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SECTION HEAD: Title

The Wealth Report

2013

Sponsored by

In association with

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CONTENTS

The Wealth Report 20133 A panoply of change

As governments move to identify tax offenders, tax planning is top of the agenda for the world’s wealthy.

4 Locations in demandLuxembourg and the Cayman Islands are under consideration if clients are restructuring their current holding structures.

5 Family offices on the increaseFamily offices, once the preserve of the US, UK and Swiss rich, are starting to appear in other locations.

7 Structuring wealthIs onshore the new offshore? According to our figures, not quite yet although more are seeking to go onshore.

8 Moving assetsSingapore is shaping up as an alternative jurisdiction for the rich whilst Luxembourg and Switzerland still look strong.

9 Issues on the agenda Over the next three years, asset protection and tax planning are the top issues for the wealthy but succession/family issues and regulatory change are also causing anxiety.

10 The next generationWealth advisers are concerned that the children of the rich are ill-prepared for their inheritance - which can cause major problems for wealthy families.

11 The OECD The OECD is preparing new guidelines for global tax transparency, ending what is described as a ‘golden age’ of tax avoidance.

Editorial DirectorMary HeaneyWealth Report EditorNeasa McErleanJunior reporter Charlotte MullenCommercial DirectorMaria SunderlandMarketing DirectorBen MartinDesign & ProductionPaul CarpenterPublisherMark Wyatt

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Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 years

Sara MaccallumPartner and Head of Private Client & Taxe: [email protected]

Hayden BaileyPartnere: [email protected]

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Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 yearsEnduring Relationships | Outstanding Service | Client Success

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Shifting SandsGlobal wealth is under the spotlight as never before and, understandably, the world’s wealthy are on high alert. The Wealth Report 2013 surveys legal advisers to see how their clients are reacting to the changes. Neasa MacErlean reports.The world’s millionaires and other high net worth individuals are altering the ways they manage their money as their advisers get to grips with increasingly complicated tax and reporting regimes. The Wealth Report 2013 reveals that there is growing interest in setting up family offices, for example, and that many lawyers are advising clients on whether they should switch the location of their bank accounts. But tax planning remains the dominant issue in the sector with 58 per cent of our 136 respondents - all private client lawyers - saying it is the ‘most frequently encountered’ subject when advising private clients.

A panoply of changeIn the face of public pressure, many governments and international bodies such as the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) are working to reduce the secrecy surrounding the 42 states

deemed to be tax havens by the OECD. There are also hundreds of changes happening worldwide in individual jurisdictions to make domestic tax systems seem “fairer” to the majority of the voting population. Against this background, private clients are on high alert- whether that means keeping abreast of changing Swiss secrecy laws, conforming to the UK’s new statutory

residence test, responding to tougher tax rules in France or taking advantage of private wealth developments in Singapore and other new market places.

This all means that private wealth lawyers 1. Which of the following issues

do you encounter most frequentlywhen advising private clients?

Other

Counterparty risk claims

Fund investments

Tax disputes

Family disputes

Trust and estate disputes

Reputational issues

Probate

Pre-nuptial planning

Divorce

Succession issues

Family businessstructuring and governance

Domicile/residence issues

Dealing with undeclared assets/amnesties

Tax planning

Asset protection

12.4%8.5%25.6%23.3%18.6%27.1%18.6%14.7%11.6%11.6%44.2%51.2%28.7%16.3%58.1%52.7%

Which of the following issues do you encounter most frequently when advising private clients?

There are also hundreds of

changes happening worldwide

in individual jurisdictions to make domestic

tax systems seem “fairer” to the

majority of the voting

population.

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Wealth Report 2013

Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 yearsSue LaingPartnere: [email protected]

Simon RylattPartnere: [email protected]

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are working in a constantly and rapidly-changing global and domestic environment. Two-thirds (66 per cent) of lawyers are advising on the restructuring of client asset holdings. Nearly half (44 per cent) are advising on the possibility of moving assets in response to new rules in the respondents’ jurisdictions. After tax planning, the issues which are most frequently raised by clients are: asset protection (53 per cent), family

7. How many of your wealthyclients have set up family oces?

Most

Several

One or two

None

38.9%

17.8%

37.8%

5.8%

How many of your wealthy clients have set up family offices?

4. Are clients seeking advice on theircurrent holding structures with a view to restructuring?

Don’t knowNoYes

65.6%19.4%

15.1%

Are clients seeking advice on their current holding structures with a view to restructuring? 5. If clients are seeking advice on

restructuring their current holding structures,which jurisdictions are they considering?

20%

18.2%

10.9%

20%

7.3%

18.2%

12.7%

10.9%

21.8%

9.1%

1.8%

7.3%

1.8%

1.8%

3.6%

18.2%

21.8%

20%

9.1%

7.3%

10.9%

Other

US

UK

Switzerland

Spain

Singapore

Panama

Malta

Luxembourg

Lichtenstein

Italy

Hong Kong

Germany

France

Cyprus

Channel Islands/Isle of Man

Cayman

BVI

Bermuda

Australia/New Zealand

Asia (ex Singapore and Hong Kong)

If clients are seeking advice on restructuring their current holding structures, which jurisdictions are they considering?

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business structuring (51 per cent), succession (44 per cent) and domicile/residence (29 per cent). While offshore and onshore trusts are seen as the best ways of holding investment assets in common law jurisdictions, just over half of respondents (51 per cent) expect corporate structures to become more widespread and 33 per cent expect to see more

private trust companies. And nearly half (47 per cent) expect less use of bank accounts in confidential jurisdictions.

Wealth Report 2013

Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 yearsEnduring Relationships | Outstanding Service | Client Success

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Passing assets to the next generation is a major worry, according to the legal advisors of the world’s richest people with over half of them believing that the children of wealthy parents are not prepared to deal with their inheritance. From disputes to divorces, the issues are many when it comes to entrusting future generations to look after and increase assets and it is no surprise that earned wealth as opposed to inherited wealth is said to be the key to financial happiness, according to a report from Barclays.

Lack of trustThe report also found that 35 per cent of high net worth individuals do not trust the next generation to protect their inheritance and 40 per cent of global wealthy families have experienced family conflict as

a result of family wealth. However, despite this, only four per cent of global respondents were not committed to passing assets to the next generation. The report ‘The Transfer of Trust: Wealth and Succession in a changing world’ was based on a global survey of more than 200 higher net worth individuals.

Keeping a secretMore recent research from Coutts backs this up. With £1 trillion passing on, a survey of 270 millionaires found that one fifth of parents are keeping their true wealth a secret from their children. This is due to fears that it will ruin their children’s aspirations – or that they might reveal too much information to people who might befriend them for the wrong reasons. Parents were

particularly concerned about the rise in publicly available information which is fuelled by the rise in social media sites.

Coutts also found that despite divorce rates of 42 per cent, less than one in four parents would consider insisting on or even raising the idea of a pre-nuptial agreement to inheritors. The problem of protecting family wealth is also hampered by the number of second and subsequent marriages. According to Juliette Johnson, executive director of Coutts said: ‘In the UK, 46 per cent of marriages are subsequent marriages and with 2.5 million step-children in the UK, blended families and step-grandchildren are now part and parcel of family life which can add further complications to succession and inheritance planning.’

The next generation: protecting wealth

8. Are these clients mostly interested inestablishing single-family oces or joining multi-family oces?

Our clients are not interested inestablishing or joining family oces

A mixtureMulti-familyoce

Single-familyoce

46.5%

4.7%

25.6%

23.3%

What type of family office are clients interested in? From disputes to divorces, the

issues are many when it comes to entrusting future

generations to look after and increase

assets

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founder of family funds who sets up trusts but still [seeks to control them] which would have repercussions for the tax and asset protection efficacy of those structures.

The international familyLike companies, families are becoming increasingly international. Our research shows that 60 per cent of respondents deal with families which “frequently” have members outside the home jurisdiction. Another 9 per cent advise clients whose families are “always” outside. As numbers of high-net worth individuals are growing - up 9.2 per cent between 2011 to 2012 according to Capgemini - more of them will be advised to establish family offices. Asia-Pacific overtook the US for the first time as the biggest home of high-net worth individuals, according to Capgemini’s World Wealth Report 2012. It is likely that the family office concept will embed itself in the Asia/Pacific region in future. Only 23 per cent of clients worldwide rule out the idea, according to our research, and 47 per cent want a single family office; 5 per cent want a multi-family structure and 26 per cent want a mixture. In the US, there is new trend of family offices co-operating on areas of investment specialism - such as niche kinds of real estate.

Family offices on the increaseFamily offices - mainly set up so far by US, UK and Swiss families - seem set to spread to other locations and, for those already established, to be more tightly run. The vast majority (82 per cent) of respondents have some clients with

family offices. While 39 per cent have “one or two”, another 38 per cent have “several” and 6 per cent say that “most” of their clients have a family office in place. “Setting up some sort of body - such as a family office or council - is a growing trend,” says Simon Rylatt, private client partner in Boodle Hatfield. “People are recognising that they need some governance structure around the wealth. But it will be imperative that these

structures are well-run. Revenue authorities are going to be examining more closely whether the people involved are living by the rules they set at the outset.” A common trigger for potential problems is the patriarch or matriarch

Wealth Report 2013

Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 years

Natasha HassallPartnere: [email protected]

Geoffrey ToddPartnere: [email protected]

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What are the best ways to hold investment assets? (1=most favoured)Answer Options 1 2 3 4 Rating Average

Onshore trusts 11 5 4 5 2.88

Offshore trusts 28 16 7 2 3.32

Onshore foundations 2 3 5 4 2.21

Offshore foundations 2 12 3 5 2.50

Bank accounts in confidential jurisdictions 8 7 6 6 2.63

Bank accounts in home jurisdiction 4 9 8 7 2.36

Corporate structures 21 20 19 9 2.77

Nomineeships/power of attorney 0 2 3 7 1.58

Partnerships 2 3 11 9 1.92

Life insurance 1 3 5 14 1.61

6. How o�en do you find that your clientshave family members resident outside the family’s home jurisdiction?

NeverInfrequently

FrequentlyAlways

8.9%

60%

27.8%

3.3%

How often do you find that your clients have family members resident outside the family’s home jurisdiction?

People are recognising that they need some

governance structure around the wealth. But it

will be imperative that these

structures are well run.

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Wealth Report 2013

Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 yearsEnduring Relationships | Outstanding Service | Client Success

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Offshore versus onshoreOffshore locations are likely to be particularly considered by families which are themselves spread around the world. Offshore trusts are cited as being one of the best ways of holding assets by 53 per cent of respondents. Onshore trusts come second (cited by 44 per cent). Wealth held offshore rose 6.1 per cent to US $ 8.5 trillion in 2012, according to Boston Consulting Group’s Global Wealth 2013 report. Boston Consulting predicts that the sum will increase 32 per cent to reach $11.2 trillion by the end of 2017. Managing director Brent Beardsley believes that there are several reasons that will ensure the continued popularity of offshore centres despite growing regulatory pressures. “Clients seek skills and expertise offshore that cannot easily be found onshore,” he told Global Legal Post. “Wealth management clients continue to seek diversification, specialised expertise, high-quality service, discretion and domiciles with relatively high levels of economic and political stability.”

Different Investment structures But, while offshore will remain popular as a location, the investment structures used there look set to undergo some transformation as a result of the changing demographics of the wealthy. Clients from common law jurisdictions

are the most used to trusts. But Simon Rylatt of Boodle Hatfield says: “People from, for example, the Middle East and Russia are more sceptical of trusts. The idea of handing over control to someone in a far-flung place is, understandably something they have a great deal of concern about.” Colleague Katie Hawksley says that private trust companies have the advantage of allowing “some element of influence” to remain with the people establishing them, which may help to make more individuals more comfortable with the concept of a trust.” A third of respondents (33 per cent) expect more use of these structures, and 51 per cent expect to see more corporate structures in general. Katie Hawksley explains that the private trust companies are not for everyone, however and “tend only to be available for high wealth structures,” she says.

Moving assetsAt the moment, lawyers are regularly being asked to advise on whether clients should move

How will recent legislative changes affect clients’ use of the following structures?Answer Options Will use No Will more change use less

Onshore trusts 21 35 14

Offshore trusts 18 29 26

Onshore foundations 8 42 11

Offshore foundations 14 28 19

Bank accounts in confidential jurisdictions 16 20 32

Corporate structures 37 30 5

Nomineeships/power of attorney 13 31 16

Partnerships 12 39 10

Life insurance 12 39 8

Private trust companies 20 32 8

2. Have clients been seeking advice onmoving assets in the light of recentchanges in your jurisdiction?

Don’t knowNoYes

46.4%43.8%

9.8%

Have clients been seeking advice on moving assets in the light of recent changes in your jurisdiction?

Private trust companies are

not for everyone, however, and

tend only to be available for high wealth structures

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their assets to different locations. It is no surprise that 44 per cent are raising such questions as even Switzerland, the historic capital of banking secrecy, is moving towards far greater disclosure. The tenor of comments from tax authorities may be making individuals who have always paid their tax correctly reflect on whether they should continue to use offshore accounts. For instance, HM Revenue and Customs in the UK told Global Legal Post: “There are no safe havens for those who try to hide their money offshore. We have signed a number of groundbreaking agreements with other jurisdictions to share information and gain access to data which will recover billions of pounds of tax that, in many instances, would have been out of reach.” While such comments are fair and correct in so far as they apply to tax evasion, they may give the mistaken impression that all offshore holdings are dubious. Nearly half (47 per cent) of respondents to our survey believe that clients will make less use of bank accounts in confidential jurisdictions in future. But how clients will actually respond is still a matter of debate - especially when those who are totally compliant are reminded that they do not need to shift location. Simon Rylatt of Boodle Hatfield says: “I’m not aware of that many people who have moved their accounts.”

Tax is the most commonly cited reason for clients moving jurisdiction, in our survey. “Increasing tax rates,” said one respondent. “Raised taxes on corporate income and dividends,” says another. “Anti-abuse tax regulation recently enacted in Spain,” says a third.

Taxing questionsTax planning, as well as being cited as the foremost area of advice sought by private clients,

Wealth Report 2013

Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 years

Will TwidalePartnere: [email protected]

Sofie HoffmanPartnere: [email protected]

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3. If clients are considering movingtheir assets, which jurisdictionsare they moving to?

Other

US

UK

The Netherlands

Switzerland

Spain

Singapore

Panama

Monaco

Malta

Luxembourg

Lichtenstein

Israel

Ireland

India

Hong Kong

Germany

France

Cyprus

Channel Islands/Isle of Man

Cayman

Canada

BVI

Bermuda

Austria

Australia/New Zealand

Asia (ex Singapore and Hong Kong)

Homejurisdiction

12.5%16.7%13.9%11.1%26.4%

2.8%25%8.3%

1.4%6.9%27.8%8.3%

2.8%2.8%2.8%

5.6%4.2%

2.8%2.8%

13.9%13.9%5.6%16.7%4.2%

1.4%8.3%8.3%29.2%

If clients are considering moving their assets, which jurisdictions are they moving to? The tenor of

comments from tax authorities

may be making individuals who have always paid their tax correctly reflect on whether

they should continue to use

offshore accounts.

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is also predicted to be the top issue facing clients in the next three years. Just under two-thirds (65%) of respondents put tax planning in their top five subjects for the next three years. “In the UK and worldwide, there have been huge changes to tax legislation over recent years”” says Katie Hawksley of Boodle Hatfield. And in the UK, for instance, the agenda has become a populist issue, making it an object of common concern, not just one that is debated quietly by politicians and civil servants. This makes the course of tax law harder to predict. The public outrage that followed has made it easier for the tax authorities to orchestrate their crackdowns, even if that means getting into moral debates over where tax avoidance should be viewed as akin to tax evasion.

While some clients might be tempted to take the easy way out - by aiming for simplicity in their tax affairs - they could still find that they need a considerable amount of tax advice. “Clients still want certainty as to their tax affairs” says Boodle Hatfield’s Katie Hawskley. “But increasingly, in the UK, it is possible that advice is given in one tax year which might change the next.”

Location, LocationThere is less information in our survey on the particular locations that clients are considering, as fewer respondents answered the geographical questions. However, when clients are looking to move assets, they tend to look first at their home jurisdiction and then to Luxembourg. France tops the list of countries which are introducing tougher legislation, and the US also gets several mentions. At the other end of the spectrum, Singapore leads the list of territories making the most strides to attract foreign wealth by adapting their laws, with the

Wealth Report 2013

Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 yearsEnduring Relationships | Outstanding Service | Client Success

Global legal post strip.indd 1 29/05/2013 10:28:15

10. In your experience, how prepared noware the children of wealthy parentsto handle their inheritance?

Don’tknow

Notprepared

Wellprepared

19.3%

55.7%

25%

In your experience, how prepared now are the children of wealthy parents to handle their inheritance?

What do you believe will be the five biggest issues facing your clients in the next three years? (Ranked in order, 1=biggest issue)Answer Options 1 2 3 4 5 Rating Average

Asset protection 28 7 9 16 9 3.42

Tax planning 20 32 21 6 4 3.70

Dealing with undeclared assets/amnesties 11 2 8 1 5 3.48

Domicile/residence issues 0 2 10 6 4 2.45

Family business structuring and governance 9 17 13 8 3 3.42

Succession issues 5 13 10 10 10 2.85

Divorce 1 1 1 1 2 2.67

Pre-nuptial planning 1 0 0 0 3 2.00

Probate 0 3 2 4 0 2.89

Reputational issues 2 4 6 5 7 2.54

Trusts and estates disputes 4 3 5 7 8 2.56

Family disputes 2 3 3 4 5 2.59

Tax disputes 8 6 6 10 9 2.85

Fund investments 2 2 5 5 10 2.21

Counterparty risk claims 1 1 5 5 2 2.57

Rising tax rates 6 7 2 10 5 2.97

Regulatory change 18 9 9 10 15 3.08

“Increasingly, in the UK, it is possible that

advice is given in one tax year which might change the

next.”

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Netherlands also getting favourable mentions.

The next generationLooking to the mid-term, respondents have serious concerns about how the next generation will manage the funds they inherit. Well over half (56 per cent of respondents) say that children are not well-prepared to handle their inheritances. Not even a fifth (19 per cent) say that children are well-

prepared. Part of the reason for this will be the fact that many families are becoming wealthy for the first time. “Families who’ve had wealth for lots of generations are often better at dealing with it,” says Simon Rylatt of Boodle Hatfield. “But with the first generation, the understanding of how to prepare children to look after the wealth is more difficult.” Many private client lawyers may have seen litigation happen more often in another part of their practice, in wills and probate, where unhappy heirs have been more likely to challenge the terms of wills in the courts over the last five years. The growing incidence of divorce around the world also presents another challenge for families which do not want to see substantial proportions of inheritance being awarded to estranged spouses or to the children of second husbands and wives. Family disputes are mentioned by 19 per cent of respondents as one of the most frequently encountered subjects they are asked to advise on. Divorce is cited by 12 per cent. Pre-nuptial agreements are also cited by 12 per cent.

The culture of givingPhilanthropy remains an important issue for the wealthy - with the clear majority of lawyers (57 per cent) saying that clients are giving away about the same as they did five years ago. This would mean that the economic downturn that started in 2007/8 has not particularly dented

their giving. (Of the remaining respondents, 22 per cent say that clients are giving less; and 16 per cent say the opposite, that they are giving more.) One respondent comments that wealthy parents sometimes manage to combine the aims of philanthropy and training up their heirs to manage the family money: “Some families ensure their children get a strong grounding in the commercial realities of life through internships or philanthropic projects.” Many families - whether old or new to their fortunes - are clearly and visibly committed to their charitable work. For instance, the Berenberg dynasty which founded its bank in Hamburg in 1590, last year announced its involvement in new social investment projects. And the Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, founded in 1994 on the back of the success of Bill Gates’s company Microsoft, supports health and other projects around the world.

Some advisers to the wealthy will find the current turbulence in the tax world something of an unwelcome challenge. But many of their clients have entrepreneurialism in their blood and, so, are used to upheaval - and even thrive upon it.

The Wealth Report 2013 is based upon the responses of 136 private client global lawyers.

Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 years

Fiona GrahamPartnere: [email protected]

Richard MoyseConsultante: [email protected]

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9. How would you describe your clients’philanthropic giving over the last 5 years?

OtherThe same as before

They are giving lessThey are giving more

15.9%

21.6%56.8%

5.7%

How would you describe your clients’ philanthropic giving over the last 5 years?

Wealth Report 2013

Family disputes are mentioned by 19 per cent

of respondents as one of the

most frequently encountered

subjects they are asked to advise on.

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Wealth Report 2013

Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 yearsEnduring Relationships | Outstanding Service | Client Success

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The leak of 2.5 million files detailing the offshore bank accounts and shell companies of wealthy individuals and companies caused ripples when it happened in April in the US. Some of the world’s wealthiest families featured in the files including Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza , the widow of a Thyssen steel company billionaire, alongside the president of Azerbaijan, Illham Aliyev and his wife who had set up an offshore company in the BVI.

The data dump, obtained by the International Consortium of Investivative journalists, and derived mainly from the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands and Singapore, contained information about more than 120 offshore companies and trusts. It also revealed information about 130,000 individuals in more than 170 countries.

It fed into the current worldwide frenzy for punishing tax offenders which has seen country after country sign treaties, introduce new regulations and unleash the hounds on any possible transgressors. In the UK alone, the number of criminal prosecutions for tax evasion more than doubled last year.

The US complains that it is losing around $385 billion each year through tax evasion whilst the EU says it has lost hundreds of billions.

Meanwhile the Organisation for

Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is in the process of putting together a draft agreement on standardising how tax authorities share information later this year.

The organisation’s move to take action follows on from the US’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) which has led the way by forcing banks to provide information on US citizens outside the United States.

The Paris based organisation presented G20 leaders with a three step plan to establish the infrastructure for global co-operation on tax evasion which would simplify the way that countries share information about individuals, businesses and trusts.

International standardsUnder the new OECD guidelines, international standards of sharing information would be created with the organisation putting together a list of the type of information which could be exchanged.

A global and automatic exchange of financial information alongside the creation of an operation platform for common reporting and due diligence of rules would sit

alongside the creation of a multilateral platform to preserve confidentiality.

Golden era Pascal Saint-Amans, an official at the OECD, said that international rules over 80 years had led to a ‘golden era’ in tax avoidance.

The organisation says that in the last couple of years, more progress has been made towards full and effective exchange of information than in all of the previous decade.

Meanwhile in the US, Senators Carl Levin and Chuck Grassley

are taking steps to mirror the UK with a bill called the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act in a move to identify the owners of US companies. According to Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK, the bill ‘would end the practice of the 50 States forming corporations for unidentified persons, and instead require the States to obtain the identities of the persons behind the corporations.’ According to Senator Grassley, states form almost two million corporations and limited liability companies within the United States each year without asking for the identity of the owners. ‘

Global co-operation on tax evasion

The bill would end the practice of the 50 states forming

corporations for unidentified

persons, and instead require the states to obtain the

identities of the persons...

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Boodle Hatfield LLP 89 New Bond Street, London W1S 1DA | 6 Worcester Street, Oxford OX1 2BX t: +44 (0)20 7629 7411 e: [email protected] www.boodlehatfield.com

Lawyers to leading families, businesses and entrepreneurs for 300 years.Enduring Relationships | Outstanding Service | Client Success

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