Synopsis
A thrilling ride inside the world of tax havens and corporate masterminds
While the United States experiences recession and economic stagnation and European countries face bankruptcy, experts struggle to make sense of the crisis. Nicholas Shaxson, a former correspondent for the Financial Times and The Economist, argues that tax havens are a central cause of all these disasters.
In this hard hitting investigation he uncovers how offshore tax evasion, which has cost the U.S. 100 billion dollars in lost revenue each year, is just one item on a long rap sheet outlining the damage that offshoring wreaks on our societies. In a riveting journey from Moscow to London to Switzerland to Delaware, Shaxson dives deep into a vast and secret playground where bankers and multinational corporations operate side by side with nefarious tax evaders, organized criminals and the world's wealthiest citizens. Tax havens are where all these players get to maximize their own rewards and leave the middle class to pick up the bill.
With eye opening revelations, Treasure Islands exposes the culprits and its victims, and shows how:
*Over half of world trade is routed through tax havens
*The rampant practices that precipitated the latest financial crisis can be traced back to Wall Street's offshoring practices
*For every dollar of aid we send to developing countries, ten dollars leave again by the backdoor
The offshore system sits much closer to home than the pristine tropical islands of the popular imagination. In fact, it all starts on a tiny island called Manhattan. In this fast paced narrative, Treasure Islands at last explains how the system works and how it's contributing to our ever deepening economic divide.
About Nicholas Shaxson
See more books from this AuthorAn attempt to uncover the dirty secrets of offshore banking.
Apr 03 2011 | Read Full Review of Treasure Islands: Uncovering ...Good current examples are UK's recent announcements on scrapping the current top rate of income tax, the huge dramatic irrevocable changes to "Americanize" their health system - the very successful 60+ year-old NHS - and the enormous pressure being exerted on the US public-body SEC regulator to i...
Jan 10 2012 | Read Full Review of Treasure Islands: Uncovering ...Author Nicholas Shaxson has undertaken a big task with the book Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World.
Apr 04 2011 | Read Full Review of Treasure Islands: Uncovering ...An aggregated and normalized score based on 78 user ratings from iDreamBooks & iTunes