On October 3, 2021, a colossal effort by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) uncovered the biggest tax scandal of all time: the Pandora Papers. They have reconfirmed – once too often – that the richest 1% – world leaders, politicians, business leaders, oligarchs – believe the rules don’t apply to them and that their wealth comes before the lives of the other 99%.
Among the “stars” of this historic leak of documents, those who hide and increase their wealth to the detriment of society, we find European leaders. The “Pandora Papers” uncovered the properties owned by the then Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on the Côte d’Azur. Nothing to complain about. Except that he holds them through corporations based in tax havens and at least one transaction was made…in cash.
Also read: Article reserved for our Pandora Papers subscribers: A global look at the mysteries of offshore finance
In France, too, the Pandora Papers highlighted that many of our compatriots, particularly political leaders and elected politicians, are concerned about tax evasion. Former mayor of Blois (Loir-et-Cher), Nicolas Perruchot, who was also deputy and president of the Loir-et-Cher department, founded an offshore company in the Seychelles. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former minister and former executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or Sylvain Maillard, LRM MP, are quoted, as are six hundred other rich French people.
The Covid and its dividends
In 2021, Bruno Le Maire, already Minister of Economy and Finance, then pledged that he would “be persistent with those who cheat”. And yet the measures did not follow. Letterbox companies are still relevant. The blacklist of tax havens is still awaiting review amid the revelations.
Should we be surprised if our government’s policies continue to favor, this time quite legally, the interests of the wealthiest to the detriment of the rest of the population? Emmanuel Macron’s abolition of the Wealth Tax (ISF) has allowed the richest 0.1% to grow their wealth.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers Thomas Piketty: “Following the Pandora Papers revelations, it’s high time to act”
Then there was the abolition of certain production taxes, including the complete abolition of corporate value added tax (CVAE), which made big companies even richer. Added to this was the Covid and its dividends to no longer be able to. The richest have continued to get richer, with the blessing of a government that also chooses to hunt down a hypothetical welfare scam.
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