ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Governments hand out billions in lucrative contracts to tech corporations to build surveillance systems, track migrants, and process public health data. Yet those same companies use every legal loophole available to avoid paying tax on their profits.
In this episode of In Solidarity, openDemocracy editor Aman Sethi and tech reporter Jade-Ruyu Yan sit down with Jason Ward, principal analyst at the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR), to analyze Palantir’s global tax practices.
Palantir supplies technology to US immigration enforcement, the Israeli military, and the UK’s NHS. Despite reporting 55% profit margins and over $1.6 billion in net income, Palantir maintains an effective global tax rate of just 1.4% and pays zero federal income tax in the United States.
Chapter Timestamps
00:00:00 - Introduction & What is Palantir?
00:03:25 - Palantir in the UK: NHS Contracts & Low Tax Bills
00:04:37 - Why Investigate Palantir's Tax Practices?
00:05:37 - Peter Thiel, JD Vance, and Silicon Valley Ideology
00:07:02 - The 1.4% Effective Tax Rate: How Palantir Dodges Taxes
00:10:47 - Explaining the Stock-Based Compensation Loophole
00:15:15 - Corporate Taxes, Democracy, and Inequality
00:18:48 - Who Works for Palantir? Inside Employee Motivations
00:20:21 - The France Exception: Why Worker Power Matters for Tax
00:23:14 - Australia’s Tax Transparency Revolution
00:26:32 - Debunking Corporate Excuses & Pushing for Reform
Credits:
Presented by Aman Sethi
Produced by Harry Beney
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
