The End of Bank Secrecy? An Evaluation of the G20 Tax Haven Crackdown

Niels Johannesen and Gabriel Zucman

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2014, vol. 6, issue 1, 65-91

Abstract: During the financial crisis, G20 countries compelled tax havens to sign bilateral treaties providing for exchange of bank information. Policymakers have celebrated this global initiative as the end of bank secrecy. Exploiting a unique panel dataset, our study is the first attempt to assess how the treaties affected bank deposits in tax havens. Rather than repatriating funds, our results suggest that tax evaders shifted deposits to havens not covered by a treaty with their home country. The crackdown thus caused a relocation of deposits at the benefit of the least compliant havens. We discuss the policy implications of these findings.

JEL-codes: G21 G28 H26 H87 K34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.6.1.65
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (201)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The end of bank secrecy? An evaluation of the G20 tax haven crackdown (2014)
Working Paper: The End of Bank Secrecy? An Evaluation of the G20 Tax Haven Crackdown (2012)
Working Paper: The End of Bank Secrecy? An Evaluation of the G20 Tax Haven Crackdown (2012)
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