Tax+Justice+Network

=Introduction= Tax Justice Network (TJN) is an international non-governmental organization committed to promoting tranparency in international finance, tax compliance and opposes tax evasion, tax avoidance and secrecy jurisdictions, such as tax havens. The network consists of a various group of economists, tax and financial professionals, writers and other individuals interested in the topic of tax and tax justice. Notable members of the network include for example the network’s director John Christensen, journalist and writer of the book //Treasure Islands,// Nicholas Shaxson and professor Prem Sikka. At the moment the network is active in several countries, for example the UK, the Nordic countries, Canada and the Netherlands.

TJN's four founding objectives are

1. Raising awareness about of offshore finance. 2. Promoting links between parties interested in tax around the world, specially developing countries. 3. Stimulating research and debate. 4. supporting campaign activities globally.

=Origins=

John Christensen (2005) writes in //Tax avoidance, Tax Havens and the Genesis of the Tax Justice Network// that TJN was formed as a consequence of the interest of separate individuals and meetings at the European Social Forum in the autumn of 2002 and the World Social Forum in January 2003. The official founding was in March 2003. Christensen (2005) writes that in the absence of political will to fight tax avoidance global civil society started to organize itself in order to to fight for tax justice.

=Tax Justice Network's core themes=

1. Supporting sustainable finance for development: Developing countries suffer most from tax havens. The network states that one of their long-term goals is to replace foreign aid with tax self-sufficiency. 2. Supporting international co-operation on tax, regulation and crime: States cannot fight global challenges alone. International cooperation is a chance to strenghten national systems and fight tax evasion and havens, 3. Opposing tax havens and offshore finance: Tax havens and offshore finance are harmful structures that pose an interface between illicit and licit economies and cause harm. The network’s goal is to remove tax havens and strutctures that create these mechanisms. 4. Supporting transparency and opposing corruption: Through higher transparency we will have better functioning market enviroments and decrease crimes such as embezzlement. Tax must be brought to the center of the corruption debate. 5. The demand for equal opportunities, a ”level playing field” for business by securing a tax avoidance free enviroment. 6. Th e demand for a comprehensive, multi-layered and progressive tax system: people must be taxed according to income. Different taxes, such as income and corporate tax, have their own role and should be included in tax systems. 7. Supporting corporate responsibility and accountability: Tax should be emphasized as a part of corporate responsibility, which should be visible in for example companies’ reporting and conduct. 8. Promoting a culture of tax compliance and responsibility.

=Selected Activities=

//The Price of Offshore and The Price of Offshore Revisited//
In 2005 the Tax Justice Network published the paper //The Price of Offshore// where they estimated the value of assets stored in offshore finance centers. The value of the assets was between 11 and 12 trillion dollars, which the network considered a conservative estimate. The income coming from these could be even 860 billion dollars annually. The amount of tax lost due to this was estimated to be 255 billion dollars, when the average tax rate was considered to be 30 percent.

In 2012 the Tax Justice Network published John S. Henry’s study //The Price of Offshore Revisited.// Aims of the study were to give new estimates, shed light on the world economies ‘black holes’ and establishing a more open and collaborative model for research.

Henry found that the amount of merely the financial wealth stored in offshore jurisdictions was estimated to be between 21 and 32 trillion dollars. (Henry 2012, 5) Other crucial findings in the report were the impact of tax evasion for the developing countries, which was considered the loss of 120-160 billion dollars of tax revenue per year(Henry 2012, 19) and the role of banks in managing this secrecy(Henry 2012, 43).

//Financial Secrecy Index//
In 2009 the Tax Justice Network published their index concerning financial secrecy which aimed to be a new kind of index for corruption. Nicholas Shaxson writes in his book //Treasure Islands (2011)// that the index ranked jurisdictions according to the secrecy facilities they offer and economic activities they take part in. According to Shaxson noteworthy was that many of the countries considered least corrupted proved to be less transparent.

The index has since been updated and the latest was released on the 7th of November, 2013. The top 3 jurisdictions in 2013 were Switzerland, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.

=Influence=

Since the founding of the Tax Justice Network, tax has risen into the interest of the general public and various governments through such activist forces as UK Uncut. In the Tax Justice blog the network claims credit for creating an intellectual framework and platform for discussion together with its associates, thus influencing the current flourishing debate on tax and tax justice. The network itself is seen as one of the most influential commentators about tax justice and it’s publications frequently cited in various studies and articles concerning tax havens. The network's influence has been noted also in the media: for example, an article published in 2011 the Guardian called director John Christensen the “unlikely figurehead of a worldwide campaign against tax avoidance”.


 * Further reading:**

[|TJN's website] [|The Tax Justice Blog]