Nicholas Shaxson is a journalist who has written for the Financial Times, The Economist Group, African Energy, and the insider newsletter Africa Confidential. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil and an associate fellow with the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.
"This book is a vigorous and well researched polemic against
financial deregulation..." --Richard Cooper, Foreign
Affairs"Shaxson's story of offshore banking is nothing short of
Shakespearean, a drama full of secrecy, treachery and corruption in
which wealthy countries, companies and individuals collude to horde
wealth in a complex global network of largely unregulated tax
havens. To realize this end, they install corrupt leaders, exploit
indigenous populations and, ultimately, deny both developed and
developing nations of vital tax dollars. There is much here that
should generate outrage...An admirable job of both arguing the
consequences of offshore banking and providing a succinct history
of the practice." --Kirkus"A blistering account of the role that
tax havens play in international finance. . . brilliant." --London
Review of Books"Perhaps the most important book published in the UK
so far this year." --George Monbiot, The Guardian"Shaxson provides
a fascinating narrative that is both analytically compelling and
rich in institutional detail." --New York Times Economix blog"A
useful critique." --Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution"Treasure
Islands, Nicholas Shaxson's excellent book on the global offshore
tax system." --FT Alphaville"Treasure Islands has prised the lid
off an important and terrifying can of worms." --Literary
Review"Shaxson shows us that the global financial machine is broken
and that very few of us have noticed." --New Statesman"In this
riveting, well-written expose, Shaxson goes deep into the largely
unexamined realm of offshore money. In the process, he reveals that
this shadow world is no mere sideshow, but is troublingly central
to modern finance, with the US and the UK as leaders. The resulting
abuses are widespread, ranging from tax revenue stripping from
African nations to individuals and corporations escaping
enforcement and accountability. A must read for anyone who wants to
understand the hidden reasons why financial services firms have
become so powerful and impossible to reform." --Yves Smith, creator
of Naked Capitalism and author of Econned"Treasure Islands shines
the light on some very dark places. It reads like a thriller. The
shocking thing is its all true." --Richard Murphy, co-author of Tax
Havens: How Globalization Really Works"At last, a readable - indeed
gripping - book which explains the nuts and bolts of tax havens.
More importantly, it lays bare the mechanism that financial capital
has been using to stay in charge: capturing government
policy-making around the world, shaking off such irritants as
democracy and the rule of law, and making sure that suckers like
you and me pay for its operators' opulent lifestyles." --Misha
Glenny, author of McMafia: A Journey through the Global Criminal
Underworld"Trade and investments can play a profoundly productive
role on the world economy. But so much of the capital flows that we
see are associated with money laundering, tax evasion, and the
wholesale larsony (sic) of assets often of very poor countries.
These thefts are greatly facilitated by special tax and accounting
rules or designed to "attract capital" and embodying obscure and
opaque mechanisms. Shaxson does an outstanding and socially
valuable job in penetrating the impenetrable and finds a deeply
shocking world." --Nicholas Stern, former Chief Economist for The
World Bank"The real challenge to America's economy comes not from
China - but from the Caymans, the Bahamas, and a whole hot-money
archipelago loosely under the control of the City of London. If
only as a civics lesson, read this astonishing book to find out the
true political constitution of the world." --Thomas Geoghegan,
author of Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?"Far more than an
expose, Treasure Islands is a brilliantly illuminating, forensic
analysis of where economic power really lies, and the shockingly
corrupt way in which it behaves. If you're wondering how ordinary
people ended up paying for a crisis caused by the reckless greed of
the banking industry, this compellingly readable book provides the
answers." --David Wearing, School of Public Policy, UCL, London's
Global University"An absolute gem that deserves to be read by
anyone interested in the way contemporary globalization is
undermining social justice. Give it to your sons, daughters,
families, favorite legislators and anyone else needing stimulation
of their thought buds. This masterpiece illuminates the dark places
and shows the visible hand of governments, corporations, banks,
accountants, lawyers and other pirates in creating fictitious
offshore transactions and structures and picking our pockets. This
financial engineering has enabled companies and the wealthy elites
to dodge taxes. The result is poverty, erosion of social
infrastructure and hard won welfare rights and higher taxes for
ordinary people. Tax will be the decisive battleground of the
twenty-first century as no democracy can function without it, or
provide people with adequate educations, healthcare, security,
housing, transport or pensions. Nicholas Shaxson has done a
wonderful job in lifting the lid off the inbuilt corruption that
has become so naturalized in the western world." --Prem Sikka,
Professor of Accounting, University of Essex, UK"Over my holiday
last week, I read Nick Shaxson's book - Treasure Islands. I would
go as far as saying this book is the No Logo for a new century"
--Sunny Hundal, Liberal Conspiracy"Shaxson has undertaken a big
task with the book Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who
Stole the World. But the task is well worthy of examination, as it
is so vital to the shadowy infrastructure of the global financial
system... provides an easily digestible overview of the
labyrinthine nature of the world of offshore finance." --Seeking
Alpha
This book is a vigorous and well researched polemic against
financial deregulation "Richard Cooper, Foreign Affairs" Shaxson's
story of offshore banking is nothing short of Shakespearean, a
drama full of secrecy, treachery and corruption in which wealthy
countries, companies and individuals collude to horde wealth in a
complex global network of largely unregulated tax havens. To
realize this end, they install corrupt leaders, exploit indigenous
populations and, ultimately, deny both developed and developing
nations of vital tax dollars. There is much here that should
generate outrage An admirable job of both arguing the consequences
of offshore banking and providing a succinct history of the
practice. "Kirkus" A blistering account of the role that tax havens
play in international finance. . . brilliant. "London Review of
Books" Perhaps the most important book published in the UK so far
this year. "George Monbiot, The Guardian" Shaxson provides a
fascinating narrative that is both analytically compelling and rich
in institutional detail. "New York Times Economix blog" A useful
critique. "Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution" Treasure Islands,
Nicholas Shaxson's excellent book on the global offshore tax
system. "FT Alphaville" Treasure Islands has prised the lid off an
important and terrifying can of worms. "Literary Review" Shaxson
shows us that the global financial machine is broken and that very
few of us have noticed. "New Statesman" In this riveting,
well-written expose, Shaxson goes deep into the largely unexamined
realm of offshore money. In the process, he reveals that this
shadow world is no mere sideshow, but is troublingly central to
modern finance, with the US and the UK as leaders. The resulting
abuses are widespread, ranging from tax revenue stripping from
African nations to individuals and corporations escaping
enforcement and accountability. A must read for anyone who wants to
understand the hidden reasons why financial services firms have
become so powerful and impossible to reform. "Yves Smith, creator
of Naked Capitalism and author of Econned" "Treasure Islands"
shines the light on some very dark places. It reads like a
thriller. The shocking thing is its all true. "Richard Murphy,
co-author of Tax Havens: How Globalization Really Works" At last, a
readable indeed gripping book which explains the nuts and bolts of
tax havens. More importantly, it lays bare the mechanism that
financial capital has been using to stay in charge: capturing
government policy-making around the world, shaking off such
irritants as democracy and the rule of law, and making sure that
suckers like you and me pay for its operators' opulent lifestyles.
"Misha Glenny, author of McMafia: A Journey through the Global
Criminal Underworld" Trade and investments can play a profoundly
productive role on the world economy. But so much of the capital
flows that we see are associated with money laundering, tax
evasion, and the wholesale larsony (sic) of assets often of very
poor countries. These thefts are greatly facilitated by special tax
and accounting rules or designed to "attract capital" and embodying
obscure and opaque mechanisms. Shaxson does an outstanding and
socially valuable job in penetrating the impenetrable and finds a
deeply shocking world. "Nicholas Stern, former Chief Economist for
The World Bank" The real challenge to America's economy comes not
from China but from the Caymans, the Bahamas, and a whole hot-money
archipelago loosely under the control of the City of London. If
only as a civics lesson, read this astonishing book to find out the
true political constitution of the world. "Thomas Geoghegan, author
of Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?" Far more than an expose,
"Treasure"" Islands" is a brilliantly illuminating, forensic
analysis of where economic power really lies, and the shockingly
corrupt way in which it behaves. If you're wondering how ordinary
people ended up paying for a crisis caused by the reckless greed of
the banking industry, this compellingly readable book provides the
answers. "David Wearing, School of Public Policy, UCL, London's
Global University" An absolute gem that deserves to be read by
anyone interested in the way contemporary globalization is
undermining social justice. Give it to your sons, daughters,
families, favorite legislators and anyone else needing stimulation
of their thought buds. This masterpiece illuminates the dark places
and shows the visible hand of governments, corporations, banks,
accountants, lawyers and other pirates in creating fictitious
offshore transactions and structures and picking our pockets. This
financial engineering has enabled companies and the wealthy elites
to dodge taxes. The result is poverty, erosion of social
infrastructure and hard won welfare rights and higher taxes for
ordinary people. Tax will be the decisive battleground of the
twenty-first century as no democracy can function without it, or
provide people with adequate educations, healthcare, security,
housing, transport or pensions. Nicholas Shaxson has done a
wonderful job in lifting the lid off the inbuilt corruption that
has become so naturalized in the western world. "Prem Sikka,
Professor of Accounting, University of Essex, UK" Over my holiday
last week, I read Nick Shaxson's book Treasure Islands. I would go
as far as saying this book is the No Logo for a new century "Sunny
Hundal, Liberal Conspiracy" Shaxson has undertaken a big task with
the book "Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the
World." But the task is well worthy of examination, as it is so
vital to the shadowy infrastructure of the global financial system
provides an easily digestible overview of the labyrinthine nature
of the world of offshore finance. "Seeking Alpha""
"This book is a vigorous and well researched polemic against
financial deregulation..."--Richard Cooper, "Foreign
Affairs""Shaxson's story of offshore banking is nothing short of
Shakespearean, a drama full of secrecy, treachery and corruption in
which wealthy countries, companies and individuals collude to horde
wealth in a complex global network of largely unregulated tax
havens. To realize this end, they install corrupt leaders, exploit
indigenous populations and, ultimately, deny both developed and
developing nations of vital tax dollars. There is much here that
should generate outrage...An admirable job of both arguing the
consequences of offshore banking and providing a succinct history
of the practice."--"Kirkus""A blistering account of the role that
tax havens play in international finance. . . brilliant."--"London
Review of Books""Perhaps the most important book published in the
UK so far this year."--George Monbiot, "The Guardian""Shaxson
provides a fascinating narrative that is both analytically
compelling and rich in institutional detail."--"New York Times"
Economix blog"A useful critique."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal
Revolution"Treasure Islands, Nicholas Shaxson's excellent book on
the global offshore tax system."--FT Alphaville"Treasure Islands
has prised the lid off an important and terrifying can of
worms."--"Literary Review""Shaxson shows us that the global
financial machine is broken and that very few of us have
noticed."--"New Statesman""In this riveting, well-written expose,
Shaxson goes deep into the largely unexamined realm of offshore
money. In the process, he reveals that this shadow world is no mere
sideshow, but is troublingly central to modern finance, with the US
and the UK as leaders. The resulting abuses are widespread, ranging
from tax revenue stripping from African nations to individuals and
corporations escaping enforcement and accountability. A must read
for anyone who wants to understand the hidden reasons why financial
services firms have become so powerful and impossible to
reform."--Yves Smith, creator of Naked Capitalism and author of
"Econned"""Treasure Islands" shines the light on some very dark
places. It reads like a thriller. The shocking thing is its all
true."--Richard Murphy, co-author of "Tax Havens: How Globalization
Really Works""At last, a readable - indeed gripping - book which
explains the nuts and bolts of tax havens. More importantly, it
lays bare the mechanism that financial capital has been using to
stay in charge: capturing government policy-making around the
world, shaking off such irritants as democracy and the rule of law,
and making sure that suckers like you and me pay for its operators'
opulent lifestyles."--Misha Glenny, author of "McMafia: A Journey
through the Global Criminal Underworld""Trade and investments can
play a profoundly productive role on the world economy. But so much
of the capital flows that we see are associated with money
laundering, tax evasion, and the wholesale larsony (sic) of assets
often of very poor countries. These thefts are greatly facilitated
by special tax and accounting rules or designed to "attract
capital" and embodying obscure and opaque mechanisms. Shaxson does
an outstanding and socially valuable job in penetrating the
impenetrable and finds a deeply shocking world."--Nicholas Stern,
former Chief Economist for The World Bank"The real challenge to
America's economy comes not from China - but from the Caymans, the
Bahamas, and a whole hot-money archipelago loosely under the
control of the City of London. If only as a civics lesson, read
this astonishing book to find out the true political constitution
of the world."-- Thomas Geoghegan, author of "Were You Born on the
Wrong Continent? ""Far more than an expose, "Treasure"" Islands" is
a brilliantly illuminating, forensic analysis of where economic
power really lies, and the shockingly corrupt way in which it
behaves. If you're wondering how ordinary people ended up paying
for a crisis caused by the reckless greed of the banking industry,
this compellingly readable book provides the answers."--David
Wearing, School of Public Policy, UCL, London's Global
University"An absolute gem that deserves to be read by anyone
interested in the way contemporary globalization is undermining
social justice. Give it to your sons, daughters, families, favorite
legislators and anyone else needing stimulation of their thought
buds. This masterpiece illuminates the dark places and shows the
visible hand of governments, corporations, banks, accountants,
lawyers and other pirates in creating fictitious offshore
transactions and structures and picking our pockets. This financial
engineering has enabled companies and the wealthy elites to dodge
taxes. The result is poverty, erosion of social infrastructure and
hard won welfare rights and higher taxes for ordinary people. Tax
will be the decisive battleground of the twenty-first century as no
democracy can function without it, or provide people with adequate
educations, healthcare, security, housing, transport or pensions.
Nicholas Shaxson has done a wonderful job in lifting the lid off
the inbuilt corruption that has become so naturalized in the
western world."--Prem Sikka, Professor of Accounting, University of
Essex, UK"Over my holiday last week, I read Nick Shaxson's book -
Treasure Islands. I would go as far as saying this book is the No
Logo for a new century"--Sunny Hundal, Liberal Conspiracy"Shaxson
has undertaken a big task with the book "Treasure Islands: Tax
Havens and the Men who Stole the World." But the task is well
worthy of examination, as it is so vital to the shadowy
infrastructure of the global financial system... provides an easily
digestible overview of the labyrinthine nature of the world of
offshore finance."--Seeking Alpha
"Shaxson's story of offshore banking is nothing short of
Shakespearean, a drama full of secrecy, treachery and corruption in
which wealthy countries, companies and individuals collude to horde
wealth in a complex global network of largely unregulated tax
havens. To realize this end, they install corrupt leaders, exploit
indigenous populations and, ultimately, deny both developed and
developing nations of vital tax dollars. There is much here that
should generate outrage...An admirable job of both arguing the
consequences of offshore banking and providing a succinct history
of the practice."--"Kirkus""A blistering account of the role that
tax havens play in international finance. . . brilliant."--"London
Review of Books""Perhaps the most important book published in the
UK so far this year."--George Monbiot, "The Guardian""Shaxson
provides a fascinating narrative that is both analytically
compelling and rich in institutional detail."--"New York Times"
Economix blog"A useful critique."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal
Revolution"Treasure Islands, Nicholas Shaxson's excellent book on
the global offshore tax system."--FT Alphaville"Treasure Islands
has prised the lid off an important and terrifying can of
worms."--"Literary Review""Shaxson shows us that the global
financial machine is broken and that very few of us have
noticed."--"New Statesman""In this riveting, well-written expose,
Shaxson goes deep into the largely unexamined realm of offshore
money. In the process, he reveals that this shadow world is no mere
sideshow, but is troublingly central to modern finance, with the US
and the UK as leaders. The resulting abuses are widespread, ranging
from tax revenue stripping from African nations to individuals and
corporations escaping enforcement and accountability. A must read
for anyone who wants to understand the hidden reasons why financial
services firms have become so powerful and impossible to
reform."--Yves Smith, creator of Naked Capitalism and aut
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