Editing Corporate haven (section)

==Ranking corporate tax havens==

===Proxy tests===
{{see also|Corporate tax inversion}}

The study and identification of modern corporate tax havens are still developing.  Traditional qualitative-driven IMF-OCED-[[Financial Secrecy Index]] type tax haven screens, which focus on assessing legal and tax structures, are less effective given the high levels of transparency and OECD-compliance in modern corporate tax havens (i.e. most of their BEPS tools are OECD-whitelisted).
{{ordered list|type=lower-roman
|A proposed test of a modern corporate tax haven is the existence of regional headquarters of major U.S. technology multinationals (largest IP-based BEPS tool users) such as Apple, Google or Facebook.<ref name="zucc">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/08/tax-havens-dodging-theft-multinationals-avoiding-tax|title=The desperate inequality behind global tax dodging|newspaper=The Guardian|date=8 November 2017|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308142032/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/08/tax-havens-dodging-theft-multinationals-avoiding-tax|archive-date=8 March 2019|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>    The main EMEA jurisdictions for headquarters are Ireland,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/tech-giants-eating-up-dublin-s-office-market-1.3455742|title=Tech giants eating up Dublin's office market|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=18 April 2018|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513224039/https://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/tech-giants-eating-up-dublin-s-office-market-1.3455742|archive-date=13 May 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and the United Kingdom,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/revealed-apple-to-create-stunning-new-hq-at-battersea-power-station-a3356201.html|title=Apple to create stunning new London HQ at Battersea Power Station|newspaper=The Standard|date=28 September 2016|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514064900/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/revealed-apple-to-create-stunning-new-hq-at-battersea-power-station-a3356201.html|archive-date=14 May 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/ebe08914-d6bc-11e7-8c9a-d9c0a5c8d5c9|title=Facebook to recruit 800 more staff for new London HQ|newspaper=Financial Times|date=4 December 2017|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514064709/https://www.ft.com/content/ebe08914-d6bc-11e7-8c9a-d9c0a5c8d5c9|archive-date=14 May 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> while the main APAC jurisdictions for headquarters is Singapore.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/10/googles-new-apac-headquarters-in-singapore-is-a-blend-of-office-building-and-tech-campus.html|title=Google's new APAC headquarters in Singapore is a blend of office building and tech campus|publisher=CNBC|date=November 2016|access-date=2018-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710003456/https://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/10/googles-new-apac-headquarters-in-singapore-is-a-blend-of-office-building-and-tech-campus.html|archive-date=2018-07-10|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/facebook-s-singapore-office-will-make-you-want-to-quit-your-job-a6675511.html|title=Facebook's Singapore APAC Headquarters|newspaper=The Independent|date=October 2015|access-date=2018-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629160620/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/facebook-s-singapore-office-will-make-you-want-to-quit-your-job-a6675511.html|archive-date=2018-06-29|url-status=live}}</ref>

|A proposed proxy are jurisdictions to which U.S. corporates execute [[tax inversion]]s (see {{slink||Bloomberg Corporate tax inversions}}).  Since the first U.S. corporate tax inversion in 1982, Ireland has received the most U.S. inversions, with Bermuda second, the United Kingdom third and the Netherlands fourth.  Since 2009, Ireland and the United Kingdom have dominated.<ref name="bbb"/>|

|The 2017 report by the [[Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy]] on offshore activities of U.S. Fortune 500 companies, lists the Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland and the Caribbean triad (the Cayman-Bermuda-BVI), as the places where Fortune 500 companies have the most subsidiaries (note: this does not estimate the scale of their activities).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://itep.org/offshoreshellgames2017/|title=Offshore Shell Games: 2017|publisher=Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)|page=11|date=October 2017|access-date=2018-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517223640/https://itep.org/offshoreshellgames2017/|archive-date=2018-05-17|url-status=live}}</ref>

|Zucman, Tørsløv, and Wier advocate profitability of U.S. corporates in the haven as a proxy.  This is particularly useful for havens that use the {{slink||Employment tax}} system and require corporates to maintain a "substantive" presence in the haven for respectability.  Ireland is the most profitable location, followed by the Caribbean (incl. Bermuda), Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/TWZ2018Slides.pdf|title=The Missing Profits of Nations|page=26|publisher=Gabriel Zucman, Thomas Tørsløv, Ludvig Wier|date=June 2018|access-date=2018-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141342/http://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/TWZ2018Slides.pdf|archive-date=2018-06-12|url-status=live}}</ref>

|The distortion of national accounts by the accounting flows of particular IP-based BEPS tools is a proxy.<ref name="imfx"/><ref name="qqtz"/><ref name="ber">{{cite web|url=https://www.socialeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/p_imk_wp_175_2017.pdf|title=CRISIS RECOVERY IN A COUNTRY WITH A HIGH PRESENCE OF FOREIGN OWNED COMPANIES|publisher=IMK Institute, Berlin|date=January 2017|access-date=2018-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412082814/https://www.socialeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/p_imk_wp_175_2017.pdf|archive-date=2019-04-12|url-status=dead}}</ref>  This was spectacularly shown in Q1 2015 during Apple's [[leprechaun economics]].  The non-Oil & Gas nations in the top 15 [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita]] are tax havens led by Luxembourg, Singapore and Ireland (see {{slink||GDP-per-capita tax haven proxy}}).

|A related but similar test is the ratio of GNI to GDP, as GNI is less prone to distortion by IP-based BEPS tools.  Countries with low GNI/GDP ratios (e.g., Luxembourg, Ireland, and Singapore) are almost always tax havens. However, not all havens have low GNI/GDP ratios.  An example is the Netherlands, whose [[dutch sandwich]] BEPS tool impacts their national accounts in a different way.<ref name="seamuscoffey">{{cite web|url=http://economic-incentives.blogspot.ie/2013/04/gdp-and-international-comparisons.html|title=International GNI to GDP Comparisons|author=Seamus Coffey [[Irish Fiscal Advisory Council]]|publisher=University College Cork|date=29 April 2013|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319213831/http://economic-incentives.blogspot.ie/2013/04/gdp-and-international-comparisons.html|archive-date=19 March 2018|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="ber"/>

|The use of "[[common law]]" legal systems, whose structure gives greater legal protection to the construction of corporate tax "loopholes" by the jurisdiction (e.g. the [[double Irish]], or [[trusts]]), is sometimes proposed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.taxjustice.net/2017/12/19/trusts-uk-half-step-forward-three-steps-backwards/|title=Common Law Trusts|publisher=[[Tax Justice Network]]|date=19 December 2017|access-date=29 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530040355/https://www.taxjustice.net/2017/12/19/trusts-uk-half-step-forward-three-steps-backwards/|archive-date=30 May 2018|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>  There is a disproportionate concentration of [[common law]] systems amongst corporate tax havens, including Ireland, the U.K., Singapore, Hong Kong, most Caribbean (e.g. the Caymans, Bermuda, and the BVI).  However, it is not conclusive, as major havens, Luxembourg and the Netherlands run "[[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]]" systems.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2100.html|title=Country Legal Systems|publisher=CIA Factbook|access-date=2018-05-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518174611/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2100.html|archive-date=2014-05-18|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Many havens are current, or past U.K. dependencies.
}}

===Quantitative measures===
{{main|Conduit and Sink OFCs}}

More scientific, are the quantitative-driven studies (focused on empirical outcomes), such as the work by the University of Amsterdam's CORPNET in [[Conduit and Sink OFCs]],<ref name="xxxx">{{cite journal|title=Uncovering Offshore Financial Centers: Conduits and Sinks in the Global Corporate Ownership Network|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |date=24 July 2017|doi=10.1038/s41598-017-06322-9|df=dmy-all|last1=Garcia-Bernardo|first1=Javier|last2=Fichtner|first2=Jan|last3=Takes|first3=Frank W.|last4=Heemskerk|first4=Eelke M.|volume=7|issue=1|page=6246|pmid=28740120|pmc=5524793|arxiv=1703.03016|bibcode=2017NatSR...7.6246G}}</ref> and by University of Berkley's [[Gabriel Zucman]].<ref name="zuc"/>  They highlight the following modern corporate tax havens, also called [[Conduit and Sink OFCs|Conduit OFCs]], and also highlight their "partnerships" with key traditional [[tax haven]]s, called [[Conduit and Sink OFCs|Sink OFCs]]:
{{ordered list|type=lower-roman
| {{flagcountry|NLD|1912}} - the "mega" Conduit OFC, and focused on moving funds from the EU (via the "[[dutch sandwich]]" BEPS tool) to Luxembourg and the "triad" of Bermuda/BVI/Cayman.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/07/the-netherlands-is-worlds-biggest-conduit-to-offshore-tax-havens-research/| title=The Netherlands is world's biggest conduit to offshore tax havens: research| publisher=Dutch News NL| date=24 July 2017| access-date=11 May 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214160801/http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/07/the-netherlands-is-worlds-biggest-conduit-to-offshore-tax-havens-research| archive-date=14 February 2018| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.complianceweek.com/blogs/global-glimpses/netherlands-not-bermuda-is-the-tax-evasion-capital-of-the-world#.WsIZdojwZPY| title=Netherlands, not Bermuda, is the tax evasion capital of the world| magazine=[[Compliance Week]]| date=30 July 2017| access-date=13 May 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403001737/https://www.complianceweek.com/blogs/global-glimpses/netherlands-not-bermuda-is-the-tax-evasion-capital-of-the-world#.WsIZdojwZPY| archive-date=3 April 2018| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| {{flagcountry|GBR|1912}} - 2nd largest Conduit OFC and the link from Europe to Asia; 18 of the 24 Sink OFCs are current, or past, dependencies of the U.K.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.accountancydaily.co/uk-second-largest-conduit-tax-havens| title=UK second largest conduit for tax havens| publisher=Accountancy Weekly| date=27 July 2017| access-date=11 May 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403051452/https://www.accountancydaily.co/uk-second-largest-conduit-tax-havens| archive-date=3 April 2018| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-eu-chancellor-philip-hammond-welt-am-sonntag-uk-tax-haven-europe-a7527961.html| title=UK could become 'tax haven' of Europe if it is shut out of single market after Brexit, Chancellor suggests| newspaper=Independent| date=15 January 2017| access-date=11 May 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402225714/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-eu-chancellor-philip-hammond-welt-am-sonntag-uk-tax-haven-europe-a7527961.html| archive-date=2 April 2018| url-status=live| df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="tjn1"/>
| {{flagcountry|CHE|1912}} - long-established corporate tax haven and a major Conduit OFC for Jersey, one of the largest established offshore tax havens.
| {{flagcountry|SGP|1912}} - the main Conduit OFC for Asia, and the link to the two major Asian Sink OFCs of Hong Kong and Taiwan (Taiwan is described as the Switzerland of Asia<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.taxjustice.net/2016/02/10/taiwan-the-un-noticed-asian-tax-haven/|title=Taiwan, the un-noticed Asian tax haven?|publisher=Tax Justice Network|date=10 February 2016}}</ref>).
| {{flagcountry|IRE|1912}} - the main Conduit OFC for U.S. links (see [[Ireland as a tax haven]]), who make heavy use of Sink OFC Luxembourg as a backdoor out of the Irish corporate tax system.<ref name="llux"/>
}}

The only jurisdiction from the above list of major global corporate tax havens that makes an occasional appearance in OECD-IMF tax haven lists is Switzerland.  These jurisdictions are the leaders in IP-based BEPS tools and use of intergroup IP charging and have the most sophisticated IP legislation.  They have the largest tax treaty networks and all follow the {{slink||Employment tax}} approach.

The analysis highlights the difference between "suspected" onshore tax havens (i.e. major Sink OFCs Luxembourg and Hong Kong), which because of their suspicion, have limited/restricted bilateral tax treaties (as countries are wary of them), and the Conduit OFCs, which have less "suspicion" and therefore the most extensive bilateral tax treaties.<ref name="ukx"/><ref name="dut2"/>  Corporates need the broadest tax treaties for their [[BEPS]] tools, and therefore prefer to base themselves in Conduit OFCs (Ireland and Singapore), which can then route the corporate's funds to the Sink OFCs (Luxembourg and Hong Kong).<ref name="fordam"/>
[[File:List of sink-OFCs, ordered by sink centrality value.png|thumb|"Uncovering Offshore Financial Centers": List of Sink OFCs by value (highlighting the current and ex. U.K. dependencies, in light blue)]]
Of the major Sink OFCs, they span a range between traditional tax havens (with very limited tax treaty networks) and near-corporate tax havens:
{{ordered list|type=lower-roman
| {{flagcountry|BVI|1912}} {{flagcountry|BER|1912}} {{flagcountry|CYM|1912}} - The Caribbean "triad" of Bermuda/BVI/Cayman are classic major tax havens, and therefore with limited access to full global tax treaty networks, thus relying on Conduit OFCs for access; heavily used by U.S. multinationals.
| {{flagcountry|LUX|1912}} - noted by CORPNET as being close to a Conduit, however, U.S. firms are more likely to use Ireland/U.K. as their Conduit OFC to Luxembourg.
| {{flagcountry|HKG|1912}} - often described as the "Luxembourg of Asia";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://citi.com/mss/docs/hk_luxembourg.pdf|title=Hong Kong; The next Luxembourg|publisher=Citibank Asia|date=April 2013|access-date=2018-05-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524004123/https://citi.com/mss/docs/hk_luxembourg.pdf|archive-date=2018-05-24|url-status=dead}}</ref> U.S. firms are more likely to use Singapore as their Conduit OFC to route to Hong Kong.
}}

The above five corporate tax haven Conduit OFCs, plus the three general tax haven Sink OFCs (counting the Caribbean "triad" as one major Sink OFC), are replicated at the top 8-10 corporate tax havens of many independent lists, including the [[Oxfam]] list,<ref name="oxf1">{{cite web |url=https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/tax-battles-dangerous-global-race-bottom-corporate-tax |title=Tax Battles: the dangerous global race to the bottom on corporate tax |publisher=Oxfam |date=December 2016 |access-date=2018-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617142230/https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/tax-battles-dangerous-global-race-bottom-corporate-tax |archive-date=2018-06-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="oxf2">{{cite web |url=https://d1tn3vj7xz9fdh.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/bp-race-to-bottom-corporate-tax-121216-en.pdf |title=TAX BATTLES The dangerous global Race to the Bottom on Corporate Tax |publisher=Oxfam |date=December 2016 |access-date=2018-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331040012/https://d1tn3vj7xz9fdh.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/bp-race-to-bottom-corporate-tax-121216-en.pdf |archive-date=2018-03-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the [[Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy|ITEP]] list.<ref name="ITEP">{{cite web|url=https://itep.org/wp-content/uploads/offshoreshellgames2017.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://itep.org/wp-content/uploads/offshoreshellgames2017.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Offshore Shell Games 2017|page=17|publisher=Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy|date=2017}}</ref>  (see {{slink||Corporate tax haven lists}}).

===Ireland as global leader===

[[Gabriel Zucman]]'s analysis differs from most other works in that it focuses on the total quantum of taxes shielded.  He shows that many of Ireland's U.S. multinationals, like Facebook, do not appear on Orbis (the source for quantitative studies, including CORPNET's) or have a small fraction of their data on Orbis (Google and Apple).

Analysed using a "quantum of funds" method (not an "Orbis corporate connections" method), Zucman shows Ireland as the largest EU-28 corporate tax haven, and the major route for Zucman's estimated annual loss of 20% in EU-28 corporate tax revenues.<ref name="zuc">{{cite web|url=http://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/TWZ2018Slides.pdf|page=68|title=The Missing Profits of Nations|publisher=Gabriel Zucman (University of Berkley)|date=April 2018|access-date=2018-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141342/http://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/TWZ2018Slides.pdf|archive-date=2018-06-12|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="zucc"/>  Ireland exceeds the Netherlands in terms of "quantum" of taxes shielded, which would arguably make Ireland the largest global corporate tax haven (it even matches the combined Caribbean triad of Bermuda-British Virgin Islands-the Cayman Islands).<ref name="irishtimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/ireland-is-the-world-s-biggest-corporate-tax-haven-say-academics-1.3528401?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fireland-is-the-world-s-biggest-corporate-tax-haven-say-academics-1.3528401|title=Ireland is the world's biggest corporate 'tax haven', say academics|quote=Study claims State shelters more multinational profits than the entire Caribbean|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=13 June 2018|access-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824044322/https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/ireland-is-the-world-s-biggest-corporate-tax-haven-say-academics-1.3528401?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fireland-is-the-world-s-biggest-corporate-tax-haven-say-academics-1.3528401|archive-date=24 August 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="zuc10"/> See {{slink||Zucman Corporate tax havens}}.