Welcome to the geography of tax avoidance
International investment flows are often concentrated in countries with relatively small economies. Why? Welcome to the world of tax avoidance. Mailbox companies. We have all heard of them and know they are used by large corporations to avoid paying taxes. This publication and accompanying website tells the story of just how much money is involved, which countries this money flows through, and who pays the bill.
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SOMO has developed a new story that visualises bilateral investments of European countries. A new comparison between UNCTAD and IMF data illustrates the scale of tax avoidance through mailbox companies and selected tax havens. Long read…
Mozambique’s tax treaty network is depriving the country of hundreds of millions of US dollars in tax revenue each year, particularly through its treaties with Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Seventy percent of…
Shell announced it made a record, eye-watering, $39.9 billion profits in 2022, as the world is facing multiple global crises. Analysis of Shell’s tax transparency reports over the past several years show that a substantial…
On October 13th 2022, FMO published the final version of its Position Statement on Impact and ESG for Financial Intermediaries (FI statement). As civil society groups which have engaged with FMO on this topic for…
In a new Position Statement on Financial Intermediary (FI) Lending, Dutch development bank FMO argues for limited responsibility over the outcomes of investments that are channeled through commercial banks, investment funds, and other financial intermediaries,…
Together with Follow the Money, SOMO investigated how pension funds are disposing of their investments in Russian bonds and shares. A month ago, PFZW (one of the biggest Dutch pension funds) and other pension funds…
The largest gas company in the world, Gazprom, has at least sixteen Dutch subsidiaries in Amsterdam, SOMO-research finds. The Russian state-owned company falls outside the current sanction rules, which means that Gazprom’s Dutch letterbox companies…
