigger picture. Any change...

18 May 2016

Can Company Tax Cuts Really Benefit Australians?

  A long-term plan to cut the company tax rate from 30% to 25% is the centrepiece of the Coalition’s economic plan for jobs and growth. The Coalition maintains the change will boost GDP by more than 1% in the...

11 May 2016

Tax is Catchy Word that No One Likes

A tax by any other name is still a cost, as Shakespeare might have said. However, of course, the words we use to describe things can amplify or minimise, and some have greater power than others. A tax by any other...

10 May 2016

Africa’s Lost Billions

  Over the last 50 years, African countries have lost about $1 trillion to illicit financial flows. This equates to around $50 billion a year and is equivalent to all the official development assistance received by the continent over the same period.  ...

6 May 2016

Let’s Use Wales to Explain Tax Devolution?

  Yet again, the recent Welsh assembly election campaign was primarily about how best to spend public money. However, recent developments mean devolved elections in Wales will soon focus on how best to raise public money, too.     Yet...

6 May 2016

Australia could Tackle Tax Avoidance with Open Data

Imagine if Australia’s economy was as efficient as Silicon Valley is. It is not that absurd an idea and the keys are potentially at the government’s disposal. Imagine if Australia’s economy was as efficient as Silicon Valley is. It is...

21 April 2016

A Corporate Approach to Tax Collection

  The release of the Panama papers is yet to reach its endgame, but there are some clear truths we can take from it. People or businesses that don’t pay their taxes – whether deliberately or through ignorance – undermine state revenues....

21 April 2016

Is a Bipartisan Overhaul of the U.S. Tax Code Possible?

Companies such as drugmaker Pfizer and medical device maker Medtronic that have used a technique called an inversion to reduce their tax bill recently got a smackdown from President Barack Obama: Companies such as drugmaker Pfizer and medical device maker Medtronic...

18 April 2016

Filling the Tax Gap

The so-called Panama Papers span thousands of pages, revealing that many of the world’s elite have been hiding their money in offshore accounts in an attempt to shield their income from taxes.  Their release – the biggest data leak in...

15 April 2016

Robin Hood is not Working in the U.K.

The aim of progressive taxation and the welfare state is to redistribute wealth from the richest to the poorest in an effort to erode the worst aspects of poverty and inequality. How well the British tax and benefits system is...

13 April 2016

Tax Authorities Get it in Gear

The Australian Taxation Office is reported to be playing a “lead role” in sharing intelligence between tax officials from OECD countries, as part of the continuing fallout from the revelations of the Panama Papers. The Joint International Tax Shelter Information...

12 April 2016

Defining Your ‘Fair Share’ of Taxes

The tax dealings of a number of politicians have come under scrutiny, following news of their offshore holdings in the Panama Papers. The leaks have led to the resignation of the Icelandic prime minister – and the UK Prime Minister,...

8 April 2016

It’s Tax Time and Behavioral Finance is Kicking In

It’s that time of year again: tax-filing season. Millions of Americans are probably downloading the latest version of their tax preparation software as we speak or picking it up at their local software store. It’s that time of year again:...