At least according to the Tax Justice Network:
Super-Rich Hide $21 Trillion in Secret Tax Havens, Says Tax Justice Network
by Lyneka Little, abcnews.go.com -- Jul 23, 2012
The super-rich are hiding at least $21 Trillion in accounts outside their home countries, according to a report by an activist group called the Tax Justice Network.
The wealth hidden in these tax shelters is the equivalent of the United States and Japanese economies combined, according to the report, "The Price of Offshore Revisited".
"The hidden offshore sector is large enough to make a significant difference to all or conventional measures of inequality," wrote the lead author, James S. Henry, a former McKinsey & Co. chief economist.
[...]
In a list of the top 20 countries experiencing "global flight wealth," China ranks as number one with $1.19 trillion. It is followed by Russia, Korea, Brazil and Kuwait.
[...]
As per usual, re-framing the "wealth issue" in the proper context (as a "Tax Haven" problem) is half the battle.
As the backers of the GOP well know -- having a simple 2-word frame is everything.
Who likes "Tax Havens" anyways?
Here are some summary conclusions from that recent Tax Justice Network report -- about why so much of the world is so broke ...
Revealed: global super-rich has at least $21 trillion hidden in secret tax havens
The Price of Offshore Revisited: Press Release 19th July 2012
[pg 3]
James S. Henry, TJN Senior Adviser and main researcher for The Price of Offshore Revisited, said:
“This new report focuses our attention on a huge ‘black hole’ in the world economy that has never before been measured -- private offshore wealth, and the vast amounts of untaxed income that it produces. This at a time when governments around the world are starved for resources, and we are more conscious than ever of the costs of economic inequality.”
“Using several independent estimation methods, and the most comprehensive data set ever assembled, we have been able to triangulate on the size and growth of this black hole. Despite taking pains to err on the conservative side, the results are astonishing.”
“First, this hidden offshore sector is large enough to make a significant difference to all of our conventional measures of inequality."
"Since most of missing financial wealth belongs to a tiny elite, the impact is staggering. For most countries, global financial inequality is not only much greater than we suspected, but it has been growing much faster.”
“Second, the lost tax revenue implied by our estimates is huge. It is large enough to make a significant difference to the finances of many countries, especially developing countries that are now struggling to replace lost aid dollars and pay for climate change. Indeed, once we take these hidden offshore assets and the earnings they produce into account, many erstwhile ‘debtor countries’ are in fact revealed to be wealthy. But the problem is, their wealth is now offshore, in the hands of their own elites and their private bankers. Indeed, the developing world as a whole has been a significant CREDITOR of the developed world for more than a decade. That means this is really a tax justice problem, not simply a ‘debt’ problem.”
“Third, [... read the report.]
[1] All the documents described here can be found on our permanent web page, here: Tax Havens Cause Poverty.
Who are these "Economic Patriots" anyways, exposing the stuff that the super-rich would you rather not know?
(... about where they stash their loot, to great Tax Advantages.)
About Tax Justice Network (TJN)
TJN is an independent organisation launched in the British Houses of Parliament in March 2003. It is dedicated to high-level research, analysis and advocacy in the field of tax and regulation. We work to map, analyse and explain the role of taxation and the harmful impacts of tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax competition and tax havens. Our objective is to encourage reform at the global and national levels. We are not aligned to any political party. Our network includes:
Academics;
Accountants;
Development organisations and NGOs;
Economists;
Faith groups;
Financial professionals;
Journalists;
Lawyers;
Public-interest groups;
Trade unions
Others
Our founding objectives are:
to raise the level of awareness about the secretive world of offshore finance;
to promote links between interested parties around the world, particularly involving developing countries;
to stimulate and organise research and debate;
to encourage and support national and international campaign activity.
[...]
Here's my summary conclusion regarding that startling new
Tax Justice Network report:
"We don't have a Huge Debt problem -- we have a Huge Tax Haven problem."
Economic Patriots take note.
If us crumb-gatherers need a "simple conceptual frame" to start shouting about -- putting an end to "legally-allowed" Tax Havens, could be it.
-- and wouldn't THAT just make Mitt's day.