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Taxing Capital in a Globalized World: The Effects of Automatic Information Exchange

Author

Listed:
  • Hjalte Fejerskov Boas

    (University of Copenhagen)

  • Niels Johannesen

    (Oxford University and University of Copenhagen)

  • Claus Thustrup Kreiner

    (University of Copenhagen)

  • Lauge Larsen

    (University of Copenhagen)

  • Gabriel Zucman

    (Paris School of Economics and UC Berkeley)

Abstract

In the second half of the 2010s more than 100 countries — including all large offshore financial centers — started to automatically exchange bank information with foreign tax authorities. This informational big-bang marks a break with the situation of offshore bank secrecy that prevailed before. We study its effects on tax compliance by analyzing the universe of information reports sent by foreign banks to Danish authorities, matched to population-wide micro-data on income, wealth, and cross-border bank transfers. In response to the automatic exchange of bank information, tax evaders may repatriate previously undeclared offshore wealth, they may start to self-report offshore income to the tax authorities, or the tax authorities may detect their evasion in audits that use the new information reports. Using a variety of research designs, we find large compliance effects along all these margins, with the largest response coming from repatriation of wealth. Overall we estimate that the automatic exchange of bank information has closed about 70% of the offshore tax gap. These results highlight the power of international cooperation to improve tax compliance: tax evasion is not a law of nature in a globalized world.

Suggested Citation

  • Hjalte Fejerskov Boas & Niels Johannesen & Claus Thustrup Kreiner & Lauge Larsen & Gabriel Zucman, 2024. "Taxing Capital in a Globalized World: The Effects of Automatic Information Exchange," Working Papers 024, EU Tax Observatory.
    • Handle: RePEc:dbp:wpaper:024
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Menkhoff, Lukas & Miethe, Jakob, 2019. "Tax evasion in new disguise? Examining tax havens' international bank deposits," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 176, pages 53-78.
    2. Henrik Jacobsen Kleven & Claus Thustrup Kreiner & Emmanuel Saez, 2016. "Why Can Modern Governments Tax So Much? An Agency Model of Firms as Fiscal Intermediaries," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(330), pages 219-246, April.
    3. Alstadsæter, Annette & Johannesen, Niels & Zucman, Gabriel, 2018. "Who owns the wealth in tax havens? Macro evidence and implications for global inequality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 89-100.
    4. Casi, Elisa & Spengel, Christoph & Stage, Barbara M.B., 2020. "Cross-border tax evasion after the common reporting standard: Game over?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    5. Leenders, Wouter & Lejour, Arjan & Rabaté, Simon & van ’t Riet, Maarten, 2023. "Offshore tax evasion and wealth inequality: Evidence from a tax amnesty in the Netherlands," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    6. Lisa De Simone & Rebecca Lester & Kevin Markle, 2020. "Transparency and Tax Evasion: Evidence from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 58(1), pages 105-153, March.
    7. Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2016. "Editor's Choice Wealth Inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(2), pages 519-578.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jeanne Bomare & Matthew Collin, 2025. "When Bankers Become Informants: Behavioral Effects of Automatic Exchange of Information," Working Papers 033, EU Tax Observatory.
    2. Gabriel Zucman, 2024. "A blueprint for a coordinated minimum effective taxation standard for ultra-high-net-worth individuals," Reports 006, EU Tax Observatory.
    3. Hjalte Fejerskov Boas & Matthew Collin & Sarah Godar & Carolina Moura & Andreas Økland, 2025. "Assessing the coverage of the automatic exchange of information under the CRS," Reports 007, EU Tax Observatory.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • K34 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Tax Law

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