IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/baf/cbafwp/cbafwp23212.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Sanction Evasion Through Tax Havens

Author

Listed:
  • Kerim Can Kavakli
  • Giovanna Marcolongo
  • Diego Zambiasi

Abstract

We analyze the enforcement of financial sanctions and the role of offshore secrecy jurisdictions (‘tax havens’) in it. Tax havens can undermine sanctions and provide a safe refuge for targeted actors by hiding information on asset ownership. Consequently, we hypothesize that targets of financial sanctions will increase their funds in tax havens. We test this hypothesis using data from the Bank of International Settlements and the Offshore Leaks Database and find strong support for it. Additionally, neither participation in sanctioning coalitions nor membership in relevant intergovernmental organizations prevent tax havens from attracting target state funds. However, when the US leads (not only joins) a sanction coalition, then this effect disappears. Our findings suggest that targeted actors use tax havens to evade sanctions, but such evasion can be prevented when the US prioritizes enforcement. More broadly, our paper highlights a novel and geostrategically important role of tax havens in global finance.

Suggested Citation

  • Kerim Can Kavakli & Giovanna Marcolongo & Diego Zambiasi, 2023. "Sanction Evasion Through Tax Havens," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 23212, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
  • Handle: RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp23212
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repec.unibocconi.it/baffic/baf/papers/cbafwp23212.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Balakina, Olga & D’Andrea, Angelo & Masciandaro, Donato, 2017. "Bank secrecy in offshore centres and capital flows: Does blacklisting matter?," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 30-57.
    2. Navin A. Bapat & Tobias Heinrich & Yoshiharu Kobayashi & T. Clifton Morgan, 2013. "Determinants of Sanctions Effectiveness: Sensitivity Analysis Using New Data," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 79-98, January.
    3. Jørgen Juel Andersen & Niels Johannesen & Bob Rijkers, 2022. "Elite Capture of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(2), pages 388-425.
    4. Donato Masciandaro, 2008. "Offshore financial centres: the political economy of regulation," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 307-340, December.
    5. Lane, Philip R. & Milesi-Ferretti, Gian Maria, 2007. "The external wealth of nations mark II: Revised and extended estimates of foreign assets and liabilities, 1970-2004," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 223-250, November.
    6. Jørgen Juel Andersen & Niels Johannesen & David Dreyer Lassen & Elena Paltseva, 2017. "Petro Rents, Political Institutions, and Hidden Wealth: Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 818-860.
    7. Robert Thomas Kudrle, 2009. "Did blacklisting hurt the tax havens?," Journal of Money Laundering Control, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(1), pages 33-49, January.
    8. John S. Earle & Solomiya Shpak & Anton Shirikov & Scott Gehlbach, 2022. "The Oligarch Vanishes: Defensive Ownership, Property Rights, and Political Connections," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, now publishers, vol. 17(4), pages 513-546, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Beck, Thorsten & Poelhekke, Steven, 2023. "Follow the money: Does the financial sector intermediate natural resource windfalls?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    2. Vincent Bouvatier & Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Anne-Laure Delatte, 2017. "Banks Defy Gravity in Tax Havens," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-03101505, HAL.
    3. Jørgen Juel Andersen & Niels Johannesen & Bob Rijkers, 2022. "Elite Capture of Foreign Aid: Evidence from Offshore Bank Accounts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(2), pages 388-425.
    4. Alexeev, Michael & Zakharov, Nikita, 2022. "Who profits from windfalls in oil tax revenue? Inequality, protests, and the role of corruption," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 472-492.
    5. Alexeev, Michael & Zakharov, Nikita, 2022. "Who profits from windfalls in oil tax revenue? Inequality, protests, and the role of corruption," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 472-492.
    6. repec:zbw:bofitp:2022_002 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Ali Ahmed & Chris Jones & Yama Temouri, . "The relationship between MNE tax haven use and FDI into developing economies characterized by capital flight," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    8. Reindl, Ilona & Tyran, Jean-Robert, 2021. "Equal opportunities for all? How income redistribution promotes support for economic inclusion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 390-407.
    9. Silvia Marchesi & Giovanna Marcolongo, 2023. "Knockin' on H(e)aven's door. Financial crises and hidden wealth," Working Papers 518, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics.
    10. Langenmayr, Dominika & Zyska, Lennard, 2023. "Escaping the exchange of information: Tax evasion via citizenship-by-investment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    11. Hoang Ha Nguyen Thi & Alfons Weichenrieder, 2023. "Tax Haven Welfare and the Crackdown on Secrecy: Evidence from Night Light Emissions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10721, CESifo.
    12. Dominika Langenmayr & Lennard Zyska, 2021. "Avoiding Taxes: Escaping the Exchange of Information: Tax Evasion via Citizenship-by-Investment," Working Papers 204, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    13. Jakob Miethe, 2020. "The Elusive Banker: Using Hurricanes to Uncover (Non-)Activity in Offshore Financial Centers," CESifo Working Paper Series 8625, CESifo.
    14. Catherine Wolfram & Orie Shelef & Paul Gertler, 2012. "How Will Energy Demand Develop in the Developing World?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 119-138, Winter.
    15. Douglas Sutherland & Peter Hoeller & Balázs Égert & Oliver Röhn, 2010. "Counter-cyclical Economic Policy," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 760, OECD Publishing.
    16. De Paoli, Bianca & Küçük-Tuger, Hande & Søndergaard, Jens, 2010. "Monetary policy rules and foreign currency positions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121699, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Cigdem Borke Tunali, 2020. "The Sustainability of External Imbalances in the European Periphery," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 273-294, April.
    18. Steiner, Andreas, 2013. "The accumulation of foreign exchange by central banks: Fear of capital mobility?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 38(PB), pages 409-427.
    19. Jean Imbs, 2010. "The First Global Recession in Decades," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 58(2), pages 327-354, December.
    20. Gimet, Celine, 2007. "Conditions necessary for the sustainability of an emerging area: The importance of banking and financial regional criteria," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 317-335, October.
    21. Ayad Hicham, 2017. "Financial Development and Poverty Reduction Nexus: A Co-Integration and Causality Analysis in Selected Arabic Countries," Academic Journal of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Banking and Accountancy Bucharest,"Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University Bucharest, vol. 3(2), pages 28-35, June.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp23212. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michela Pozzi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cbbocit.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.