Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Paradise Papers is a strange name when we consider what they are. They are providing new revelations about tax dodging by companies and individuals across the world. This is coming at a time when an EU parliamentary committee has been investigating the Panama Papers. It looks as if there could be a permanent job for such a committee. The Paradise Papers continue the story of tax evasion, tax avoidance, money laundering and fraud. With the Panama Papers scandal we got access to 11.5 million leaked documents from more than 200,000 offshore entities and only for that leak and for the journalists who were investigating it we might not have known.

We know that offshore business entities are legal but some of these companies were being used for illegal purposes. People make a distinction between tax avoidance and tax evasion, but I think the two amount to about the same thing, which is not paying lawful taxes. This kind of aggressive tax avoidance and evasion has created and exacerbated inequality. It has widened the gap between the rich and poor and it is also widening the gap between the rich and the ultra-rich.

The background is what one would expect to read in a thriller such as The Wolf of Wall Street. It is really about the lengths to which individuals and companies go to hide away money so that governments cannot find it for tax purposes. Initially, it was simple with Swiss bank accounts and offshore shell companies. Then, that gave employment to lawyers and accountants who developed creative ways to avoid and evade tax.

I read an article which stated that 8% of the world's wealth, $7.6 trillion, was in tax havens, and that this means a tax revenue loss of $200 billion yearly. An economist reckoned that corresponds to $35 billion lost in the United States and $78 billion in Europe. When it appeared a register of beneficial owners would be drawn up, instead of simply paying the taxes those involved looked for other countries where this creative accountancy could work for them.

Companies flourish in such places. They do the paperwork, registration, sort the nominees and directors, create virtual offices and use anonymous names so that the rich can keep their financial affairs secure. The rich include certain politicians and their families, drug dealers, international arms smugglers, corporations, sons of sheikhs and Russian oligarchs. Those involved also facilitate the moving of wealth from mineral-rich African countries. Often, these are poverty stricken countries, but their despotic rulers are able to move this money so that their countries cannot benefit. This comes through transfer pricing, double non-taxation, profit-shifting, layering and lax corporate laws. We always hear about rich people advising each other on how to continue to avoid tax and coming up with more creative ways to avoid it.

What is needed is the naming of tax havens and transparency on the intermediaries. These include the consultants, lawyers and accountants who work for their clients on avoiding and evading taxes. We need strict anti-laundering directives and public country-by-country reporting.

Of course, the biggest obstacle to fairness is certain governments. On 5 December, EU Finance Ministers produced a list of non-co-operative tax jurisdictions, in other words, tax havens. A total of 17 countries were named for failing to meet agreed tax governance measures. Panama is back on that list. A total of 47 countries have committed to addressing the deficiencies. No EU countries were on the list but we know from the work that has been done by NGOs like Oxfam, Christian Aid and Debt and Development Coalition Ireland that Ireland is far behind when it comes to tax justice. I do not say this as an attack on foreign direct investment, but I believe there are other reasons besides taxes why corporations come here. When I came to the House first in 2009 I was practically a lone voice on the corporate tax issue. I was trying to find out the effective tax rate and what exactly was paid.

We have had Luxembourg Leaks, the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers. What is next? Experts reckon that 80% of tax-dodging activities remain to be disclosed. Where will Ireland be when we get more disclosures?

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