109-427: A fringe benefits tax ( FBT ) is taxation of most, but not all fringe benefits , which are generally non-cash employee benefits . The rationale behind FBT is that it helps restore equity and fairness to those employees who do not receive such benefits, and allows a Federal Government to more fairly assess taxpayer entitlement to government benefits, or liability to government taxes or levies. This kind of taxation
218-431: A flat percentage rate of taxation on personal annual income, but most scale taxes are progressive based on brackets of yearly income amounts. Most countries charge a tax on an individual's income and corporate income . Countries or sub-units often also impose wealth taxes , inheritance taxes , gift taxes , property taxes , sales taxes , use taxes , environmental taxes , payroll taxes , duties , or tariffs . It
327-433: A pay-as-you-earn basis, with corrections made after the end of the tax year . These corrections take one of two forms: Income-tax systems often make deductions available that reduce the total tax liability by reducing total taxable income. They may allow losses from one type of income to count against another – for example, a loss on the stock market may be deducted against taxes paid on wages. Other tax systems may isolate
436-664: A § Top 10 tax havens in all three quantitative lists, Hines 2010, ITEP 2017 and Zucman 2018 (above); all nine such § Top 10 tax havens are listed below. (♣) Appears on the James Hines 2010 list of 52 tax havens; 17 of the 20 locations below, are on the James Hines 2010 list. (Δ) Identified on the largest OECD 2000 list of 35 tax havens (the OECD list only contained Trinidad & Tobago by 2017); only four locations below were ever on an OECD list. (↕) Identified on
545-426: A certain area ( social engineering ). For example, a high excise is used to discourage alcohol consumption, relative to other goods. This may be combined with hypothecation if the proceeds are then used to pay for the costs of treating illness caused by alcohol use disorder . Similar taxes may exist on tobacco , pornography , marijuana etc., and they may be collectively referred to as " sin taxes ". A carbon tax
654-446: A commodity is sold to its final consumer. Retail organizations contend that such taxes discourage retail sales. The question of whether they are generally progressive or regressive is a subject of much current debate. People with higher incomes spend a lower proportion of them, so a flat-rate sales tax will tend to be regressive. It is therefore common to exempt food, utilities, and other necessities from sales taxes, since poor people spend
763-406: A consequence they have few bilateral tax treaties . Modern corporate tax havens have non-zero "headline" rates of taxation and high levels of OECD compliance, and thus have large networks of bilateral tax treaties. However, their base erosion and profit shifting ("BEPS") tools enable corporates to achieve "effective" tax rates closer to zero, not just in the haven but in all countries with which
872-469: A definition and system of classification of internal taxes, generally followed below. In addition, many countries impose taxes ( tariffs ) on the import of goods. Many jurisdictions tax the income of individuals and of business entities , including corporations . Generally, the authorities impose a tax on net profits from a business , on net gains, and on other income. Computation of income subject to tax may be determined under accounting principles used in
981-406: A higher proportion of their incomes on these commodities, so such exemptions make the tax more progressive. This is the classic "You pay for what you spend" tax, as only those who spend money on non-exempt (i.e. luxury) items pay the tax. A small number of U.S. states rely entirely on sales taxes for state revenue, as those states do not levy a state income tax. Such states tend to have a moderate to
1090-641: A higher tax rate. Historically, in many countries, a contract needs to have a stamp affixed to make it valid. The charge for the stamp is either a fixed amount or a percentage of the value of the transaction. In most countries, the stamp has been abolished but stamp duty remains. Stamp duty is levied in the UK on the purchase of shares and securities, the issue of bearer instruments, and certain partnership transactions. Its modern derivatives, stamp duty reserve tax and stamp duty land tax , are respectively charged on transactions involving securities and land. Stamp duty has
1199-479: A hybrid "territorial" tax system, and proposed EU Digital Services Tax regime, and EU Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base ). While areas of low taxation are recorded in Ancient Greece, tax academics identify what we know as tax havens as being a modern phenomenon, and note the following phases in their development: There is no established consensus regarding a specific definition for what constitutes
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#17327875567131308-497: A large amount of tourism or inter-state travel that occurs within their borders, allowing the state to benefit from taxes from people the state would otherwise not tax. In this way, the state is able to reduce the tax burden on its citizens. The U.S. states that do not levy a state income tax are Alaska, Tennessee, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington state, and Wyoming. Additionally, New Hampshire and Tennessee levy state income taxes only on dividends and interest income. Of
1417-486: A list of 52 tax havens , which he had scaled quantitatively by analysing corporate investment flows. Hines' largest havens were dominated by corporate tax havens, who Dharmapala noted in 2014 accounted for the bulk of global tax haven activity from BEPS tools. The Hines 2010 list was the first to estimate the ten largest global tax havens, only two of which, Jersey and the British Virgin Islands, were on
1526-534: A loss of tax revenues to countries which are not tax havens. Estimates of the § Financial scale of taxes avoided vary, but the most credible have a range of US$ 100–250 billion per annum. In addition, capital held in tax havens can permanently leave the tax base (base erosion). Estimates of capital held in tax havens also vary: the most credible estimates are between US$ 7–10 trillion (up to 10% of global assets). The harm of traditional and corporate tax havens has been particularly noted in developing nations, where
1635-553: A particular amount. Such upper or lower limits may apply for retirement but not for health-care components of the tax. Some have argued that such taxes on wages are a form of "forced savings" and not really a tax, while others point to redistribution through such systems between generations (from newer cohorts to older cohorts) and across income levels (from higher income levels to lower income-levels) which suggests that such programs are really taxed and spending programs. Unemployment and similar taxes are often imposed on employers based on
1744-625: A result of market forces . Certain countries (usually small in size or population, which results in a smaller infrastructure and social expenditure) function as tax havens by imposing minimal taxes on the personal income of individuals and corporate income. These tax havens attract capital from abroad (particularly from larger economies) while resulting in loss of tax revenues within other non-haven countries (through base erosion and profit shifting ). Legal and economic definitions of taxes differ, such that many transfers to governments are not considered taxes by economists. For example, some transfers to
1853-524: A single-rate form of taxation regardless of ability to pay (the Community Charge , but more popularly referred to as the Poll Tax), led to widespread refusal to pay and to incidents of civil unrest, known colloquially as the ' Poll Tax Riots '. Some types of taxes have been proposed but not actually adopted in any major jurisdiction. These include: An ad valorem tax is one where the tax base
1962-544: A tax haven. This is the conclusion from non-governmental organisations , such as the Tax Justice Network in 2018, from the 2008 investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office , from the 2015 investigation by the U.S. Congressional Research Service , from the 2017 investigation by the European Parliament, and from leading academic researchers of tax havens. The issue, however,
2071-437: A tax on net worth (assets minus liabilities), as a percentage of the net worth, or a percentage of the net worth exceeding a certain level. The tax may be levied on " natural " or " legal persons. " A value-added tax (VAT), also known as Goods and Services Tax (GST), Single Business Tax, or Turnover Tax in some countries, applies the equivalent of a sales tax to every operation that creates value. To give an example, sheet steel
2180-493: Is a per unit tax, where the tax base is the quantity of something, regardless of its price. An excise tax is an example. Consumption tax refers to any tax on non-investment spending and can be implemented by means of a sales tax, consumer value-added tax, or by modifying an income tax to allow for unlimited deductions for investment or savings. This includes natural resources consumption tax , greenhouse gas tax (i.e. carbon tax ), "sulfuric tax", and others. The stated purpose
2289-430: Is a distinction between an estate tax and an inheritance tax: the former taxes the personal representatives of the deceased, while the latter taxes the beneficiaries of the estate. However, this distinction does not apply in other jurisdictions; for example, if using this terminology UK inheritance tax would be an estate tax. An expatriation tax is a tax on individuals who renounce their citizenship or residence. The tax
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#17327875567132398-601: Is a full VAT. The province of Quebec collects the Quebec Sales Tax [QST] which is based on the GST with certain differences. Most businesses can claim back the GST, HST, and QST they pay, and so effectively it is the final consumer who pays the tax. An excise duty is an indirect tax imposed upon goods during the process of their manufacture, production or distribution, and is usually proportionate to their quantity or value. Excise duties were first introduced into England in
2507-442: Is a general tax levied periodically on residents who own personal property (personalty) within the jurisdiction. Vehicle and boat registration fees are subsets of this kind of tax. The tax is often designed with blanket coverage and large exceptions for things like food and clothing. Household goods are often exempt when kept or used within the household. Any otherwise non-exempt object can lose its exemption if regularly kept outside
2616-596: Is a tax on the consumption of carbon-based non-renewable fuels, such as petrol, diesel-fuel, jet fuels, and natural gas. The object is to reduce the release of carbon into the atmosphere. In the United Kingdom, vehicle excise duty is an annual tax on vehicle ownership. An import or export tariff (also called customs duty or impost) is a charge for the movement of goods through a political border. Tariffs discourage trade , and they may be used by governments to protect domestic industries. A proportion of tariff revenues
2725-426: Is also possible to levy a tax on tax, as with a gross receipts tax . In economic terms ( circular flow of income ), taxation transfers wealth from households or businesses to the government. This affects economic growth and welfare , which can be increased (known as fiscal multiplier ) or decreased (known as excess burden of taxation ). Consequently, taxation is a highly debated topic by some, as although taxation
2834-440: Is an ad valorem tax levy on the value of a property that the owner of the property is required to pay to a government in which the property is situated. Multiple jurisdictions may tax the same property. There are three general varieties of property: land, improvements to land (immovable human-made things, e.g. buildings), and personal property (movable things). Real estate or realty is the combination of land and improvements to
2943-484: Is considered the most viable option to operate the government (instead of widespread state ownership of the means of production ), as taxation enables the government to generate revenue without heavily interfering with the market and private businesses; taxation preserves the efficiency and productivity of the private sector by allowing individuals and companies to make their own economic decisions, engage in flexible production , competition , and innovation as
3052-433: Is deemed necessary by consensus for society to function and grow in an orderly and equitable manner through the government provision of public goods and public services , others such as libertarians and anarcho-capitalists are anti-taxation and denounce taxation broadly or in its entirety, classifying taxation as theft or extortion through coercion along with the use of force . Within market economies, taxation
3161-498: Is done in a number of countries and the applicable laws vary. See the corresponding articles for details. Tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity ) by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities . Tax compliance refers to policy actions and individual behavior aimed at ensuring that taxpayers are paying
3270-464: Is economically justified, as it will not deter production, distort market mechanisms or otherwise create deadweight losses the way other taxes do. When real estate is held by a higher government unit or some other entity not subject to taxation by the local government, the taxing authority may receive a payment in lieu of taxes to compensate it for some or all of the foregone tax revenues. In many jurisdictions (including many American states), there
3379-529: Is focused on quantitative analysis (which can be ranked), and tends to ignore very small tax havens where data is limited as the haven is used for individual tax avoidance rather than corporate tax avoidance. The last credible broad unranked list of global tax havens is the James Hines 2010 list of 52 tax havens. It is shown below but expanded to 55 to include havens identified in the July 2017 Conduit and Sink OFCs study that were not considered havens in 2010, namely
Fringe benefits tax - Misplaced Pages Continue
3488-495: Is generally a gain on sale of capital assets—that is, those assets not held for sale in the ordinary course of business. Capital assets include personal assets in many jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions provide preferential rates of tax or only partial taxation for capital gains. Some jurisdictions impose different rates or levels of capital-gains taxation based on the length of time the asset was held. Because tax rates are often much lower for capital gains than for ordinary income, there
3597-468: Is imported by a machine manufacturer. That manufacturer will pay the VAT on the purchase price, remitting that amount to the government. The manufacturer will then transform the steel into a machine, selling the machine for a higher price to a wholesale distributor. The manufacturer will collect the VAT on the higher price but will remit to the government only the excess related to the "value-added" (the price over
3706-422: Is material, as being labelled a "tax haven" has consequences for a country seeking to develop and trade under bilateral tax treaties. When Ireland was "blacklisted" by G20 member Brazil in 2016, bilateral trade declined. One of the first § Important papers on tax havens , was the 1994 Hines–Rice paper by James R. Hines Jr. It is the most cited paper on tax haven research, even in late 2017, and Hines
3815-541: Is named FairTax . In Canada, the federal sales tax is called the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and now stands at 5%. The provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island also have a provincial sales tax [PST]. The provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Ontario have harmonized their provincial sales taxes with the GST—Harmonized Sales Tax [HST], and thus
3924-528: Is often hypothecated to pay the government to maintain a navy or border police. The classic ways of cheating a tariff are smuggling or declaring a false value of goods. Tax, tariff and trade rules in modern times are usually set together because of their common impact on industrial policy , investment policy , and agricultural policy . A trade bloc is a group of allied countries agreeing to minimize or eliminate tariffs against trade with each other, and possibly to impose protective tariffs on imports from outside
4033-544: Is often imposed based on a deemed disposition of all the individual's property. One example is the United States under the American Jobs Creation Act , where any individual who has a net worth of $ 2 million or an average income-tax liability of $ 127,000 who renounces his or her citizenship and leaves the country is automatically assumed to have done so for tax avoidance reasons and is subject to
4142-486: Is sometimes called a net wealth tax . Recurrent property taxes may be imposed on immovable property (real property) and on some classes of movable property. In addition, recurrent taxes may be imposed on the net wealth of individuals or corporations. Many jurisdictions impose inheritance tax on property at time of inheritance or gift tax at the time of gift transfer. Some jurisdictions impose taxes on financial or capital transactions . A property tax (or millage tax)
4251-437: Is the most cited author on tax haven research. As well as offering insights into tax havens, it took the view that the diversity of countries that become tax havens was so great that detailed definitions were inappropriate. Hines merely noted that tax havens were: "a group of countries with unusually low tax rates". Hines reaffirmed this approach in a 2009 paper with Dhammika Dharmapala . In December 2008, Dharmapala wrote that
4360-439: Is the value of a good, service, or property. Sales taxes, tariffs, property taxes, inheritance taxes, and value-added taxes are different types of ad valorem tax. An ad valorem tax is typically imposed at the time of a transaction (sales tax or value-added tax (VAT)) but it may be imposed on an annual basis (property tax) or in connection with another significant event (inheritance tax or tariffs). In contrast to ad valorem taxation
4469-399: Is to reduce the environmental impact by repricing . Economists describe environmental impacts as negative externalities . As early as 1920, Arthur Pigou suggested a tax to deal with externalities (see also the section on Increased economic welfare below). The proper implementation of environmental taxes has been the subject of a long-lasting debate. An important feature of tax systems is
Fringe benefits tax - Misplaced Pages Continue
4578-412: Is widespread controversy and dispute about the proper definition of capital. Corporate tax refers to income tax, capital tax, net-worth tax, or other taxes imposed on corporations. Rates of tax and the taxable base for corporations may differ from those for individuals or for other taxable persons. Many countries provide publicly funded retirement or healthcare systems. In connection with these systems,
4687-537: The Cayman Islands , as Google, Facebook and Apple do not appear on Orbis. Even so, Zucman's 2018 list of top 10 havens also matched 9 of the top 10 havens in Hines' 2010 list, but with Ireland as the largest global haven. These lists (Hines 2010, CORPNET 2017 and Zucman 2018), and others, which followed a purely quantitive approach, showed a firm consensus around the largest corporate tax havens. In October 2009,
4796-477: The Financial Secrecy Index ), but not on corporate tax haven or traditional tax haven lists, are: Neither the U.S. nor Germany have appeared on any tax haven lists by the main academic leaders in tax haven research, namely James R. Hines Jr. , Dhammika Dharmapala , or Gabriel Zucman . There are no known cases of foreign firms executing tax inversions to the U.S. or Germany for tax purposes,
4905-836: The NBER listed the key tax havens as: "Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, Bermuda and [the] Caribbean havens". (*) Appears as a top ten tax haven in all three lists; 9 major tax havens meet this criterion, Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland and the Netherlands (the Conduit OFCs), and the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Bermuda (the Sink OFCs) . (†) Also appears as one of 5 Conduit OFC (Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland,
5014-754: The OCDE . CRS countries require banks and other entities to identify the residence of account holders, beneficial owners of corporate entities and record yearly account balances and communicate such information to local tax agencies, which will report back to tax agencies where account holders or beneficial owners of corporations reside. CRS intends to end offshore financial secrecy and tax evasion giving tax agencies knowledge to tax offshore income and assets. However very large and complex corporations, like multinationals , can still shift profits to corporate tax havens using intricate schemes. Traditional tax havens, like Jersey , are open about zero rates of taxation – as
5123-403: The Tax Justice Network introduced the Financial Secrecy Index ("FSI") and the term "secrecy jurisdiction", to highlight issues in regard to OECD-compliant countries who have high tax rates and do not appear on academic lists of tax havens, but have transparency issues. The FSI does not assess tax rates or BEPS flows in its calculation; but it is often misinterpreted as a tax haven definition in
5232-472: The customs house , and revenue derived from that source is called excise revenue proper. The fundamental conception of the term is that of a tax on articles produced or manufactured in a country. In the taxation of such articles of luxury as spirits , beer, tobacco, and cigars, it has been the practice to place a certain duty on the importation of these articles (a customs duty ). Excises (or exemptions from them) are also used to modify consumption patterns of
5341-402: The elderly , unemployment benefits , transfer payments , subsidies and public transportation . Energy , water and waste management systems are also common public utilities . According to the proponents of the chartalist theory of money creation , taxes are not needed for government revenue, as long as the government in question is able to issue fiat money . According to this view,
5450-541: The § Top 10 tax havens lists, namely: Caribbean tax havens (e.g., Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands), Channel Islands tax havens (e.g. Jersey) and Asian tax havens (e.g., Singapore and Hong Kong). As discussed in § History , the United Kingdom created its first "non-resident company" in 1929, and led the Eurodollar offshore financial centre market post–World War II. Since
5559-430: The 2015 U.S. Congressional Research Service investigation into tax havens, as being restrictive, and enabling Hines' low-tax havens (i.e. to which the first criterion applies), to avoid the OECD definition by improving OECD cooperation (so the second and third criteria do not apply). Thus, the evidence (limited though it undoubtedly is) does not suggest any impact of the OECD initiative on tax-haven activity. [...] Thus,
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#17327875567135668-708: The European Union's first 2017 list of 17 tax havens; only one location below is on the EU 2017 list. Sovereign states that feature mainly as major corporate tax havens are: Sovereign states or autonomous regions that feature as both major corporate tax havens and major traditional tax havens: Sovereign (including de facto) states that feature mainly as traditional tax havens (but have non-zero tax rates): Sovereign or sub-national states that are very traditional tax havens (i.e. explicit 0% rate of tax) include (fuller list in table opposite): Post–2010 research on tax havens
5777-461: The FSI rankings, appear in most § Tax haven lists . The consensus on effective tax rates has led academics to note that the term "tax haven" and " offshore financial centre " are almost synonymous. In reality, many offshore financial centers do not have harmful tax practices and are at the forefront among financial centers regarding AML practices and international tax reporting. Developments over
5886-520: The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom), in CORPNET's 2017 research; or (‡) Also appears as a Top 5 Sink OFC (British Virgin Islands, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Jersey, Bermuda), in CORPNET's 2017 research. (Δ) Identified on the first, and largest, OECD 2000 list of 35 tax havens (the OECD list only contained Trinidad & Tobago by 2017). The strongest consensus amongst academics regarding
5995-667: The OECD initiative cannot be expected to have much impact on corporate uses of tax havens, even if (or when) the initiative is fully implemented In April 2000, the Financial Stability Forum (or FSF) defined the related concept of an offshore financial centre (or OFC), which the IMF adopted in June 2000, producing a list of 46 OFCs . The FSF–IMF definition focused on the BEPS tools havens offer, and on Hines ' observation that
6104-410: The OECD process had removed much of the need to include "bank secrecy" in any definition of a tax haven and that it was now "first and foremost, low or zero corporate tax rates", and this has become the general "financial dictionary" definition of a tax haven. Hines refined his definition in 2016 to incorporate research on § Incentives for tax havens on governance, which is broadly accepted in
6213-609: The OECD's 2000 list. In July 2017, the University of Amsterdam 's CORPNET group ignored any definition of a tax haven and focused on a purely quantitive approach, analysing 98 million global corporate connections on the Orbis database . CORPNET's lists of top five Conduit OFCs , and top five Sink OFCs , matched 9 of the top 10 havens in Hines' 2010 list, only differing in the United Kingdom, which only transformed their tax code in 2009–12 . CORPNET's Conduit and Sink OFCs study split
6322-511: The OECD's new Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes , and therefore would not meet Criteria ii and Criteria iii . As the OECD has never listed any of its 35 members as tax havens, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland are sometimes defined as the "OECD tax havens". In 2017, only Trinidad & Tobago met the 1998 OECD definition; that definition thus fell into disrepute. (†) The 4th criterion
6431-465: The United Kingdom) were cited as the world's leading tax havens. The longest list from Non-governmental, Quantitative research on tax havens is the University of Amsterdam CORPNET July 2017 Conduit and Sink OFCs study, at 29 (5 Conduit OFCs and 25 Sink OFCs). The following are the 20 largest (5 Conduit OFCs and 15 Sink OFCs), which reconcile with other main lists as follows: (*) Appears in as
6540-427: The United Kingdom, Taiwan, and Curaçao. The James Hines 2010 list contains 34 of the original 35 OECD tax havens; and compared with the § Top 10 tax havens and § Top 20 tax havens above, show OECD processes focus on the compliance of tiny havens. (†) Identified as one of the 5 Conduits by CORPNET in 2017; the above list has 5 of the 5. (‡) Identified as one of the largest 24 Sinks by CORPNET in 2017;
6649-472: The above list has 23 of the 24 (Guyana missing). (↕) Identified on the European Union's first 2017 list of 17 tax havens; the above list contains 8 of the 17. (Δ) Identified on the first, and the largest, OECD 2000 list of 35 tax havens (the OECD list only contained Trinidad & Tobago by 2017); the above list contains 34 of the 35 (U.S. Virgin Islands missing). U.S. dedicated entities: Major sovereign States which feature on financial secrecy lists (e.g.
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#17327875567136758-558: The above states, only Alaska and New Hampshire do not levy a state sales tax. Additional information can be obtained at the Federation of Tax Administrators website. In the United States, there is a growing movement for the replacement of all federal payroll and income taxes (both corporate and personal) with a national retail sales tax and monthly tax rebate to households of citizens and legal resident aliens. The tax proposal
6867-489: The academic lexicon. Tax havens are typically small, well-governed states that impose low or zero tax rates on foreign investors. In April 1998, the OECD produced a definition of a tax haven, as meeting "three of four" criteria. It was produced as part of their "Harmful Tax Competition: An Emerging Global Issue" initiative. By 2000, when the OECD published their first list of tax havens, it included no OECD member countries as they were now all considered to have engaged in
6976-530: The accounting flows from BEPS tools are "out-of-proportion" and thus distort the economic statistics of the haven. The FSF–IMF list captured new corporate tax havens, such as the Netherlands, which Hines considered too small in 1994. In April 2007, the IMF used a more quantitative approach to generate a list of 22 major OFCs , and in 2018 listed the eight major OFCs who handle 85% of all flows. From about 2010, tax academics considered OFCs and tax havens to be synonymous terms . In October 2010, Hines published
7085-614: The artificial debt-to-GDP). This can lead to severe credit cycles and/or property/banking crises when international capital flows are repriced. Ireland's Celtic Tiger , and the subsequent financial crisis in 2009–13, is an example. Jersey is another. Research shows § U.S. as the largest beneficiary , and use of tax havens by U.S corporates maximised U.S. exchequer receipts. Historical focus on combating tax havens (e.g. OECD– IMF projects) had been on common standards, transparency and data sharing. The rise of OECD-compliant corporate tax havens, whose BEPS tools were responsible for most of
7194-485: The arts , public works , distribution , data collection and dissemination , public insurance , and the operation of government itself. A government's ability to raise taxes is called its fiscal capacity . When expenditures exceed tax revenue , a government accumulates government debt . A portion of taxes may be used to service past debts. Governments also use taxes to fund welfare and public services . These services can include education systems , pensions for
7303-412: The bloc. A customs union has a common external tariff , and the participating countries share the revenues from tariffs on goods entering the customs union. In some societies, tariffs also could be imposed by local authorities on the movement of goods between regions (or via specific internal gateways). A notable example is the likin , which became an important revenue source for local governments in
7412-454: The case of British Empire–related tax havens, do not have a senior OECD member at their core. Some have suffered setbacks during various OECD initiatives to curb tax havens (e.g. Vanuatu and Samoa). However, others such as Taiwan (for AsiaPAC), and Mauritius (for Africa), have grown materially in the past decades. Taiwan has been described as "Switzerland of Asia", with a focus on secrecy. Although no Emerging market-related tax haven ranks in
7521-404: The cost of the sheet steel). The wholesale distributor will then continue the process, charging the retail distributor the VAT on the entire price to the retailer, but remitting only the amount related to the distribution mark-up to the government. The last VAT amount is paid by the eventual retail customer who cannot recover any of the previously paid VAT. For a VAT and sales tax of identical rates,
7630-563: The countries that received more than one US tax inversion since 1982 (see here ). In addition, six of these major tax havens are in the top 15 GDP-per-capita , and of the four others, three of them, the Caribbean locations, are not included in IMF-World Bank GDP-per-capita tables. In a June 2018 joint IMF report into the effect of BEPS flows on global economic data, eight of the above (excluding Switzerland and
7739-407: The country typically requires employers or employees to make compulsory payments. These payments are often computed by reference to wages or earnings from self-employment. Tax rates are generally fixed, but a different rate may be imposed on employers than on employees. Some systems provide an upper limit on earnings subject to the tax. A few systems provide that the tax is payable only on wages above
7848-422: The effect of discouraging speculative purchases of assets by decreasing liquidity. In the United States , transfer tax is often charged by the state or local government and (in the case of real property transfers) can be tied to the recording of the deed or other transfer documents. Some countries' governments will require a declaration of the taxpayers' balance sheet (assets and liabilities), and from that exact
7957-464: The estates of the deceased. In contrast with a tax on real estate (land and buildings), a land-value tax (or LVT) is levied only on the unimproved value of the land ("land" in this instance may mean either the economic term, i.e., all-natural resources, or the natural resources associated with specific areas of the Earth's surface: "lots" or "land parcels"). Proponents of the land-value tax argue that it
8066-463: The financial media, particularly when it lists the US and Germany as major "secrecy jurisdictions". However, many types of tax havens also rank as secrecy jurisdictions. While tax havens are diverse and varied, tax academics sometimes recognise three major "groupings" of tax havens when discussing the history of their development: As discussed in § History , the first recognized tax haven hub
8175-403: The five major global Conduit OFCs or any § Top 10 tax havens lists, both Taiwan and Mauritius rank in the top ten global Sink OFCs. Three main types of tax haven lists have been produced to date: Research also highlights proxy indicators , of which the two most prominent are: The post-2010 rise in quantitative techniques of identifying tax havens has resulted in a more stable list of
8284-476: The global flows to tax havens, with three of the five major global Conduit OFCs being European (i.e. the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Ireland). Four European-related tax havens appear in the various notable § Top 10 tax havens lists, namely: the Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. Many tax havens are former or current dependencies of the United Kingdom and still use the same core legal structures. Six British Empire–related tax havens appear in
8393-793: The government expenditure of taxes raised is often highly debated in politics and economics . Tax collection is performed by a government agency such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States , His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the United Kingdom , the Canada Revenue Agency or the Australian Taxation Office . When taxes are not fully paid, the state may impose civil penalties (such as fines or forfeiture ) or criminal penalties (such as incarceration ) on
8502-498: The haven has tax treaties; putting them on tax haven lists. According to modern studies, the § Top 10 tax havens include corporate-focused havens like the Netherlands, Singapore, Ireland, and the U.K., while Luxembourg, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and Switzerland feature as both major traditional tax havens and major corporate tax havens. Corporate tax havens often serve as "conduits" to traditional tax havens. Use of tax havens results in
8611-506: The household. Thus, tax collectors often monitor newspaper articles for stories about wealthy people who have lent art to museums for public display, because the artworks have then become subject to personal property tax. If an artwork had to be sent to another state for some touch-ups, it may have become subject to personal property tax in that state as well. Inheritance tax, also called estate tax, are taxes that arise for inheritance or inherited income. In United States tax law , there
8720-404: The individual characteristics of the taxpayer, whereas indirect taxes are levied on transactions irrespective of the circumstances of buyer or seller." According to this definition, for example, income tax is "direct", and sales tax is "indirect". Tax haven A tax haven is a term, often used pejoratively, to describe a place with very low tax rates for non-domiciled investors , even if
8829-512: The jurisdiction, which tax-law principles in the jurisdiction may modify or replace. The incidence of taxation varies by system, and some systems may be viewed as progressive or regressive . Rates of tax may vary or be constant (flat) by income level. Many systems allow individuals certain personal allowances and other non-business reductions to taxable income, although business deductions tend to be favored over personal deductions. Tax-collection agencies often collect personal income tax on
8938-734: The land. Property taxes are usually charged on a recurrent basis (e.g., yearly). A common type of property tax is an annual charge on the ownership of real estate , where the tax base is the estimated value of the property. For a period of over 150 years from 1695, the government of England levied a window tax , with the result that one can still see listed buildings with windows bricked up in order to save their owner's money. A similar tax on hearths existed in France and elsewhere, with similar results. The two most common types of event-driven property taxes are stamp duty , charged upon change of ownership, and inheritance tax , which many countries impose on
9047-484: The largest tax havens. Dharmapala notes that as corporate BEPS flows dominate tax haven activity, these are mostly corporate tax havens. Nine of the top ten tax havens in Gabriel Zucman 's June 2018 study also appear in the top ten lists of the two other quantitative studies since 2010. Four of the top five Conduit OFCs are represented; however, the UK only transformed its tax code in 2009–2012. All five of
9156-508: The late Qing China . Occupational taxes or license fees may be imposed on businesses or individuals engaged in certain businesses. Many jurisdictions impose a tax on vehicles. A poll tax, also called a per capita tax , or capitation tax , is a tax that levies a set amount per individual. It is an example of the concept of fixed tax . One of the earliest taxes mentioned in the Bible of a half-shekel per annum from each adult Jew (Ex. 30:11–16)
9265-475: The loss, such that business losses can only be deducted against business income tax by carrying forward the loss to later tax years. In economics, a negative income tax (abbreviated NIT) is a progressive income tax system where people earning below a certain amount receive supplemental payment from the government instead of paying taxes to the government. Most jurisdictions imposing an income tax treat capital gains as part of income subject to tax. Capital gain
9374-499: The lost taxes, led to criticism of this approach, versus actual taxes paid. Higher-tax jurisdictions, such as the United States and many member states of the European Union, departed from the OECD BEPS Project in 2017–18 to introduce anti-BEPS tax regimes, targeted raising net taxes paid by corporations in corporate tax havens (e.g. the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("TCJA") GILTI–BEAT–FDII tax regimes and move to
9483-586: The non-paying entity or individual. The levying of taxes aims to raise revenue to fund governing , to alter prices in order to affect demand , or to regulate some form of cost or benefit . States and their functional equivalents throughout history have used the money provided by taxation to carry out many functions. Some of these include expenditures on economic infrastructure ( roads , public transportation , sanitation , legal systems , public security , public education , public health systems ), military , scientific research & development , culture and
9592-556: The official rates may be higher. In some older definitions, a tax haven also offers financial secrecy . However, while countries with high levels of secrecy but also high rates of taxation, most notably the United States and Germany in the Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) rankings, can be featured in some tax haven lists, they are often omitted from lists for political reasons or through lack of subject matter knowledge. In contrast, countries with lower levels of secrecy but also low "effective" rates of taxation, most notably Ireland in
9701-610: The past decade have substantially reduced the ability for individuals or corporations to use tax havens for tax evasion (illegal non-payment of taxes owed). These include the end of banking secrecy in many jurisdictions including Switzerland following the passing of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the adoption of the CRS by most countries, including typical tax havens, a multilateral automatic taxpayer data exchange agreement, initiative of
9810-417: The percentage of the tax burden as it relates to income or consumption. The terms progressive, regressive, and proportional are used to describe the way the rate progresses from low to high, from high to low, or proportionally. The terms describe a distribution effect, which can be applied to any type of tax system (income or consumption) that meets the definition. The terms can also be used to apply meaning to
9919-458: The public sector are comparable to prices. Examples include tuition at public universities and fees for utilities provided by local governments. Governments also obtain resources by "creating" money and coins (for example, by printing bills and by minting coins), through voluntary gifts (for example, contributions to public universities and museums), by imposing penalties (such as traffic fines ), by borrowing and confiscating criminal proceeds. From
10028-440: The purpose of taxation is to maintain the stability of the currency, express public policy regarding the distribution of wealth, subsidizing certain industries or population groups or isolating the costs of certain benefits, such as highways or social security. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publishes an analysis of the tax systems of member countries. As part of such analysis, OECD has developed
10137-420: The reform of its corporate tax code in 2009–2012, the UK has re-emerged as a major corporate-focused tax haven. Two of the five major global Conduit OFCs are from this grouping (i.e. the U.K. and Singapore). In November 2009, Michael Foot, a former Bank of England official and Bahamas bank inspector, delivered an integrated report on the three British Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey), and
10246-491: The right amount of tax at the right time and securing the correct tax allowances and tax relief. The first known taxation occurred in Ancient Egypt around 3000–2800 BC. Taxes consist of direct or indirect taxes and may be paid in money or as labor equivalent. All countries have a tax system in place to pay for public, common societal, or agreed national needs and for the functions of government. Some countries levy
10355-503: The six Overseas Territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Turks and Caicos Islands), "to identify the opportunities and challenges as offshore financial centres", for the HM Treasury . As discussed in § History , most of these tax havens date from the late 1960s and effectively copied the structures and services of the above groups. Most of these tax havens are not OECD members, or in
10464-410: The supply of people is in fact not fixed over time: on average, couples will choose to have fewer children if a poll tax is imposed. The introduction of a poll tax in medieval England was the primary cause of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt . Scotland was the first to be used to test the new poll tax in 1989 with England and Wales in 1990. The change from progressive local taxation based on property values to
10573-456: The tax revenues are needed to build infrastructure. Over 15% of countries are sometimes labelled tax havens. Tax havens are mostly successful and well-governed economies, and being a haven has brought prosperity. The top 10–15 GDP-per-capita countries, excluding oil and gas exporters, are tax havens. Because of § Inflated GDP-per-capita (due to accounting BEPS flows), havens are prone to over-leverage (international capital misprice
10682-516: The taxation of select consumption, such as a tax on luxury goods and the exemption of basic necessities may be described as having progressive effects as it increases a tax burden on high end consumption and decreases a tax burden on low end consumption. Taxes are sometimes referred to as "direct taxes" or "indirect taxes". The meaning of these terms can vary in different contexts, which can sometimes lead to confusion. An economic definition, by Atkinson, states that "...direct taxes may be adjusted to
10791-501: The top 5 Sink OFCs are represented, although Jersey only appears in the Hines 2010 list. The studies capture the rise of Ireland and Singapore, both major regional headquarters for some of the largest BEPS tool users, Apple , Google and Facebook . In Q1 2015, Apple completed the largest BEPS action in history, when it shifted US$ 300 billion of IP to Ireland, which Nobel-prize economist Paul Krugman called " leprechaun economics ". In September 2018, using TCJA repatriation tax data,
10900-405: The total payroll. These taxes may be imposed in both the country and sub-country levels. A wealth tax is levied on the total value of personal assets, including: bank deposits, real estate, assets in insurance and pension plans, ownership of unincorporated businesses , financial securities , and personal trusts. Liabilities (primarily mortgages and other loans) are typically deducted, hence it
11009-681: The total tax paid is the same, but it is paid at differing points in the process. VAT is usually administrated by requiring the company to complete a VAT return, giving details of VAT it has been charged (referred to as input tax) and VAT it has charged to others (referred to as output tax). The difference between output tax and input tax is payable to the Local Tax Authority. Many tax authorities have introduced automated VAT which has increased accountability and auditability , by utilizing computer systems, thereby also enabling anti-cybercrime offices as well. Sales taxes are levied when
11118-448: The understanding of a tax haven into two classifications: In June 2018, tax academic Gabriel Zucman ( et alia ) published research that also ignored any definition of a tax haven, but estimated the corporate "profit shifting" (i.e. BEPS ), and "enhanced corporate profitability" that Hines and Dharmapala had noted. Zucman pointed out that the CORPNET research under-represented havens associated with US technology firms, like Ireland and
11227-443: The view of economists, a tax is a non-penal, yet compulsory transfer of resources from the private to the public sector , levied on a basis of predetermined criteria and without reference to specific benefits received. In modern taxation systems, governments levy taxes in money; but in-kind and corvée taxation are characteristic of traditional or pre- capitalist states and their functional equivalents. The method of taxation and
11336-445: The world's largest tax havens is therefore: Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland and the Netherlands (the major Conduit OFCs), and the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Bermuda (the major Sink OFCs), with the United Kingdom (a major Conduit OFC) still in transformation. Of these ten major havens, all except the United Kingdom and the Netherlands featured on the original Hines–Rice 1994 list . The United Kingdom
11445-516: The year 1643, as part of a scheme of revenue and taxation devised by parliamentarian John Pym and approved by the Long Parliament . These duties consisted of charges on beer, ale, cider, cherry wine, and tobacco, to which list were afterward added paper, soap, candles, malt, hops, and sweets. The basic principle of excise duties was that they were taxes on the production, manufacture, or distribution of articles which could not be taxed through
11554-443: Was a form of the poll tax. Poll taxes are administratively cheap because they are easy to compute and collect and difficult to cheat. Economists have considered poll taxes economically efficient because people are presumed to be in fixed supply and poll taxes, therefore, do not lead to economic distortions. However, poll taxes are very unpopular because poorer people pay a higher proportion of their income than richer people. In addition,
11663-562: Was not a tax haven in 1994, and Hines estimated the Netherlands's effective tax rate in 1994 at over 20%. (Hines identified Ireland as having the lowest effective tax rate at 4%.) Four of these: Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland (3 of the 5 top Conduit OFCs), and Hong Kong (a top 5 Sink OFC), featured in the Hines–Rice 1994 list's 7 major tax havens subcategory; highlighting a lack of progress in curtailing tax havens. In terms of proxy indicators , this list, excluding Canada, contains all seven of
11772-484: Was the Zurich-Zug-Liechtenstein triangle created in the mid-1920s, later joined by Luxembourg in 1929. Privacy and secrecy were established as an important aspect of European tax havens. However, modern European tax havens also include corporate-focussed tax havens, which maintain higher levels of OECD transparency, such as the Netherlands and Ireland. European tax havens act as an important part of
11881-460: Was withdrawn after objections from the new U.S. Bush Administration in 2001, and in the OECD's 2002 report the definition became "two of three criteria". The 1998 OECD definition is most frequently invoked by the "OECD tax havens". However, that definition (as noted above) lost credibility when, in 2017, under its parameters, only Trinidad & Tobago qualified as a tax haven and has since been largely discounted by tax haven academics, including
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