ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role of states in facilitating tax evasion, the measures that states need to take in order to combat tax evasion, and the efforts and methods used to compel state actors to implement those measures. It examines the principal weapon in the fight against tax evasion – information – and efforts at improving transparency in tax matters. There exists a widely recognisable stereotype of a tax haven: a small Caribbean island with a low level of natural resources, often with historical links to the British Empire. In parallel to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s efforts on harmful tax competition, the European Union undertook its own work in the area through the Code of Conduct Group for Business Taxation. In 2015, the European Commission published ‘A Fair and Efficient Corporate Tax System in the European Union: 5 Key Areas for Action’.
