
The Paradise Papers shows how some have been taking advantage and using tax heavens.
The Paradise Papers collection of documents is the first leak of record sizes that has ever appeared online. These reports were never to be seen by the eyes of most people. They expose the ways the elitist world takes advantage of tax havens to ward their fortune from additional bills.
Tax Heavens Protected Trillions of Dollars in Private Funds in 2015
On Sunday, German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung published sensitive data and shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The same organization was responsible for the publishing of the Panama Papers in 2016.
These so-called Paradise Papers consist of at least 13.4 million files. The extensive collection of financial materials originates mostly from the internal documents of international companies. Most of them concern organizations that are in charge of offshore accounts in the name of affluent investors. Some of them are Asiaciti Trust from Singapore and law company Appleby.
There are further details from other 19 corporate organizations that are under governmental administration included in this massive disclosure. All of them conduct business in offshore countries where taxes have meager rates.
The tax haven represents opportunities that foreign entities can take advantage of to tap into minimum tax liability. Generally speaking, the most famous locations are those nations with stable economics and politics.
Every two years, the financial secrecy index from the Tax Justice Network releases a new update. According to the 2015 issue, tax heavens harbored $21 to $34 trillion of private funds.
The Documents Make References to Influential Names at a Global Level
Such financial practices hang on the edge of the law. While individuals break no rule or regulation whenever they choose to transition their fortune offshore, there are some questions of ethics that they trigger. Some experts claim that this practice activates a shield of secrecy that is broad enough to hide irregular financial activities.
The leaked Paradise Papers contain data about famous politicians and public characters at a global level. U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, estate administrators of Queen Elizabeth II, proteges of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nike, and Apple are just a few of the individuals and entities that appear in these files.
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