Wealthy individuals are thought to have at least $21 trillion hidden in secret tax havens – an amount of wealth equivalent to the combined GDP of United States and Japan.
The study, titled “The Price of Offshore Revisited” was released on Sunday by advocacy group Tax Justice Network, drew data from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations, and the Bank for International Settlements.
Written by James Henry, a former chief economist at consultancy firm McKinsey, the study is thought to be the most detailed and rigorous study ever made of financial assets held in offshore financial centres and secrecy structures. Related News: Switzerland: Tax Haven No More?
According to the study, at the end of 2010, the top 50 private banks collectively managed more than $12.1 trillion in cross-border invested assets for private clients, up from $5.4 trillion in 2005.
The study added:
The three private banks handling the most assets offshore on behalf of the global super-rich are UBS, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs.
While the numbers are shocking, Henry claims the $21 trillion figure is in fact “conservative” and the true value could be as high as $32 trillion.
According to Henry, these assets are “protected by a highly paid, industrious bevy of professional enablers in the private banking, legal, accounting and investment industries taking advantage of the increasingly borderless, frictionless global economy”.
Calling the gap a “black hole” in the world economy, the money could generate tax revenues of between $190 to $280 billion, assuming a 30 percent tax rate, or approximately twice the amount OECD countries spend on annual overseas development assistance.
Henry said:
This (comes) at a time when governments all around the world are starved for resources, and we are more conscious than ever of the costs of economic inequality. However, tax expert and British government adviser John Whiting said he was doubtful of the figure.
“There clearly are some significant amounts hidden away, but if it really is that size what is being done with it all?” he asked.
Courtesy Economy Watch,
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