Outside of really rich people, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who actually supports the ability to use tax havens to protect wealth from the government. A group of more than 300 economists have now come out calling for an end to the use of these shelters.
The call comes in advance of more of the “Panama Papers” being released, reports USA Today. The bundle of documents, the first of which were released last month, document just how much money the world’s super rich are hiding in tax shelters in countries like Panama.
“Tax havens do not just happen. The British Virgin Islands did not become a tax and secrecy haven through its own efforts. These havens are the deliberate choice of major governments, especially the United Kingdom and the United States, in partnership with major financial, accounting and legal institutions that move the money,” Columbia University’s Jeff Sachs said.
Thomas Piketty, the left-wing French economist who wrote the 2014 bestseller “Capital in 21st Century” is also a signatory to the letter.