Don’t Look at Panama, Look at Delaware

The real tax havens are here in the United States

A man walks through a passage in the Icelandic Parliament building following the government shake-up in the wake of the Panama Papers crisis in Reykjavik, Iceland, on April 5, 2016. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Before this week, Panama was mostly associated with the Panama Canal and as a stopover for international flights to South America. This has changed with the publication of the Panama Papers.

The 2.4 terabytes worth of data leaked from local law firm Mossack Fonseca reach back to the 1970s and document tax evasion and avoidance on a scale that has never been seen before. 

There are some Americans who used Mossack Fonseca’s services to hide assets in an offshore account, like Chicago-based financial coach and author Marianna Olszewski or Florida-based billionaire Igor Olenicoff, but most of the 11 million documents show the activities of foreigners. One of the most prominent users is Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunlaugsson, who has stepped aside from his official duties without resigning.

The U.S. has gone to great length to catch its citizens hiding assets overseas. What the U.S. hasn't done is sign onto an agreement to exchange tax data between over 100 signatory countries.