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This study aims to assess the pattern and prevalence of intrafirm activities in foreign exchange transactions of foreign affiliates in the manufacturing sector in India. The related-party foreign transactions of selected foreign affiliates are analysed for two years, and the shares of financial payments directed to tax haven locations are identified to appraise the vulnerability of these outflow transactions to potential risk of corporate tax avoidance. A majority of foreign exchange earnings and expense transactions were found to be conducted within firms. The major part of intrafirm payments for the key expenditure types was made to various tax haven locations having different levels of tax avoidance risk. Close to half of all expense payments were traced to tax havens, with several firms reporting predominant shares of intrafirm import, financial or services payments linked to certain significant tax havens. The data indicate active involvement of foreign affiliates in India in the use of tax havens for foreign expense transfers, which could be motivated by tax avoidance aims. This tendency is noted to be high for specific channels such as services, interest payments and other miscellaneous transactions, suggesting that these channels may be used for transfer mispricing and tax avoidance strategies by foreign- affiliated firms. Keywords: corporate tax, foreign direct investment, foreign affiliate, intrafirm trade, intrafirm transaction, multinational corporation, manufacturing sector, tax avoidance, tax haven, JEL classification codes: F14, F21, F23, H25, H26 1. Introduction The global production and trade operations of multinational corporations (MNCs) are largely characterized by within-firm transactions between their affiliated branch [...]

In recent years, Australian tax justice campaigners have increasingly focused their efforts on the issue of tax avoidance by corporations operating in Australia. This article analyses the Australian tax justice campaign and explains its role in propelling the issue of corporate tax avoidance onto the public agenda. Drawing on campaign documents, media reporting, and interviews, we analyse the contributions of the key civil society actors and how they framed the Australian campaign. We show that the campaign encompassed a coalition of diverse groups that harnessed the 2014–15 Federal Budget to frame the issue as a 'revenue problem'. They espoused an interest-based narrative to localise the campaign to resonate with the Australian public, helping make corporate tax avoidance a prominent national debate. Despite its initial strong rejection, the Australian Government adopted the activists' framing of the issue as one of revenue raising and went on to address significant corporate tax loopholes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the complexity of transnational corporations (TNCs) grew in the post-war period, their effective degree of disclosure diverged from what is standardly expected of single-country Arms. Country-by-country reporting is the key proposal to reestablish appropriate TNC disclosure, and ultimately TNC accountability--and as such, has been consistently resisted by many TNCs, professional services Arms and some key headquarters countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. This paper charts two main waves of pressure for progress. The first, most visible from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, reflects the claims of the New International Economic Order and the rise of the G77 group of countries, while the second saw international civil society take a leading role. The current phase sees these two impulses combine and may finally deliver meaningful progress. The paper addresses both the political underpinnings and the developing technical component to the claims for deeper TNC disclosure, ultimately shaped into the pursuit of an international standard for public, country-by-country reporting-- and the resistance to it. The paper also provides illustrative results based on the existing country-by-country reporting data for banks. It concludes with a discussion of the prospects for country-by-country reporting. Keywords: Corporate accountability, country-by-country reporting, TNC disclosure, Sustainable Development Goals, tax avoidance, tax havens, 1. Introduction The story of country-by-country reporting (sometimes referred to as CbCR) is the story of the search for equal accountability for transnational corporations (TNCs) and domestic companies--an attempt to [...]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to point out that tax fraud, recognized as a scourge by both governments and responsible tax-payers, hits public finances hard with an inevitable knock-on effect on general welfare. Based on this observation, key players interviewed for this paper, including magistrates, a trade unionist and a high-ranking official, will attempt to provide some possible solutions to help understand why significant sections of public opinion consider this very particular form of financial crime to be legitimate, largely inspired by the notion that tax fraud and evasion are socially acceptable and even seen as a national sport in certain countries. Design/methodology/approach – The survey was carried out among 20 tax officials, a trade unionist, two magistrates and a high-ranking civil servant. The interviewees were carefully chosen for their ability to provide valuable insights into the reasons behind the lenient treatment of fraudsters by a state lacking the necessary means and structures to fight this crime. Findings – The fight against tax fraud has clearly sparked numerous controversies around evaluation, scope, criminal perpetrators and cooperation between services. Social implications – Tax fraud, an offence committed with the aim of avoiding taxation or reducing the amount of tax to be paid, ranges from low-level illegal activity, such as undeclared work to make ends meet, to more serious offences, such as value-added tax carousel fraud. All the unpaid tax resulting from such blatant flouting of the law represent a serious loss of revenue for the state and local authorities. Originality/value – The fight against tax fraud is crucial in determining taxpayers’ acceptance of the contribution required for state expenditure and investment. In a country such as France, where tax fraud is almost a national sport, combating this scourge will help restore the state’s budgetary sovereignty by making it central to people’s concerns about redistributive justice, tax equality and fair access to public goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jens Martens argues for global tax justice and eco-social fiscal reforms in order to reverse the lives of poverty of many millions of people whose living standards would improve noticeably through increased government expenditure on public education and health care, active social policies, and additional state in vestments in public infrastructure. He calls for more pressure exerted by civil society groups to combat the powerful lobbyists acting on behalf of the wealthy and the transnational corporations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]