DOCSLIB.ORG

Swiss Leaks - Wikipedia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Swiss Leaks - Wikipedia 9/26/2020 Swiss Leaks - Wikipedia Swiss Leaks Swiss Leaks (or SwissLeaks) is the name of a journalistic investigation, released in February 2015, of a giant tax evasion scheme allegedly operated with the knowledge and encouragement of the British multinational bank HSBC via its Swiss subsidiary, HSBC Private Bank (Suisse).[1] Triggered by leaked information from French computer analyst Hervé Falciani[1] on accounts held by over 100,000 clients and 20,000 offshore companies with HSBC in Geneva, the disclosed information has been called "the biggest leak in Swiss banking history".[2] Swissleaks: the map of the HSBC bank accounts Contents Investigation Investigation in France Investigation in Morocco International Investigation Involvement HSBC Trial Media coverage See also References External links Investigation Investigators allege that 180.6 billion euros passed through HSBC accounts held in Geneva by over 100,000 clients and 20,000 offshore companies between November 2006 and March 2007. The data for this period comes from files removed from HSBC Private Bank by a former staffer, software engineer Hervé Falciani,[1] who fled to Lebanon with the attempt to sell it.[3] Later he handed it to French authorities in late 2008.[4] Investigation in France The case was referred to French prosecutors in January 2009, and they have since concentrated their investigations on a small part of the “Falciani lists” – the around 3'000 French citizens suspected of having concealed their money at HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) with the bank's collusion. The bank has de facto been placed under formal investigation as a legal entity for “illicit selling of banking and financial services” and “money laundering of the proceeds of tax evasion”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Leaks 1/6 9/26/2020 Swiss Leaks - Wikipedia HSBC PB is said to have concealed over €5.7 billion in tax havens for its French clients alone. The French Finance Ministry took 72 individuals to court (including Nina Ricci’s heir, Arlette Ricci),[5] as most of the French taxpayers whose identity was revealed in the Falciani lists have since regularised their tax affairs. Le Monde has been investigating the HSBC affair since the outset, and in early 2014 came into possession of international banking data including all the files the French tax authorities had extracted from the Falciani lists in the strictest secrecy since 2009, sometimes ignoring government reservations. The bank's account managers illegally contacted many of these people in France. They were all encouraged by HSBC Private Bank (Suisse)'s executive committee to hide their money behind offshore screen structures, generally based in Panama or the British Virgin Islands, in order to avoid certain European taxes, chiefly the EU Savings DirectiveI Investigation in Morocco According to the International Consortium of Investigation Journalists (ICIJ), which treated the data of the Swiss Leaks, Morocco is concerned by $1.6 billion of tax evasion and stands at thirty-seventh place of the affected countries. Morocco stands at twenty-third place for the number of clients (1068). The maximal amount of tax evasion for one client was $74.1 million and the average was $1.5 million.[6] As stated in the Moroccan law, it is strictly forbidden to have a foreign bank account. But the documents revealed that the royal family were part of the HSBC clients. Prince Moulay Rachid was touched by this scandal, the princess Lalla Meryem and the current king Mohammed VI with an amount $9.1 million hidden in the HSBC bank.[7][8] International Investigation Given the scale of the investigation, Le Monde called upon 154 journalists[9] affiliated with 47 different media outlets including: The Guardian, CBS, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and The Indian Express, among others, to help analyze the data. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has been coordinating this international collaborative effort. In February 2015, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) website released information about bank accounts in Switzerland under the title Swiss Leaks: Murky Cash Sheltered by Bank Secrecy,[10] which involves the Swiss Leaks Project,[11] a website containing almost 60,000 leaked files that provide details on over 100,000 HSBC clients and their bank accounts. Involvement The Swiss Leaks Project's[11] investigations revealed that HSBC's Geneva branch, ignoring these rules, helped people accused of drug-running, corruption, money-laundering or arms-dealing conceal billions of dollars in Switzerland. Among the names revealed by the Swiss Leaks investigation are: Rami Makhlouf, whose cousin and close associate, Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Katex Mines Guinee, a company fingered by the United Nations as a “possible provider of weapons” in Liberia's civil war. Erez Daleyot, a Belgian-Israeli diamond tycoon, connected to arms trafficking, blood diamonds and bribery. Jeffrey Tesler, a lawyer and key participant in the $182-million Halliburton Bribery Scandal;. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Leaks 2/6 9/26/2020 Swiss Leaks - Wikipedia Rachid Mohamed Rachid, the former Egyptian trade minister who fled Cairo in February 2011 amid the uprising against Hosni Mubarak. Rachid was convicted in absentia for alleged profiteering and squandering public funds. Vladimir Antonov, a Russian banker accused of looting £400m from the Lithuanian Snoras bank.[12] Under the top 10 Countries with the largest dollar amounts in leaked Swiss files are[13] Top Countries Rank Country Amount 1. Switzerland $31.2B 2. United Kingdom $21.7B 3. Venezuela $14.8B 4. United States $13.4B 5. France $12.5B 6. Israel $10B 7. Italy $7.5B 8. Bahamas $7B 9. Brazil $7B 10. Belgium $6.3B Rank Country number of clients 1. Switzerland 11,235 2. France 9,187 3. United-Kingdom 8,844 4. Brazil 8,667 5. Italy 7,499 6. Israel 6,544 7. United-States 4,183 8. Argentina 3,625 9. Turkey 3,105 10. Belgium 3,002 [14] HSBC Trial In March 2015, the French financial state prosecutor has requested that HSBC's Swiss private bank be sent to criminal trial over the suspected tax-dodging scheme for wealthy customers. The recommendation follows a lengthy investigation by local magistrates into alleged tax fraud involving 3,000 French taxpayers and is a procedural step that brings the Swiss banking arm one step closer to a possible trial in France.[15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Leaks 3/6 9/26/2020 Swiss Leaks - Wikipedia In November 2017, HSBC has agreed to pay 300 million euros ($352 million) to avoid going to trial in France for enabling tax fraud. The deal struck between the financial crime prosecutor's office and the bank is a first in France under a new procedure that allows companies under suspicion of corruption or dissimulation of tax fraud to negotiate a fine to stop a case from going to trial. French prosecutors have now dropped the case against HSBC Holdings.[16] Media coverage BBC reported that HSBC had put pressure on media not to report about the controversy, with British Newspaper The Guardian claiming HSBC advertising had been put "on pause" after The Guardian's coverage of the matter.[17] Peter Oborne, chief political commentator at Daily Telegraph resigned from the paper; in an open letter he claimed the Daily Telegraph suppressed negative stories and dropped investigations into HSBC because of the bank's advertising.[18] CBS published a story about the leaks in the news segment 60 Minutes.[19] See also Banking in Switzerland 2008 Liechtenstein tax affair Lagarde list – a subset of the data set, passed on to the Greek government in 2010 by French finance minister Christine Lagarde Football Leaks Luxembourg Leaks Offshore financial centre Offshore Leaks Tax haven Panama Papers References 1. " " SwissLeaks " : the backstory of a worldwide investigation" (http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/articl e/2015/02/08/swissleaks-the-backstory-of-a-worldwide-investigation_4572334_3234.html). Le Monde.fr. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150212224028/http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/a rticle/2015/02/08/swissleaks-the-backstory-of-a-worldwide-investigation_4572334_3234.html) from the original on 2015-02-12. Retrieved 2015-02-09. 2. "The Swiss Leaks" (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hsbc-swiss-leaks-investigation-60-minutes/). cbsnews.com. 8 February 2015. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150210004144/http://www. cbsnews.com/news/hsbc-swiss-leaks-investigation-60-minutes/) from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015. 3. " "Swissleaks" author arrested in Spain at Switzerland's request" (https://lenews.ch/2018/04/11/swissl eaks-author-arrested-in-spain-on-switzerlands-request/). Le News. 2018-04-11. Archived (https://we b.archive.org/web/20180501225958/https://lenews.ch/2018/04/11/swissleaks-author-arrested-in-spai n-on-switzerlands-request/) from the original on 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-05-01. 4. "Whistleblower? Thief? Hero? Introducing the Source of the Data that Shook HSBC" (http://www.icij. org/project/swiss-leaks/whistleblower-thief-hero-introducing-source-data-shook-hsbc). International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150210072406/htt p://www.icij.org/project/swiss-leaks/whistleblower-thief-hero-introducing-source-data-shook-hsbc) from the original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-02-09. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Leaks 4/6 9/26/2020 Swiss Leaks - Wikipedia 5. Willsher, Kim (2015-04-13). "Nina Ricci heir convicted of tax evasion in France with help of HSBC" (h ttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/13/nina-ricci-heir-convicted-of-tax-evasion-in-france-with -help-of-hsbc). the Guardian. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180912200518/https://www.th eguardian.com/world/2015/apr/13/nina-ricci-heir-convicted-of-tax-evasion-in-france-with-help-of-hsb c) from the original on 2018-09-12.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Who Owns the Wealth in Tax Havens? Macro Evidence and Implications for Global Inequality
    Journal of Public Economics 162 (2018) 89–100 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Public Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jpube Who owns the wealth in tax havens? Macro evidence and implications for ☆ T global inequality Annette Alstadsætera, Niels Johannesenb, Gabriel Zucmanc,d,* a Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway b CEBI, University of Copenhagen, Denmark c UC Berkeley, United States d NBER, United States ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Drawing on newly published macroeconomic statistics, this paper estimates the amount of household wealth Inequality owned by each country in offshore tax havens. The equivalent of 10% of world GDP is held in tax havens Wealth globally, but this average masks a great deal of heterogeneity—from a few percent of GDP in Scandinavia, to Tax evasion about 15% in Continental Europe, and 60% in Gulf countries and some Latin American economies. We use these Tax havens estimates to construct revised series of top wealth shares in ten countries, which account for close to half of JEL classification: world GDP. Because offshore wealth is very concentrated at the top, accounting for it increases the top 0.01% H26 wealth share substantially in Europe, even in countries that do not use tax havens extensively. It has considerable H87 effects in Russia, where the vast majority of wealth at the top is held offshore. These results highlight the E21 importance of looking beyond tax and survey data to study wealth accumulation among the very rich in a globalized world. 1. Introduction statistics, we do not have a clear view of who uses tax havens.
    [Show full text]
  • Sex, Genes, Politics and Company Law: Can Capitalist Democracy Coexist with Human Survival? Chris King Aug 2013 – Sep 2020 Genotype 1.1.39
    Sex, Genes, Politics and Company Law: Can Capitalist Democracy coexist with Human Survival? Chris King Aug 2013 – Sep 2020 Genotype 1.1.39 http://dhushara.com/sgpcl/ Fig 1: (Left) Mortal combat between the Bear and Bull stock market overlaid by the triple witching hour instability 2011. (Right) Fireworks over Lady Liberty, Ellis Island, NY. Contents 1. Twin Pillars with Feet of Clay in a One-Sided Love Affair 1 2. Sexual Conflict and Human Emergence 2 3. Urbanization and the Rise of Patriarchal Dominance 4 4. Democracy, Patriarchy and Military Alliance 5 5. Democracy meets the ‘Age of Enlightenment' 7 6. Capitalism, Patriarchy and Ecology 9 7. A Primer on Inequality and the Gini coefficient 14 8. The Rich get Richer: Is Capitalism the Democratic Complement? 19 9. Gerrymandering: Politics Cheating Democracy 25 10. The Harder They Fall: Global Financial Crisis 28 11. Quants and Light-speed: Testosterone meets Technology 47 12. Free Market Utopias vs Irreversible Tipping Points 53 13. Resilient Genetics vs Ephemeral Corporations 54 14. Corporate Killers and Downsizing Profitability 56 15. Political Genocide and Corporate Metamorphosis: Where have all the Cod Gone? 57 16. Hooker Chemical and the Rape of the Love Canal 61 17. Abysmal Discord: Deepwater Horizon 66 18. We All Fall Down: Ecological Economics vs Machiavellian Intelligence 75 19. Ecologizing Capitalism: Company Incorporation as a Conservation Investment 79 20. References 86 Twin Pillars with Feet of Clay in a One-Sided Love Affair The twin pillars of Western civilization are capitalism
    [Show full text]
  • Page 01 Feb 12.Indd
    ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER Home | 2 Business | 21 Sport | 31 H H Sheikha Moza bint Qatar Exchange logged Qatar sports star Nasser Nasser officially opened its longest winning Saleh Al Attiyah has been Qatar Biobank’s new streak in the year by elected as a member of facility at Hamad Bin extending the rally to ISSF Athletes Committee Khalifa Medical City. eighth straight session. for a four-year period. THURSDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2015 • 23 Rabial II 1436 • Volume 19 Number 6339 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 OPINION SCH warns of Emir meets Iraq President Unity against Boko Haram action against HE danger of Boko Haram is no longer con- Tfined to Nigeria as this organisation is actively involved in terror- Seha misuse ist acts in many neigh- Expats to be covered by end of 2016 bouring countries. DOHA: The Supreme Council manipulate the system. The fraud It has of Health (SCH) has warned was detected while the company become the public and health care was conducting regular audits on a threat providers against misuse of invoices. One case has already not only the national health insurance been referred to the SCH and to the Dr Khalid Al Jaber scheme (Seha) saying it has reports about the second and security detected three cases of sus- third cases are being prepared. and stability of the African pected fraud until now. If the SCH investigation con- continent but the entire world. The National Health Insurance firms a violation of the law, action Boko Haram is the African Company (NHIC) managing Seha will be taken immediately including The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with President of the Republic of Iraq, Dr Fuad Masum, at the affiliate of Al Qaeda like the has launched a campaign “Kun closure of the facility or other legal Emiri Diwan yesterday.
    [Show full text]
  • Kristof Clerix
    Kristof Clerix Kristof Clerix, Belgium, works as an investigative reporter for the Belgian weekly news magazine Knack. He specialises in security related topics. Clerix has worked as a journalist in Belgium since 2002. After two years freelancing for the Belgian daily De Morgen, he joined the team of MO*, a Belgian monthly magazine on international affairs. There he reported from more than 40 countries, including Albania, Armenia, the Baltic States, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Morocco, the disputed region of Nagorno Karabakh, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, the disputed region Transnistria and Ukraine. He has written substantially on security topics such as terrorism, international police cooperation, intelligence, NATO, EU defense policy, drug smuggling, human trafficking, illegal arms dealing, nuclear proliferation, city gangs, energy and pipelines, geopolitics and frozen conflicts. In 2006, Clerix wrote the book "Vrij Spel", on the activities of foreign secret services operating in Belgium, host country to the NATO headquarters and European institutions. His second book, "Spionage. Doelwit: Brussel", on Cold War espionage was published in 2013. Clerix is regularly contacted by international media to comment on the Belgian security apparatus. He wrote several contributions for The Guardian, on the fight against terrorism in the heart of Europe. In 2013 Clerix joined ICIJ. He contributed to Lux Leaks, Swiss Leaks, Evicted and Abandoned, the Panama Papers and Bahamas Leaks. Clerix has represented ICIJ at several international conferences, organised by Europol, the European Parliament, and the Financial Transparency Coalition. In 2016 Clerix started working for the news magazine Knack, focusing on international muckracking. Next to ICIJ collaborations, Clerix worked on several other cross border investigative projects, including the MEPs project and Security For Sale.
    [Show full text]
  • Survival of the Richest. Europe's Role in Supporting an Unjust Global Tax
    Survival of the Richest Europe’s role in supporting an unjust global tax system 2016 Acknowledgements This report was produced by civil society organisations in countries across Europe, including: Attac Austria (Austria); Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC) (Austria); 11.11.11 (Belgium); Centre national de coopération au développement (CNCD-11.11.11) (Belgium); Glopolis (Czech Republic); Oxfam IBIS (Denmark); Kehitysyhteistyön palvelukeskus (KEPA) (Finland); CCFD-Terre Solidaire (France); Oxfam France (France); Netzwerk Steuergerechtigkeit (Germany); Debt and Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI) (Ireland); Oxfam Italy (Italy); Re:Common (Italy); Latvijas platforma attīstības sadarbībai (Lapas) (Latvia); Collectif Tax Justice Lëtzebuerg (Luxembourg); the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) (Netherlands); Tax Justice Netherlands (Netherlands); Tax Justice Network Norway (Norway); Instytut Globalnej Odpowiedzialnosci (IGO) (Poland); Ekvilib Institute (Slovenia); Focus Association for Sustainable Development (Slovenia); Inspiraction (Spain); Forum Syd (Sweden); Christian Aid (UK). The overall report was coordinated by Eurodad. Each national chapter was written by – and is the responsibility of – the nationally-based partners in the project. The views in each chapter do not reflect the views of the rest of the project partners. The chapters on Luxembourg and Spain were written by – and are the responsibility of – Eurodad. Design and artwork: James Adams. Copy editing: Vicky Anning, Jill McArdle and Julia Ravenscroft. The authors believe that all of the details of this report are factually accurate as of 15 November 2016. This report has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and Open Society Foundations. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Eurodad and the authors of the report, and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the funders.
    [Show full text]
  • The Panama Papers Prove: It Is Time for Action!
    Herausgegeben von The Panama Papers prove: It is time for action! The Panama Papers constitute a massive leak of 11.5 million documents which are related to the law firm Mossack Fonseca based in Panama. Reports on the Panama Papers were first published on 3 April 2016; a large part of the data set has now been made publicly accessible. The volume of the Panama Papers exceeds the combined total of the Wikileaks Cablegate, Offshore Leaks, Lux Leaks, and Swiss Leaks, and has important implications for development cooperation. A holistic approach is needed to address the various dimensions of IFF. By Johannes Köckeis & Dr. Christiane Schuppert The Panama Papers have brought the issue of illicit financial linked with the revelations. In the case of Peru, both run-off flows (IFF) to the heart of public and political debate. The docu- presidential candidates were specified in the documents. ments reveal how the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca facilitated the creation of about 214.000 anonymous shelf com- The role of secrecy jurisdictions panies. 140 of these companies are connected to politicians or Financial centers that offer far reaching private protection rules public officials, such as Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson who was and allow the creation of shelf companies and similar legal enti- forced to resign as Prime Minister of Iceland due to the revela- ties are frequently referred to as secrecy jurisdiction. The benefi- tions of the Panama Papers. cial owner, that is the individual or entity that actually benefits from the funds, remains unknown. Many secrecy jurisdictions Within the context of the Panama Papers, several connections offer little or no tax liability to foreign individuals and businesses between partner countries of German development cooperation and are accordingly also referred to as tax havens.
    [Show full text]
  • FACT SHEET Why We Need to Make Multinationals Pay Their Share Of
    FACT SHEET Why we need to Make Multinationals Pay Their Share of Tax Summary of international tax scandals Paradise Papers When: November 2017 Investigation coordinated by: International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) What: A global news exposé based on 13.4 million leaked files from offshore serviCe providers and company registries. The majority of the files came from the law firm Appleby (in particular from their office in Bermuda), but the files also included documents from the trust company Asiaciti and from 19 different company registers from secrecy jurisdictions around the world. Among other things, the Paradise Papers revealed the tax planning strategies of more than 100 multinational Corporations, inCluding Nike and Apple, as well as offshore aCtivities by more than 120 politicians and world leaders. The Global Laundromat scandal When: March 2017 Investigation coordinated by: Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) What: Between 2011 and 2014, over US$ 20 billion from Russia was laundered through more than 5000 companies, many of the anonymous shell-companies in the UK. The money ended up in over 700 different banks in 96 countries, including several EU countries. Panama Papers: When: April 2016 Investigation coordinated by: International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) What: The Panama Papers scandal was based on 11 million leaked documents from the law firm MossaCk FonseCa in Panama. These doCuments revealed a global network of shell companies and hidden bank accounts, which were being used to facilitate tax evasion, bribery, arms deals, financial fraud and drug traffiCking. The leak showed that some of the world’s largest banks had been involved in setting up seCret offshore struCtures for their clients, which inCluded a large number of celebrities, including 140 politicians from 50 countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Policy Brief-Eeespolicy-N°3-2018-EN.Indd
    ETUI Policy Brief European Economic, Employment and Social Policy N° 3/2018 Tax justice in Europe: why does it matter for workers? – Tove Maria Ryding Tove Maria Ryding is Policy recommendations the Policy and Advocacy Manager for Tax Through a number of leaks and scandals (for example, Panama Papers, LuxLeaks, Paradise Justice at the European Papers), public awareness of the magnitude and mechanisms of tax evasion and avoidance has Network on Debt and dramatically increased. Workers are affected in a number of ways by this, including pressure on public jobs and services caused by a loss of tax revenues, and a lack of transparency about Development (Eurodad). their employers’ financial standing. Following the numerous scandals, tax and transparency have become central issues on the EU agenda, and the political pressure for change has grown dramatically. Workers’ rights advocates should seize this opportunity to bring their arguments to bear onto the debate. Important measures to reduce tax evasion and avoidance being considered by the EU Parliament, Commission and Member States include country by country reporting and public registers of beneficial owners of companies and trusts. However, transparency is only the first step. Trade unions should also join the call for new international tax rules which consolidate the profits of multinational groups and fairly apportion these profits between countries for taxation. Finally, legal protection is needed for whistleblowers reporting tax dodging. ............................................................................................................................................ 1. Introduction and that corporate structures can be abused to dodge taxes. But what are the implications for workers and the broader public? And Many large-scale, international tax-dodging scandals have grabbed what are the possible solutions to these problems? the headlines in recent years.
    [Show full text]
  • OFFSHORE TAX DODGING and the Michael Tyrala MOUNTING RESISTANCE AGAINST IT 23.04.2020 STRUCTURE of the PRESENTATION
    ACCUMULATION BY TAXPLOITATION A WORLD-SYSTEMS ANALYSIS OF OFFSHORE TAX DODGING AND THE Michael Tyrala MOUNTING RESISTANCE AGAINST IT 23.04.2020 STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION 1. Background 1.1 Offshore Tax Dodging (2 Slides) 1.2 Size of Offshore Tax Dodging 1.3 Impact of Offshore Tax Dodging 1.4 Historic Reform Momentum 2. Outline of the Puzzle 2.1 Problem of Limited Scope 2.2 Puzzle Pieces & Research Questions 3. World-Systems Analysis 3.1 Unit of Analysis & Key Structural Features 3.2 Functioning of the Capitalist World-Economy 4. Offshore Tax Dodging and the Mounting Resistance Against It 4.1 Systemic Underpinnings of Offshore Tax Dodging (3 Slides) 4.2 Rise of the Tax Justice Community (3 Slides) 4.3 A Century of Regulatory Laxity (2 Slides) 4.4 Tangible Progress (2 Slides) 5. Synthesis 5.1 Summary of the Main Findings 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 Offshore Tax Dodging (1/2) Offshore tax dodging Umbrella term for tax evasion and tax avoidance using offshore structures. Demand: high net worth individuals (HNWIs) and multinational enterprises (MNEs). Supply: tax havens (also known as secrecy jurisdictions) and various intermediaries, mostly from the accounting, law, banking, and finance sectors. (Cousins et al. 2004; Palan et al. 2010; De Groen 2017; Schumann 2017) 1.1 Offshore Tax Dodging (2/2) The term “offshore” generally connotes a geographical “Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich” category, but in the context of tax dodging, it is a legal one. offshore tax dodging scheme (simplified) Offshore tax havens are essentially “legal spaces that decouple the real location of the economic transactions from the legal location, and hence remove the tax liability of the transaction from the place where it actually occurred”.
    [Show full text]
  • HSBC India Mired in Controversies After the Swiss Leaks
    HSBC India mired in controversies after the Swiss Leaks Extrait du CADTM http://cadtm.org/HSBC-India-mired-in-controversies HSBC India mired in controversies after the Swiss Leaks Date de mise en ligne : Tuesday 24 March 2015 CADTM Copyleft CADTM Page 1/3 HSBC India mired in controversies after the Swiss Leaks Following the Swiss Leaks implicating HSBC of actively promoting money-laundering and tax-heaven, the bank has hit the global headlines, but for wrong reasons. The trove of secret documents from HSBC Geneva reveals names of account holders and their balances covering over 200 countries for an amount totaling over $100 billion. But nowhere has the HSBC Swiss list kicked off a more intense political debate than in India. The controversies and shady deals surrounding HSBC India operations dates four years back. In 2011, according to Sunday Times "HSBC India representatives are alleged to have advised New Jersey businessman Vaibhav Dahake to transfer money in batches of £6,500 to "stay below the radar". The bank officials are alleged to have "advised and assisted" in tax evasion. Dahake admitted concealing undeclared bank accounts in 2011, but said bank representatives had solicited him to open accounts that paid high interest rates and would not be declared to tax officials." |1| Well, various others revelations seems to suggest that Dahake incident is not an isolated episode. Back in 2011 the US Justice Department sought an order from a federal court in San Francisco authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to request information from HSBC Bank USA, NA about US residents who may be using accounts at HSBC India to evade federal income taxes.
    [Show full text]
  • Tax Evasion and Inequality∗
    Tax Evasion and Inequality∗ Annette Alstadsæter (Norwegian University of Life Sciences) Niels Johannesen (University of Copenhagen) Gabriel Zucman (UC Berkeley and NBER) May 28, 2017 Abstract This paper attempts to estimate the size and distribution of tax evasion in rich coun- tries. We combine stratified random audits|the key source used to study tax evasion so far|with new micro-data leaked from two large offshore financial institutions, HSBC Switzerland (\Swiss leaks") and Mossack Fonseca (\Panama Papers"). We match these data to population-wide wealth records in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. We find that tax evasion rises sharply with wealth, a phenomenon that random audits fail to capture. On average about 3% of personal taxes are evaded in Scandinavia, but this figure rises to about 30% in the top 0.01% of the wealth distribution, a group that includes households with more than $40 million in net wealth. A simple model of the supply of tax evasion services can explain why evasion rises steeply with wealth. Taking tax evasion into account increases the rise in inequality seen in tax data since the 1970s markedly, highlighting the need to move beyond tax data to capture income and wealth at the top, even in countries where tax compliance is generally high. We also find that after reducing tax evasion|by using tax amnesties|tax evaders do not legally avoid taxes more. This result suggests that fighting tax evasion can be an effective way to collect more tax revenue from the ultra-wealthy. ∗Annette Alstadsæter: [email protected]; Niels Johannesen: [email protected]; Gabriel Zucman: [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Steueroase Deutschland Wie Deutschland Im Internationalen Steuerflucht- Und Geldwäschegeschäft Mitmischt Miyanza/Demotix/Actionaid Owen Photo
    12. Oktober 2016 – Osnabrücker Ermutigung, FABI Steueroase Deutschland Wie Deutschland im internationalen Steuerflucht- und Geldwäschegeschäft mitmischt Miyanza/Demotix/ActionAid Photo: Owen 2012: Photo: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters Suzanne Photo: Photo: Photo: Private 2015: Photo: Photo:RL/Liberation Markus Meinzer, Director Tax Justice Network 1 Überblick 1) Was ist eine Steueroase? 2) Größenordnung des Problems 3) Steueroase Deutschland a. Steuerfluchtburg b. Geldwäsche & Diktatorengelder c. Innerdeutscher Steuer“krieg“ d. Politische Korruption und Abgründe der Steuerjustiz 4) Lösungsansätze: Mehr Transparenz wagen! 2 2014: 2016: Quelle: Oxfam Quelle: Oxfam 3 4 5 1. Was ist eine Steueroase? Warum plagen uns Steueroasen noch immer? 1. Gegenmaßnahmen verpuffen, weil sie von Lobbyisten verwässert werden (wenn nicht in dieser, dann in der nächsten Legislaturperiode, z.B. Zinsschranke) & weil das Scheitern der diversen Gegenmaßnahmen aufgrund von Intransparenz schwierig nachzuweisen ist – 1931 Verordnung gg. Liechtensteiner Stiftungen; 1964 Steueroasenbericht; 1968 Horten, 1972 Außensteuergesetz, Gordon Bericht an das US-Finanzministerium von 1981, – Das BEPS Projekt der OECD dürfte sich in diese traurige historische Reihe eingliedern Das Katz- und Mausspiel zwischen Steuertricksern und Steuerverwaltung/Politik kann unter Vorzeichen der Intransparenz nicht zugunsten der öffentlichen Hand entschieden werden 2. Ideologie des Steuer“wettbewerbs“ grassiert: fast alle Staaten wurden vom Opfer zum Täter – TINA (there is no alternative) 3. Es gibt keine Einigkeit darüber, was eine Steueroase eigentlich ist 6 1. Was ist eine Steueroase? “The term ‘tax haven’ has been loosely defined to include any country having a low or zero rate of tax on all or certain categories of income, and offering a certain level of banking or commercial secrecy. Applied literally, however, this definition would sweep in many industrialized countries not generally considered tax havens, including the United States.
    [Show full text]