Tax haven

As a tax haven or tax haven (English tax haven, tax shelter or tax exile ) are countries or territories referred to, that do not charge or very low taxes on income or assets and thus are tax- attractive as a residence for individuals or as a location for business.

  • 5.1 tax havens in 2002 and older
  • 5.2 Implementation of the OECD standards 5.2.1 Criticism of classification in tax havens

Characteristics

Important for a tax haven are legal security and political stability, the security of the invested capital is guaranteed, with good governance ( " good governance " that is efficient administrative structures, little corruption and the resulting low tax rate) the probability of inflowing money instrumental determined. A bank secrecy may be part of the law.

Tax havens are in most cases small countries that have a low level of economic activity in relation to the financial transactions that take place there and the existing capital and have a little regulated economic policy. Often there are former British colonies or current overseas territories of the UK. Even countries that achieve a high income because of their commodity exports (eg Bahrain), often raise no or very low taxes. Typical of tax havens is a high number of shell companies.

Within Europe rank in the Financial Secrecy Index, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany in the top group.

The banking crisis in the Republic of Cyprus, which escalated in March 2013, has deliberately made ​​risks of tax havens around the world.

Methods of use

There are many ways to reduce their own tax burden through use of tax havens. All together, the goal is income that is achieved in high-tax countries not to have to pay tax there.

Individuals can avoid tax payments by shifting their place of residence, see Boris Becker, Michael Schumacher, Stefanie Graf. The proportion of displaced income of individuals is estimated in the U.S. to about ten percent of the total displaced income.

For businesses, there are many ways to move, the profits:

  • The company may set up a subsidiary for its foreign operations in a tax haven to avoid taxes on repatriated profits.
  • The company can finance investments in high-tax countries with loans of subsidiaries, which are located in low-tax countries. There are so in the high-tax country no (or less) profits, since interest payments are to be made to the daughter.
  • Services that are provided within a group can be recognized that profits are drawn from high-tax countries. For example, the right of exploitation may be due to a patent in a tax haven and the domestic company pays royalties to its foreign subsidiaries. This is a legal process, as long as market prices are paid; if this is the case, however, is difficult to verify since a market for it does not exist.
  • Goods and services can be traded between parts of the same group. According to the Tax Justice Network about 10 trillion U.S. dollars annually would most traded within the Group, this was what the largest volume fraction of world trade. Here would be a gigantic potential for abuse.

Problem of tax havens

Is seen in tax havens as problematic in that they involve larger states to compete for low taxes. States are trying to maintain a complex community, and to provide an infrastructure and thus to take measures which are indispensable for the proper functioning of the economy and thus the global economy. Tax havens keep out of these areas but take the functioning of the global economy. The NGO Tax Justice Network estimates the loss from offshore financial centers worldwide tax revenue to about 255 billion dollars per year. The foregone tax revenue of the United States are estimated at about 70 billion dollars.

A study by the Tax Justice Network from 2012 shows that the super-rich to accommodate a large portion of its assets in tax havens. A conservative estimate assumes that 21 trillion dollars are housed in tax havens, 9.8 trillion alone of the world's top 100 000 wealthy. As a result, this leads towards the taxation hidden fortune to massive undervaluation of assets in the respective countries. In fact, without this process would probably most countries creditor and not the debtor.

Initiatives

Government initiatives against tax havens

In response to the control problem, the OECD launched in 1998, the so-called " Harmful Tax Competition" initiative. A total of 41 countries were identified whose tax legislation was not in conformity with fair competition. There were problems at the start of the initiative, because the OECD members Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg saw her at risk of bank secrecy. Once the requirements had been relaxed somewhat, but most identified countries were persuaded to back down: since May 2009, no country is on the " OECD List of Tax Havens uncooperative ".

Regulatory successes in the area of tax competition have also been achieved through bilateral agreements. For example, some countries have been forced to abandon their unequal treatment of nationals and foreigners ( residents had to pay higher taxes as a foreigner ) but that does not in some cases led to higher taxes for foreigners, but residents gave lower rates.

In 2005, the European Savings Tax Directive was adopted. The blocking countries were again Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium and Austria, who enforced that instead of exchanging information ( notification procedure ) alternatively, a withholding tax on capital gains could be dissipated. Since the definition of " investment income " was very narrow, the withholding tax in the countries concerned has been very low ( 210 million euros until 2007).

The German federal government has done with the amnesty act trying to motivate tax evaders to return to Germany, and promised them impunity.

In October 2008, announced the French and the German government in Paris to tighten measures to dehydration of tax havens. The " OECD List of Tax Havens uncooperative " with Andorra, Liechtenstein and Monaco should to be complemented other countries, including Switzerland. In March 2009, the tax havens of Liechtenstein and Andorra relented. So Liechtenstein will lift its strict banking secrecy partially and accept the OECD standards of transparency and exchange of information in tax matters. On March 13, 2009, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg said to a relaxation of banking secrecy.

Monaco expressed on 15 March 2009 its willingness to enhance cooperation in the field of tax evasion based on international criteria. That's especially the rules of international economic organization OECD for the exchange of information.

2013, inter alia, the issue became Steuroasen in the course of offshore Leaks worldwide attention. Many tax havens are British Overseas Territories or Kronbesitz. British Prime Minister David Cameron called for in May 2013, the British Overseas Territories and Kronbesitzungen ( Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Turks Islands Caicos Islands and the Kronbesitzungen Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man) in a letter to a stronger collaboration with the government and the investigating authorities on. He pointed out in a letter to the leaders of regions namely to define their rights, low tax rates; the rules would need to be fairly established and enforced. This is about two key issues: the exchange of control data and a list of beneficial owners of the company. The G8 summit at Lough Erne in 2013 at 17-18. June 2013 will be conducted as scheduled by the British Prime Minister; he will deal with the topic of ' tax havens '.

Non-governmental initiatives

Critical globalization organizations such as ATTAC, Oxfam and the Tax Justice Network have long demanded the " closure" of tax havens, so internationally binding agreements among states that nowhere can rich live tax-free - eg Geneva Call, in 1996. Since but just could preserve small and micro states under the tax havens without their status as havens very difficult their independence and, moreover, many large corporations, business leaders, and especially policy makers of the leading economic nations themselves the beneficiaries of this oases count, this is politically very difficult to enforce.

In the so-called offshore leaks reported in April 2013 worldwide media from a record with 130,000 names of people who should have invested their assets in tax havens.

Important tax havens

Since the status of a tax haven is not clearly defined, a consensus on a list of tax havens is not possible. The lists in this article are therefore included, depending on the perspective, countries that do not belong or are countries or regions lacking ( often called: the U.S. state of Delaware). To address this problem to carry at least partially account are listed in the following two lists.

Tax havens in 2002 and older

Here, therefore, can only be an exemplary selection of countries and territories mentioned, which were referred to two sources in the past as tax havens. Well-known tax havens are (according to OECD and Diamond):

  • Grenada
  • Isle of Man
  • Virgin Islands
  • Cayman Islands
  • Channel Islands
  • Kranidi
  • Liberia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Maldives
  • Malta
  • Marshall Islands
  • Mauritius
  • Monaco
  • Montserrat
  • Nauru1
  • Netherlands Antilles
  • Niue1
  • Panama
  • Samoa
  • Seychelles
  • St. Kitts and Nevis
  • St. Lucia
  • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Tonga
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Vanuatu
  • Cyprus

Only contained in the list of Hines and Rice (1994 ) were:

  • Hong Kong
  • Ireland
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Luxembourg
  • Macao
  • Switzerland
  • Singapore

Implementation of the OECD standards

In 2009, the Government of the G-20 agreed on the publication of a new list.

The current list from May 2012 shows the progress:

  • White List: States and territories have committed to the international tax standard and have this largely implemented: Here are most of the observed states with China, does not include the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, which are committed to the international tax standard.
  • Grey list: tax havens ( ' Tax Havens '), which have largely subject to international tax standard, have this but not yet implemented: Here is only Nauru recorded.
  • Black List (2009): States or financial centers, which have not submitted to the international tax standard was revised in November 2011 at the G20 summit in Cannes.

Criticism of classification in tax havens

Compared with the classification in tax havens there in terms of the criteria criticism not only from the countries concerned, as not or appear in the OECD lists certain countries in a "white" category. To include the British Channel Islands, despite their trust legislation and some U.S. states to known places of international money laundering. One indication of this is the ability to anonymously set up a company, such as the Australian Professor Jason Sharman says. The creation of an anonymous company is advertised aggressively on the Internet, with the UK, Spain, or Panama and still the Netherlands Antilles and other Caribbean countries also are recommended. Apparently, the economic power of these countries but one reason not to take action against these centers, although estimates go out alone for the U.S. State of Delaware of about 6,000 billion dollars in assets under management.

Financial Secrecy Index

After the Financial Secrecy Index 2011 determined by the Tax Justice Network are measured at the potential damage ten most important tax havens:

The full list here

Great Britain

Many of those considered tax havens, countries belonging to the Commonwealth; many of them were former British colonies. Britain is the only major country in the EU that does not belong to the euro zone. The financial sector has significantly more weight than in other industrialized countries in the UK. It has grown rapidly since about 1990; at the same time there was a process of deindustrialisation. The UK has a significant trade deficit for many years; also due to the decline of its production of North Sea oil. It strives to maintain its jobs in the financial sector. The country has a strong EU - skepticism (see also Brexit ).

In the Irish Sea and the English Channel are the three designated as crown dependencies Islands: Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey (including the small island of Sark ). There are also 14 British Overseas Territories. Only Gibraltar does not belong to the EU, the other 13. Alone in the British Virgin Islands are one million registered companies - with a population of 31,900.

In May 2013, the British Prime Minister David Cameron urged the British Overseas Territories and Kronbesitzungen on to greater co-operation with the government and the investigating authorities. He demanded, especially more transparency in the control data and the ownership of firms. The " reclamation of the tax havens' he called main objective of the G8 summit in June 2013.

Legal certainty Steffi Graf Offshore-Leaks 39th G8 summit The Bahamas Proposed referendum on United Kingdom membership of the European Union Nicholas Shaxson Tageblatt Integrated Authority File
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