In ENGLISH | РУС/УКР
Sign in | Register
Mobile version | Subscription | RSS Archive
KyivPost

Super rich hold $32 trillion in offshore havens

Print version
July 22, 2012, 2:04 p.m. | World — by Reuters

A protestor holds fake bank notes on which is written "G8/G20 in France : help liberate money from tax havens" in front of a cash dispenser on May 11, 2011 in Rouen, northwestern France, during a demonstration to denounce the next G8 summit, slated for May 26 and 27 in the French northwestern city of Deauville. Demonstrators also painted the shop window of banks to protest against "the atrocities of which the world of finance is guilty".
© AFP

LONDON (Reuters) - Rich individuals and their families have as much as $32 trillion of hidden financial assets in offshore tax havens, representing up to $280 billion in lost income tax revenues, according to research published on Sunday.

 The study estimating the extent of global private financial wealth held in offshore accounts - excluding non-financial assets such as real estate, gold, yachts and racehorses - puts the sum at between $21 and $32 trillion.

The research was carried out for pressure group Tax Justice Network, which campaigns against tax havens, by James Henry, former chief economist at consultants McKinsey & Co.

He used data from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations and central banks.

The report also highlights the impact on the balance sheets of 139 developing countries of money held in tax havens by private elites, putting wealth beyond the reach of local tax authorities.

The research estimates that since the 1970s, the richest citizens of these 139 countries had amassed $7.3 to $9.3 trillion of "unrecorded offshore wealth" by 2010.

Private wealth held offshore represents "a huge black hole in the world economy," Henry said in a statement.

(Reporting by Chris Vellacott)

READ MORE IN SECTION
The Kyiv Post is hosting comments to foster lively debate. Criticism is fine, but stick to the issues. Comments that include profanity or personal attacks will be removed from the site. If you think that a posted comment violates these standards, please flag it and alert us. We will take steps to block violators.
Dirk July 23, 2012, 7:16 a.m.    

Are they breaking the law?

{# <-- parent id goes here
Edward Savich July 23, 2012, 7:36 a.m.    

yes

{# <-- parent id goes here
Phill M July 23, 2012, 7:42 p.m.    

Could I have 1% of that? Just a miserly 1%? If that's too much, how about 0.01%? I don't need much more!
-----------
It is estimated that around 100,000 people (give or take a few hundred) are mostly responsible for this. That's 100,000 people hiding over $100 million each (based on the $10trillion unrecorded wealth estimates).

One one is left to wonder, what possesses the rich to hid their riches? You can't take it with you to hell. The devil doesn't accept bribes, and salvation cannot be bought.

{# <-- parent id goes here
Advertising link

KyivPost

© 1995–2012 Public Media

Web links to Kyiv Post material are allowed provided that they contain a URL hyperlink to the www.kyivpost.com material and a maximum 500-character extract of the story. Otherwise, all materials contained on this site are protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced without the prior written permission of Public Media at news@kyivpost.com
All information of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency placed on this web site is designed for internal use only. Its reproduction or distribution in any form is prohibited without a written permission of Interfax-Ukraine.