Tax avoidance: The hidden cost

BBC Radio 4 has produced a great documentary about aggressive tax behaviour of multinational firms. It is based on an impressive amount of research and interviews and describes not just how multinationals reduce their tax bill, but also how this distorts competition with other companies. In the documentary, I discuss the Dutch conduit structure of Google that allows billions of profits to end up in Bermuda. An extended version of the documentary includes interviews with Zambia’s vice-president and a former  director of Mongolia’s finance ministry. You can listen to the short version, broadcast on 28 April 2013 (Google structure at 20:00) here and to the extended version here.

Photo: BBC Radio 4