The concept of tax havens has changed over time. In addition to referring to places with very low or no taxation, it has included the criterion that they are territories that do not cooperate in the provision and exchange of financial information.<\/p>\n\n
There are several lists of tax havens and each country draws up its own list, depending on the subscription of conventions and the degree of cooperation in the exchange of information.<\/p>\n\n
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In the case of Colombia, the list of tax havens includes Antigua and Barbuda, Brunei, Kuwait, Qatar, Western Samoa, Grenada, Hong Kong, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Bahrain, Macau, Guyana, Liberia, Trinidad and Tobago and Yemen, among others.<\/p>\n\n
Spain, for example, has a long list and the list is composed of, among others, Anguilla, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Fiji, Gibraltar<\/a>, Guam, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Mariana Islands, Solomon Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Jersey, Palau, Samoa, with regard to the harmful tax regime (offshore business), American Samoa, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Jersey, Palau, Samoa, with respect to the offshore business tax regime, American Samoa, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago and Vanuatu.<\/p>\n\n
Tax havens lose millions of dollars every year to the economies of countries around the world. A 2020 report by the Tax Justice Network<\/a> indicates that about $427 billion in taxes are lost globally due to global tax abuse.<\/p>\n\n
A huge amount of that money goes to tax havens. The same institution estimates that the world could lose around USD $4.7 trillion over the next ten years as a result of transnational tax abuses.<\/p>\n\n
The impact of tax havens in Latin America<\/h2><\/h2>\n\n
Figures from the Tax Justice Network indicate that, in the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, where most tax havens are concentrated, 22% of their wealth is found in them.<\/p>\n\n
According to the same source, the countries of the region lose close to 1.5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every year. This situation affects public investment and the development of social programs that improve the standard of living of their inhabitants.<\/p>\n\n
How do tax havens affect Colombia?<\/h2><\/h2>\n\n
In the case of Colombia, according to data from the DIAN of 2021<\/strong>, about 40 billion<\/strong> pesos are lost every year due to VAT and corporate income tax evasion<\/strong>. Although the entity is not clear about the amount, it is known that a large part of that money goes to tax havens.<\/p>\n\n
The DIAN indicates that the country lost $43.2 trillion due to evasion in 2018, $47.4 trillion in 2019 and $43.8 trillion in 2020, and tax havens would be responsible for a large part of these losses.<\/p>\n\n
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