Topic: tax havens

The late Mancur Olsen was a very accomplished academic economist who described the unfortunate tendency of vote-seeking governments to behave like “stationary bandits,” seeking to extract the maximum amount of money from taxpayers.

A single sentence in the nine-page tax plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans could have a multi-billion-dollar impact on U.S. businesses that structure their affairs through offshore centers.

When offshore financial centers receive criticism for being “tax havens,” they often counter by pointing to larger countries in Europe and elsewhere that practice many of the same policies decried by the international community.

Few are paying attention, but a proposal now working its way through Congress could change the U.S.’s whole approach to trade, industrial policy and taxation. The plan would exempt income earned on exports from corporate taxation.

Our patriotism is to the ideals of the Founding Fathers, not to the bad tax policy of the U.S. government

Are the several dozen so-called offshore financial centers enlightened enough to mount a vigorous defense against the know-nothing statists or will they apologize for their mere existence?

Absent from the extensive coverage of the Panama Papers leak is any journalistic analysis whatsoever of the evident and coruscating irony.

Were you shocked to learn of all of the politicians from around the globe who have utilized Panama and other “offshore” entities to set up financial structures to hide their money?

IFCs should use objective measures of their perception to better tackle the reputational challenge.