http://www.ecocn.org/thread-185315-1-1.html

Offshore Finance

离岸金融

Leaky devils

解密的代价

Tax havens start to reassess theirbusiness models

避税天堂地开始重估他们的商业模式。

Apr 13th 2013 | ZURICH |From the printedition

   2013年4月13日 |  苏黎世  | 打印版

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Looking for a wayback up

重整旗鼓，勇往直前。

WILL 2013 turn out to be an annus horribilis for theoffshore financial world? Less than a month after the humiliation of Cyprus, a popular bolthole for Russia’sfinancial ne’er-do-wells, tax havens have been hit with their own version ofthe WikiLeaks diplomatic-cables scandal. Armed with a cache of more than 2mdocuments, leaked from two offshore service providers, a group of investigativejournalists has spent the past week publishing articles that lift the lid onthousands of companies and trusts set up in the British Virgin Islands and Cook Islands. The vast client list ranges from Asianpoliticians to Canadian lawyers—and no fewer than 4,000 Americans. For anindustry that peddles secrecy and likes to operate in the shadows it is allrather embarrassing.

2013年是否会成为离岸金融世界的一个多灾之年？塞浦路斯是俄罗斯所有对理财一窍不通的人的首选避难所，而现在塞浦路斯之辱过去还不到一个月，避税天堂就着了维基解密外交电报丑闻的道。一组调查记者掌握了超过2百万份从离岸服务提供商中泄露出的缓存文件，已在上周大肆发布文章揭露出了成千上万家在英属维尔京群岛和库克群岛成立的公司和信托公司。在列出的客户名单中不乏亚洲政客、澳洲律师和多余4000名美国人。对于这种秘密运作和暗处操控的产业，这可真算是让它们下不来台。

Opinions vary on the impact of the leaks. Tax campaignershave cheered it as a “game changer”. Offshore operators counter that most ofthe activity uncovered is legal. So what if President François Hollande’sformer campaign treasurer has a Cayman Islandscompany? So do thousands of banks and hedge funds. Nevertheless, the affairwill add to international scrutiny of tax havens. The pressure on them hasgrown as governments scramble to plug fiscal holes and push for the systematicexchange of tax information across borders. Germany’s finance minister welcomedthe leak, hopeful that it would provide leverage to force more co-operationfrom “those who have been more reticent” to rein in the havens.

关于泄密人们的看法不一。税务人士乐于见此，称之为“游戏规则的改变者”。海外运营商反击称揭露出来的大多数均属合法行为。那么，要是法国总统弗朗索瓦·奥朗德的竞选财务总管拥有一个注册在开曼群岛的公司会怎么样？要是有成千上万家银行和对冲基金公司也如此会怎么样？不过，这样的事情必定会使得避税天堂增添国际审查力度。顶在这些避税天堂地头上的压力随着多个政府忙于填补财政漏洞和推动系统性的跨国互换税务信息的发展与日俱增。德国财政部长对此次泄密大表欢迎，希望这能够促进他们与那些原来在避税天堂如日中天，但在外却默默无闻的公司增进合作，表示这样的事件会成为他们的筹码。

Faced with an end to the days of easy money, offshorejurisdictions are being forced to rethink their strategies. One of the moreproactive has been Liechtenstein,nestled between Switzerlandand Austria.The principality has long been popular with European tax dodgers, but growthaccelerated when Swiss banks hawked Liechtensteinfoundations to clients worldwide. This lucrative niche was damaged in 2008 whenthe former head of Germany’spostal service and many others were caught hiding money in the principality.

Under pressure from Germanyand America, Liechtensteinbuckled, agreeing to dilute bank secrecy and to exchange tax information. Ithas since signed many bilateral tax agreements and clamped down onmoney-laundering. The local financial industry has paid a high price for this. Liechtenstein banks’ client assets declined by almost 30%in the five years to 2011, to SFr110 billion ($118 billion).

轻松赚大钱的时代一过去，离岸管辖人就不得不重整他们的策略。最有先见之明的就是列支敦斯登，一个坐落于瑞士和奥地利之间的国家。公国中有很多的欧洲逃税人，当瑞士银行将列支敦斯登基金向全世界兜售，增长又大见增速。2008年德国前任邮电部长和许多人被查处在公国藏款，这一利润颇丰的专营市场也随之倒塌。在德国和美国的双重压力之下，列支敦斯登后退一步，同意降低银行保密工作并进行税收信息互换。在此之后签署了多项双边税收协议和取缔了洗钱行动。而当地的财经市场确付出了较大的代价。列支敦斯登银行在2006年到2011年之间，客户资产降低了将近30%，合为1100亿法郎（1180亿美元）。

They are trying to regain the initiative. In a confidential “positionpaper” seen by The Economist, the banks and thegovernment jointly set out a two-pronged strategy designed to help Liechtensteinthrive again, this time without tainted money. First, it will sign as many taxtreaties as possible—quite a U-turn for a place that once refused to sign any.Second, it will look to market itself as a “triple hub” that benefits fromhaving the stable Swiss franc as its currency; being a member of the EuropeanEconomic Area (giving it access to the European single market without being amember of the EU); and offering a tempting array of vehicles, including trusts.

他们在试着将主动权重揽麾下。从《经济学人》杂志的一份机密意见书中可以看出银行和政府联合了起来，实行一个双管齐下的策略来帮助重振列支敦斯登，而这次钱款中绝没有脏钱的出现。第一，所有的税费协定都能签，这对于这个曾经任何税费协定看都不看一眼的地方可是个大转变。第二，将市场视作“三方中心”，从使用平稳瑞士法郎作为货币中获益，作为欧洲经济区一员（使其有机会进入欧洲单一市场而不进入欧盟），并提供诱人的媒介阵仗，包括信托基金。

Trouble is, clients can go to Switzerlandfor the franc, and the EEA is not the most alluring of clubs (Norway and Iceland are the only othermembers). Use of trusts has boomed, but as an English creation they work muchbetter in common-law jurisdictions, such as Jersey and Singapore, than in Liechtenstein’s civil-law system.

而问题就出在客户有了法郎可以去瑞士但是欧洲经济区可不是最吸引人的地方（除欧盟成员外只剩下挪威和冰岛）。信托飞速发展，但是这种英式的东西还是在普通法司法管辖区内发挥的最好，比如说泽西岛和新加坡，而这样的形式在列支敦斯登的大陆法系中可就不那么行得通了。

So Liechtensteinhas its work cut out trying to remain an attractive destination while complyingwith international rules. Other offshore centres must also attempt to squarethis circle. Next may be Luxembourg,a leader in offshore banking and tax avoidance. Bowing to greatly intensifiedpressure from its neighbours since the Cyprus debacle, the Grand Duchy hasdropped its long-held opposition to swapping information about non-residentdepositors with other EU countries. Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister,said the policy shift was about “following a global movement”, not caving in toGerman demands. Whether automatic information exchange can be introduced“without great damage”, as he confidently declared, remains to be seen.

列支敦斯登采取多方办法，一方面想要保持自己吸引人的投资地头衔另一方面也遵守了国际法则。另外的一些离岸商地也必须试着打破这个循环。也许下一个就轮到卢森堡这个离岸银行巨头和避税天堂国家了。迫于愈演愈烈的邻国塞浦路斯崩溃所带来的压力，一直以来反对与其他欧盟国家交换非居民储户的信息的这个大公国已经放弃了他们的习惯。首相让·克洛德·容克表示，这一政策转变也是为了顺应全球的大潮流，而不是向德国的要求做屈服与让步。究竟会不会像他如此自信的表示的那样，自动的信息交流可以平稳实施而不会造成大的破坏性影响，也只能说，走一步看一步。