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Articles on Dark Money

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A photo from a demonstration calling for police accountability and an end to police brutality in Vancouver, in May 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Public police are a greedy institution

The greedy tendencies of police departments help illustrate why public police funding is a major problem today in Canada and the United States.
These Iowan supporters of Steve Bullock may hope he’ll make good on promises to get ‘dark money’ out of politics. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

What is ‘dark money’? 5 questions answered

A law professor explains political disclosure laws, how donors get around them – and what to do about it.
Customers don’t expect their banking documents to be found in a gutter on the other side of the country, let alone have the bank blame them. Dave Hunt/AAP

Another day, another scandal: CBA blames customers for identity theft

One bank customer whose identity was stolen asks: ‘Why didn’t they call the fraud squad, or the police?’ It’s a very good question.
The Netherlands is where nearly $1 billion from Australia was sunk into two companies liquidated three years later. Alex de Haas/flickr

Bottom of the canal: Pfizer’s billion-dollar tax ploy

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has engaged in a series of paper transactions to create a A$936 million loss in Australia – effectively a billion-dollar exercise in avoiding tax.
New Zealand shows up Australia as badly in the field of pharmaceuticals as it does on the rugby field. Dave Hunt/AAP

New Zealand steamrolls Australia on the pharmaceutical paddock too

Drug prices in Australia are three times higher than in New Zealand. A key reason is the lack of transparency about taxpayer subsidies for Big Pharma and the companies’ own finances.
Despite global outrage at the cost of its Hepatitis C cure, Gilead reaps huge profits – aided by Australian taxpayer subsidies. Nick St Charles/flickr

Gilead and the billion-dollar odyssey

How much can a multinational take before its social licence to operate in this country expires? How much corporate welfare is too much?
The Senate Inquiry into Corporate Tax Avoidance has helped expose just how much work remains to be done on the multinational tax front. Julian Smith/AAP

Rumours of the death of multinational tax avoidance are greatly exaggerated

The Australian government took out ads this month boasting of victory in the fight against multinational tax avoidance. It is no small irony that taxpayers forked out for this bald-faced lie.
NSW Business Chamber chief executive Stephen Cartwright (pictured right with Malcolm Turnbull) says the chamber is ‘fiercely non-political’. Dan Himbrechts/AAP

No flies on Australia’s richest union

The NSW Business Chamber insists that arguing against entitlements for low-paid workers and victims of domestic violence qualifies as a charitable exercise.
Wotif is one of a slew of formerly competitive rivals bought up by Expedia. Dan Peled/AAP

Tax take shrinks as online accommodation agents rake it in

Australian authorities have allowed predatory online travel agents to shrink their tax base while penalising Australian accommodation operators thanks to onerous commissions and vanishing competition
Gautam Adani’s company is in line to get an extraordinary helping hand from Malcolm Turnbull’s government to develop the Carmichael coal mine. Mick Tsikas/AAP

Report: government won’t rule out underwriting Adani’s Carmichael coal mine

If the government were to provide loan insurance or loan guarantees, the banks might be more inclined to fund Adani. Taxpayers would then be at risk for the estimated $10 billion in project finance.
Senior ATO officials, including Commissioner of Taxation Chris Jordan, have given evidence to the inquiry. It has heard that completely transferable tax credits mean oil and gas companies won’t pay tax for many years. Mick Tsikas/AAP

Senate inquiry told zero tax or royalties paid on Australia’s biggest new gas projects

The Senate Inquiry into Corporate Tax Avoidance has heard stunning evidence about the failure of the tax and royalties system to capture any of the billions being generated by new projects.
Tech billionaire Sean Parker and his wife Alexandra Lenas Parker are among today’s youngest and most ambitious donors. Rich Fury/Invision/AP Photo

Should the giving styles of the rich and famous alarm us all?

In ‘The Givers,’ author David Callahan warns that today’s mega-rich philanthropists wield too much political clout. He may be exaggerating their power and lowballing the public’s own strength.

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