Friday Finance

Against a backdrop of exploding public deficits and a climate of "witch-hunting", political pressure seems to have been turned up a notch in recent months against tax havens. But what are we talking about? From the Channel Islands to the Cayman Islands or Switzerland, what does the notion of tax haven reflect today? What are the strategies of major corporations, the tax optimization mechanisms that are more or less tolerated, and those that could be at risk in the future? What possibilities are still open to individuals and companies, with what constraints, risks and opportunities? And finally, what direction might tax policies in developed and emerging countries take in the months ahead? How should companies and individuals prepare for this? Is there a risk of tax dumping? Could Western financial centers suffer from tougher regulations? Could the mobility of capital really be altered? Michel Taly, a graduate of the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (1970) and the Ecole nationale d'administration (1974), is a tax lawyer specializing in tax optimization and legislation. With a wealth of experience in both the public sector (Director of the Tax Legislation Department at the French Ministry of Finance) and the private sector (Crédit du Nord, Lazard Bank, Crédit Lyonnais, Cabinet Salustro...), he will offer an uncompromising opinion on these sensitive issues, and shed light on the issues implicit in the possible reforms in the pipeline...