G-20 gets serious on banking in tax havens
It is really long overdue and welcome news which has emanated from the G-20 meeting being held in London. Tax havens have had a pretty free run for the past few decades and have sheltered funds of dubious characters – whether they are crooked politicians, arms/drugs smugglers, terrorists or crooked businessmen. Along with these deviant characters you also have genuine businesses who plan their taxes in such a way as to minimize the incidence of tax so as to maximize shareholder value. A differentiation between tax evaders and tax avoiders needs to be made, and this has been discussed threadbare over the years. I am sure those who plan their taxes will have no problem with the disclosure requirements which will be laid down following the G-20 meeting. It is the others who need to worry! Tax haven countries have lax banking laws which enable them to refuse parting with information about their clients in spite of requests from various national Governments. The countries named are Costa Ri...