A new report shows the United States has become the leading center for foreign nationals to shelter assets from home jurisdiction taxes. The United States leap froged such perennial contenders as Luxembourg and Switzerland, two countries that have extensive industries based around secret banking, to become the dominant player in asset hiding. This ranking comes as surprise to many since the Obama administration has made the disclosure by foreign banks of the names of American clients hiding assets a priority. But while Washington is concerned about tracking down tax evading Americans, it has not been so keen on helping other nations do the same. In particular, it is the states that have the most friendly laws for shell corporations and foreign trust which drive the American tax haven industry. Due to the US government’s reluctance to engage other countries in a mutual exchange of information on tax evaders, it is a safe bet the US will remain number one in this ranking for the foreseeable future.
See Simon Bowers, US overtakes Caymans and Singapore as haven for assets of super-rich, The Guardian, November 2, 2015.
Special thanks to Lewis Saret for bringing this article to my attention.
