The Future is Equal

Reports

Making Tax Vanish – How the practices of consumer goods MNC RB show that the international tax system is broken

Big business is able to take advantage of loopholes in global tax laws and avoid tax on a massive scale.

This deprives governments around the world of the money they need to tackle poverty and inequality. It means there is less for them to invest in healthcare, education and jobs.

This report examines the failings of the global tax system that facilitate mass tax avoidance. It looks at one example of a multinational company (MNC) that Oxfam thinks is not paying its fair share and gives an overview of its practices in New Zealand.. It calls on the New Zealand government and business to implement the reforms that are needed to stop MNCs from avoiding paying their fair share of tax in the future.


An economy that works for women

Women’s economic empowerment could reduce poverty for everyone.

In order to achieve it, we need to first fix the current broken economic model which is undermining gender equality and causing extreme economic inequality.

The neoliberal model has made it harder for women to have better quality and better paid jobs, address inequality in unpaid care work, and women’s influence and decision making power is constrained.

To achieve women’s economic empowerment, we need a human economy that works for women and men alike, and for everyone, not just the richest 1%.


Towards a more equal Indonesia

The gap between the richest and the rest in Indonesia has grown faster in the past two decades than in any other country in South-East Asia.

The four richest men in Indonesia now have more wealth than the poorest 100 million people. Inequality is slowing down poverty reduction, dampening economic growth and threatening social cohesion.

President Jokowi has made fighting inequality his administration’s top priority for 2017. This report shows how he could achieve this by enforcing a living wage for all workers, increasing spending on public services, and making big corporations and rich individuals pay their fair share of tax.


An economy for the 99%

New estimates show that just eight men own the same wealth as the poorest half of the world.

As growth benefits the richest, the rest of society – especially the poorest – suffers. The very design of our economies and the principles of our economics have taken us to this extreme, unsustainable and unjust point.

Our economy must stop excessively rewarding those at the top and start working for all people. Accountable and visionary governments, businesses that work in the interests of workers and producers, a valued environment, women’s rights and a strong system of fair taxation, are central to this more human economy.

The sources and methodology behind the headline facts in this paper are explained in the separate methodology note.


After Paris – Climate finance in the Pacific Islands

Pacific island countries are working hard to address the escalating realities of climate change, including the impact on land, livelihoods, and on the food and water security of their most vulnerable communities. The need for accessible, predictable, adequate and appropriate financial support to meet the climate crisis is urgent and growing.

This report takes stock of the climate risks facing the Pacific region, and considers these risks in relation to commitments under the Paris Agreement, the complex nature of existing financial flows, current commitments from Australia and New Zealand, and the range of challenges that must be overcome to ensure support reaches those most in need.


Feeding Climate Change

The Paris Agreement marked a major breakthrough in support for climate action from many parts of the business community, including from key actors in the food and beverage sector. But despite significant progress, much work remains both to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to support the millions of people already hit by climate change.

This paper presents new data commissioned from the research consultancy CE Delft on the greenhouse gas emissions footprints and water scarcity footprints of major food commodities. The data demonstrate the vital role the food and beverage industry can and must play in turning the Paris Agreement into a springboard for the stronger climate action needed