[vox_mundi]

Panama Papers: Mossack Fonseca leak reveals elite's tax havens

https://panamapapers.icij.org/blog/2016 ... dings.html

- Contains details on more than 214,000 offshore entities connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories.

- Show how major banks have driven the creation of hard-to-trace companies in offshore havens. More than 500 banks their subsidiaries and their branches – including HSBC, UBS and Société Générale – created more than 15,000 offshore companies for their customers through Mossack Fonseca.

https://panamapapers.icij.org/graphs/
https://panamapapers.icij.org/the_power_players/
https://panamapapers.icij.org/
https://panamapapers.icij.org/20160403- ... rview.html

A huge leak of confidential documents has revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.

Eleven million documents were leaked from one of the world's most secretive companies, Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

They show how Mossack Fonseca has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.

The company says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and has never been charged with criminal wrong-doing.

... The documents show links to 72 current or former heads of state in the data, including dictators accused of looting their own countries.

BBC Panorama and The Guardian are among 107 media organisations in 78 countries that have been analysing the documents. The BBC does not know the identity of the source who provided them.

Gerard Ryle, director of the ICIJ, said the documents covered the day-to-day business at Mossack Fonseca over the past 40 years.

"I think the leak will prove to be probably the biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken because of the extent of the documents," he said.

The data contains secret offshore companies linked to the families and associates of Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak, Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi and Syria's president Bashar al-Assad.

Mossack Fonseca data also shows how Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson had an undeclared interest in his country's bailed-out banks.

... Mr Gunnlaugsson is now facing calls for his resignation.

The Panama Papers: how to hide a billion dollars – video explainer

What you need to know about the Panama Papers

...The files expose offshore companies controlled by the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan, the king of Saudi Arabia and the children of the president of Azerbaijan.

They also include at least 33 people and companies blacklisted by the U.S. government because of evidence that they’d been involved in wrongdoing, such as doing business with Mexican drug lords, terrorist organizations like Hezbollah or rogue nations like North Korea and Iran.

One of those companies supplied fuel for the aircraft that the Syrian government used to bomb and kill thousands of its own citizens, U.S. authorities have charged.

“These findings show how deeply ingrained harmful practices and criminality are in the offshore world,” said Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley and author of “The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens.” Zucman, who was briefed on the media partners’ investigation, said the release of the leaked documents should prompt governments to seek “concrete sanctions” against jurisdictions and institutions that peddle offshore secrecy.

World leaders who have embraced anti-corruption platforms feature in the leaked documents. The files reveal offshore companies linked to the family of China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, who has vowed to fight “armies of corruption,” as well as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who has positioned himself as a reformer in a country shaken by corruption scandals. The files also contain new details of offshore dealings by the late father of British Prime Minister David Cameron, a leader in the push for tax-haven reform.

Offshore corporations - The secret shell game

... Not only do they show that the Nevada subsidiary was wholly owned by Mossack Fonseca, but also that, behind the scenes, the firm took active steps to wipe potentially incriminating records from phones and computers to hide details of their clients from the U.S. justice system.

An email from 2014, for instance, instructs that links to Mossack Fonseca’s cloud-computing system from Nevada have “to be obscure to the investigators.” Other emails report that tech operatives working remotely from Panama “tried to clean the logs of the PC’s in the Nevada office” and planned to run a “remote session to eliminate the traces of direct access to our CIS” – the firm’s computer information system.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation- ... 29322.html

[onlooker]

And here is where the conspiracy really lies, all the wealthy and the political apparatus of most countries subordinate to big money are complicit in allowing all this. Why? Because the wealthy have all the same interest and that being to protect their wealth. So it is in all their common interest to look the other way. Government in many countries is a convenient way to loot,pillage and receive handouts, payouts and bribes. Well good luck with taking your wealth to the next life. Lol.

[AgentR11]

I'll go ahead and stick this in here at the top so folks don't go all off-tangent. If you are wondering about the lack of US big guys in the panama papers; Panama is about the worst place imaginable for a rich American to try and stash money they want to not pay taxes on. US government has essentially full, legal, authorized access to all that info from Panama; IRS sees your money in Panama City as easily as they see it in Boston.

It was part of that trade treaty done a bit back; the Panamanians altered their friggin constitution to make that so.

[onlooker]

Don't worry rich Americans and foreigners now have somewhere to stash their "ill gotten" money. The USA. Yes you heard it. Read this fascinating article of Mossack Fonseca: The Nazi, CIA And Nevada Connections... And Why It's Now Rothschild's Turn-- and how the US has now become the big time tax haven of the planet. Sickening what this country has become.

[onlooker]

Note this paragraph from the ZH article I linked. "That money is rushing for one simple reason: dirty foreign - and local - money is welcome in the U.S., no questions asked, to be shielded by the most impenetrable tax secrecy available anywhere on the planet." So international laws are making it very difficult to hide money everywhere but the US as in other matters wishes to be the pariah and be immune to international laws and so our tax info is not available for disclosure or investigation. It is any wonder then that everyone is rushing to the US to stash their money.

[Kylon]

Actually pretty smart from the U.S perspective.

If you can prevent anywhere else from being used as a tax haven, and only allow your country to be a tax haven/place to store wealth, then all the dictators, wealthy, and heads of foreign governments will stash their cash in your country.

Not only does that increase investment in the U.S, it creates a special type of loyalty by the rich and powerful in societies around the world. Essentially, since their wealth, and hence in many cases their power, is linked to the wellbeing of the United States, they then have a vested interest in promoting the interest of the United States covertly.

This ultimately means that things done to undermine U.S markets become counter to the interest of the rich and powerful around the world, and thus it provides the United States government a unique form of leverage that it can assert over the elites of the world.

[onlooker]

Shrewd analysis Kylon. That does not change how unsavory this ploy is. It is also the height of hypocrisy as the US spearheaded the drive to make all finances transparent around the world while in the meantime the finances related with tax matters in the US still are obfuscated and prevented from disclosure. Many of these funds are ill gotten from pillaging govt. coffers or engaging in quasi legal or illegal activities. Also, it deprives jurisdictions around the world of needed tax revenue. So clever in a devious ruthless and depraved way.

[ralfy]

The article refers to more than just tax havens.

[Paulo1]

It's not like this is new or a surprise. We know how corrupt the rich and powerful are. Whether it is the Clinton Foundation using almost 90% of their donations for 'administration', or an oil parasite from the ME hiding his money, regular people like myself know they are doing it beyond any thing I could imagine.

When I was employed full time I paid over 50% of my wages in tax deductions and payouts...that were deducted at source. Other than buying retirement contributions to lower taxable income I had no way to control my deductions. But on my moonlighting jobs I insisted on cash, by the hour or by the day. I have never minded paying my fair share for schools, medical services, highways, etc. towards Canada's social safety nets and never will. Now that I am retired I still pay taxes on my retirement income, in fact, I just left the weather site to see if there is rain tomorrow which will force me to stay inside and do our taxes. But apparently some people do not want to pay any share, whatsoever.

I'm all right Jack!
(originally: "Fuck you, Jack, I'm all right!!" - described the bitter dismay of sailors ("jacks") returning home after wartime in the Navy to find themselves not treated as patriots or heroes, but ignored / sneered at by a selfish, complacent, get-ahead society - phrase was subsequently toned down for acceptable general use.)
Attitude of "every man for himself, survival of the fittest, devil take the hindmost", ... but also, that all the possible advantages (however gained), success (however won) and satisfaction (whatever the cost to others) belong to me first!" Narrow-focus, narrow-gauge pseudo-Darwinian selfishness glorified as a sensible philosophy of society and life.

Or as George Harrison put it in Taxman:

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.

Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

When tax dollars are used to bail out the banks, or when tax dollars are used for politicians to play at being 'big wheels' in their jets and at their 'world conferences', or for playing war with real soldiers and weapons, I have no reservations about using cash in my life. I still get taxed at source, but when I buy stuff from individuals I am pleased to do so under grey light.

Is their any difference other than scale and opportunity?

"Ah, those poor job creators. They need all the help they can get".

[penury]

Wee this will distract the sheeple for a while. Lets steal more money..

[onlooker]

Here is another link to the same information:
https://panamapapers.icij.org/blog/2016 ... ustry.html

[Outcast_Searcher]

When I was employed full time I paid over 50% of my wages in tax deductions and payouts...that were deducted at source. Other than buying retirement contributions to lower taxable income I had no way to control my deductions.

This is one of the principles that led to me retiring very early and greatly shrinking my income. Not only was the US taking about 50% total in taxes, user fees, "contributions", etc, but they were spending it on things like the nonsense in the Middle East. For me, that was the final straw.

And by retiring, it was amazing how much tax went away. No state tax on my pension. No SS and Medicare tax. No local tax, as they only tax employment income. And of course my state and federal income taxes shrank by a lot.

The income tax system is kind of arbitrary, unless they adopt a type of "fair" flat tax plan where rich folks can't get out of paying tax on all their income.

I still favor ONE BIG STANDARD CREDIT that gets the poor and lower-middle class out of paying federal income taxes, and then taxing based on consumption. The frugal and planet-conscious pay far less tax than the clowns with lots of fossil fuel burning toys/behavior. And with the credit, it's not regressive on the poor.

For just one example, we could tax the HELL out of gas guzzlers and gasoline/diesel. People willing to drive little or ride a bike could be getting a significant direct reward.

But there's so much class envy that I forsee hardly anyone left of center even being willing to consider such a program, even if it targets AGW and pollution FAR more than income taxes.

[onlooker]

Actually OS, I consider myself left of center and I find your plan quite reasonable, fair and equitable. The problem is the powers that be will not go for it because it will dampen consumption. The whole thrust of our modern economies is trying to maintain as much economic growth/vitality as possible. Also, their goes all the grandiose plans of our Military/Industrial complex. Of course that would be good for the US and the planet. But unfortunately, as always we cannot get the decision makers to think rationally much less do. Or maybe we do not vote in those kind of people rather those who promise the sky and pie in the sky.

[Plantagenet]

Putin and other Russian government leaders have about 2 billion dollars documented in the Panama Papers.

Putin-Panama-papers-money-hidden-offshore

I thought the US put sanctions on Putin and the other Russian leaders after Russia invaded Crimea? The US sanctions must be pretty toothless if the Russian leadership has looted and transferred billions to the tax havens in Panama.


Put this in a diplomatic pouch and deposit it in my bank vault in Panama.

[onlooker]

I think I would have to read in depth the paper of how all this works but I do not think sanctions stem this flow of money to tax havens. It is more a general financial and goods blockade on the country in question. If somebody knows more precisely about this we would love to know the intricacies.

[Timo]

The Panama Papers, and the Unaoil clusterfuck, both recently leaked out to the public shocks me in only one way: how deeply rooted bribery and corruption is to our BAU global economic system. Does the existence of corruption and bribery, even on a global scale, really surprise anyone? Does anyone really believe that governments and giant global corporations play by any legal and legitimate set of approved rules? Does it surprise you to learn that Halliburton (just to name one of several dozen global corporations) regularly breaks the law in doing its business?

We've all just been exposed to proof of how corrupt the world of humanity actually is. The sad part about that is, it's not really that surprising. It's just been confirmed.

All that out in the open now, do we really expect anyone to pay any consequences for conducting BAU? Criminal conduct has become the natural, expected way of life, and is now clearly understood as the only way to succeed in business at the global level. Bribery and corruption have become so commonplace that doing business legally is the surest path to corporate suicide.

To what degree would our society change if prosecutions and consequences actually occurred for the breadth of corruption that's now been documented? How widespread is that corruption? How deeply and universal is that corruption integrated into our everyday lives? Is it even feasibly possible to hold anyone accountable? Will token prosecutions of anyone be enough to change anything? Does the cliche "Too big to fail" ring a bell? Our global economy fundamentally depends on corruption. Changing anything would disrupt the economies of every single 1st world, and many 3rd world countries, and that's precisely why nothing substantial will be done to change anything.

Unfortunately for all of us, the mere knowledge of this criminal culture that runs our lives will not change a GD thing. BAU will continue unabated until civilized society disintegrates.

[onlooker]

Sorry never linked that article from zerohedge about
Mossack Fonseca: The Nazi, CIA And Nevada Connections... And Why It's Now Rothschild's Turn--
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... hilds-turn

[Hawkcreek]

Unfortunately for all of us, the mere knowledge of this criminal culture that runs our lives will not change a GD thing. BAU will continue unabated until civilized society disintegrates.

I agree completely. The power to change any of this is in the hands of the elite, and they like it just the way it is. It will take guns and blood to make any appreciable change.

[vox_mundi]

A Key Similarity Between Snowden Leak and Panama Papers: Scandal Is What’s Been Legalized

Even as the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nations have engaged in increasingly complex and intensive efforts at international cooperation to smooth the wheels of global commerce, they have willfully chosen to allow the wealthiest members of Western society to shield their financial assets from taxation (and in many cases divorce or bankruptcy settlement) by taking advantage of shell companies and tax havens.

As a manager of offshore bank accounts told me years ago, “People think of banking secrecy as all about terrorists and drug smugglers, but the truth is there are a lot of rich people who don’t want to pay taxes.” And the system persists because there are a lot of politicians in the West who don’t particularly want to make them. …

… Incorporating your hedge fund in a country with no corporate income tax even though all your fund’s employees and investors live in the United States is perfectly legal. So is, in most cases, setting up a Panamanian shell company to own and manage most of your family’s fortune.

Tax avoidance is an inevitable feature of any tax system, but the reason this particular form of avoidance grows and grows without bounds is that powerful politicians in powerful countries have chosen to let it happen.

... Proving that certain behavior is “legal” does not prove that it is ethical or just. That’s because corrupted political systems, by definition, often protect and legalize exactly the behavior that is most unjust.

“The deeper scandal is what’s legal, not what’s not.”

The key revelation is not the illegality of the specific behavior in question but rather the light shined on how our political systems function and for whose benefit they work. That was true of the Snowden leak, and it’s true of the Panama Papers as well.