The end of bank secrecy? An evaluation of the G20 tax haven crackdown

Niels Johannesen and Gabriel Zucman

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

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: 2014-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ban
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (158)

Published in American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, February, 2014, 6(1), pp. 65-91. ISSN: 1945-7731

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Related works:
Journal Article: 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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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:56125

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