Dec 16, 2024
IRS criminal referrals to US prosecutors hit a 40-year low in 2024
New data shows agents sent fewer cases for prosecution, compounding concerns the tax agency is taking an overly soft stance toward the wealthiest taxpayers.
Inequality
Aug 29, 2024
Under industry pressure, IRS division blocked agents from using new law to stop wealthy tax dodgers
High-powered tax attorneys bemoaned the 2010 legislation meant to crack down on big-dollar tax shelters. They ended up writing parts of an IRS directive that essentially undid it.
Jul 31, 2024
US, Germany key holdouts as G20 nations push for a plan to tax world’s billionaires
Calls for a global minimum tax rate for the ultrarich were stymied at a meeting of the world’s top finance leaders in Brazil.
Jun 28, 2024
Top economist pitches global billionaire tax to G20 finance leaders
The coordinated push would tax the world’s ultrarich 2% of their wealth annually, and could generate $250 billion in revenue for governments per year, according to a new report.
Jun 11, 2024
How the IRS went soft on billionaires and corporate tax cheats
Newly obtained data shows the IRS division that audits corporations and the ultrarich flagged no more than 22 possible tax crimes over the past five years — roughly 40 times fewer criminal referrals than from the unit covering small businesses.
Apr 03, 2024
How investment firms shield the ultrawealthy from the IRS
An ICIJ investigation examining hundreds of leaked tax forms offers a glimpse into the huge challenges the U.S. agency faces in tackling the favorite new global investment vehicles of the world's most wealthy.
Mar 19, 2024
New data shows IRS’s 10-year struggle to investigate tax crimes
The number of cases the wider U.S. tax agency refers to its criminal unit has plummeted.
Feb 21, 2024
Inside the IRS unit taking on America’s millionaires and billionaires
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is seeking to use an infusion of funding to keep up with the ever-evolving tax maneuvers of the ultra-rich — while staving off frequent political attacks.
Jul 07, 2022
ICIJ unveils plan to expand global network and tell stories that rock the world
With a bold new logo and a reinvigorated focus on innovative, technology-led journalism, ICIJ plans to broaden its network and its storytelling to new frontiers.
Jan 28, 2022
From Banksy to Picasso, offshore world awash in valuable art
The Pandora Papers reveal more than 1,600 works of art secretly traded through tax havens.
Jul 06, 2021
American oligarchs: Report details how the wealthiest US dynasties hoard their fortunes – and accelerate inequality
A new analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies points to the harms of rising consolidated wealth, and ways to make the rich shoulder their fair share of the tax burden.
Jun 21, 2021
Watch: SXSW panel discusses money laundering, inequality and ‘enablers of misery’
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists hosted a discussion on the global financial industry and the loopholes exploited by wrongdoers.
Jun 01, 2021
How the world’s richest defend their wealth, with help from a dedicated industry
Author and scholar Chuck Collins offers an insider's account of the ‘wealth defense industry’ and the inequality it perpetuates in his new book, “The Wealth Hoarders.”
Apr 29, 2021
US tax plan proposes massive overhaul to audit high earners and corporations for tax evasion
The Biden administration says that investing $80 billion to beef up IRS enforcement will pay for itself by recouping a projected $700 billion over the next decade.
Apr 01, 2021
Five ways Biden could crack down on dirty money and financial secrecy
Riding a wave of anti-money laundering momentum, will the U.S. president from Delaware deliver on his pledges to tackle tax havens and make the wealthy pay more?
Mar 10, 2021
Wealthy countries that set global tax rules are biggest enablers of corporate tax abuse, report finds
Tax Justice Network ranks OECD members and British overseas territories highest in its 2021 corporate tax haven index, advocating for the UN to set standards instead.
Jan 19, 2021
2021 may see tax reforms to address COVID-19, environmental challenges, and more
Governments and international bodies seek to fill massive deficits as billionaires and multinational corporations have seen their wealth grow during the ongoing pandemic.
Dec 14, 2017
Paradise Papers Research Raises Questions Over Glencore’s $440m Congo Discount
How did Glencore manage to get a $440m discount - the equivalent to a year's education budget - in the Congo?
Nov 14, 2017
Wealth inequality ‘crisis’ as richest 1 percent account for half the world’s wealth
Global inequality has worsened since the millennium, with a new report finding the richest 1 percent account for half of the world’s wealth.
Nov 07, 2017
Canadians In Paradise Papers Will Be Investigated: Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told parliament he is "committed to fighting tax evasion and tax avoidance."
Nov 05, 2017
Justin Trudeau’s chief fundraiser linked to offshore tax maneuvers
Long-standing offshore ties of the Liberal Party moneyman and his famous family provide jarring contrast to Canadian prime minister’s campaign for tax fairness.
Sep 13, 2017
7 charts that show how the rich hide their cash
These charts show which countries have the most wealth offshore and what that means for inequality.
Jun 27, 2016
Panama Papers source offers data to governments, hints at more
Source known only as John Doe says income inequality "one of the defining issues of our time" and calls on government to address it. Image: NDR
May 06, 2016
Panama Papers Source Offers Documents To Governments, Hints At More To Come
The anonymous whistleblower behind the Panama Papers has conditionally offered to make the documents available to government authorities.