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Tax avoidance | Powering the Belt and Road

Posted by: The Conversation Global

Date: Monday, 07 October 2019

 

Editor's note

Tax havens are an unfortunate feature of the global financial system. They enable multinational companies to avoid paying billions in taxes, money which would otherwise pay for important public services like roads, schools and hospitals. In fact, around US$420 billion in corporate profits is shifted out of 79 countries every year according to new research by Miroslav Palansky. He explains how this happens and how it contributes to rising inequality both within countries and across the world.

Since 2013, when the Belt and Road Initiative was launched, China has invested US$90 billion in the partner countries. The Chinese initiative aims to develop infrastructure in 126 countries, and to boost trade in Indonesia, Western Europe, the Middle East, and East Africa. This could help raise living standards, but it could also come with an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. New research published by Kathryn G Logan, Shi Chen, and Xi Lu, shows that the BRI region has huge potential for generating solar power, and this could allow for economic growth without increasing carbon emissions.

Annabel Bligh

Business + Economy Editor, The Conversation UK

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