Safe Heavens: A Hidden Curse

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The first signs of tax heaven appeared after World War I in some countries, such as the United States, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, but it was really shaped between 1960-1964 by the British Empire, which is so massive that it can be referred to as the second empire. This blog will not delve into history because it is about compliance.

SWISS LAW

The Swiss law mandated 'absolute silence in respect to a professional secret', that is, absolute silence in relation to any accounts held in Swiss banks. "absolute" here indicates protection from any government, including the Swiss.

JURISDICTIONS

To understand how tax heaven work, we will need to understand countries which make it possible

I'll list the countries that are recognized to be tax havens or have a high level of privacy. These are countries where it is easier to operate accounts anonymously or with a nominee director, where a corporation can be a corporate director of another company, or where business transactions are subject to no or minimum taxation.

African:
Sudan
Kenya
Uganda
Botswana
Nigeria
Liberia

Latin America:
Venezuela
Panama
Costa Rica
Dominic Republic
ST Kitts & Nevis
Grenada
Bermuda

Europe:
Andorra
Cyprus
Gibraltar
Isle of Man
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco

Others:
Singapore
Canary Islands
British Virgin Islands
US Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Lebanon
Belize
Macao
Jordan
Hong Kong

 

Source: https://www.udel.edu/content/dam/udelImages/udaily/2017/September/091117-FailedStates-map-600x315.jpg

The British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Bermuda are the leading tax havens, scoring 2,853, 2,653, and 2,508 respectively on the Tax Haven Index.

The list is based on the two primary factors stated above, but other factors, such as banking regulations, are also evaluated when determining if a country or region is safe heaven.

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