In the age of joy rides to space by billionaires, it isn’t surprising the Pandora Papers revealed that they hide their money in offshore companies.
The Pandora Papers simply reaffirmed what we already know: the richest people in the world will do anything to maintain their wealth while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet.
It almost feels worse to discover the elite hide their money instead of simply flaunting it.
At least Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have the decency to publicly reveal their obscene wealth.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists started releasing documents called the Pandora Papers on Oct. 3.
It involved more than 600 journalists in 17 countries going through millions of documents revealing how the world’s richest individuals hide their wealth in offshore companies, according to an Oct. 5 BBC Panorama article.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and Jordan’s King Abdullah II were among notable figures who were revealed to have offshore company holdings, according to the same BBC Panorama article.
While Musk and Mark Zuckerberg were spared exposure in the papers, other billionaires including high-profile politicians found themselves escaping to multi-million dollar properties where they could keep safe during the pandemic.
Many of these properties were acquired through firms in offshore countries.
Offshore countries are nations such as Singapore where it’s easy to set up companies where the laws make it difficult to identify owners and there’s little to no corporation tax, according to the same BBC Panorama article.
Wealthy individuals can own property under these companies without having their names revealed as owners, according to an Oct. 4 The New York Times article.
What makes matters worse is this is perfectly legal in offshore countries. The wealthy can legally own mansions in these countries and only pay the bare minimum in taxes.
The wealthy keep finding and creating new loopholes in the economic system while the rest of us have to protest, expose documents and scream at the top of our lungs to try and demand economic justice that often gets ignored.
Throughout the later months of 2011, Americans angry with economic inequality in the U.S. started a movement known as “Occupy Wall Street,” according to an Oct. 6 The Guardian article.
Occupy Wall Street was a global movement against the top 1% and the initial movement sparked similar protests in 900 cities around the world, according to the same The Guardian article.
At the time, the wealthy rolled their eyes at the protesters taking over Zuccotti Park in New York City right next to Manhattan’s Financial District.
In 2016, documents called the Panama Papers revealed a law firm from Panama that sold offshore companies to help the wealthy hide business deals, according to an Oct. 3 BBC article.
Although exposed, this clearly didn’t stop the richest individuals in the world from continuing to find loopholes to protect their wealth.
Nothing has changed.
Now that the Pandora Papers exposed the wealthy, where do we go from here?
There are still actions that can be taken to stop the ultra-wealthy from abusing the economic system.
On Oct. 8, 136 countries, including the U.S., approved a 15% global tax rate, making it harder for large corporations to evade their taxes, according to an Oct. 8 Reuters article.
The law also requires corporations to pay taxes from the countries where they operate from.
Large companies can no longer set up subsidiary companies in other countries to pay lower taxes, according to an Oct. 8 CNBC article.
Laws like these may make it a bit more difficult for companies to own properties via offshore companies.
The 136 countries to approve this 15% tax still has to work out the details and it still has to be passed by the U.S. Congress but it’s considered a landmark deal, according to the CNBC article.
While it certainly isn’t enough, it’s a step in the right direction.
I have no doubt the wealthy will never stop looking for loopholes in the system but we can make it harder for them through legislation and governmental pressure.
If more countries unite to keep the wealthy responsible for paying the taxes they actually owe, we may just be able to prevent them from hiding their wealth.
The Pandora Papers would have been great if the wealthy elite had the ability to feel shame for hiding their money but clearly they don’t.
When the apocalypse happens, expect the wealthy to grab their space suits and run away from the problems they helped create.
