Abstract
This chapter introduces the issue of tax avoidance, a problem produced by the tax system itself when it begins to distinguish between different categories of taxpayers. Tax avoidance becomes an international problem when taxpayers utilise the variance that exists between different national tax regimes to reduce their total tax obligation. After unpacking the terms involved, the chapter provides a brief historical context to situate the current issues of concern, which are exemplified in the public consciousness by the Panama Papers. The fact that measures to address tax avoidance are crafted in the Global North, for the benefit of their economies, is highlighted to emphasise that tax avoidance is yet another instance where global governance is established to satisfy the demands of the powerful states.
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Notes
- 1.
See http://www.oecd.org/ctp/glossaryoftaxterms.htm (last accessed 18 July 2017).
- 2.
See http://www.oecd.org/ctp/treaties/model-tax-convention-on-income-and-on-capital-2015-full-version-9789264239081-en.htm (last accessed 27 July 2017).
- 3.
For example, see http://www.oecd.org/tax/beps-about.htm (last accessed 22 September 2017).
- 4.
See http://www.oecd.org/tax/transparency/ (last accessed 3 August 2017).
- 5.
See the website for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) at https://www.icij.org/ (last accessed 3 August 2017).
- 6.
See http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=tax-avoidance (last accessed 18 July 2017).
- 7.
The payment of outstanding federal US corporate income tax will now be made following the passage of the new US tax legislation in December 2017.
- 8.
These structures can be quite intricate; please explore the Offshore Leaks Database at the ICIJ website for examples, https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/.
- 9.
See http://www.oecd.org/tax/beps-about.htm (last accessed 22 September 2017).
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Vlcek, W. (2019). Tax Avoidance. In: Shaw, T.M., Mahrenbach, L.C., Modi, R., Yi-chong, X. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary International Political Economy. Palgrave Handbooks in IPE. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-45443-0_22
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