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Explaining the failure of international tax regulations throughout the 20th century. Offshore Markets, Swiss Tax Haven's Diplomacy and Fiscal Debates in International Organizations, From the League of Nations to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

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  • Farquet, Christophe
  • Leimgruber, Matthieu

Abstract

Based on original sources from national and international organizations archives, this paper offers a new perspective on debates on tax evasion in multilateral arenas during the whole 20th Century. A closer look at the cycles of emergence and disappearance of this topic enables to understand why these discussions were raised inside international organizations and why they constantly failed. This paper focuses in particular on the foundation of tax multilateralism at the League of Nations (1922-1928) and the early activities of the OEEC Fiscal Committee (1956-1963), as well as on OECD efforts to increase international cooperation against tax evasion practices from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. In three cases, multilateral initiatives against tax evasion faced unyielding opposition by business interests and tax haven countries such as Switzerland. However, in order to explain the failure of the regulations, we have also to take into account the interests of big countries in maintaining offshore activities. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates how international organizations served as multipliers for dominant power relations on issues of international taxation.

Suggested Citation

  • Farquet, Christophe & Leimgruber, Matthieu, 2016. "Explaining the failure of international tax regulations throughout the 20th century. Offshore Markets, Swiss Tax Haven's Diplomacy and Fiscal Debates in International Organizations, From the League of," Working Papers unige:88348, University of Geneva, Paul Bairoch Institute of Economic History.
    • Handle: RePEc:gnv:wpaper:unige:88348
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christoph Farquet, 2012. "The Rise Of The Swiss Tax Haven In The Interwar Period: An International Comparison," Working Papers 0027, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    2. Guex, Sébastien, 2000. "The Origins of the Swiss Banking Secrecy Law and Its Repercussions for Swiss Federal Policy," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(2), pages 237-266, July.
    3. Hautcoeur, Pierre-Cyrille & Sicsic, Pierre, 1999. "Threat of a capital levy, expected devaluation and interest rates in France during the interwar period," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(1), pages 25-56, April.
    4. Ronen Palan & Duncan Wigan, 2014. "Herding Cats and Taming Tax Havens: The US Strategy of ‘Not In My Backyard’," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 5(3), pages 334-343, September.
    5. Smiley, Gene & Keehn, Richard H., 1995. "Federal Personal Income Tax Policy in the 1920s," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(2), pages 285-303, June.
    6. Goode, Richard, 1993. "Tax advice to developing countries: An historical survey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 37-53, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sol Picciotto, 2022. "Technocracy in the Era of Twitter: Between intergovernmentalism and supranational technocratic politics in global tax governance," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 634-652, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    History; Taxation; Tax havens; Switzerland; International organizations; OECD;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General

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