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Secrecy Jurisdictions

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This paper surveys tax haven legislation and links the literature on tax havens to the literature on asymmetric information. I argue that the core aim of tax haven legislation is to create private information (secrecy) for the users of tax havens. This leads to moral hazard and transaction costs in non-havens. The business model of tax havens is illustrated by using Mauritsius and Jersey as case studies. I also provide several real world examples of how secrecy jurisdictions lead to inefficient market outcomes and breach of regulations in non-haven countries. Both developed and developing countries are harmed, but the consequences seem most detrimental to developing countries.

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  • Schjelderup, Guttorm, 2015. "Secrecy Jurisdictions," Discussion Papers 2015/12, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2015_012
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/11250/278872
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    1. John D. Wilson, 2015. "Tax Havens in a World of Competing Countries," CESifo DICE Report, Ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 12(4), pages 32-29, 01.
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    10. Gresik, Thomas A. & Schindler, Dirk & Schjelderup, Guttorm, 2015. "The Effect of Tax Havens on Host Country Welfare," Discussion Papers 2015/19, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    11. Dharmapala, Dhammika & Hines Jr., James R., 2009. "Which countries become tax havens?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(9-10), pages 1058-1068, October.
    12. Michael G. Findley & Daniel L. Nielson & J.C. Sharman, 2015. "Causes of Noncompliance with International Law: A Field Experiment on Anonymous Incorporation," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 59(1), pages 146-161, January.
    13. Anne D. Boschini & Jan Pettersson & Jesper Roine, 2007. "Resource Curse or Not: A Question of Appropriability," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 109(3), pages 593-617, September.
    14. John D. Wilson, 2015. "Tax Havens in a World of Competing Countries," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 12(4), pages 32-39, 01.
    15. Slemrod, Joel & Wilson, John D., 2009. "Tax competition with parasitic tax havens," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(11-12), pages 1261-1270, December.
    16. Hong, Qing & Smart, Michael, 2010. "In praise of tax havens: International tax planning and foreign direct investment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 82-95, January.
    17. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
    18. Torvik, Ragnar, 2002. "Natural resources, rent seeking and welfare," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 455-470, April.
    19. Henrik Jacobsen Kleven & Martin B. Knudsen & Claus Thustrup Kreiner & Søren Pedersen & Emmanuel Saez, 2011. "Unwilling or Unable to Cheat? Evidence From a Tax Audit Experiment in Denmark," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(3), pages 651-692, May.
    20. James R. Hines & Eric M. Rice, 1994. "Fiscal Paradise: Foreign Tax Havens and American Business," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 149-182.
    21. repec:ces:ifodic:v:12:y:2015:i:4:p:19149988 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. John D. Wilson, 2015. "Tax Havens in a World of Competing Countries," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 12(04), pages 32-39, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nouf Binhadab & Robert Gillanders & Thomas McCluskey, 2023. "A clean and discreet service: The role of corruption and secrecy in profit shifting by multinational firms," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 1551-1573, October.
    2. Alfons J. Weichenrieder & Fangying Xu, 2019. "Are tax havens good? Implications of the crackdown on secrecy," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 147-160, July.
    3. Damgaard, Jannick & Elkjaer, Thomas & Johannesen, Niels, 2024. "What is real and what is not in the global FDI network?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    4. Dharmapala, Dhammika, 2016. "Cross-border tax evasion under a unilateral FATCA regime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 29-37.
    5. Gavrilova, Evelina & Polakova, Aija, 2018. "Stairway to (Secrecy) Heaven: Market Attitudes towards Secrecy Shopping," Discussion Papers 2018/19, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    6. Sharafutdinova,Gulnaz & Lokshin,Michael M., 2020. "Hide and Protect : A Role of Global Financial Secrecy in Shaping Domestic Institutions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9348, The World Bank.
    7. Mongrain, Steeve & Wilson, John D., 2018. "Tax competition with heterogeneous capital mobility," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 177-189.
    8. Giulia Aliprandi & Thijs Busschots & Carlos Oliveira, 2023. "Mapping the global geography of shell companies," Post-Print hal-04563980, HAL.
    9. Guttorm Schjelderup & Frank Stähler, 2024. "The economics of the global minimum tax," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(4), pages 935-952, August.
    10. Sheila Killian & Philip O'Regan & Ruth Lynch & Martin Laheen & Dionysios Karavidas, 2022. "Regulating havens: The role of hard and soft governance of tax experts in conditions of secrecy and low regulation," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 722-737, July.
    11. Alejandro Esteller-Moré & Shafik Hebous & Niels Johannesen & Katarzyna Anna Bilicka, 2018. "The Present and Future of Tax Havens / El presente y futuro de los paraísos fiscales / El present i futur dels paradisos fiscals," IEB Reports ieb_report_4_2018, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    12. Casi, Elisa & Nenadic, Sara & Orlic, Mark Dinko & Spengel, Christoph, 2019. "A call to action: From evolution to revolution on the Common Reporting Standard," ZEW Discussion Papers 18-035, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, revised 2019.
    13. Ivar Kolstad, 2017. "Protected tax havens: Cornering the market through international reform?," CMI Working Papers 7, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway.
    14. Weichenrieder, Alfons J., 2016. "Panama & Co: Implikationen für die Steuerpolitik," SAFE Policy Letters 52, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax havens; secrecy; private information; moral hazard;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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