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http://therealsingapore.com/content/worlds-15-biggest-tax-havens-singapore-ranked-5th
[h=1]THE WORLD'S 15 BIGGEST TAX HAVENS: SINGAPORE RANKED 5TH[/h]
Post date:
1 May 2015 - 9:03pm
Corporate tax avoidance, tax dodging, secret offshore tax havens, tiny tropical islands that are the mysterious headquarters of global companies. In the lead-up to the UK General Election, there’s a lot of talk about how to get giant companies to start paying their fair share of tax.
The campaign to have a Tax Dodging Bill introduced as UK law has gained considerable momentum, but I’m a bit of a curious type. When I read a term like “secret offshore tax haven”, I tend to wonder “yeah, but where?”. Luckily, an organisation called Tax Justice Network has an answer for “yeah, but where?”, in the form of its Financial Secrecy Index.
Splendid. How does the Financial Secrecy Index work?
The short answer* of how the index works, is that it uses 15 different “secrecy indicators” to determine which countries make it easiest to hide money and avoid tax. Then, it factors in how big the country’s financial services industry is. This second step is important because a tiny country with a small number of shady financial transactions isn’t as much of an overall problem as a large country with millions of secret foreign transactions per day.
Clear as m&d? Good. Here are the world's 15 biggest tax havens, and there's a bit of a twist at the end.
.....
[h=4]5. Singapore[/h]
When Malaysia kicked Singapore out in 1965, it was a tiny island that didn’t even have enough fresh water for its people. Since then, it has become an international trade and financial services powerhouse, and one of the richest countries in the world. While it’s very easy to open a bank account there, Singapore’s financial secrecy laws are tighter than most, so it’s difficult to track the millions of transactions that pump through this thriving Asian trading hub every day.
......
[h=4]Tax havens: “We’re not tax havens”[/h]Nobody likes to be called a tax haven, partly because that scrutiny might make it harder for a tax haven to do business. Many so-called tax havens have gone to great lengths to cooperate with international efforts to stamp out gigantic tax avoidance... but only in ways that mean they can continue to host gigantic tax avoidance. Sorry, the term they prefer is “international finance centre”. You guys, can you please just call them “international finance centres”? Yes, that little island of a few thousand fishermen and retirees is an International Finance Centre. I'm glad we've cleared that up.
[h=4]Why does all of this matter?[/h]Well, for every major company that isn’t paying its fair share of tax, there are scores of teachers and nurses that can’t be employed, roads that can’t be repaired, schools that can’t be built, and hospitals without livesaving equipment. And that’s just in the UK.
The global nature of the tax avoidance game has even bigger consequences in developing countries, where the missing tax dollars could be used to help citizens out of extreme poverty. To find out more about why a Tax Dodging Bill is so important for the UK, have a look here. You can also let your local parliamentary candidates know that this matters to you by filling out the form below.
*Read the full article at https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-worlds-15-biggest-tax-havens/
[h=1]THE WORLD'S 15 BIGGEST TAX HAVENS: SINGAPORE RANKED 5TH[/h]
Post date:
1 May 2015 - 9:03pm
Corporate tax avoidance, tax dodging, secret offshore tax havens, tiny tropical islands that are the mysterious headquarters of global companies. In the lead-up to the UK General Election, there’s a lot of talk about how to get giant companies to start paying their fair share of tax.
The campaign to have a Tax Dodging Bill introduced as UK law has gained considerable momentum, but I’m a bit of a curious type. When I read a term like “secret offshore tax haven”, I tend to wonder “yeah, but where?”. Luckily, an organisation called Tax Justice Network has an answer for “yeah, but where?”, in the form of its Financial Secrecy Index.
Splendid. How does the Financial Secrecy Index work?
The short answer* of how the index works, is that it uses 15 different “secrecy indicators” to determine which countries make it easiest to hide money and avoid tax. Then, it factors in how big the country’s financial services industry is. This second step is important because a tiny country with a small number of shady financial transactions isn’t as much of an overall problem as a large country with millions of secret foreign transactions per day.
Clear as m&d? Good. Here are the world's 15 biggest tax havens, and there's a bit of a twist at the end.
.....
[h=4]5. Singapore[/h]
When Malaysia kicked Singapore out in 1965, it was a tiny island that didn’t even have enough fresh water for its people. Since then, it has become an international trade and financial services powerhouse, and one of the richest countries in the world. While it’s very easy to open a bank account there, Singapore’s financial secrecy laws are tighter than most, so it’s difficult to track the millions of transactions that pump through this thriving Asian trading hub every day.
......
[h=4]Tax havens: “We’re not tax havens”[/h]Nobody likes to be called a tax haven, partly because that scrutiny might make it harder for a tax haven to do business. Many so-called tax havens have gone to great lengths to cooperate with international efforts to stamp out gigantic tax avoidance... but only in ways that mean they can continue to host gigantic tax avoidance. Sorry, the term they prefer is “international finance centre”. You guys, can you please just call them “international finance centres”? Yes, that little island of a few thousand fishermen and retirees is an International Finance Centre. I'm glad we've cleared that up.
[h=4]Why does all of this matter?[/h]Well, for every major company that isn’t paying its fair share of tax, there are scores of teachers and nurses that can’t be employed, roads that can’t be repaired, schools that can’t be built, and hospitals without livesaving equipment. And that’s just in the UK.
The global nature of the tax avoidance game has even bigger consequences in developing countries, where the missing tax dollars could be used to help citizens out of extreme poverty. To find out more about why a Tax Dodging Bill is so important for the UK, have a look here. You can also let your local parliamentary candidates know that this matters to you by filling out the form below.
*Read the full article at https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-worlds-15-biggest-tax-havens/
