Le Monde | • Updated | By
Three days after the publication of the first revelations about offshore companies created by the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca, we continue to live monitoring of new information and their consequences. We have selected below some of the most frequently asked questions
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What interest do we have to legally create an offshore company
the creation of an offshore company abroad is legal if it carries on business in the tax haven where it operates. It is not mandatory to declare if it has no business in France and less than 10% of this company are held by French tax residents. Thus many French customers Mossack Fonseca contacted by Le Monde justified the creation of their offshore company by their desire to expand into other continents.
Zoom: Offshore: what is legal, what is not
“the world” he will publish the list of affected French by “Panama papers”?
As we have repeatedly announced, Le Monde will not provide any personal information on french names that appear in the documents. The majority of Mossack Fonseca customers consists of anonymous. Many act as nominees to conceal the real beneficiaries of these accounts or offshore companies. Moreover, as we have seen, possess or use an offshore company is not an illegal practice if the owner declares to the tax authorities
Read also:. Why “The World “does not publish the full data of” Panama papers “
Why do not you return the data to the tax authorities or the courts?
This is the line World each such operation, as well as the International Consortium of investigative journalists (ICIJ). This is to protect sources on the one hand, to avoid the risk of exposing them and put them in danger. Especially since it is not “our” data, but those of 109 essays Total
This is the other an ethical question. Journalists are there to inform their readers, but not for being informers of the police or of the state. Our long-term credibility would suffer
Read also:. The difficult protection of journalistic sources
Fraudsters concerned this survey will they be brought to justice?
It is possible that the french tax exiles present in the “Panama papers” are concerned by the tax authorities and the french justice. However, it will the Ministry of Finance is conducting its own investigation or obtains the data.
It is possible that other countries have bought fractions data from Mossack Fonseca, but the French law the prohibited. However, it can benefit from data obtained from other partner countries in the framework of international cooperation.
If the French tax authorities managed to establish tax fraud of these people, it is not said that they will be brought to justice because, in France, it must obtain authorization from the Minister of budget and Finance to pursue a fraud – it’s a specifically French called “Bercy lock”. Each year about 1/16 th of tax evaders are prosecuted.
What is the French political party affected by the revelations of “Panama papers”?
Among the names cited by our investigations, those close to the National Front. The investigation of the “Panama papers” shows how two members of the entourage of Marine Le Pen (Frédéric Chatillon and Nicolas Hook) have established offshore financial arrangements in several tax havens. MM. Chatillon (boss of Riwal, exclusive provider of the FN on its communication) and Hook (accountant in charge of the FN in 2012 economic program) have taken out money illegally from France via several front companies.
in addition, several factors indicate that Jean-Marie Le Pen and his wife Jeanine could have used their former butler and confidant Gerald Gerin, as nominee to conceal part of the fortune of the former president of the Front national via an offshore company
Read also. “Panama papers” on the treasure trail of Jean-Marie Le Pen
But we also spoke of other politicians, Patrick Balkany (Republicans) to Jean-Noel Guerini (former Socialist Party).
Understand why there are few French politicians in the “Panama papers “
Why has France removed the Panama its blacklist in 2012?
Panama came out of this list when it signed a tax treaty with France on 30 June 2011 (entered into force in early 2012), under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, because of a promise of intense cooperation between tax administrations. It does not mean ceasing to be a tax haven.
In France, a non-cooperative countries in tax matters is not necessarily a tax haven is a country that has signed no tax treaty with France. A tax treaty is a bilateral agreement to avoid double taxation of residents of both countries
Read also:. Panama back on the French blacklist of tax havens
How did the Panama reacted and what are the consequences for the French economy?
the Panamanian government announced that he would take retaliatory measures against France. “In Panama, there is a law which provides for retaliatory measures against countries that include the Panama on greylisting” , said at a press conference the chief of staff of the Presidency Alvaro Aleman.
Why are there so few Americans?
magazine Fusion, American partner of the survey counted 211 people who register their company with an address in the United States. Most are anonymous citizens, and nothing indicates whether US tax residents or they have US citizenship.
For comparison, there are a thousand French names in the files on which Le Monde worked. This low US presence is explained by several reasons:
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Mossack Fonseca is not the only firm specializing in the creation of offshore companies . Others exist, like its competitor Morgan & amp; Morgan.
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The US tax is lower, with a sampling rate of about 24%. In 2010, this rate was 34% in the OECD countries (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).
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The fight against tax evasion has hardened in recent years. Since the establishment in 2010 of the FATCA law ( “Foreign account tax compliance act”), banks must now report to the tax authorities any customer with more than 50 thousand dollars. Foreign accounts of more than $ 10 000 must also be reported each year.
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Some states such as Delaware, Wyoming and Nevada are considered tax heavens. They help hide the beneficiary of a company through an opaque structure, as it has no US shareholder or business in the United States.
Explanation: “Panama papers”: why are there so few Americans?
Who pays ICIJ?
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which brings together 110 media involved in the investigation on the “Panama papers,” is a non-profit organization created in 1997.
the ICIJ is open to online donations from individuals, as well as funding from private donors, which we find the list on its website:
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Adessium Foundation (Netherlands), which include financial interest initiatives public.
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the Open Society Foundations of American billionaire George Soros, which funds a variety of initiatives in the field of education, health or information.
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the Sigrid Rausing Trust (UK), which funds advocacy organizations.
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the Fritt Ord Foundation (Norway), a nonprofit organization that funds initiatives in favor of freedom of expression.
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The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting (USA), a nonprofit organization that funds journalistic projects.
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the Ford Foundation (USA), which invests particularly in educational programs, innovation and journalistic projects.
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the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (USA), which significantly contribute to the educational, scientific and environmental issues.
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The Pew Charitable Trusts (USA), which finances programs in the areas of information, public policy and culture.
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the Waterloo Foundation (UK), which supports projects environmental or educational.
“There is a firewall between our benefactors and our work. Those funding we are not informed in advance of the subjects on which we investigate. If we ever fall on their names, we will of course continue to investigate “, assured Libération Marina Walker Guevara, number two in the ICIJ, in 2013.
Read also: the hoax who want to meet the “Panama papers”
Where to find the list of media partners
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Le Monde is a partner in the operation with 108 other media around the world. The complete list is available on the ICIJ website.
The “Panama papers’ three-point
- The world and 108 other newsrooms in 76 countries, coordinated by the International Consortium of investigative journalists (ICIJ), had access to a wealth of new information that cast a harsh light on the opaque world of offshore finance and tax havens.
- 11.5 million files from the archives of the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca, specialist domiciliation of offshore companies between 1977 and 2015. This is the biggest leak information never exploited by the media.
- “Panama papers” reveal that in addition to thousands of anonymous numerous heads of state, billionaires, big names in sports, celebrities or personalities within the scope of international sanctions have used offshore arrangements to conceal their assets
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