THE TREASURE ISLAND (2012)
Research by the IMF has revealed that the world’s financial elite have parked about 32 trillion (!) dollars in tax havens. Their purpose is to hide the money from the internal revenue authorities in the countries in which these firms and individuals operate. It is estimated that about 80% of all international financial transactions take place via offshore banking. Thus it is possible for banks in the relatively insignificant Cayman Islands – the subject of THE TREASURE ISLAND – to have 2.1 trillion dollars on their books. The bitter irony, says Federico Estol, is that all the problems of national debt and budget shortages could be solved if countries could collect tax on this hidden wealth of the elite.
