Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2010 as a news item: Spain’s tax agency detecting more than 2,500 fortunes in Switzerland hiding over 10 billion euros, with no source given. The list of tax havens reflects 2010; official lists have changed considerably since, and Switzerland now takes part in automatic exchange of financial account information.
Spain’s tax agency recently detected more than 2,500 fortunes in Switzerland hiding over €10 billion. Switzerland still protects its banking secrecy and the confidentiality of its clients, but if governments request that information and provide evidence of possible tax evasion, Swiss banks are obliged to disclose the accounts. So today, Switzerland is no longer a tax haven.
By definition, tax havens are states or territories where there is no banking transparency and no obligation to exchange information with the authorities of the taxpayers’ home countries.
The tax havens that exist today are:
- Andorra
- Anguilla
- Bahamas
- Belize
- Marshall Islands
- Liberia
- Cook Islands
- Niue
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Dominica
According to the Tax Justice Network, tax havens handle 13% of the world’s wealth, some €8 trillion, which would generate more than 170 billion in taxes.
And you, are you one of those who needs a tax haven?
Further reading
- The 7 levels of investors
- How to be a successful entrepreneur (part I)
- How to be a successful entrepreneur (part II)
- Common mistakes Hispanic entrepreneurs make
Featured image: Marcel Grieder, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
