Lawyers have mounted a robust attack on suggestions offshore schemes are unlawful or ‘nefarious’, following the Paradise Papers leak.
German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung obtained millions of documents concerning the offshore finances of corporations and individuals, from the offshore law firm Appleby and from corporate registries in the Caribbean.
The leak is smaller than 2016’s Panama Papers leak, but sheds light on the secretive world of offshore finance. For example, it reveals the Queen’s private estate invested £10m offshore and Apple avoided tax by moving one of its firms to Jersey.
Many politicians expressed outrage—Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn called on those who invest offshore to avoid tax to apologise.
However, Miles Dean, managing partner of Milestone International Tax, said: ‘It would be very surprising if the affairs of those individuals concerned were illegal or nefarious.
‘It is the theft of the papers that is illegal. Just because an individual makes an investment that is based offshore does not mean that they have done anything wrong—if they fail to disclose it (and the return they make) on their tax return then that’s tax evasion. But to make the quantum leap and suggest that everyone from the Queen to Bono is dodging tax because some of their investments are made via Bermuda, Cayman or Malta is stupidity on a grand scale.’
Appleby said, in a statement: ‘The journalists do not allege, nor could they, that Appleby has done anything unlawful.
‘There is no wrongdoing. We wish to reiterate that our firm was not the subject of a leak but of a serious criminal act. This was an illegal computer hack.’
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