Taxing Crime

Taxing Crime: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Fighting Corruption, Money Laundering, and Tax Crimes examines how tax audits and investigations can lead to uncovering white-collar crime and how investigations of corruption can, in turn, lead to prosecutions of tax evasion or recovery of unpaid taxes. Prepared jointly by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) and the Global Tax Policy Center at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law, Vienna University of Economics and Business, this report offers analysis, case studies, examples of legal and operational frameworks, and recommendations that policy makers can use to enhance cooperation between tax authorities and law enforcement agencies at the national and international levels. This study is designed to serve as a reference and source of advocacy for policy makers, but it may be useful to other practitioners as well, including law enforcement offi cials, investigating magistrates, and prosecutors. Specifically, chapters present strategic considerations for establishing communication channels between tax and criminal investigative agencies; suggestions for combining tax and financial crime prosecution as part of an interagency asset recovery strategy; and approaches to developing interagency information exchange at the regional and international levels. It concludes with recommendations on ways to enhance the roles of both the tax authorities in combating money laundering and corruption and of the law enforcement authorities in recovering the proceeds of tax crimes. • Chapter 1 provides an introduction. • Chapter 2 presents strategic considerations for establishing information exchange channels between tax and criminal investigative agencies. • Chapter 3 explains how to combine tax and financial crime prosecution as part of an interagency asset recovery strategy. • Chapter 4 discusses approaches to developing interagency information exchange at the regional and international levels. • Chapter 5 provides recommendations for future efforts to enhance the role of tax authorities in supporting efforts to combat money laundering and corruption, and the role of law enforcement authorities in the recovery of proceeds of tax crimes. • The appendix contains case studies that illustrate effective interagency cooperation, including at the international level.

First published in 2017, Fighting Tax Crime - The Ten Global Principles is the first comprehensive guide to fighting tax crimes. It sets out ten essential principles covering the legal, institutional, administrative, and operational aspects necessary for developing an efficient and effective system for identifying, investigating and prosecuting tax crimes, while respecting the rights of accused taxpayers.

The fallout from the financial crisis of 2007-8, HSBC Suisse in 2015, and the Panama Papers in 2016 has generated calls for far more vigorous and punitive responses to tax evasion and greater international co-operation against mechanisms for giving anonymity to the ownership of property. One mechanism to ensure compliance is the use of the criminal justice system. The announcement in 2013 by the then Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, of a policy of increasing rates of prosecution for tax evasion raised squarely the issue of whether increased involvement of criminal law and criminal justice in tax evasion would be justifiable or not. The relationship between tax evasion and the proceeds of crime is taking on increasing importance: treating the 'proceeds of criminal tax evasion' as falling within the 'proceeds of crime' regime inevitably expands the scope of both. In this book, Peter Alldridge considers the development of the offences and the relationship between tax evasion offences and other criminal offences; the relevant rules of evidence; prosecution structures, decision-making processes, and alternatives to prosecution. Specific topics include offshore evasion and the relationship of tax evasion with other crimes and aspects of the criminal justice system. A topical and lively discussion of a heated debate.

Offshore reveals how the vast network of unregulated financial centers—from Luxemburg to the Cayman islands to the tiny Pacific haven of Nauru— amount to a nether realm of drug and arms trade profits, enormous private accounts, and multinational corporate financial holdings. Delving into the scandals, the financial structure, and the history of this hidden side of globalization, sociologist Alain Deneault depicts something larger and more ominous than simple “tax havens” where financial elites and corporations must reside X days out of every calendar year to protect their earnings. Instead, Offshore describes a global base of operations from which massive criminal enterprises and corrupt corporations operate freely and with impunity, menacing developing nations and advanced democracies alike.

Tax Crimes, now in it's Second Edition, covers both the substantive and procedural issues involved in the investigation, prosecution, and defense of criminal tax cases. The book begins with an overview of the criminal tax system and the personnel involved followed by the elements of the numerous crimes for which a defendant may be charged, focusing on key aspects such as willfulness. Next, the book covers how tax cases are investigated, including the most common steps from a civil tax examination through indictment. These chapters examine the tools the Government has at its disposal to obtain information, as well as the defenses a person under investigation may assert. The book then turns to trial and sentencing issues, including the ethical issues and collateral consequences that arise in the investigation and litigation of criminal tax cases. Finally, the book provides a review of the criminal tax system, allowing the reader to put all the foregoing concepts together, with a special emphasis on practical tips for handling these complex and exciting cases. Each chapter closes with a practical problem designed to highlight some of the key issues addressed in the cases and materials. The problems are based on situations encountered in practice or found in decided cases and many of them require analysis of a given set of facts to first determine and then resolve the critical issues.

The Canadian edition of The Little Black Book of Scams is a compact and easy to use reference guide filled with information Canadians can use to protect themselves against a variety of common scams. It debunks common myths about scams, provides contact information for reporting a scam to the correct authority, and offers a step-by-step guide for scam victims to reduce their losses and avoid becoming repeat victims. Consumers and businesses can consult The Little Black Book of Scams to avoid falling victim to social media and mobile phone scams, fake charities and lotteries, dating and romance scams, and many other schemes used to defraud Canadians of their money and personal information.