- The public finance challenge posed by offshore tax evasion and illicit financial flows (IFFs) is substantial and disproportionately affects developing economies. Available estimates suggest that 8?10% of global household financial wealth is held offshore, concealed in tax havens. This hidden wealth is highly concentrated among the wealthiest individuals, often within the top 0.1% of the population.
- Beyond the conventional flow of deposits and securities, IFFs rely on sophisticated shell companies that obscure the ownership of assets like property, and pervasive practices such as misinvoicing of international trade transactions across sectors and countries.
- Drawing on research from developing and developed economies, this policy brief illustrates the effectiveness of various policy interventions to mitigate IFFs―from beneficial ownership registries to automatic information exchange―and their implications for revenue mobilization.