Tax Arbitration Through Offshore Centres and Tax Havens

Abstract

The aim of the study is to capture the most relevant aspects regarding the functioning of offshore centres and tax havens, focusing in particular on the most important conceptual and instrumental clarifications. There are several angles to approach the phenomenon of tax evasion that are pointed out in this article, alongside a comparison of various analytical perspectives and, based on these, a number of judgments regarding their (in)opportunity are issued. In order to make a consistent description of the tax havens, it is necessary to clarify the fundamentals, the specific determinants and the factors without which these structures could not exist in the first place, the main hypothesis being that the boundary between tax arbitration and tax evasion is highly ambiguous and this is the major rationale why polemics on this topic arise. The goal is to present as objectively as possible these offshore centres and tax havens activities, which are paramount financial centres, irrespective of the criticism made by those who deem them unfair, immoral or even evil, as well as dangerous. This article focuses on tax planning and tax arbitration practices (e.g., “treaty shopping”), concluding with a collection of rationales for a balanced view on fiscal competition.