Tax Evasion and Tax Havens since the Nineteenth Century

Sébastien Guex, Hadrien Buclin

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9783031181184
• eBook ISBN: 9783031181191
• Topic: Storia
• Subtopic: Storia economica

This collective book offers a panorama of the history of tax evasion, tax avoidance and tax havens from the nineteenth century to the present day, based on the latest research in contemporary history. It aims to show that this phenomenon is at the heart of global capitalism, partly as a response of the ruling classes to the rise of progressive taxation, but for other reasons too: notably the development of a powerful tax evasion and avoidance industry in different countries. The book argues that tax competition between states has stimulated the development of tax havens. It discusses the notion of the'tax haven' and proposes a more rigorous concept - that of the'tax predator'. Finally, the book sheds light on the socio-political conflicts that have developed around tax evasion and the way in which states have fought against or tolerated the phenomenon.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. Introduction. “Low-Tax Predators” Rather Than “Tax Havens”: New Perspectives on the History of the International Tax Evasion and Avoidance Market
• Part I. Emergence and Expansion of Tax Havens
• Part II. Tax Evasion: Extent, Causes, and Conflicts
• Part III. Fighting Tax Evasion and Tax Havens?
• Back Matter