08/10/2021
68: This past Sunday, there was a massive leak of documents detailing financial dealings of the world's wealthy. Known as the Pandora Papers (PP), this project was led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and included 150 media outlets.
Before this, we've had the Paradise Papers and Panama Papers. However, the Paradise Papers were about aggressive tax avoidance and Panama Papers were about tax evasion. PP focus on the new method the rich used to park money in complex trust funds - the key differentiating factor. In terms of size, the PP comprises of a staggering 12 million documents, overtaking the last two leaks.
The PP have named 300 prominent Indians including Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Ambani and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. So far, these papers have shown offshore arrangements by these figures to protect their privacy and, in some cases, hide what's happening potentially from the public.
In response to these revelations, the Indian Government has directed a multi-agency group headed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman to investigate the PP case leaks. After investigation, if undisclosed foreign assets are found then the Black Money Act can be invoked which may attract rigorous penalty and prosecution.
Oxfam CEO Amit Behar has called for banning tax havens, asserting that money that could be spent on health, education, climate change etc. is tucked away in these corruption hotbeds. According to him, tax havens cost governments around USD 427 billion annually. It should be pointed out that to fix what these papers have shed light on, countries have begun taking efforts on an international and national level. For instance, tax authorities of different countries are sharing information with each other to establish a common reporting standard, increasing system transparency.
Do you think tax havens should be banned? Comment below!
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