Last Friday a story appeared in the national press in South Africa, Ghana and Uganda with headlines about ‘MTN’s offshore billions’. It appeared to reveal a secret ‘stash’ of money built up by the company behind a brass-plate shell company in Mauritius. “The Finance Uncovered global network of investigative reporters have today published a cross-border investigation […]

As regular readers of my occaisional blog posts will know I have had a bee in my bonnet for some time about the how we understand (and frequently misunderstand) the ‘big numbers’  about international tax evasion and avoidance (and related illicit flows), and what they might mean in relation to finance for development. I am now working on a […]

On January 7th, like many others, I watched with horror the shaky mobile phone videos of masked gunman on the streets of Paris. Since then I’ve read the blogs and commentary on religion and freedom of speech, and I’ve discussed the issues with my teenage children, as they have tried to make sense of it for themselves. […]

This week the Daily Mail created a stir by reporting that t-shirts produced for the Fawcett Society by Whistles, and modelled by British political leaders, had been made in ‘Sweatshop conditions’ in Mauritius. I’m not a big fan of gesture politics, overpriced boxy t-shirts, or the Daily Mail. But I am a feminist and I […]

Reblogging my post from the International Centre for Tax and Development: Taxation is important for development, not only because taxes provide the revenues to fund public services and infrastructure, but because they are a critical accountability link between governments and citizens. Regular headlines and report findings tell us that a major problem keeping poor countries […]

Copper is one of those unsung workhorses behind the wonders of the modern world. Its in the printed circuit board of your smart phone, in the wiring and plumbing embedded in the walls of your house, anywhere there is a motor or turbine whirring, from the biggest powerstation to the fan that stops your computer overheating […]

The Fair Tax Mark is a good idea. A clear benchmark for responsible practice in tax management would go a long way in providing clarity to the debate on tax and corporate responsibility. A consultation draft of the FTM criteria for UK based multinationals was released last week. It is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it open consultation period so […]

Tax is a serious topic. It is serious because because taxes pay for the infrastructure, security,  healthcare , education and social safety nets that our economies and our welfare depend on. It is serious because raising funds through general taxation rather than relying rely on aid or natural resource rents is what makes for accountable […]

Tax transparency has risen up the international agenda over the past few years. Last week G20 leaders took steps in backing international action, as campaigners called on them to ensure that African countries benefit from the global trade in oil, gas and minerals. The headline issue linking the two was transfer mispricing. Making a link […]

Amongst the projects I am working on at the moment is one for the Transparency and Accountability Initiative, helping them to update their Guide to Opening Government. There are lots of different definitions of open government, but a good  working definition is that; The public understands the workings of their government (‘transparency’) The public can hold the […]