Europe's Largest Banks Declare 26% of Profits in Tax Havens

The twenty largest European banks declare a quarter of their profits in tax haven zones, preferring Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Ireland, reported BGNES.

This was shown in a survey of the British non-governmental organisation Oxfam, published on Monday and cited by AFP.

These banks "declare 26% of their profits in tax havens, or EUR 25 B in 2015, but only 12% of their turnover and 7% of their employees," which is "a flagrant omission", according to Oxfam.

The same financial institutions declare "a total of EUR 628 M in tax havens where they do not have a single employee."

This "abuse of tax havens" could allow banks to "move their profits artificially in order to reduce their taxes, facilitate tax evasion for their clients and circumvent their stipulated obligations," added Oxfam.