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22 UNU-WIDER articles, publications, projects, experts...
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Working Paper
The end of Londongrad? The impact of beneficial ownership transparency on offshore investment in UK propertyThe United Kingdom’s (UK) property markets are thought to be a common destination for corrupt and criminal assets and money laundering, with investment often through offshore shell companies...
Money laundering Real property OwnershipWorking Paper
Herding, rent-seeking taxpayers, and endemic corruptionIn an environment with extensive corruption where much of the population evades paying their full taxes due, we tackle the question of optimal taxation when constituencies with opposing objectives (the poor and the rich) push tax policy in different ...
Tax evasion Corruption Rent-seekingWorking Paper
So close and yet so far: the ability of mandatory disclosure rules to crack down on offshore tax evasionWe study the short-term effect of the introduction of the mandatory disclosure programme for aggressive tax arrangements by focusing on the one introduced in May 2018 under Council Directive 2018/288/EU (or DAC6)...
Tax evasion Income under-reporting RegulationWorking Paper
Revealing 21 per cent of GDP in hidden assets: Evidence from Argentina’s tax amnestiesThis paper studies the effectiveness of tax amnesties and their impacts on capital taxation and public spending...
Tax evasion Argentina TaxationWorking Paper
Countering global oil theft: responses and solutionsThis second of two papers on global oil theft discusses ways to reduce oil theft, misappropriation, and fraud. At US$133 billion per year, oil is the largest stolen natural resource globally, while fuel is the most smuggled natural resource...
Oil Fuel CorruptionWorking Paper
Global oil theft: impact and policy responsesThis paper, the first of two on global oil theft and fraud, discusses the prevalence, methods, and consequences of global oil theft, valued at US$133 billion per year and equivalent to 5–7 per cent of the global market for crude oil and petrole...
Oil Fuel CorruptionWorking Paper
The tax-price elasticity of offshore tax avoidance: Evidence from Ecuadorian transaction dataThis study leverages a unique data set on the universe of transactions exiting the Ecuadorian economy to estimate the tax-price elasticity of demand for tax-sheltering activities using offshore fiscal havens...
Tax evasion Tax avoidance Tax havensBlog
How global tax dodging costs lives: New research shows a direct link to increased death ratesTax abuse is an expensive business. According to a recent report by the Tax Justice Network, avoiding or evading tax deprives governments across the world of around US$427 billion (£302 billion) every year...
Tax evasion Tax avoidance Human rightsJournal Article
Are less developed countries more exposed to multinational tax avoidance?: Method and Evidence from Micro-DataThis study uses a global dataset with information about 210,000 corporations in 142 countries to investigate whether tax avoidance by multinational firms is more prevalent in less-developed countries...
International business enterprises Tax evasion TaxationWorking Paper
Income under-reporting and tax evasion: How they impact inequality in VietnamPersonal income tax is attracting more attention from the Vietnamese government, which has been looking for a way to reinforce its budget revenue...
Income inequality Income under-reporting Permanent incomeBlog
Too late, too little? The IMF and international tax flight
When key decision makers of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gather in Washington DC for the IMF’s annual meeting in October, one thing that would merit more attention is the mismatch between the IMF’s recent alignments against inter...
Internation Monetary Fund OECD Tax avoidanceWorking Paper
Policy diffusion within international organizations: A bottom-up analysis of International Monetary Fund tax work in Panama, Seychelles, and the NetherlandsI analyse the evolution of the International Monetary Fund tax policy advice in three countries commonly used for tax evasion or avoidance: Panama, Seychelles, and the Netherlands...
Internation Monetary Fund OECD Tax avoidanceIn the media
Study on global tax avoidance garners worldwide attentionA new WIDER Working Paper has brought attention around the world to government revenue loss from tax avoidance. The study finds that, globally, low- and lower middle-income countries are hit the hardest; in terms of regions, losses are most intense...
Tax evasion Profit shiftingBlog
Capital flight from developing countries – what is it, how is it measured, and what have we learned?Many worry that developing countries lose a substantial amount of money via capital flight, that is, outflows of cash and securities — part of which can also be illegal...
Capital Tax evasion TaxationWorking Paper
Deflecting my burden, hindering redistribution: How elites influence tax legislation in Latin AmericaThis paper proposes to understand a singular but salient factor that enables the wealthy to deflect their tax burden downwards: elites’ political leverage to shape legislation via their capacity to influence political actors and policy outcomes...
Equality and inequality Revenue Tax evasionBlog
Multinational Tax Avoidance in Developing CountriesIn recent years many global firms—including Starbucks, Google, and Amazon—have come under fire for avoiding paying taxes in one country by shifting their profits to a country with lower tax rates...
International business enterprises Tax evasion Taxation