Prof Nicholas Ryder (UWE Bristol), Sam Burton (UWE Bristol), Prof Umut Turksen (Coventry University) and Dr Fanou Rasmouki (TRILATERAL) hosted the first focus group as part of an EU funded project, PROTAX , in Bristol on 31 January 2019. PROTAX project is focused on the human factors surrounding tax crimes. As such, it seeks to understand ground-level problems that hamper the application of law, investigation, collaboration and ultimately the conviction of tax crimes. By integrating stakeholder knowledge and expertise, PROTAX will generate law enforcement tools and guidelines to help counter tax crimes and reach harmonised levels of organisation and networking across the EU.
At the focus group, we welcomed tax experts, law enforcement agencies, relevant industry representatives. It has been an excellent opportunity to discuss how to counter tax crimes in the UK and EU.
The following themes were discussed during the focus group:
- Exploring tax crimes
- LEA requirements and organisational aspects
- Inter-agency co-operation
- International collaboration
- Dual role of the financial sector: Prevention and facilitation of tax crimes
- Benchmarks and best practices
- Ideas to advance the fight against tax crime
Once the remaining 10 focus groups in 10 different EU countries are completed, we will convene a conference in Brussels at the EU Commission where we will invite all focus group participants and other stakeholders involved in the prevention, investigation and prosecution of tax crimes. The conference will provide a platform for professionals specialised in tax and tax crime matters to learn about the findings of the focus groups and contribute to the formulation of recommendations to the European Commission and stakeholders to enhance capabilities in the fight against tax crimes.
For more information on Protax see the project website: https://protax-project.eu/