Nick Shaxson ■ Haven quote of the day: there are no activities here

Haven quote of the day: there are no activities here

Nick Shaxson

Published:

26 January 2015

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< 1 min

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From Fortune Magazine, an investigation into Luxembourg’s shady corporate dealings:

“The mailbox marked AIG/Lincoln—the name of a partner of the New York–based insurance and real estate giant AIG—is empty and unlocked. Moments later, in the company’s fifth-floor office, I meet AIG/Lincoln’s employee (introduced as the sole one), who, as it happens, also works for the roughly 30 other companies housed in the modest suite.

When I ask how one works for dozens of bosses, the response is, “It is not very hard. There are no activities here.”

No earth-shattering news here: just a reminder of what really happens in tax havens, or (if you prefer) secrecy jurisdictions.

More on how Luxembourg became a tax haven, here.

The author

Nick Shaxson

Nicholas Shaxson is a journalist and writer on the staff of Tax Justice Network. He is author of the book Poisoned Wells about the oil industry in Africa, published in 2007, and the more recent Treasure Islands: Tax havens and the Men who Stole the World, published by Random House in January 2011. He lives in Berlin.

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