Switzerland still top tax haven, US jumps to No. 3
NEW DELHI: Switzerland has retained its top spot in the financial secrecy index (FSI) 2015, unveiled by the Tax Justice Network (TJN) on Monday. Switzerland is followed by Hong Kong, the US, Singapore and the Cayman Islands. The biggest surprise is the US, which has climbed to third place from sixth place in FSI-2013.
Countries such as Switzerland, the US, Singapore and Germany that figure in the top 10 list of FSI-2015 (and are perceived as actively promoting secrecy in global finance) are also among the top 10 FDI investors to India.
TJN’s biennial FSI ranking is based on a combination of a country’s secrecy score and a scale-weightage based on the country’s share in the global market for its offshore financial services. Thus, for instance, even though Mauritius (India’s top FDI investor) has a secrecy score of 72, it is ranked lower at 23 as it accounts for less than 1% of the global market for offshore financial services compared to Singapore. India’s second largest FDI investor, Singapore, has a lower secrecy score of 69 points but is ranked at fourth position.
Other top investors in India like the UK, Japan and the Netherlands have an FSI rank of 15, 12 and 41, respectively. Among the notable FDI investors in India, countries such as Mauritius, Switzerland and the UAE have a secrecy score of more than 70.
According to TJN, “Switzerland stays at the top of the index and for good reason: Despite what you may have heard, Swiss banking secrecy is far from dead, though it has curbed its secrecy somewhat.” As regards the US, TJN’s communication states, “US is more of a cause for concern than any other individual country, because of both the size of its offshore sector and also its rather recalcitrant attitude to international co-operation and reform. Though it has been a pioneer in defending itself from foreign secrecy jurisdictions, aggressively taking on the Swiss banking establishment and setting up its technically quite strong foreign account tax compliance act (FATCA), it provides little information in return to other countries.”
According to tax experts, the FACTA agreement entered into with India provides for reciprocal exchange of information, but it’s too early to comment on the information that will be shared by the US. Singapore and Germany, which also figure in the top 10 list of FSI-2015, are also among the top 10 investor countries for India. As regards Singapore, TJN’s analysis refers to a lack of serious reforms to its corporate secrecy regime or in creating public registries of beneficial ownership. Germany’s laxity in tackling illicit money from around the globe and also in spearheading EU’s resistance to public access of country-by-country reporting by multinational corporates has been pointed at.
The UAE (Dubai), which is India’s eleventh largest investor, has been ranked tenth in FSI-2015. TJN’s analysis comments on its lack of interest in transparency and the laxity with which its offshore sector is supervised and regulated. Overall, there have been several improvements. The average secrecy score has fallen to 60 from 66 when compared to FSI-2013. “Real action is being taken to curb financial secrecy as the OECD rolls out a system of automatic information exchange where countries share relevant information to tackle tax evasion,” states TJN.
Liz Nelson, director at TJN, adds, “None of the reforms we’ve seen would have taken place without pressure from civil society and the streets. G7 and G20 leaders will do nothing unless pushed from below. So it’s essential to keep up the pressure, especially on matters such as implementing public disclosure of company ownership and, crucially, of trusts.”
