Synopses & Reviews
We are well aware of the rise of the 1% as the rapid growth of economic inequality has put the majority of the worldandrsquo;s wealth in the pockets of fewer and fewer. One much-discussed solution to this imbalance is to significantly increase the rate at which we tax the wealthy. But with an enormous amount of the worldandrsquo;s wealth hidden in tax havensandmdash;in countries like Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the Cayman Islandsandmdash;this wealth cannot be fully accounted for and taxed fairly. No one, from economists to bankers to politicians, has been able to quantify exactly how much of the worldandrsquo;s assets are currently hiddenandmdash;until now. Gabriel Zucman is the first economist to offer reliable insight into the actual extent of the worldandrsquo;s money held in tax havens. And itandrsquo;s staggering.
In The Hidden Wealth of Nations, Zucman offers an inventive and sophisticated approach to quantifying how big the problem is, how tax havens work and are organized, and how we can begin to approach a solution. His research reveals that tax havens are a quickly growing danger to the world economy. In the past five years, the amount of wealth in tax havens has increased over 25%andmdash;there has never been as much money held offshore as there is today. This hidden wealth accounts for at least $7.6 trillion, equivalent to 8% of the global financial assets of households. Fighting the notion that any attempts to vanquish tax havens are futile, since some countries will always offer more advantageous tax rates than others, as well the counter-argument that since the financial crisis tax havens have disappeared, Zucman shows how both sides are actually very wrong. In The Hidden Wealth of Nations he offers an ambitious agenda for reform, focused on ways in which countries can change the incentives of tax havens. Only by first understanding the enormity of the secret wealth can we begin to estimate the kind of actions that would force tax havens to give up their practices.
Zucmanandrsquo;s work has quickly become the gold standard for quantifying the amount of the worldandrsquo;s assets held in havens. In this concise book, he lays out in approachable language how the international banking system works and the dangerous extent to which the large-scale evasion of taxes is undermining the global market as a whole. If we are to find a way to solve the problem of increasing inequality, The Hidden Wealth of Nations is essential reading.
Review
andldquo;Zucmanandrsquo;s work on tax havens is the first serious economic research in this area. His evaluation of the share of global household wealth that is located in tax havens has become the standard in the profession. Most importantly, this is the first work offering credible estimates of the kind of economic sanctions that would make tax havens give up the financial opacity that allows them to prosper. The conclusions are powerful.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Drawing on his recent pathbreaking research, Zucman offers a short, lively, and non-technical discussion of tax heavens. He presents the most rigorous measurement to date of the wealth hidden in tax heavens and proposes a clear and feasible set of recommendations to fight evasion through tax heavens and restore the ability of our democratic societies to tax their wealthiest residents in this globalized world. His recommendations are already having a significant policy impact.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Offshore tax evasion is an outrage. Preventing it should be a major objective of international cooperation. This important book documents the problem and addresses what can be done. It is actionable economics at its finest.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;A small book worth ten volumes on financial globalization. . . . Zucman dares to suggest to the leaders of democratic states andlsquo;a concrete and realistic plan of actionandrsquo; to fight against the fiscal hemorrhaging that is bleeding their public coffers and economies dry.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;One of the most thorough books on the topic.andrdquo;
Synopsis
Everyone knows the super rich are hiding tons of money and not paying near enough taxes. This common knowledge that the wealthy have found ways around taxation by moving their assets to countries that donandrsquo;t tax them raises the question of how much of the worldandrsquo;s wealth is hidden and how. Gabriel Zucman, a prominent young French economist, has come up with novel yet effective ways of quantifying how big the problem is, how tax havens work and are organized, and how we can begin to tackle the problem. Digging deep into the global data and comparing it with that of individual and international institutions, The Hidden Wealth of Nations offers for the first time a full picture of how this sophisticated international system works and is organized in practice. It is an invaluable glimpse at one of the most powerful forces contributing to inequality across the globe.
About the Author
Gabriel Zucman is assistant professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley.
Teresa Lavender Fagan is a freelance translator living in Chicago; she has translated numerous books for the University of Chicago Press and other publishers.