We look at a worrying law in Malta rushed through Parliament at unprecedented speed that doesn't just decriminalise tax abuse but 'connected breaches' too:

"They've allowed the same culture to start being fomented that led to the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia." ~ Maltese journalist Julian Bonnici

Plus: the role of Britain in the tax affairs of oil companies reaping rich rewards from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, abuse of power in the US and...we have some good news from California.

Transcript of the podcast: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Transcript_Taxcast_May_26.pdf

Further Reading:

How Britain is shielding big oil's Iran war windfall, Adam Ramsay https://abolishwestminster.substack.com/p/revealed-how-britain-is-shielding

$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/15/big-oil-huge-war-windfall-consumers

How Trump's IRS settlement could block tax audits of him, his family and their businesses https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0pk2e22jro

Trump's investigation compensation fund draws ire of Republicans - 'Stupid on stilts' https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx21d41p6dzo

How crypto billionaires are trying to buy a Senate seat in Alabama https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/crypto-alabama-senate-coinbase-ripple-andreessen/

Congress Must Address Illicit Finance Gaps in Crypto Legislation Before Committee Markup https://us.transparency.org/resource/january-coalition-letter-congress-must-address-illicit-finance-gaps-in-crypto-legislation-before-committee-markup/

Committee-Approved Crypto Bill Leaves Dangerous Loopholes for Corrupt and Other Dirty Money https://us.transparency.org/news/committee-approved-crypto-bill-leaves-dangerous-loopholes-for-corrupt-and-other-dirty-money/

US drops fraud charges after billionaire Adani pledges $10bn investment https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/5/18/us-drops-fraud-charges-after-billionaire-adani-pledges-10bn-investment

A Five-Year Prison Sentence for a Public Hero https://prospect.org/2024/05/21/2024-05-21-five-year-sentence-public-hero-charles-littlejohn/

The Secret IRS Files Archives https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files

Bill 142: The Law Allowing Tax Crime, Fraud And Money Laundering To Be Settled Out Of Court – Amphora Media https://www.amphora.media/2026/03/bill-142-tax-crime-money-laundering-fraud-malta-law

Aron Mifsud Bonnici Avoids Prosecution After Settlement in €1.6 Million Tax Evasion and Money Laundering Case https://www.amphora.media/2026/03/aron-mifsud-bonnici-tax-evasion-money-laundering-settlement-malta

California steps up for tax fairness - Tax Justice Network https://taxjustice.net/2026/05/27/california-steps-up-for-tax-fairness/

Private Equity has gone under the radar for a very long time so – what is it, how's it affecting our lives? Our tax systems, and financial transparency are crucial for reining in damaging economic activity, something you see a lot of with Private Equity. In this joint podcast with the brilliant Byline Times podcast and its host Adrian Goldberg, the Taxcast's Naomi Fowler talks to Hettie O'Brien who's written The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against Itself and Alex Cobham of the Tax Justice Network.

A transcript of the show is available here: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Taxcast_Byline_PE.pdf

A tiny group of very wealthy people are burning through carbon like there'll be no tomorrow. Taxcast host Naomi Fowler talks to economist Tasnia Hussain about the most effective ways to tax emissions and address carbon inequality. Plus: we bring you the highlights of the ongoing historic effort at the UN to overturn a century of global tax rule setting largely by former imperial powers at the OECD to suit them and their multinationals.

With economist Tasnia Hussain, University of Toronto, also featuring Navid Hanif (UN Assistant Secretary-General), Ryad Selmani from Terre Solidaire, UN representative for Jamaica, UN represntative from the Youth Forum, and private jet and carbon emissions tracker Jack Sweeney and his lawyer (interviewed on TV). Hosted and produced by Naomi Fowler of the Tax Justice Network.

Transcript of the show: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Taxcast_March_26_Transcript.pdf (May not be 100% accurate)

Further resources:

Want to cut emissions? Young advocate says tax the rich — and what they own https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/19/opinion/carbon-emissions-taxation-billionaires

Optimal Carbon Policy under Carbon Inequality https://tasniahussain.github.io/assets/Optimal_Carbon_Policy.pdf

From Taylor's Jet to Taxation for Climate Rescue: Tasnia Hussain https://newsletter.economics.utoronto.ca/from-taylors-jet-to-taxation-for-climate-rescue-tasnia-hussain/

OECD collapse will lock in countries' tax losses to US firms https://taxjustice.net/press/oecd-collapse-will-lock-in-countries-tax-losses-to-us-firms/

US will be exempt from global tax deal targeting profits of large multinationals https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/06/us-exemption-oecd-global-tax-deal-multinational-companies

Washington's Proposed Millionaires Tax, FAQs: https://budgetandpolicy.org/resources-tools/2026/03/Updated-3-3-BPC-Millionaires-Tax-FAQ.pdf

Washington state's 'historic' millionaire tax takes aim at super-rich – will it succeed? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/31/washington-state-millionaire-tax-wealth

The party of the rich just taxed the rich in WA. Can that hold? https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/the-party-of-the-rich-just-taxed-the-rich-in-wa-can-that-hold/

Previous Taxcasts: https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/episode/134-who-owns-the-climate-crisis/ Who Owns the Climate Crisis? and The Millionaire Exodus Myth https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/episode/155-millionaire-migration-myth/

Our podcast website with all our podcasts is https://podcasts.taxjustice.net/