Escaping the exchange of information: Tax evasion via citizenship-by-investment

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Public Economics
Year: 2023
Volume: 221
Issue: C

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

With automatic exchange of tax information among countries now common, tax evaders have had to find new ways to hide their offshore holdings. One such way is citizenship-by-investment, which offers foreigners a new passport for a local investment or a fixed fee. We show analytically that high-income individuals acquire a new citizenship to lower the probability that their tax evasion is detected through information exchange. Using data on cross-border bank deposits, we find that deposits in tax havens increase after a country starts offering a citizenship-by-investment program, providing indirect evidence that tax evaders use these programs.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:pubeco:v:221:y:2023:i:c:s0047272723000476
Journal Field
Public
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25