Project description
Colonial roots of capital: rethinking the early tax haven
Did the Belgian Congo serve as a hidden laboratory for modern tax avoidance? Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme the TaxLuxCongo project re-examines the history of imperial capitalism by investigating the financial strategies of the Société Générale de Belgique between 1919 and 1965. As the nation’s largest industrial powerhouse, this group navigated a complex web of legislation. The project explores the hypothesis that both the Belgian Congo and Luxembourg acted as strategic tax havens, shielding Belgian capital through tailored optimisation techniques. By bridging colonial history and financial regulation, the research sheds new light on the evolution of business strategies and tax evasion. These insights offer a fresh perspective on how imperial legacies continue to shape the global capitalist landscape today.
Objective
Taking a historical perspective, the project rethinks imperial capitalism and tax havens, shedding light on how the largest Belgian industrial and financial group in history, the Société Générale de Belgique and its numerous affiliated companies, adopted tax optimisation strategies tailored to the legislation of the Belgian Congo and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. By exploring the groundbreaking hypothesis that the Belgian Congo (the colonial regime from 1908 to 1960) and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg served as tax havens for Belgian capital, the project sheds new light on the role of colonies in tax avoidance and business strategies. It also offers fresh insights into the relationship between tax havens and capitalism.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
4365 ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE
Luxembourg
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.