Senator Bernie Sanders recently published an article in The Nation titled “No To Oligarchy” that can be viewed here
Senator Bernie Sanders writes that, “As a result of tax havens in the Cayman Islands…and elsewhere, the wealthy and large corporations are evading some $100 billion a year in U.S. taxes.”
This is a deliberately false claim, a misrepresentation of lawful tax structuring which relies on provisions of United States law which are properly available to US multinationals as illegal tax evasion. This mischaracterization is not only grossly misleading in describing the proper function of the offshore financial centre and the benefits it confers on the United States, but forms a wholly unsound basis on which to formulate United States tax policy.
The Cayman Islands -- far from being a "tax haven" -- are on the elite OECD global "white list" of jurisdictions that meet the highest standards for financial transparency.
The Cayman Islands has full tax transparency with the United States and with 27 members of the European Union. The U.S. Department of Justice has had full authority to make enquiry in relation to any file in the Cayman Islands since 1990. The anti-money laundering legislation of the Cayman Islands has been evaluated by the International Monetary Fund and by the Financial Action Task Force and is found to be superior to that of the United States and most EU jurisdictions.
These claims seek to promote the falsehood that U.S. companies which rely on legitimate provisions of the U.S. tax code are in some way engaged in tax evasion Tax evasion is illegal and completely off the table in the Cayman Islands.
This particular falsehood also completely misses the point that the U.S. is the major recipient of the capital flows from the Cayman Islands. That capital provides the liquidity that is essential to the recuperation and ongoing health of the U.S. economy.
Anthony Travers
Chairman
Cayman Finance