ABSTRACT
Until now the focus of the offshore discussion has been on money laundering, and most of that has been about the placement of U.S. dollars in foreign banking systems. As I see it, the real issue is the willingness of some nations to rent their flags or the flags of their associated territories to anyone who wants to conceal the true nature of a business transaction and anyone who wants to operate in a regulation-free environment. The problem is that the institutions they charter and the activity they choose not to regulate or tax have an enormous impact on the rest of the world. The central question is: why should any major country recognize the international business corporations of offshore havens?
