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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Treasure Islands summary
Nicholas Shaxson
Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole the World
16 mins
Brief summary
Treasure Islands by Nicholas Shaxson exposes the murky world of tax havens and how they operate, highlighting the damaging effects they have on the global economy and society as a whole.
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Treasure Islands
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Key idea 1 of 7
Tax havens are jurisdictions for secrecy.
As you probably know, tax havens have low tax rates – for some. You might’ve heard stories of corrupt dictators or mafia bosses keeping money in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands. What’s the purpose of this?
It’s quite simple: secrecy. A secrecy jurisdiction enables people or entities to escape certain laws and regulations by relocating their funds to hidden places.
Tax havens don’t cooperate with authorities from other countries. You can’t tax someone without knowing how much money they have. This is why your bank notifies the authorities when money is put into your account.
Tax havens don’t provide this information to authorities, however. They only provide information if the authorities already know the specifics of your offshore banking, and even then there’s a process to go through.
Even if a tax haven does share information with law enforcement authorities, they still provide services to protect their clients.
Many tax havens have flee causes, for example. That means that if Interpol comes looking for your money, your assets will automatically be moved to another place, like an account in a different tax haven.
Ultimately, tax havens are able to provide almost perfect secrecy. Another way they do this is through the use of trusts.
In a trust, the person who pays the money is the owner, and they have to designate a certain goal for their fund. There’s also a professional manager called the trustee.
The goal of a trust is that the money should be paid back to the owner or their relatives after some amount of time. The trustee is often a professional lawyer who manages hundreds of trusts at once.
Tax authorities can’t know who the owner is – they only know the registered trustee. Lawyers can’t tell anyone who their beneficiaries are because that would be a breach of confidentiality. The real information stays hidden.
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What is Treasure Islands about?
Treasure Islands offers insight into one of the darkest parts of the financial world: tax havens. It explains how wealthy people and corporations are able to avoid paying taxes by relocating their assets offshore. Tax havens are highly damaging to all but the tiny percentage of people who can afford to use them, and they contribute to the growing gap between rich and poor.
Treasure Islands Review
Treasure Islands (2011) sheds light on the hidden world of offshore tax havens and their impact on global finance. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- With meticulous research and compelling storytelling, it reveals the dark underbelly of the global financial system, exposing the loopholes and secrecy that enable tax evasion.
- By examining real-life examples and unveiling the methods used by corporations and the super-wealthy to dodge taxes, the book offers a thought-provoking perspective on inequality and economic injustice.
- It goes beyond the surface, exploring the historical, political, and economic context, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the offshore world and its implications.
Best quote from Treasure Islands
More than half of world trade passes, at least on paper, through tax havens.
—Nicholas Shaxson
Who should read Treasure Islands?
- Anyone interested in tax havens
- Anyone interested in economics
- Anyone interested in global power dynamics
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Treasure Islands FAQs
What is the main message of Treasure Islands?
The main message of Treasure Islands is that tax havens play a major role in global inequality.
How long does it take to read Treasure Islands?
The reading time for Treasure Islands varies. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is Treasure Islands a good book? Is it worth reading?
Treasure Islands is worth reading as it sheds light on the hidden world of tax havens, exposing their impact on society and the global economy.
Who is the author of Treasure Islands?
The author of Treasure Islands is Nicholas Shaxson.
What to read after Treasure Islands?
If you're wondering what to read next after Treasure Islands, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- The Hidden Wealth of Nations by Gabriel Zucman
- Tax-Free Wealth by Tom Wheelwright
- The Panama Papers by Bastian Obermayer & Frederik Obermaier
- Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin
- The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
- 12 Rules For Life by Jordan B. Peterson
- The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
- The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
- How to Read a Financial Report by John A. Tracy and Tage C. Tracy
- The Upside of Your Dark Side by Todd Kashdan and Robert Biswas-Diener