According to Dr Anthony Van Fossen in an opinion piece for The Conversation, the role of offshore tax havens have come under increasing fire amid growing global concern over tax revenues, with calls for greater transparency from the recent G8 summit and the recommendation of international tax rules by the OECD in next month’s G20 meeting. An online database of private offshore banking entities, launched last month by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, has only added fuel to a fire that has been fanned by voter dissatisfaction over austerity measures and higher taxes.
But the hardline push by developed countries making up the “Global North” has been met by the softer line of the “Global South”, where the region’s economic powerhouses are home to clients who account for the plurality of Pacific Island Tax-haven business. And the the economic power shift from the north to the south, the future of Pacific Island tax havens may rest on the outcome of a much bigger struggle between the United States and Europe, and the emerging economies of Asia. To read the full article click here.