The paradise papers are a leak of about 13.4 million financial documents that shed light on the world of offshore finance and the practices of the world’s wealthiest elites.
Most of the leaked documents come from Appleby, a law firm that helps corporations, financial institutions, and high-net-worth individuals set up and register companies in offshore jurisdictions. The documents were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, who then shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
According to the CBC, over 3,000 Canadian names have appeared in the leak, including Stephen Bronfman, a financier of one of Canada’s wealthiest families and chief fundraiser for Justin Trudeau, as well as former Canadian prime ministers Jean Chretien, Paul Martin, and Brian Mulroney. The records show that Canada is one of Appleby’s biggest markets for offshore financial services clients, CBC reports. The documents show that a multitude of companies, politicians, celebrities, and other individuals take advantage of tax havens. While tax havens aren’t necessarily illegal, they are controversial. According to Global News, the ICIJ says that having an offshore account often leads to illegal activity, as “the built-in secrecy attracts money launderers, drug traffickers, […] and others who want to operate in the shadows.”
The controversy also has to do with people paying their fair share of taxes. The majority of taxpayers are middle class and don’t have the same means available to them as elites, who can afford high-priced lawyers to set up these offshore accounts.
The leak comes at a particularly unfortunate time for the federal government, which has been pushing a high-profile effort by the Canada Revenue Agency to crack down on tax cheats.
Photo courtesy of OCCRP