The true cost of gold - Lyla Latif

翻译人员: Grace Liu 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

Gold is one of Earth’s most valuable resources,

金子是世界上最宝贵的资源之一，

with one kilogram regularly valued at over 55,000 US dollars.

一公斤金子通常定价在 55000 美元以上。

In 2020, Mali produced an estimated 71.2 tons of gold.

2020 年, 马里出产了 大约 71.2 吨金子。

But Mali only saw $850 million from gold in 2020,

马里收益了 8.5 亿美元，

when that amount is worth billions,

但是这么多金子的价值却超过百亿。

not to mention that the country likely produced much more

更何况马里生产的黄金，

than the reported 71.2 tons.

很可能多于呈报的 71.2 吨。

The situation isn’t unique:

这种情况并不是个例：

a number of other gold-rich countries in Africa,

很多非洲的黄金大国，

including Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire,

包括毛里塔尼亚、塞内加尔、 几内亚、科特迪瓦、

Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Niger

加纳、布基纳法索和尼日尔，

also aren’t seeing the income they should, given the price of gold.

出售的金价都没有 让它们获得应得的收入。

The force behind this is greed

这个情况背后的动机是

on an individual, corporate, and national scale,

个体、公司、国家的金钱利益

and a corrupt system that perpetuates itself.

造成的恶性循环。

Although Mali has abundant gold,

虽然马里有丰厚的黄金，

the country lacks the infrastructure to mine and export it.

但是它没有足够的基础设施 来开采、运送资源。

So the government allows multinational corporations to apply for licenses

所以马里的政府会 允许跨国公司申请

to mine gold in exchange for taxes paid to Mali’s government.

在马里开采黄金的执照， 然后支付税款来作为交换。

These taxes should, theoretically, finance development,

理论上这些税收应该 会促进马里的经济发展，

like building the infrastructure to mine gold, improve the economy,

比如通过建设新的 采金设施改善经济，

and provide citizens with public goods like healthcare and education.

为马里公民提供更好的 医疗和教育系统。

Tax money alone isn’t enough to do these things, of course:

当然，光是税收是不够的：

a government also has to be invested in its people’s well-being,

一个政府必须愿意为他们 国家的公民福利做投资，

and government corruption can prevent progress.

而腐败的政府会阻止国家发展。

But without adequate funds,

但是在资金紧张的基础上，

even the best intentioned government doesn’t stand a chance

就算是求思进取的政府也没有一点

of improving circumstances for its citizens.

改善公民生活质量的可能性。

Foreign corporations exploit Mali’s need for tax revenue

外国企业会利用马里对于税钱的依赖

to get the government to sign on to very unfavorable yet perfectly legal contracts.

迫使政府签下对马里不利 却合法的合同。

For example, one such contract stated that no corporate taxes would be owed

比如说，有一个合同的条件写着 公司运行

for the first five years, costing Mali millions in tax revenue.

前五年都不用交税， 克扣了马里数百万的税收。

Meanwhile, mining licenses sometimes allow these corporations to take samples of gold

有些时候，采矿许可证会让一些公司

out of the country without registering them

可以不登记、不交税

or paying taxes on them.

就带走黄金样品。

These should be small amounts of gold used to test for quality,

这些样品本该是用来测试黄金质量的，

but the license doesn’t limit the size of samples,

但是许可证不会限制样品的尺寸，

so this creates a loophole

很多公司都会利用这个漏洞

where corporations export large amounts of gold without paying any tax.

来走私大量不交税的黄金。

The multinational corporations are also evading taxes

这些跨国公司还会逃避

they are legally required to pay.

法律要求他们缴纳的税款。

They filter profits through a labyrinth of tax havens that’s difficult to trace.

它们会用很复杂的逃税方式 让这个过程难以追踪。

Or they exaggerate their expenses so they end up owing very little in taxes.

或者，它们会夸大公司的开支， 这样最终欠税金额就会寥寥无几。

For instance, a corporation in Mali uses a subsidiary in Ireland

比如说，有一家马里公司 会让一家在爱尔兰的子公司

to manage its operations and another subsidiary in the Netherlands

管理其业务， 同时让一家在荷兰的子公司

to license its brand name.

授权其品牌名称。

The corporation in Mali pays management fees to the Irish subsidiary

马里公司会向爱尔兰的 子公司支付管理费，

and pays intellectual property license fees to the Dutch company,

向荷兰子公司支付 知识产权许可费，

all for enormous sums.

总金额巨大。

These costs are deducted from overall profits,

从整体的利润中 扣除这些费用之后，

leaving the amount subject to taxes at a bare minimum.

剩下的应纳税所得额 已经寥寥无几。

These companies also buy gold on the black market.

很多公司还会从黑市买黄金。

Local, small-scale miners often operate without a license,

很多当地的小规模矿工 都会非法运营，

so the government is unaware of how much gold they mine.

所以政府无法得知 他们的黄金开采量。

Corporations buy gold from these miners,

公司会从这些矿工手中购买黄金，

avoiding the cost of mining the gold themselves,

不仅可以节省自己开采黄金的开支，

and pay the miners far below market value.

还可以以低于市场价值的 薪水雇佣矿工。

Then they turn around and tell the government

然后，公司会转头向政府汇报

they incurred huge expenses mining gold they didn’t mine at all.

他们根本没有采金， 但是在采金上花了很多钱。

There’s no way for Mali’s revenue authority to verify this information,

马里的税务局没有办法 去审核这个信息，

causing the country to lose even more tax money.

导致国家失去了更多的税款。

Similarly, corporations pay corrupt government officials

同样，公司会贿赂贪钱的政府

to help them smuggle gold across borders, primarily to the United Arab Emirates,

来帮他们跨境走私黄金， 主要发往阿拉伯联合酋长国，

rather than operating through legal channels.

而不是通过合法的渠道运营。

In 2016, Mali reported around $200 million of exported gold,

2016 年，马里汇报了 约 2 亿美元的黄金出口，

but the UAE reported receiving slightly over $1.5 billion of imported gold

但是同年， 阿联酋报告他们收到了

from Mali that same year.

略高于 15 亿美元的进口黄金。

The gold is then sold to European, American, and Asian markets from the UAE,

然后黄金会从阿联酋出售到 欧洲、美国和亚洲市场，

with no questions asked about its origins.

而没有人会质疑金子的来源。

Similar patterns can be seen with gold-rich countries across Africa,

在非洲各地的黄金大国 都可以观察到这样的规律，

indicating that gold smuggling is happening on a massive scale,

证明黄金走私在大规模地进行，

without ever being subject to taxes.

而这些金子都无需缴税。

All of this creates a vicious cycle,

这一切造成了一个恶性循环，

forcing a continued reliance

持续依赖于这些造成问题的公司。

on the corporations that helped create the situation in the first place.

More than half of Mali’s citizens live below the international poverty line,

超过一半的马里公民 都活在国际贫困线之下，

while their nation’s wealth lines the pockets of foreign corporations

而他们国家的 自然资源却增添着

and corrupt officials.

外国公司和贪官的财富。