The Paradise Papers have hit the fan. Bernie Sanders understands what they are really telling us:
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a statement to The Guardian, said that the papers demonstrate that the world has turned into an “international oligarchy” controlled by a minute number of billionaires. “The major issue of our time is the rapid movement toward international oligarchy, in which a handful of billionaires own and control a significant part of the global economy,” he said. “The Paradise Papers shows how these billionaires and multinational corporations get richer by hiding their wealth and profits and avoid paying their fair share of taxes.”
Of course, the Americans aren't the only ones who are avoiding taxes. Justin Trudeau's chief fundraiser, Stephen Bronfman, and Elizabeth II are on the list of those who stash money in the islands. The world's most profitable companies are also socking money away there:
Apple has come under scrutiny by Congress for shifting much of its earnings to Irish subsidiaries, avoiding income taxes. Documents from the leak show that after its chief executive, Tim Cook, said that the company didn’t just “stash money on a Caribbean island,” it found a new tax haven—an island in the English Channel. The use of complex offshore structures have helped keep much of Apple’s more than $128 billion in profit abroad free from taxation.
And Russian money is being washed clean in the Caribbean:
Behind one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent investors, Yuri Milner, was hundreds of millions of dollars in Kremlin funding. The documents show that Mr. Milner’s investment in Twitter relied on money from VTB, [a] bank controlled by the Russian state. One of his most significant investors in Facebook relied on funding from Gazprom Investholding, another government-controlled institution. Mr. Milner is also an investor in Cadre, a New York-based real estate technology company founded by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and White [House] adviser.
Wilbur Ross, Donald Trump's Secretary of Commerce -- the man who is telling Canada and Mexico about the new trade rules -- is avoiding taxes and getting richer in Paradise:
The revelations about Ross prompted Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, to call for an investigation into the investments. The New York Times reports that “much” of Ross’ wealth is tied up in secretive offshore dealings.
Interestingly, Ross's wealth has Russian connections.
There's trouble -- lots of it -- in Paradise.
Image: Lovin Malta
