Author:Richard Murphy
'A brief but crucially important book'
Marcus Chown
In The Joy of Tax, tax campaigner Richard Murphy challenges almost every idea you have about tax. For him, tax is fundamentally about the ideas that shape the sort of society we want to live in, not technicalities. His intention is to demonstrate that there is indeed a joy in tax, and by embracing it we can create a fairer society and change the world for the better.
Tax has been a feature of human society for a very long time. Almost no one gives tax a good press even though, as Richard Murphy argues, it has been fundamental to the development of democracy the world over. Whilst we may not like tax very much, in contrast it is clear that we really do like the public services which governments provide. So much so, in fact, that for most of the last 300 years, people have been more than happy for governments to run deficits by spending more than they raise in taxation.
2008 apparently changed all that. The issues of debt, deficits, cuts and austerity have dominated the political agenda ever since. Virtually every aspect of the government's finances and how to rearrange them in the forlorn hope of balancing the books has been discussed in great detail. Despite that, there has been almost no real discussion during this period about what tax is for and how it contributes to the creation of the society we aspire to.
He has done the impossible: writing a book on tax that is not the literary equivalent of a handful of sleeping pills... A brief but critically important book. It needs to be read by politicians and journalists as a matter of urgency
—— Marcus Chown , Times Higher Educational SupplementRichard Murphy is a rare voice of sanity at a time of economic madness. We desperately need an alternative to austerity - and with a few more Murphys, we'll get it.
—— Owen Jones, author of The EstablishmentConventional economists have run out of ideas. But Richard Murphy abounds with them. He writes with electric clarity about what went wrong and what could be done to put things right. He is a new economic thinker, and guided by a sharp and practical accountant's eye he knows where the money is hidden, who has it and how to release it. Murphy is is as courageous as he says our politicians should be.
—— Polly Toynbee , The GuardianEdward Tse is an influential thinker in the Chinese business community given his unique background coupled with global knowledge and perspective. China's Disruptors will enlighten global business leaders with new visions coming from China
—— Wang Wei, Chairman, China Mergers & Acquisitions AssociationThis is the book for every person who is wondering how China's impressive growth in business is going to impact the rest of the world
—— Dr. Hubert Lienhard, President and CEO of Voith GmbH, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee for German Business (APA)Dr. Edward Tse explores very clear the rise of the China's entrepreneurs and the opportunities their rise will generate. After reading the book it became very clear for me how global businesses will inevitably have to become more 'Chinese' in their manner of operating
—— Ronnie Leten President & CEO, Atlas Copco ABA detailed and fascinating study of the changing landscape in China and the entrepreneurs who are driving that change forward. This is a book that will only become increasingly important in the years to come
—— Chen Dongsheng, Chairman and CEO, Taikang Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and President, China Entrepreneurs ForumA useful corrective for those who regard China as a calcified state-driven economy and underestimate the changes taking place
—— Financial TimesA modern version of Moby-Dick, with wiretaps rather than harpoons.
—— Jennifer Senior , The New York TimesExcellent
—— The EconomistMasterfully deconstructing a massive web of Wall Street ... a true-life thriller with Shakespearian stakes ... Her chilling account of a blighted industry is as mesmerizing as a human story as it is as a financial one.
—— FortuneOne of the best books about the 2008 financial meltdown.
—— The Globe and MailThere are few financial-industry struggles as titanic as the one portrayed in these pages
—— Reuters BreakingViewsWell-written, with pointed characterizations of the ambitious players and their motives, this book is highly recommended for readers interested in finance, crime, and politics
—— Library Journal (starred review)Black Edge is the story of the Justice Department's investigation into SAC Capital, and New Yorker staff writer Sheelah Kolhatkar has made it as gripping as a thriller.
—— Business InsiderOne of the most enjoyable books I have read in a long time ... Beautifully paced, jargon free, artfully arranged, deeply reported and properly researched... I wish all books were this good. You won’t regret reading this.
Well-written and well-reported, chock-a-block with ‘you-are-there’ moments.
—— Joe Nocera, BloombergKolhatkar has written a memorable and pathbreaking account of an era that is by no means over yet
—— The National Book ReviewBlack Edge reads like a legal thriller, except, it's all true. It also captures and defines an era on Wall Street when the only thing that mattered was: Black Edge
—— CNBCWell worth the read. I couldn’t put it down
—— Investing.com A potent book... an incisive social critique that slices through financial jargon and gobbledygook to accurately map the all-too-common corruption in America’s hedge funds that are sucking up billions and billions that used to be invested for the growth and benefit of society as a whole in building infrastructure, expanding existing and new businesses and creating jobs
An utterly absorbing look at how Cohen pushed his traders to the limit—that “black edge”—and how he mostly insulated himself from the potential ramifications. This fast-paced, true-life thriller will leave readers enraptured—and troubled