Panama Papers

Moby

In a speech last year in Singapore, David Cameron said “the corrupt, criminals and money launderers” take advantage of anonymous company structures. The government is trying to do something about this. It wants to set up a central register that will reveal the beneficial owners of offshore companies. From June, UK companies will have to reveal their “significant” owners for the first time.

Why did he need a central register? He could have looked closer to home......I'm sure he hasn't personally benefitted from his fathers tax arrangements though!;)

antrobus

Double_V wrote: »

Why do we have these tax havens in the first place ?.....

Because it's a strategy often adopted by small poor countries as a means of transforming themselves into small rich countries.

Double_V wrote: »

...Can we not shut them down ? ...

Yes. All you need is a spare aircraft carrier and some marines.

Double_V wrote: »

...I believe these loopholes/tax haven/laws whatever you can call them were invented for the riches.

By defintion, 'tax havens' are only of any foxin use if you're paying taxes. Which kinda lets the poor off the hook. Except fot the poor who live in the tax havens. They often do quite well out of it.

Double_V wrote: »

...Edward Snowden version 2.0

What! Is Edward Snowden wanted for questioning on another criminal charge? What's he supposedly done this time?

Moby

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/05/panama-papers-assad-fixer-london-property

Most of the restrictions were short-lived. With backing from William Hague, then foreign secretary, his name was removed from the European Union blacklist in June 2014. Restrictions have since been lifted from Marouf’s properties.

Drip drip drip.....there must be so much to come out!

Thrugelmir

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Surely there'll be no surprises in the documents, but interesting to see how the media will run it.

The impact will be far reaching. Somebody set these schemes up. Going to be a number of ruined reputations.

kabayiri

antrobus wrote: »

...
By defintion, 'tax havens' are only of any foxin use if you're paying taxes. Which kinda lets the poor off the hook. Except fot the poor who live in the tax havens. They often do quite well out of it.
...

I also had assumed that the poor in these tax havens profit from the tax haven status.

However, there was an article some time back which suggested this was not the case. At the time, one third of families in a place like Jersey were on the breadline.

Genuinely, if being a tax haven confers huge advantages, then why doesn't the UK consider becoming the biggest tax haven of the lot?

michaels

Moby wrote: »

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/05/panama-papers-assad-fixer-london-property


Drip drip drip.....there must be so much to come out!

Tricky one for the guardian, hammer the govt too much and you probably end up increasing support for brexit.

antrobus

kabayiri wrote: »

I also had assumed that the poor in these tax havens profit from the tax haven status.

However, there was an article some time back which suggested this was not the case. At the time, one third of families in a place like Jersey were on the breadline....

Probably the Guardian. But then, perhaps it would be two-thirds of families if it wasn't for the financial sector? I don't know. What would Jersey do if the finance sector went away? There must be a limit to the amount of money you can make flogging greeting cards and potatoes.

kabayiri wrote: »

....Genuinely, if being a tax haven confers huge advantages, then why doesn't the UK consider becoming the biggest tax haven of the lot?

Well, some people might say that was the plan. After all, if you are Swedish the UK is a tax haven. There's a reason why Rausing came to live here.

Conrad

kabayiri wrote: »

Genuinely, if being a tax haven confers huge advantages, then why doesn't the UK consider becoming the biggest tax haven of the lot?

Singapore has low taxation and is arguably about as successful an economy one could find with no mass chavvy benefits culture.


I was amazed how the place looks now, to the extent I am staying there a couple of days as part of my summer holls.

antrobus

Its triggered an election in Iceland.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35966412

Thrugelmir

michaels wrote: »

Tricky one for the guardian, hammer the govt too much and you probably end up increasing support for brexit.

Going to be many people involved in Europe. This isn't a single country issue. See that Oz has 800 names alone to investigate and that's a small country.