Financial Transparency Coalition

This report is the first that PCS has produced on the subject of tax havens. It has prepared it for four reasons. First, PCS is committed to a fair, progressive tax system. It sees tax havens (or secrecy jurisdictions as we prefer to call them) as a threat to the establishment of such a system. This report notes that the UK might lose up to £18 billion a year as a result of the use of tax havens. This loss contributes significantly to the overall UK tax gap that PCS believes currently amounts to at least £120 billion.

WASHINGTON – Stating that “Uncle Sam can’t afford offshore tax abuses that are robbing the Treasury of $100 billion in lost revenue yearly and increasing the tax burden on honest, hardworking Americans,” Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., together with cosponsors Senator Bill Nelson, Sanders, Shaheen, and Whitehouse, today introduced legislation to close offshore tax loopholes and strengthen offshore tax enforcement.

When I first looked at the subsidy the UK gave to the Isle of Man through its VAT sharing agreement I came to the conclusion that the sum involved exceeded £200 million a year. In 2009 the UK government removed £140 million of that subsidy a year. Yesterday they announced intention to increase the withdrawal if subsidy to a total of £215 million a year – very close to the sum I first calculated.

Liechtenstein has just announced the latest sums it has collected under the terms of the European Savings Tax Directive. It was a measly €7.8 million. Continue Reading