A new guide that looks into the historical causes of rampant tax fraud and tax evasion is being launched today by the GUE/NGL.

Written by MEP Miguel Viegas (PCP, Portugal),  the 16-page study, ‘How We Got Here – A historical perspective on tax fraud and tax evasion’ argues that financial liberalisation that began in the 1980s allowed multinationals to develop and evolve their business models by separating the finance from the production side.

This decoupling gave rise to the crucial role played by tax havens in these multinationals’ aggressive tax planning – many of which like Apple and Amazon have gained notoriety for their tax tricks, just as citizens grapple with austerity and the fight for tax justice.

Commenting on the study and citing the malign neoliberal crusade by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, Viegas said:

“I strongly believe that in order to combat tax evasion and fraud, we must understand the framework of economic and financial liberalisation that began in the 1980s with the emergence of the Washington Consensus.”

This study marks the latest in a series of GUE/NGL-commissioned reports looking into tax evasion and tax justice encompassing the role of the Big Four accountancy firms, Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), the EU’s Tax Treaties with Developing Countries, the troubling EU-Mercosur trade deal, Apple’s tax dodging and the Panama Papers. All of our studies can be found online here.

You can read more of the coverage here and by visiting our special website on tax justice.