Good morning! Tax havens top the list of offshore investments from Brazil. GDP growth forecast improves, according to the IMF. Bolsonaro confirms new Chief of Staff amid gestures to congressional allies.
Brazilian investments prefer tax havens
A new report by the Brazilian Central Bank shows that seven of the top 12 destinations for the country’s offshore direct investments are tax havens.
Destinations. The Netherlands, which tops Brazil’s list, ranks fourth among locations that facilitate tax evasion by multinational corporations, only behind the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and Bermuda (which all feature high on Brazil’s list).
- The Dutch are also under scrutiny from the European Union for being a conduit country.
- And while the U.S. is not a tax haven, states such as Delaware and Florida offer haven-like conditions for companies.
Growth. Brazilian offshore direct investment jumped 38 percent between 2015 — when the country fell into crisis — and 2020. Last year, it rose 7 percent from 2019.
Why it matters. “Because the main corporate users of tax havens are large financial institutions and other multinationals, the system tilts the playing field against small and medium enterprises, boosting monopolization,” writes the International Monetary Fund.
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