TAX HAVENS ARE AN IMMORAL BLIGHT - THE VATICAN SPEAKS OUT

The Vatican has recently issued a condemnation of tax havens, adding their voice to many others.
The US Congress has recently drawn up a list of 37 'suspect jurisdictions' which were believed to be sheltering rich people and institutions from tax and prying eyes into their affairs.
Who these people are is something of a mystery - but here is a list of prime suspects:

• Corrupt African leaders and other corrupt politicians who have robbed their citizens and countries of huge amounts of wealth. Many commentators say that the problems of Africa will not be solved unless corrupt leaders are stopped from salting public money away.
• Organised criminals of many hues, from Russian oligarchs, drug barons, the Mafia and sundry dubious people involved in bent businesses of many kinds.
• Tax dodgers, mainly the very rich, many of whom seem to believe that they have no moral obligations to support the societies from which they have derived their wealth.
• Financial and investment institutions, Hedge Funds, some private equity operators and many perfectly legal companies whose owners/ principals wish to avoid paying tax on their or their clients' behalf. It must be emphasised that many of these tax dodgers operate legally and had the tacit or overt support of the US and UK governments and political parties, many of which have benefited richly from their largesse.
• Lawyers, tax advisers and others in the financial system, who make rich livings by designing tax avoidance schemes for corporations and individuals.

Tax havens are an evil manifestation

This is not just our view, the Vatican and clergy of many churches have now publicly condemned them - so those tax dodgers who profess to have a religion (apart from greed) can no longer pretend that their actions are approved of by religious leaders - which presumably makes them outcasts?
It is fairly clear that US president-elect Obama is concerned that the US Treasury is being robbed of billions of dollars by tax avoiders and might even do something about it when he can. It is reported that accountancy companies and other tax-dodging specialists are already starting lobbying in Washington to try to stop their lucrative trade being diminished. Another straw in the wind is the publicity campaign being promoted on UK TV by the Cayman Islands, a tax haven, promoting their virtues as a holiday destination - possibly a premonition on their part?

Why are tax havens evil?

Readers will know only too well that the global banking system has collapsed into chaos as a result of the orgy of speculation and greed pursued by the finance industries. Their practices were largely performed out of the public gaze, hidden from the scrutiny of regulators and society in general. A major prop of this gross lack of transparency was the use of tax havens to shelter the activities and the wealth of operators in the finance industries and their rich clients. Tax havens have therefore played a major role in the collapse of the banking and finance systems.
Healthy societies are those that provide opportunities for all their citizens to live prosperous and fulfilling lives. A significant part of the wherewithal to do this is provided through taxation. Countries with healthy public sectors that work in collaboration with other stakeholders are proven to have less gross inequality, better crime records, better general educational attainment, better public health and wellbeing than those that have high inequalities of wealth. (See this site, Inequality, social cohesion and social capital, Reform section, Fact and Opinion).

Compare the Nordic countries with the US and UK and it will become apparent that a commitment to the wellbeing of society, which includes paying taxes, creates far healthier communities. It is also interesting to note that allowing gross injustices in the financial and tax systems does not noticeably increase Gross Domestic Product per head either, the Nordic countries, with relatively high taxation and equitable societies, good for the vast majority of citizens, are not generally poorer than the UK or US.
Tax avoidance therefore undermines healthy societies by denying the public the benefit of money that, if well used, will increase the wellbeing of the vast majority of citizens. To undermine the common good in this way is immoral and a social evil.

But this is not the end of the matter. The continent of Africa has witnessed vast corruption on the part of the rulers of many countries. Vast sums have been extracted from the ordinary people; external aid has been siphoned into the pockets of the rich and a significant number of countries grossly impoverished by greedy rulers.
The destination of these illicit billions? Tax Havens of one sort or another. Many informed observers believe that Africa cannot become a healthy continent where ordinary people have a chance of secure and prosperous lives while the opportunity exists for greedy rulers to secrete vast wealth outside their countries

What of the UK government?

In a context where a large number of observers of many different hues are condemning tax havens and the evils that they promote, what of the UK government? Britain has jurisdiction over about one third of the world's tax havens - a disgraceful stain on the national reputation. With the Vatican, US, Germany, France and many other countries moving against them, the British government and Conservative opposition seem remarkably muted about this disgrace. Is it that the current government has backed itself into a corner by allowing the UK economy to be so misshapen that the country has become almost totally dependent on the finance industries? If so, heaven help the UK economy. Is it also the case that the Conservative opposition has been substantially 'recruited' by the finance industries? (see politicians and the finance industry, Government and Politicians section)
If the government does not act and act strongly to restrict and expose the activities of tax havens, any pretence at providing leadership in helping the world economy out of the current disastrous mess will be exposed as a sham. Many millions are watching and waiting.......