Tax Havens Under Attack

Many of the most powerful tax havens are under threat of attack from the British government.

“The UK’s secretive network of islands—former parts of the British Empire that didn’t choose independence—hold over a third of the world’s offshore wealth (estimated at $32 trillion in 2012), according to Oxfam.” – Quartz

British tax havens like the British Virgin Islands, the Caymans, and Bermuda actually have more businesses than people. A bill in Parliament may force tax havens to reveal the ownership of the companies by 2020. If they do so, the information will be far more significant than the release of the Panama Papers. A series of scenarios are possible: the islands comply, in which case much of the money shifts to other havens subsequently reducing the economy of the islands; the islands claim their sovereignty, in which case some epic court cases would ensue; the islands could claim their independence, in which case they lose the protection and support of the British Government, trusting their economies and independence to a model that is exposed to a single source of failure. The reason for doing this, however, remains: reducing the amount of money hidden from taxes, reducing the opportunities for money laundering, and increasing the transparency of the identities of the ultra-wealthy.

(Click on the chart for the link.)

“Britain Could Be About To Crack Down On Trillions Of Dollars Hidden Offshore” – Quartz