Author: Ronen Palan
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801468566
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
From the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man to the Principality of Liechtenstein and the state of Delaware, tax havens offer lower tax rates, less stringent regulations and enforcement, and promises of strict secrecy to individuals and corporations alike. In recent years government regulators, hoping to remedy economic crisis by diverting capital from hidden channels back into taxable view, have undertaken sustained and serious efforts to force tax havens into compliance. In Tax Havens, Ronen Palan, Richard Murphy, and Christian Chavagneux provide an up-to-date evaluation of the role and function of tax havens in the global financial system-their history, inner workings, impact, extent, and enforcement. They make clear that while, individually, tax havens may appear insignificant, together they have a major impact on the global economy. Holding up to $13 trillion of personal wealth-the equivalent of the annual U.S. Gross National Product-and serving as the legal home of two million corporate entities and half of all international lending banks, tax havens also skew the distribution of globalization's costs and benefits to the detriment of developing economies. The first comprehensive account of these entities, this book challenges much of the conventional wisdom about tax havens. The authors reveal that, rather than operating at the margins of the world economy, tax havens are integral to it. More than simple conduits for tax avoidance and evasion, tax havens actually belong to the broad world of finance, to the business of managing the monetary resources of individuals, organizations, and countries. They have become among the most powerful instruments of globalization, one of the principal causes of global financial instability, and one of the large political issues of our times.
Tax Havens
Author: Ronen Palan
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801468566
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
From the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man to the Principality of Liechtenstein and the state of Delaware, tax havens offer lower tax rates, less stringent regulations and enforcement, and promises of strict secrecy to individuals and corporations alike. In recent years government regulators, hoping to remedy economic crisis by diverting capital from hidden channels back into taxable view, have undertaken sustained and serious efforts to force tax havens into compliance. In Tax Havens, Ronen Palan, Richard Murphy, and Christian Chavagneux provide an up-to-date evaluation of the role and function of tax havens in the global financial system-their history, inner workings, impact, extent, and enforcement. They make clear that while, individually, tax havens may appear insignificant, together they have a major impact on the global economy. Holding up to $13 trillion of personal wealth-the equivalent of the annual U.S. Gross National Product-and serving as the legal home of two million corporate entities and half of all international lending banks, tax havens also skew the distribution of globalization's costs and benefits to the detriment of developing economies. The first comprehensive account of these entities, this book challenges much of the conventional wisdom about tax havens. The authors reveal that, rather than operating at the margins of the world economy, tax havens are integral to it. More than simple conduits for tax avoidance and evasion, tax havens actually belong to the broad world of finance, to the business of managing the monetary resources of individuals, organizations, and countries. They have become among the most powerful instruments of globalization, one of the principal causes of global financial instability, and one of the large political issues of our times.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801468566
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
From the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man to the Principality of Liechtenstein and the state of Delaware, tax havens offer lower tax rates, less stringent regulations and enforcement, and promises of strict secrecy to individuals and corporations alike. In recent years government regulators, hoping to remedy economic crisis by diverting capital from hidden channels back into taxable view, have undertaken sustained and serious efforts to force tax havens into compliance. In Tax Havens, Ronen Palan, Richard Murphy, and Christian Chavagneux provide an up-to-date evaluation of the role and function of tax havens in the global financial system-their history, inner workings, impact, extent, and enforcement. They make clear that while, individually, tax havens may appear insignificant, together they have a major impact on the global economy. Holding up to $13 trillion of personal wealth-the equivalent of the annual U.S. Gross National Product-and serving as the legal home of two million corporate entities and half of all international lending banks, tax havens also skew the distribution of globalization's costs and benefits to the detriment of developing economies. The first comprehensive account of these entities, this book challenges much of the conventional wisdom about tax havens. The authors reveal that, rather than operating at the margins of the world economy, tax havens are integral to it. More than simple conduits for tax avoidance and evasion, tax havens actually belong to the broad world of finance, to the business of managing the monetary resources of individuals, organizations, and countries. They have become among the most powerful instruments of globalization, one of the principal causes of global financial instability, and one of the large political issues of our times.
The Hidden Wealth of Nations
Author: Gabriel Zucman
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022624556X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 142
Book Description
We are well aware of the rise of the 1% as the rapid growth of economic inequality has put the majority of the world’s wealth in the pockets of fewer and fewer. One much-discussed solution to this imbalance is to significantly increase the rate at which we tax the wealthy. But with an enormous amount of the world’s wealth hidden in tax havens—in countries like Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the Cayman Islands—this wealth cannot be fully accounted for and taxed fairly. No one, from economists to bankers to politicians, has been able to quantify exactly how much of the world’s assets are currently hidden—until now. Gabriel Zucman is the first economist to offer reliable insight into the actual extent of the world’s money held in tax havens. And it’s staggering. In The Hidden Wealth of Nations, Zucman offers an inventive and sophisticated approach to quantifying how big the problem is, how tax havens work and are organized, and how we can begin to approach a solution. His research reveals that tax havens are a quickly growing danger to the world economy. In the past five years, the amount of wealth in tax havens has increased over 25%—there has never been as much money held offshore as there is today. This hidden wealth accounts for at least $7.6 trillion, equivalent to 8% of the global financial assets of households. Fighting the notion that any attempts to vanquish tax havens are futile, since some countries will always offer more advantageous tax rates than others, as well the counter-argument that since the financial crisis tax havens have disappeared, Zucman shows how both sides are actually very wrong. In The Hidden Wealth of Nations he offers an ambitious agenda for reform, focused on ways in which countries can change the incentives of tax havens. Only by first understanding the enormity of the secret wealth can we begin to estimate the kind of actions that would force tax havens to give up their practices. Zucman’s work has quickly become the gold standard for quantifying the amount of the world’s assets held in havens. In this concise book, he lays out in approachable language how the international banking system works and the dangerous extent to which the large-scale evasion of taxes is undermining the global market as a whole. If we are to find a way to solve the problem of increasing inequality, The Hidden Wealth of Nations is essential reading.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022624556X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 142
Book Description
We are well aware of the rise of the 1% as the rapid growth of economic inequality has put the majority of the world’s wealth in the pockets of fewer and fewer. One much-discussed solution to this imbalance is to significantly increase the rate at which we tax the wealthy. But with an enormous amount of the world’s wealth hidden in tax havens—in countries like Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the Cayman Islands—this wealth cannot be fully accounted for and taxed fairly. No one, from economists to bankers to politicians, has been able to quantify exactly how much of the world’s assets are currently hidden—until now. Gabriel Zucman is the first economist to offer reliable insight into the actual extent of the world’s money held in tax havens. And it’s staggering. In The Hidden Wealth of Nations, Zucman offers an inventive and sophisticated approach to quantifying how big the problem is, how tax havens work and are organized, and how we can begin to approach a solution. His research reveals that tax havens are a quickly growing danger to the world economy. In the past five years, the amount of wealth in tax havens has increased over 25%—there has never been as much money held offshore as there is today. This hidden wealth accounts for at least $7.6 trillion, equivalent to 8% of the global financial assets of households. Fighting the notion that any attempts to vanquish tax havens are futile, since some countries will always offer more advantageous tax rates than others, as well the counter-argument that since the financial crisis tax havens have disappeared, Zucman shows how both sides are actually very wrong. In The Hidden Wealth of Nations he offers an ambitious agenda for reform, focused on ways in which countries can change the incentives of tax havens. Only by first understanding the enormity of the secret wealth can we begin to estimate the kind of actions that would force tax havens to give up their practices. Zucman’s work has quickly become the gold standard for quantifying the amount of the world’s assets held in havens. In this concise book, he lays out in approachable language how the international banking system works and the dangerous extent to which the large-scale evasion of taxes is undermining the global market as a whole. If we are to find a way to solve the problem of increasing inequality, The Hidden Wealth of Nations is essential reading.
Tax Havens of the World
Author: Walter H. Diamond
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Tax Havens and Their Use by United States Taxpayers - An Overview
Author: Richard A. Gordon
Publisher: The Minerva Group, Inc.
ISBN: 089499137X
Category : Tax exemption
Languages : en
Pages : 277
Book Description
This book was written at the request of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, The Assistant Attorney General (Tax Division), and the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Tax Policy).The purpose of this book was to develop an overview of tax havens and the use of tax havens by United States taxpayers. The study sought to determine the frequency and nature of tax haven transactions, identify specific types of tax haven transactions, obtain a description of the United States and foreign legal and regulatory environment in which tax haven transactions are conducted, describe Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department efforts to deal with tax haven related transactions, and to identify interagency coordination problems.The findings are based on a review of judicial decisions and published literature in the field of international tax planning, research into internal IRS documents concerning taxpayer activities, interviews with IRS personnel, personnel who deal with tax haven issues for other Federal government agencies, and lawyers and certified public accountants who specialize in international taxation. The findings are also based on a statistical analysis of available data concerning international banking, United States direct investment abroad, and foreign investment in the United States. While the findings did not uncover all the methods employed to use tax havens, the belief is that the inquiry was extensive enough to give an understanding of the situation and to enable the IRS to develop options which might be useful in improving the administration of the tax laws as they apply to tax havens
Publisher: The Minerva Group, Inc.
ISBN: 089499137X
Category : Tax exemption
Languages : en
Pages : 277
Book Description
This book was written at the request of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, The Assistant Attorney General (Tax Division), and the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Tax Policy).The purpose of this book was to develop an overview of tax havens and the use of tax havens by United States taxpayers. The study sought to determine the frequency and nature of tax haven transactions, identify specific types of tax haven transactions, obtain a description of the United States and foreign legal and regulatory environment in which tax haven transactions are conducted, describe Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department efforts to deal with tax haven related transactions, and to identify interagency coordination problems.The findings are based on a review of judicial decisions and published literature in the field of international tax planning, research into internal IRS documents concerning taxpayer activities, interviews with IRS personnel, personnel who deal with tax haven issues for other Federal government agencies, and lawyers and certified public accountants who specialize in international taxation. The findings are also based on a statistical analysis of available data concerning international banking, United States direct investment abroad, and foreign investment in the United States. While the findings did not uncover all the methods employed to use tax havens, the belief is that the inquiry was extensive enough to give an understanding of the situation and to enable the IRS to develop options which might be useful in improving the administration of the tax laws as they apply to tax havens
Tax Havens and International Human Rights
Author: Paul Beckett
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317210921
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
This book sails in uncharted waters. It takes a human rights-based approach to tax havens, and is a detailed analysis of structures and the laws that generate and support these. It makes plain the unscrupulous or merely indifferent ways in which, using tax havens, businesses and individuals systematically undermine and for all practical purposes eliminate access to remedies under international human rights law. It exposes as abusive of human rights a complex structural web of trusts, companies, partnerships, foundations, nominees and fiduciaries; secrecy, immunity and smoke screens. It also lays bare the cynical manipulation by tax havens of traditional legal forms and conventions, and the creation of entities so bizarre and chimeric that they defy classification. Yet from the perspective of the tax havens themselves, these are entirely legitimate; the product of duly enacted domestic laws. This book is not a work of investigative journalism in the style of the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Panama Papers, exposing political or financial corruption, money laundering or the financing of terrorism. All those elements are present of course, but the focus is on international human rights and how tax havens do not merely facilitate but actively connive at their breach. The tax havens are compromising the international human rights legal continuum.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317210921
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
This book sails in uncharted waters. It takes a human rights-based approach to tax havens, and is a detailed analysis of structures and the laws that generate and support these. It makes plain the unscrupulous or merely indifferent ways in which, using tax havens, businesses and individuals systematically undermine and for all practical purposes eliminate access to remedies under international human rights law. It exposes as abusive of human rights a complex structural web of trusts, companies, partnerships, foundations, nominees and fiduciaries; secrecy, immunity and smoke screens. It also lays bare the cynical manipulation by tax havens of traditional legal forms and conventions, and the creation of entities so bizarre and chimeric that they defy classification. Yet from the perspective of the tax havens themselves, these are entirely legitimate; the product of duly enacted domestic laws. This book is not a work of investigative journalism in the style of the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Panama Papers, exposing political or financial corruption, money laundering or the financing of terrorism. All those elements are present of course, but the focus is on international human rights and how tax havens do not merely facilitate but actively connive at their breach. The tax havens are compromising the international human rights legal continuum.
Outlaw Paradise
Author: Charles A. Dainoff
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793619921
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 191
Book Description
In Outlaw Paradise, the author argues that countries become tax havens as a conscious economic development strategy. These countries do not have the natural resources or the population to pursue more traditional economic development strategies, but they do have the ability to write and implement laws that create a virtual resource: banking secrecy. These countries are able to carry out this strategy because they tend to be well-governed, stable, and relatively wealthy, making them attractive partners for the international banking, legal, and accounting firms that drive offshore finance. The qualities tax havens possess also enable them to calculate that the benefits they reap from pursuing this strategy outweigh any penalties assessed by anti-tax haven international collective action activities, such as the naming and shaming campaigns of 2000 and 2009. The author argues that, while the tax havens seem to be complying with the campaigns from a juridical standpoint, actual financial behavior is unaffected. The author further argues that this outcome is predetermined given the nature of international regimes and the history of the concept of sovereignty, as well as tax haven relationships to both. Finally, Outlaw Paradise offers policy prescriptions and surveys recent developments resulting from the Panama Papers.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793619921
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 191
Book Description
In Outlaw Paradise, the author argues that countries become tax havens as a conscious economic development strategy. These countries do not have the natural resources or the population to pursue more traditional economic development strategies, but they do have the ability to write and implement laws that create a virtual resource: banking secrecy. These countries are able to carry out this strategy because they tend to be well-governed, stable, and relatively wealthy, making them attractive partners for the international banking, legal, and accounting firms that drive offshore finance. The qualities tax havens possess also enable them to calculate that the benefits they reap from pursuing this strategy outweigh any penalties assessed by anti-tax haven international collective action activities, such as the naming and shaming campaigns of 2000 and 2009. The author argues that, while the tax havens seem to be complying with the campaigns from a juridical standpoint, actual financial behavior is unaffected. The author further argues that this outcome is predetermined given the nature of international regimes and the history of the concept of sovereignty, as well as tax haven relationships to both. Finally, Outlaw Paradise offers policy prescriptions and surveys recent developments resulting from the Panama Papers.
Dirty Secrets
Author: Richard Murphy
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1786631695
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description
What happens when the rich are allowed to hide their money in tax havens, and what we should do about it The Panama Papers were a reminder of how the superrich are allowed to hide their wealth from the rest of us. Dirty Secrets uncovers the extent of the corruption behind this crisis and shows what needs to be done in the face of this unregulated spread of rampant greed. Tax havens, we are often told, are part of the global architecture of capitalism, providing a freedom from regulation necessary to make markets work. In this book, leading authority Richard Murphy uncovers the truth behind this lie. The fact of the matter is that this increasingly popular practice threatens the foundations of democracy, sowing mistrust and creating a regime based upon opacity. As Murphy shows, how we manage our economy is a political decision, and one that can be changed. Dirty Secrets proposes ways to regulate tax havens and what the world might look like without them.
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1786631695
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description
What happens when the rich are allowed to hide their money in tax havens, and what we should do about it The Panama Papers were a reminder of how the superrich are allowed to hide their wealth from the rest of us. Dirty Secrets uncovers the extent of the corruption behind this crisis and shows what needs to be done in the face of this unregulated spread of rampant greed. Tax havens, we are often told, are part of the global architecture of capitalism, providing a freedom from regulation necessary to make markets work. In this book, leading authority Richard Murphy uncovers the truth behind this lie. The fact of the matter is that this increasingly popular practice threatens the foundations of democracy, sowing mistrust and creating a regime based upon opacity. As Murphy shows, how we manage our economy is a political decision, and one that can be changed. Dirty Secrets proposes ways to regulate tax havens and what the world might look like without them.
Tax Havens Today
Author: Hoyt Barber
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780470116845
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Filled with in-depth insight and expert advice, Tax Havens Today arms you with the knowledge, strategies, and contacts needed to avoid expensive mistakes and make the most of your offshore endeavors. Divided into four comprehensive parts, this timely resource will bring you completely up to speed on a variety of issues that anyone aspiring to go offshore must be familiar with.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780470116845
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Filled with in-depth insight and expert advice, Tax Havens Today arms you with the knowledge, strategies, and contacts needed to avoid expensive mistakes and make the most of your offshore endeavors. Divided into four comprehensive parts, this timely resource will bring you completely up to speed on a variety of issues that anyone aspiring to go offshore must be familiar with.
Treasure Islands
Author: Nicholas Shaxson
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0099541726
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 61
Book Description
"Dirty money, tax havens and the offshore system describe the ugliest and most secretive chapter in the history of global economic affairs. Tax havens have declared war on honest, law-abiding people around the world. Wealthy individuals hold over ten trillion dollars offshore. Tax havens are the most important single reason why poor people and poor countries stay poor. Britain and the United States are the world's two most important tax havens. Tax havens now lie at the very heart of the global economy. Over half of world trade, and most international lending, is processed through them. Tax havens have been instrumental in nearly every major economic event, in every big financial scandal, and in every financial crisis since the 1970s, including the latest global economic crisis. "Treasure Islands" show how this happens and reveal what the economics text books will not tell you."
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0099541726
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 61
Book Description
"Dirty money, tax havens and the offshore system describe the ugliest and most secretive chapter in the history of global economic affairs. Tax havens have declared war on honest, law-abiding people around the world. Wealthy individuals hold over ten trillion dollars offshore. Tax havens are the most important single reason why poor people and poor countries stay poor. Britain and the United States are the world's two most important tax havens. Tax havens now lie at the very heart of the global economy. Over half of world trade, and most international lending, is processed through them. Tax havens have been instrumental in nearly every major economic event, in every big financial scandal, and in every financial crisis since the 1970s, including the latest global economic crisis. "Treasure Islands" show how this happens and reveal what the economics text books will not tell you."
Offshore
Author: Alain Deneault
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1595588469
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Offshore reveals how the vast network of unregulated financial centers—from Luxemburg to the Cayman islands to the tiny Pacific haven of Nauru— amount to a nether realm of drug and arms trade profits, enormous private accounts, and multinational corporate financial holdings. Delving into the scandals, the financial structure, and the history of this hidden side of globalization, sociologist Alain Deneault depicts something larger and more ominous than simple “tax havens” where financial elites and corporations must reside X days out of every calendar year to protect their earnings. Instead, Offshore describes a global base of operations from which massive criminal enterprises and corrupt corporations operate freely and with impunity, menacing developing nations and advanced democracies alike.
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1595588469
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Offshore reveals how the vast network of unregulated financial centers—from Luxemburg to the Cayman islands to the tiny Pacific haven of Nauru— amount to a nether realm of drug and arms trade profits, enormous private accounts, and multinational corporate financial holdings. Delving into the scandals, the financial structure, and the history of this hidden side of globalization, sociologist Alain Deneault depicts something larger and more ominous than simple “tax havens” where financial elites and corporations must reside X days out of every calendar year to protect their earnings. Instead, Offshore describes a global base of operations from which massive criminal enterprises and corrupt corporations operate freely and with impunity, menacing developing nations and advanced democracies alike.