Tax Law Commons^™

How Countries Should Share Tax Information, Arthur J. Cockfield

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Offshore tax evasion, international money laundering, and aggressive international tax planning significantly reduce government revenues. In particular, for some low-income countries the amount of capital flight (where elites move and hide monies offshore in tax havens) exceeds foreign aid. Governments struggle to enforce their tax laws to constrain these actions, and they are inhibited by a lack of information concerning international capital flows. The main international policy response to these developments has been to promote global financial transparency through heightened cross-border exchanges of tax information. The Article examines elements of optimal cross-border tax information exchange laws and policies by focusing …

Piercing The Veil Of Secrecy: Securing Effective Exchange Of Information To Remedy The Harmful Effects Of Tax Havens, Hedda Leikvang

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The enforcement of tax laws abroad has long posed problems for authorities. However, that enforcement becomes increasingly more problematic when the information necessary for proper enforcement is located within an impenetrable system whose sole purpose is to protect that information from tax authorities in other countries. Although much effort has been expended to remedy the harmful effects of tax havens, few strategies have succeeded. But with the prospects of a record federal deficit and an ever-increasing tax gap, U.S. authorities have begun to look for new ways to strengthen the enforcement of U.S. tax laws abroad. The most prominent of …

Tax Havens, Charles R. Irish

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Opinions about tax havens cover a wide spectrum. Some suggest tax havens present an unacceptable face of capitalism and inflict considerable damage on the economies of nonhaven countries. Others argue that havens offer relief from oppressive taxes and other regulations which inhibit the free and efficient flow of capital; and still others hold the view that tax haven status may act as a catalyst for economic development. Obviously, the opinions vary according to whether a person is a tax collector in a non-haven country, a taxpayer engaged in international business activities, or a government policymaker in a haven country.

The …