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[PTTG??]

Context

In short, a colossal leak has revealed a massive tax evasion scheme featuring the rich and famous. It's outright staggering, and the full data is yet to be released. There are certainly political repercussions to be felt in the US, but the big news so far is that Iceland's President, elected on a reform campaign, was revealed as a participant in the tax evasion scheme. Thousands of others are named, but I'll wait for the official release to find a credible summary.

I suppose that one interesting note is a look at who is and isn't reporting on this. USA today has an article about it, but CNN hasn't yet covered this OR Unaoil; at this point, it's barely ahead of E! as a source for political news.

[MaximumZero]

PTW. Gettin' popcorn ready. Waiting for some serious fallout to happen within not only my national borders, but local ones, too. My governor is incredibly and openly corrupt, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was involved.

[Orange Wizard]

"Maybe we should crack down on tax havens" - Nobody important

[ChairmanPoo]

I posted about this in the EU thread... it's astonishing the amount of people involved

[Antioch]

It's idiotic that tax haven laws still haven't been changed.


Higher tax rates are useless, what is needed is fixing the holes in the system so the ultra rich don't get to "legally" evade the tax they should have paid.

But since the same people benefiting from this are the ones that are having the greatest influence on politics its not that odd.

This leak might give the momentum needed to change this.

[Sheb]

I'm going to do a mainiac here, but designing tax systems is not easy. Tax havens are not easy to deal with, as the government of the tax havens have an interest in keeping things the way they are, and you can't just invade them.

Anyway, what I found really interesting is the money movements around Putin's circle, which is less about tax evasion as about hiding embezzelment and corruption. They really got good at stealing discreetely.

More details in this article Just a quote:

Another example makes the mechanics even clearer. In December 2010, the RCB lent 5bn roubles (then about £100m) offshore to Sandalwood at 4% interest. Sandalwood promptly passed it on to another offshore entity with obscure ownership, Eurofert Trading Ltd, as a loan at 5%. Eurofert then lent the money on to a Gazprom subsidiary trying to run power stations in Russia. It charged Gazprom 8.4% – more than double the original interest rate.

[Orange Wizard]

you can't just invade them

Wars have been started for less. I think "facilitating our loss of millions/billions in tax dollars" is a valid casus belli.

Not that I'd support military intervention, but something should be done at an international level to at least try to address it.

Anyway, what I found really interesting is the money movements around Putin's circle, which is less about tax evasion as about hiding embezzelment and corruption. They really got good at stealing discreetely.

That's pretty cool, actually. How they hid it, not the corruption. I also like how you combined the spellings of "discreet" and "discrete". Now nobody can accuse you of using the wrong one!

[Sergarr]

Oh hey, Poroshenko, modern President of Ukraine, is in there. What a surprise... not.

[Arx]

It caps the nephew of our glorious leader Jacob Zuma as well, who has definitely in no way benefitted from his uncle's power, no sir. I will be quite surprised if it doesn't reveal some awkward truths about uncle Jacob as well.

[mainiac]

Tax havens are not easy to deal with, as the government of the tax havens have an interest in keeping things the way they are, and you can't just invade them.

And when you try to crack down on tax evasion in Switzerland, they move to Iceland.  Sneaky, sneaky.

There are some obvious things that could be done though.  For instance they could stop cutting the IRS budget.

Oh hey, Poroshenko, modern President of Ukraine, is in there. What a surprise... not.

Poor ukraine

[Antioch]

Yeah, tax laws aren't easy because the companies and rich guys have lawyers that will find any and all the loopholes. And every time you close a loophole they find another.

But if we keep cracking down on them, the loopholes WILL become smaller, less practical and potentially less legal.

[smjjames]

CNN is probably like 'business as usual' or maybe Rupert Murdoch knows he is on that list, dunno.

Anyway, once American politicians show up on that list, they certainly will be paying attention.

[Haspen]

PTW. Gettin' popcorn ready.

[Dorsidwarf]

Hearsay is that Davey Cameron's dad is on the list.

[smjjames]

They haven't reported it on TV yet (too busy with the election stuff), but CNN does have a page on it now: http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/04/news/panama-papers-offshore-accounts-investigation/index.html