“Tax evasion as a predicate offence for money laundering”

Magister Legum - LL

The ongoing fight against tax avoidance in the perspective of the EU legal system: from ATAD I to the proposal for an "Unshell Directive"

openThe purpose of the thesis is to go deep into the EU anti-tax avoidance legislation's formation process, from ATAD I to the proposal for ATAD III. The first chapter provides an overview of EU tax avoidance situation, highlighting the huge problem of the tax compliance gap, its implications, and the future steps in the EU Agenda to oppose the problem. In the second chapter is presented an historical excursus of EUCJ case law, starting from the concept of abus de droit, passing through the introduction of the first anti-avoidance measures in the directives and ending with an explanation of the main measures introduced by ATAD I and II. This chapter faces up also the concept of shell entity. Then, are identified the main indicators that could be implemented to quantify the number of existent letterbox companies, and the countries in which the phenomenon is more widespread. Furthermore, it is provided an analysis of the red flags that commonly characterized no-substance entities. Lastly, some MNEs' tax schemes are investigated as real examples of aggressive tax planning accomplished with the establishment of shell entities in European Tax Heaven. The third chapter introduces the scope and the contents of Unshell Directive proposal, going deep into substance test’s steps, and sharing experts’ opinions and doubts. Moreover, are analysed the reactions and the possible future impact of ATAD III in Luxembourg and Netherlands. To conclude, are provided some insights and final observations.The purpose of the thesis is to go deep into the EU anti-tax avoidance legislation's formation process, from ATAD I to the proposal for ATAD III. The first chapter provides an overview of EU tax avoidance situation, highlighting the huge problem of the tax compliance gap, its implications, and the future steps in the EU Agenda to oppose the problem. In the second chapter is presented an historical excursus of EUCJ case law, starting from the concept of abus de droit, passing through the introduction of the first anti-avoidance measures in the directives and ending with an explanation of the main measures introduced by ATAD I and II. This chapter faces up also the concept of shell entity. Then, are identified the main indicators that could be implemented to quantify the number of existent letterbox companies, and the countries in which the phenomenon is more widespread. Furthermore, it is provided an analysis of the red flags that commonly characterized no-substance entities. Lastly, some MNEs' tax schemes are investigated as real examples of aggressive tax planning accomplished with the establishment of shell entities in European Tax Heaven. The third chapter introduces the scope and the contents of Unshell Directive proposal, going deep into substance test’s steps, and sharing experts’ opinions and doubts. Moreover, are analysed the reactions and the possible future impact of ATAD III in Luxembourg and Netherlands. To conclude, are provided some insights and final observations

Media-elite interactions in post-authoritarian Indonesia

This thesis analyses media-elite interactions in post-authoritarian Indonesia. The introduction of legally guaranteed press freedom and democracy following President Suharto’s fall in 1998 changed the relationship between the media on the one hand and the political and business elite on the other. But what has been the significance of press freedom for elite politics? The argument of this thesis is that the politico-business elites have, to differing degrees, harnessed the concept of press freedom by incorporating the media as a political weapon in their power struggles over key positions in political institutions and over political resources. Crucially, the heterogeneous and mostly privately owned media companies positioned themselves as actors in the intra-elite contestations. Through a set of case studies on intra-elite power struggles that escalated into scandals, this thesis examines the ways in which the elite has integrated the media into those struggles, and analyses the vested interests of the owners and practitioners of the media in those struggles. Ultimately, it establishes two key points. First, the elite has employed scandal as a an opportunity to change the composition of a democratically elected government; and second, during those political scandals the owners or prominent editors of particular media organisations, either consciously or otherwise, have formed temporary coalitions with particular elite factions based on shared interests defined by structural conditions and personal relations. The dissertation’s focus on media-elite interactions is prompted by the lingering dominance of elites within Indonesia’s political economy, the domination of the media landscape by a small number of media conglomerates whose owners are either members of the politico-business elite themselves or linked to the latter in various forms, and, further, that the media have become important sites for intra-elite contestation over political power. By placing its analytical focus explicitly on the nature of the relationship between the commercial mainstream news media and the politico-business elite in times of intra-elite power struggles fought out in the public sphere, this approach moves away from media-centred investigations, normative concerns and liberal concepts as the dominant way of thinking about the media’s democratic functions

The Janus-Faces of Cross-Border Crime in Europe

Europe is changing rapidly, which may also have a bearing on its criminal landscape. This does not mean that all sorts of new crime are emerging: a large part of the crimes remains profit-oriented and is committed by known modus operandi. That is the old face of crime. Amidst the traditional landscape new faces of crime can be identified. The internet is such a new face which emerges among others in the sex industry. This is as old as the human race, with all the related abuses and exploitation. But the internet gives it also a new face because of its broad reach and related opportunities, negative as well as positive. This volume provides other examples of this two-faced Janus head of crime. Old criminal trades, such as the illegal cigarette market, synthetic drugs and criminal exploitation of human labour, but also new criminal specialisations, new professional and industrial skills developed by ‘old’ ethnic minorities on various crime markets in central Europe. Meanwhile, the on-going illegal migrations continue to exert their influence on the perception of crime: while the actual prevalence of most types of crime decreases, fear of crime continues to increase. The flow of migrants is unrelated to this outcome but it impacts nevertheless on the perception of crime. This volume of the 18th Cross-border Crime Colloquium, held in Bratislava in the spring of 2017, contains the peer-reviewed contributions of 22 European experts and up-and-coming researchers. Their chapters cover a broad field of crime in which the double faced Janus head can be discerned: illegal migrants, criminal markets, corruption, money laundering and organised crime, highlighting many new aspects

Inter-agency Cooperation and Good Tax Governance in Africa

In 2015, the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) and the African Tax Institute at the University of Pretoria launched a project to identify the links between corruption, money laundering and tax crimes in Africa. The project promotes the concepts of good tax governance and the importance to economic development of a tax system that is transparent and free of corruption. The project explores how law enforcement agencies and tax authorities can best cooperate to counter corruption and bribery. The project was initially aimed at three focus countries, namely, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa, but soon was extended to other African countries. This is a joint initiative with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and is also supported by the World Bank. This book brings together a series of background papers prepared for the Conference on Inter-Agency Co-operation and Good Tax Governance in Africa held at the University of Pretoria in July 2016. After a rigorous double peer-review process, the papers were revised by the authors. We express our gratitude to and acknowledge the services of the following peer reviewers: Tom Balco; Carika Fritz; Leon Gerber; Willem Jacobs; Benjamin Kujinga; Thabo Legwaila; Annet Oguttu; Dirk Scholtz; David Solomon; and Xeniya Yeroshenko. Finally, we express our sincere gratitude to all the research and administrative assistants who contributed to the Good Tax Governance in Africa Project. This book pays tribute to their efforts. Jeffrey Owens, Rick McDonell, Riël Franzsen and Jude Amos (Vienna and Pretoria, November 2017

The Global Risks Report 2016, 11th Edition

Now in its 11th edition, The Global Risks Report 2016 draws attention to ways that global risks could evolve and interact in the next decade. The year 2016 marks a forceful departure from past findings, as the risks about which the Report has been warning over the past decade are starting to manifest themselves in new, sometimes unexpected ways and harm people, institutions and economies. Warming climate is likely to raise this year's temperature to 1° Celsius above the pre-industrial era, 60 million people, equivalent to the world's 24th largest country and largest number in recent history, are forcibly displaced, and crimes in cyberspace cost the global economy an estimated US$445 billion, higher than many economies' national incomes. In this context, the Reportcalls for action to build resilience – the "resilience imperative" – and identifies practical examples of how it could be done.The Report also steps back and explores how emerging global risks and major trends, such as climate change, the rise of cyber dependence and income and wealth disparity are impacting already-strained societies by highlighting three clusters of risks as Risks in Focus. As resilience building is helped by the ability to analyse global risks from the perspective of specific stakeholders, the Report also analyses the significance of global risks to the business community at a regional and country-level

Making Transparency Possible

"Each year local and national economies throughout the world lose billions of dollars through so-called illicit financial flows. Conservative estimates indicate that over a billion dollars are diverted illegitimately out of countries in the Southern Hemisphere every year. This diversion of revenue reinforces poverty while facilitating the concentration of authority in the hands a select few through corruption and abuse of power. The authors’ objective with this book is to increase transparency in finance and global financial transactions. Understanding the phenomenon of illicit financial flows requires input from several disciplines including law, finance and economics, and much of what is known about illicit financial flows is thanks to whistleblowers and investigative journalists. This anthology highlights journalism about illicit, global financial activity from an interdisciplinary perspective. In conveying the experiences of whistleblowers and investigative journalists who have been involved with the Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Lux Leaks and Swiss Leaks, the contributing authors underscore the need for journalism students to also learn the basics of economics, finance and law if they are to be able to carry out investigative projects in an increasingly more globalized economy. In the first part of the book, investigative journalists describe their work to expose corruption and capital flight, and whistleblowers in some of the most significant cases tell their stories, while lawyers and accountants explain what needs to be done at the legislative level. In the second half of the book, analyses of revelations of corruption and illegitimate financial flows are presented. The authors explore themes including the value of investigative journalism, new journalistic methods, inadequate protections for whistleblowers and the education of investigative journalists. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned about illicit financial flows, but especially to journalists, journalism students and journalism instructors seeking an understanding of what it takes to reveal the mechanisms behind illicit, global flows of wealth."Hvert år tappes lokalsamfunn og stater over hele verden for milliarder av kroner på grunn av såkalt illegitim finansflyt. Forsiktige anslag indikerer at 10 milliarder kroner blir ført illegitimt ut av land i Sør hvert år. Skjulte finansstrømmer forsterker fattigdom samtidig som det legger til rette for at noen få holder seg ved makten gjennom korrupsjon og maktmisbruk. Forfatterne av denne boka ønsker å bidra til mer åpenhet om finans og globale finanstransaksjoner. For å forstå fenomenet illegetim finansflyt er det nødvendig med innspill fra flere fagfelt, som jus, finans og økonomi. Mye av det vi vet om skjulte finansstrømmer, vet vi takket være varslere og gravende journalister. Denne boka kaster lys over journalistikk om skjulte, globale finansstrømmer fra ulike fagdisiplinære perspektiv. Gjennom å lære av historiene til varslere og gravende journalister som har arbeidet med blant annet Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Lux Leaks og Swiss Leaks, viser forfatterne at journaliststudenter bør lære mer om både økonomi, finans og jus dersom de skal kunne gjennomføre graveprosjekter i en stadig mer global økonomi. I første del av boka forteller gravende journalister om arbeidet for å avsløre korrupsjon og finansflukt. Varslere i noen av de mest kjente sakene forteller sin historie, mens advokater og revisorer forklarer hva som må gjøres med lovverket. Den andre delen av boka består av analyser av korrupsjonsavsløringer og illegitim finansflyt. Forfatterne belyser tema som verdien av gravejournalistikk, nye journalistiske metoder, mangelfull beskyttelse av varslere og utdanning av gravejournalister. Denne boka passer for alle som er interesserte i illegitim finansflyt, men passer spesielt for journalister, journaliststudenter og journalistikklærere som ønsker å forstå hva som trengs for å avdekke mekanismene i skjulte, globale finansstrømmer