The end of bank secrecy? An evaluation of the G20 tax haven crackdown

Johannesen, Niels and Zucman, Gabriel (2014) The end of bank secrecy? An evaluation of the G20 tax haven crackdown. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 6 (1). pp. 65-91. ISSN 1945-7731

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Abstract

During the financial crisis, G20 countries compelled tax havens to sign bilateral treaties providing for exchange of bank information. Policymakers have celebrated this global initiative as the end of bank secrecy. Exploiting a unique panel dataset, our study is the first attempt to assess how the treaties affected bank deposits in tax havens. Rather than repatriating funds, our results suggest that tax evaders shifted deposits to havens not covered by a treaty with their home country. The crackdown thus caused a relocation of deposits at the benefit of the least compliant havens. We discuss the policy implications of these findings.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.aeaweb.org/aej/pol/index.php
Additional Information:	© 2014 AEA
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance
JEL classification:	G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G21 - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G28 - Government Policy and Regulation H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue > H26 - Tax Evasion H - Public Economics > H8 - Miscellaneous Issues > H87 - International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods K - Law and Economics > K3 - Other Substantive Areas of Law > K34 - Tax Law
Date Deposited:	18 Mar 2014 11:48
Last Modified:	14 Apr 2024 06:15
Funders:	Danish Council for Independent Research and Gabriel Zucman from the French Ministry of Higher Education
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/56125

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