Follow the moneytrail

Your phone is made in China

The phone is shipped directly to Norway, but on paper it embarks on a journey through several tax havens

Lets take a closer look at the moneytrail left behind in five of them

Tax Haven

Tax havens are countries or jurisdictions that offer secrecy combined with zero or low taxes for foreign companies. When money passes through a tax haven, the money trail often disappears.

When companies use tax havens, they pay less taxes in other countries. That means people like you and me have to pay more. Taxes makes it posible to build schools, hospitals and roads.

Ireland

The phone company’s headquarter for international sales is in Ireland.

Almost no employees work at the headquarter. Board meetings are not held here.

Fact sheet Ireland

HEADQUARTER
Employees
5

Secrecy rating - Financial Secrecy Index
37%

Companies choose Ireland because of the low corporate tax rate
12,5%

Companies with European headquarters in Ireland

USA

The board meetings of the Irish registered company are held far away, in California, USA.

The majority of the company’s research is conducted here..

Fact sheet USA

MANAGEMENT
Employees
100

Secrecy rating - Financial Secrecy Index
58%

In the US, many states have established themselves as tax havens.

In the desert state of Nevada, Apple owns the WORLDS LARGEST hedgefund, Braeburn Capital, which invest the earnings of Apple into the global financial markets.

In the tiny state of Delaware, you can establish a company without stating your real name or providing ID.

Number of companies in a small building in Delaware

Norwegian Statoil have 25 companies in the US. 23 of them are registered in Delaware.

Statoil employees in Delaware
0

Netherlands

Your phone seemingly stops by the Netherlands

The company has no office here, just a small postbox.

Fact sheet Netherlands

POSTBOX NO. 1
Employees
0

Secrecy rating - Financial Secrecy Index
50%

The money can pass through here to reduce tax.

This is also done by big stars like U2s Bono.

21 000 000 000 000billion USD are stashed away in tax havens by wealthy people.

Luxembourg

Your phone seemingly also passes through a postbox in Luxembourg. Here, you can create a «trust», making it almost impossible to find out who owns the money.

It is not unusual that companies or trusts in tax havens have secret owners.

Fact sheet Luxembourg

POSTBOX NO. 2
Employees
0

Secrecy rating - Financial Secrecy Index
67%

The owners of a trust can be kept secret by letting «nominees» in a tax haven manage the money.

British Virgin Islands

The British Virgin Islands is the last stop before the phone arrives in Norway. Nobody works here either, but we find a lawyer who claims to represent the company.

Lawyers often represent companies and manage trusts. They will often claim to have a duty of confidentiality and will not identify the real owners.

Fact sheet British Virgin Islands

NOMINEE
Employees
1

Secrecy rating - Financial Secrecy Index
66%

Norway

Norway also offers secrecy for companies.

For instance, the real and ultimate owners of companies are not registered here.

Fact sheet Norway

POINT OF SALE
Employees
10

Secrecy rating - Financial Secrecy Index
42%

Norwegian law firms transferred at least 1,2 bn USD to and from tax havens during 2004-2009.

The money passes through seven countries.

The money stays behind in tax havens. Which means that the company apparently has no profits, and therefore pay no taxes in Norway or in China, where the phone is produced and sold.

50 %

Large corporate investments in developing countries that are routed from or via tax havens

690 000 000 000 USD disappear from developing countries every year because of tax dodging corporations. This equals two Indian national budgets.

WE CAN CHANGE THIS!

  1. We need to know who really owns companies and trusts in all countries: "Beneficial ownership registries"
  2. Tax havens need to inform other countries when foreigners hide their money there: «Automatic information exchange»
  3. Companies need to tell us how much they earn and tax in all countries: «Country-by-country reporting»
  4. Governments must make new rules to ensure that companies pay the right tax at the right place, and not to postboxes in tax havens: «Unitary taxation»

Want to know more? Read up on hidden financial flows at taxjustice.no (Norwegian) or taxjustice.net (English).

Get involved! Join changemaker.no (Norwegian)

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