In the media
Study on global tax avoidance garners worldwide attention

A new WIDER Working Paper has brought attention around the world to government revenue loss from tax avoidance. The study finds that, globally, low- and lower middle-income countries are hit the hardest; in terms of regions, losses are most intense in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia. 

•    Tax losses in Chad exceeded all of the taxes collected in the country in 2013
•    Pakistan tax losses equivalent to 40% of taxes collected
•    Zambia losses exceeded 4% of GDP

Within a day of its release, the study was featured in the Guardian, the Sydney Morning Herald, Yahoo! News, AOL News, Paginá 12, and various other local publications. 

The paper is poised to make an important contribution to the broader understanding of corporate tax evasion globally and by country. Authors Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network and Petr Jansky of Charles University re-estimate the model developed by International Monetary Fund researchers – often considered the most comprehensive study to date – and draw on data from the ICTD–WIDER Government Revenue Dataset in their analysis. 

The study, published in partnership with the International Centre for Tax and Development, is part of the WIDER Working Paper series. 

Read the articles

Aol, 22 March 2017: ‘Countries 'losing £400bn in taxes a year to profit shifting'’.

The Guardian, 23 March 2017: ‘Profit-shifting by multinationals costs Australia $6bn a year, research shows’.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 March 2017: ‘Australia loses almost $8 billion a year from multinational profit-shifting: study’.

Yahoo!News, 23 March 2017: ‘Profit-shifting by multinationals costs Australia $6bn a year, research shows’.

Página 12, 23 March 2017: ‘Multis en Argentina, líderes en evasión’ (‘Multinationals in Argentina, leaders in tax evasion’).

The Huffington Post, 25 April 2017: ‘Here is what tax reform we actually need would look like’.

Index, 26 April 2017: ‘Magyarország nyer a globális adóelkerülésen’ (‘Hungary tops global tax evasion’).

The Conversation, 1 May 2017: ‘Conversation avec Laurence Nayman : où vont les profits des multinationales?’ (‘Conversation with Laurence Nayman: where do the profits of the multinationals go?’).

Infodujour, 2 May 2017: ‘Conversation avec Laurence Nayman : où vont les profits des multinationales?’ (‘Conversation with Laurence Nayman: where do the profits of the multinationals go?’).

La Tribune, 2 May 2017: ‘Où vont les profits des multinationales?’ (‘Where do the profits of the multinationals go?’).