PARADISE PAPERS
Tax law is clear cut and liability is not soft or subjective
The only correct basis to determine the tax liability is the law, as interpreted by the courts, writes Ernest Mazansky
The recently released Paradise Papers may seem like a replay of the Panama Papers, but in terms of respectability of jurisdictions and their standing in the financial world, Bermuda and Panama are not — and have never been — in the same league. Bermuda has never been one of the Caribbean tax havens (it is not even located in the Caribbean) and is a very well-regulated and sophisticated financial jurisdiction. In fact, Bermuda is the second-largest reinsurance market in the world. Journalists have been quick to point out that individuals and companies whose names appear on the lists have not necessarily done anything illegal. But that has not stopped them from naming those individuals and companies, and the mere fact they have been named already raises the possibility of taint. Again, the media acknowledge that it is quite legal to engage in tax avoidance but then raise issues as to the ethics and morality of the practice. This is not an easy subject to debate. Either what one is doi...
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