Global Financial Integrity

Why Offshore Tax Havens Should Matter to Everyone

Offshore tax havens impact everybody in the United States, raising the individual tax bills of each American citizen. In fact, every U.S. taxpayer had to pay approximately $1,259 extra on their tax bill this year due to lost...

Letter to the Editor: Further Inquiry and Action Needed on Banks and Tax Havens

SIR:

As a research and advocacy group that has for years called attention to the murky world of tax havens, we welcome your report (Leaks reveal secrets of the rich who hide cash offshore, 4 April). But you should also have dispelled the myth advocated by some proponents that tax havens promote greater tax efficiency through competition; the evidence in economic literature is scanty at best. What is clear is that this benefit has not been enough to prevent tax havens from going bankrupt.

Levin-Merkley Amendment Would Shed Light on an Opaque Financial System, Says GFI

Offshore Clearinghouse is Systemic Product of a Lack of Transparency;  Senate Leadership Decision to Prevent Vote on Amendment is Troubling

WASHINGTON, DC – The fate of a crucial element of financial reform efforts, an amendment proposed to the Financial Stability Reform Act by Senators Carl Levin ((D-MI) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) is in limbo ahead of a cloture vote scheduled to take place on the Senate floor later today.   The proposed amendment-which will reportedly be prevented from receiving a vote on the Senate floor-will ban banks from proprietary trading, and its omission from the financial reform bill would set back critical efforts to increase transparency in offshore financial markets, said Global Financial Integrity today.

Report Finds US, UK, Cayman Lead Secrecy Jurisdictions as Top Locales for Private Deposits Offshore

WASHINGTON, DC – A new report released today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) on private, non-resident deposits in secrecy jurisdictions finds that the United States, United Kingdom, and the Cayman Islands are the most popular destinations for financial deposits by non-residents. Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong also make the top 10 list of destinations.

USA #1 in Ranking of World’s Most Secretive Financial Jurisdictions

WASHINGTON, DC – According to a new analysis of financial jurisdictions prepared by UK-based civil society group Tax Justice Network, the state of Delaware is the most secretive financial jurisdiction in the world. Based on the laws and practices of 60 financial jurisdictions the Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) ranks jurisdictions according to their level of secrecy and the extent to which they cooperate with tax authorities in other countries.