Enduring charms

摘要

The history of offshorefinanceis"riddled with myths and legends", says Ronen Palan, a haven-watcher. The term "tax haven" did not enter the language untilthe 1950s, but the concept originated in the late 19th century, when the American state of New Jersey eased its business-registration and tax laws to drum up incorporation revenues during a fiscalsqueeze. Afew years later Delaware copied its methods. These early moves were driven by Wall Street lawyers. The first phase of rapid growth came after the first world war when numerous smalljurisdictions, led by Switzerland (in concert with Liechtenstein), began to offer tax, banking and incorporation benefits. In 1934 Switzerland dramatically tightened its bank-secrecy laws (not to protect Jewish customers' deposits, as is widely believed, but in response to a bank's exposure in a French tax scandal).