With new international disclosure requirements coming into force next year , there is a stampede by the wealthy out of tax havens such as the Cayman Islands to Las Vegas, the United States now described as the new Switzerland . Using parliamentary privilege , the ALP accused PM Malcolm Turnbull of investing his millions in the Cayman Islands to dodge tax.
Labor senator Sam Dastyari highlighted the PM's investments in Ugland House, dubbed by President Obama as " the biggest tax scam on record". Dastyari described it as “the house where Malcolm’s money resides.”He accused Mr Turnbull of not playing by the same rules as regular Australians.“There is one reason I know why people invest in the Cayman Islands and that’s so they don’t have to play by the same rules as the rest of us,’’ he said.“This isn’t fair and it’s not right.”
It was pointed out that Australian super funds use the Caymans.
The long established European financial institution , Rothschild , has opened a trust company in Reno, Nevada, a few blocks from the Harrah’s and Eldorado casinos. It is now moving the fortunes of wealthy foreign clients out of offshore havens such as the Caymans, subject to the new proposed OECD led global disclosure standards, into Rothschild run trusts in Nevada, which are exempt.
A Bloomberg report said hot markets were being set up in the US in which to stash foreign wealth. It went on to say that "everyone " from London lawyers to Swiss trust companies were getting in on the act , helping the world's rich move accounts from places like the Bahamas , the British Virgin islands to Nevada ,Wyoming and South Dakota .
This situation seems to have received scant attention in the Australian media and parliament .The long running plundering of the nation by tax dodging overseas corporations and others continues while tax paying stiffs suffer , facing cuts to public services, job losses, likely tax increases .
