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New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aides
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Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
And whilst the big boys evade taxes big time, you and me still have to pay taxes like shmucks. Here's one newspaper's take on tax evasion:-
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/inversions-panama-revenue-quandary-1.3521358
Analysis
Inversions, Panama schemes mean the ordinary wage-earner gets stuck paying the taxes: Don Pittis
Even the leanest governments need to get revenue somewhere, so they choose the soft targets
By Don Pittis, CBC News Posted: Apr 06, 2016 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Apr 06, 2016 11:24 AM ET
After the Panama Papers were released I spotted this tweet: "Wife calling .... wants to know why we are the only morons apparently still paying taxes."
It's not just a joke.
• Panama Papers: Iceland's PM resigns amid protests over offshore tax haven revelations
• Pfizer-Allergan merger in doubt as new U.S. tax inversion rules proposed
Paying your taxes used to be a moral duty, but primed by growing anti-tax rhetoric, the moral rules have changed. As tax avoidance becomes more respectable and its legal methods more labyrinthine, governments are going after the soft option, ignoring the hard nuts to focus on taxing the average shmo.
Inversion crackdown
The threat yesterday by U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to crack down on tax inversions came as a shot across the bow of a deal by drug giant Pfizer. It wants to merge with another company as a scheme to slash its tax bill by pretending it is actually Irish for tax purposes.
Pfizer, makers of Advil, wanted to wear a touch of the green and benefit from Ireland's low tax rate by merging with Allergan. (Reuters)
Irish business taxes are 12.5 per cent. In the U.S. they are 35 per cent.
A day later, the Pfizer-Allergan deal is dead because the Treasury Department's new rules would make trying to exploit that tax loophole not worth the effort. And that's a good thing, the White House says.
Stuck with the tab
"It sticks the rest of us with the tab," said President Barack Obama at a news conference calling on Congress to push through the tax inversion changes.
Despite presidential attention over inversions, plus this week's ruckus over the Panama Papers — which have already claimed at least one high-profile victim — the world's governments have been paralyzed in their attempts to capture escaping tax revenue.
U.S. President Barack Obama scowls during a briefing in which he called on Congress to pass new rules blocking tax avoidance, but critics hold out little hope for legislative change. (Reuters)
"While lawmakers have introduced anti-inversion bills, none have been passed," said one U.S. news report in a line buried at the bottom of a story trumpeting the crackdown, "and the chance that Congress will embark on business tax reform this year is very slim."
The fact is, governments are in an unequal battle. In an earlier era, even the biggest corporate giants were under the power of the one or sometimes two countries where they did most of their business.
Huge and unattached
In the years since, corporations have become huger and less nationally attached. They manufacture or buy parts in many places around the world while being able to run much of their day-to-day operations — telemarketing, billing, IT, administration — anywhere there are computers. National residency becomes a mere formality.
Meanwhile, governments have been intentionally weakening themselves, whether under the starve-the-beast principle or simply to try to get their budgets under control in an era of shrinking revenue.
While business growth stagnates, finding legal ways to pay lower taxes has been a bumper source of revenue for corporations and rich people. Money in offshore tax havens is estimated in the trillions of dollars.
The staggering power of that kind of money to buy accounting expertise, to lobby governments at home and abroad, to get the best legal help or even to hire the best crooked help, may be literally overwhelming. Governments find themselves unable to pass laws fast enough to close the freshly devised loopholes.
Revenue agency cuts
Tax authorities earning government-level wages are up against the world's priciest talent. In Canada the revenue agency actually faced staff cuts.
And whilst the big boys evade taxes big time, you and me still have to pay taxes like shmucks. Here's one newspaper's take on tax evasion:-
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/inversions-panama-revenue-quandary-1.3521358
Analysis
Inversions, Panama schemes mean the ordinary wage-earner gets stuck paying the taxes: Don Pittis
Even the leanest governments need to get revenue somewhere, so they choose the soft targets
By Don Pittis, CBC News Posted: Apr 06, 2016 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Apr 06, 2016 11:24 AM ET
After the Panama Papers were released I spotted this tweet: "Wife calling .... wants to know why we are the only morons apparently still paying taxes."
It's not just a joke.
• Panama Papers: Iceland's PM resigns amid protests over offshore tax haven revelations
• Pfizer-Allergan merger in doubt as new U.S. tax inversion rules proposed
Paying your taxes used to be a moral duty, but primed by growing anti-tax rhetoric, the moral rules have changed. As tax avoidance becomes more respectable and its legal methods more labyrinthine, governments are going after the soft option, ignoring the hard nuts to focus on taxing the average shmo.
Inversion crackdown
The threat yesterday by U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to crack down on tax inversions came as a shot across the bow of a deal by drug giant Pfizer. It wants to merge with another company as a scheme to slash its tax bill by pretending it is actually Irish for tax purposes.
Pfizer, makers of Advil, wanted to wear a touch of the green and benefit from Ireland's low tax rate by merging with Allergan. (Reuters)
Irish business taxes are 12.5 per cent. In the U.S. they are 35 per cent.
A day later, the Pfizer-Allergan deal is dead because the Treasury Department's new rules would make trying to exploit that tax loophole not worth the effort. And that's a good thing, the White House says.
Stuck with the tab
"It sticks the rest of us with the tab," said President Barack Obama at a news conference calling on Congress to push through the tax inversion changes.
Despite presidential attention over inversions, plus this week's ruckus over the Panama Papers — which have already claimed at least one high-profile victim — the world's governments have been paralyzed in their attempts to capture escaping tax revenue.
U.S. President Barack Obama scowls during a briefing in which he called on Congress to pass new rules blocking tax avoidance, but critics hold out little hope for legislative change. (Reuters)
"While lawmakers have introduced anti-inversion bills, none have been passed," said one U.S. news report in a line buried at the bottom of a story trumpeting the crackdown, "and the chance that Congress will embark on business tax reform this year is very slim."
The fact is, governments are in an unequal battle. In an earlier era, even the biggest corporate giants were under the power of the one or sometimes two countries where they did most of their business.
Huge and unattached
In the years since, corporations have become huger and less nationally attached. They manufacture or buy parts in many places around the world while being able to run much of their day-to-day operations — telemarketing, billing, IT, administration — anywhere there are computers. National residency becomes a mere formality.
Meanwhile, governments have been intentionally weakening themselves, whether under the starve-the-beast principle or simply to try to get their budgets under control in an era of shrinking revenue.
While business growth stagnates, finding legal ways to pay lower taxes has been a bumper source of revenue for corporations and rich people. Money in offshore tax havens is estimated in the trillions of dollars.
The staggering power of that kind of money to buy accounting expertise, to lobby governments at home and abroad, to get the best legal help or even to hire the best crooked help, may be literally overwhelming. Governments find themselves unable to pass laws fast enough to close the freshly devised loopholes.
Revenue agency cuts
Tax authorities earning government-level wages are up against the world's priciest talent. In Canada the revenue agency actually faced staff cuts.
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
Jackie Chan--what is he good for? Absolutely squandering money!
Jackie Chan--what is he good for? Absolutely squandering money!
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
You're wrong. Teeko Jackie is a miser. Even own flesh and blood also refuse to pay maintenance.
Likely his son is the spendthrift
You're wrong. Teeko Jackie is a miser. Even own flesh and blood also refuse to pay maintenance.
Likely his son is the spendthrift
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
It is unfortunate Xi has been implicated for the leak. It's not surprising at all. If the list does not include Chinese's top brass or Aide of Chinese Top brass or relative. I am sure the list is a fake or just incomplete.
It is unfortunate Xi has been implicated for the leak. It's not surprising at all. If the list does not include Chinese's top brass or Aide of Chinese Top brass or relative. I am sure the list is a fake or just incomplete.
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
Explore the Panama Papers Key Figures
https://panamapapers.icij.org/graphs/
Explore the Panama Papers Key Figures
https://panamapapers.icij.org/graphs/
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
Rich and powerful caught up in the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal must explain themselves
There are valid reasons for having offshore accounts, but transparency is needed on where the money came from
PUBLISHED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 1:08am
UPDATED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 1:08am
SCMP Editorial
Tax havens, money laundering, corruption – these are the words that come to mind at the mention of the “Panama Papers”, the 11.5 million encrypted documents anonymously spirited from the world’s fourth-largest offshore law firm that a global network of journalists has been sifting through for the past year in a quest to unravel secret money trails. The names of the rich and powerful have predictably come up, representing fields from business to sport to entertainment. Dozens of countries are involved, the scope and scale being breathtaking. But most astounding of all is that so many politicians and world leaders or their family members have found a need to hide their wealth from public scrutiny.
At least 143 members of the political class have so far been revealed, among them 12 national leaders. One, Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, was a quick casualty, resigning amid claims he had failed to properly declare his assets. Investigations have been ordered or are under way into a number of the more than 14,000 individuals and 214,000 offshore entities associated with the Panama-based firm Mossack Fonseca. Being named does not equate to wrongdoing, though; there is nothing illegal about setting up companies, shell or otherwise, in places of low taxation. Offshore accounts can be used to manage inheritance and estate funds, avoid currency restrictions and keep finances out of the hands of corrupt officials and criminals. But they are perhaps better known for their role in money laundering, corruption and other proceeds of crime; intricate webs of companies and accounts are ideal for salting away illegally gotten gains and keeping them from prying eyes. Insight has been given into global financial flows that will also be useful for officials trying to close gaps to fight tax cheats.
Recent years of economic downturn and hardship have brought a perception that offshore accounts are chiefly the domain of wealthy companies and individuals eager to avoid paying tax. For the same politicians who have been calling for fiscal belt-tightening to then be listed in the leaked documents is for ordinary, tax-paying citizens, shocking. But questions have also been raised about how those who serve the public have amassed so much wealth. It is why the Kremlin has so harshly rejected suggestions that Russian President Vladimir Putin is linked to secret accounts, China has clamped down on Weibo postings and politicians in Britain, Germany, Malaysia, Pakistan and Ukraine, among others, have rushed to explain themselves. Those that cannot deserve to face outrage, inquiries and penalties.
Rich and powerful caught up in the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal must explain themselves
There are valid reasons for having offshore accounts, but transparency is needed on where the money came from
PUBLISHED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 1:08am
UPDATED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 1:08am
SCMP Editorial
Tax havens, money laundering, corruption – these are the words that come to mind at the mention of the “Panama Papers”, the 11.5 million encrypted documents anonymously spirited from the world’s fourth-largest offshore law firm that a global network of journalists has been sifting through for the past year in a quest to unravel secret money trails. The names of the rich and powerful have predictably come up, representing fields from business to sport to entertainment. Dozens of countries are involved, the scope and scale being breathtaking. But most astounding of all is that so many politicians and world leaders or their family members have found a need to hide their wealth from public scrutiny.
At least 143 members of the political class have so far been revealed, among them 12 national leaders. One, Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, was a quick casualty, resigning amid claims he had failed to properly declare his assets. Investigations have been ordered or are under way into a number of the more than 14,000 individuals and 214,000 offshore entities associated with the Panama-based firm Mossack Fonseca. Being named does not equate to wrongdoing, though; there is nothing illegal about setting up companies, shell or otherwise, in places of low taxation. Offshore accounts can be used to manage inheritance and estate funds, avoid currency restrictions and keep finances out of the hands of corrupt officials and criminals. But they are perhaps better known for their role in money laundering, corruption and other proceeds of crime; intricate webs of companies and accounts are ideal for salting away illegally gotten gains and keeping them from prying eyes. Insight has been given into global financial flows that will also be useful for officials trying to close gaps to fight tax cheats.
Recent years of economic downturn and hardship have brought a perception that offshore accounts are chiefly the domain of wealthy companies and individuals eager to avoid paying tax. For the same politicians who have been calling for fiscal belt-tightening to then be listed in the leaked documents is for ordinary, tax-paying citizens, shocking. But questions have also been raised about how those who serve the public have amassed so much wealth. It is why the Kremlin has so harshly rejected suggestions that Russian President Vladimir Putin is linked to secret accounts, China has clamped down on Weibo postings and politicians in Britain, Germany, Malaysia, Pakistan and Ukraine, among others, have rushed to explain themselves. Those that cannot deserve to face outrage, inquiries and penalties.
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
Cameron held stake in father's offshore trust
Reuters on April 8, 2016, 5:33 am
(Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged on Thursday he once had a stake in his late father's offshore trust, in an interview with ITV News.
Cameron said he had owned shares in the Panamanian trust, Blairmore, but had sold them in 2010, before becoming prime minister.
"We owned 5,000 units in Blairmore Investment Trust, which we sold in January 2010. That was worth something like £30,000", he told the television channel.
"I paid income tax on the dividends. There was a profit on it but it was less than the capital gains tax allowance so I didn't pay capital gains tax," he added.
Cameron's late father, Ian, was among tens of thousands of people named in leaked documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca which showed how the world's rich and powerful are able to conceal wealth and avoid taxes..
In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesman for Cameron told Reuters that the prime minister, his wife and their children did not benefit from any offshore funds at present.
On Wednesday a spokesman for Cameron said: "There are no offshore funds or trusts which the prime minister, Mrs Cameron or their children will benefit from in future."
(Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru and James William in London; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Andrew Roche)
Cameron held stake in father's offshore trust
Reuters on April 8, 2016, 5:33 am
(Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged on Thursday he once had a stake in his late father's offshore trust, in an interview with ITV News.
Cameron said he had owned shares in the Panamanian trust, Blairmore, but had sold them in 2010, before becoming prime minister.
"We owned 5,000 units in Blairmore Investment Trust, which we sold in January 2010. That was worth something like £30,000", he told the television channel.
"I paid income tax on the dividends. There was a profit on it but it was less than the capital gains tax allowance so I didn't pay capital gains tax," he added.
Cameron's late father, Ian, was among tens of thousands of people named in leaked documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca which showed how the world's rich and powerful are able to conceal wealth and avoid taxes..
In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesman for Cameron told Reuters that the prime minister, his wife and their children did not benefit from any offshore funds at present.
On Wednesday a spokesman for Cameron said: "There are no offshore funds or trusts which the prime minister, Mrs Cameron or their children will benefit from in future."
(Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru and James William in London; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Andrew Roche)
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
Argentina president faces Panama Papers probe
AFP on April 8, 2016, 4:04 am
Putin denies Panama Papers claims of corruption in inner circle
Panama City (AFP) - Argentine President Mauricio Macri became the latest world leader caught in the storm of the so-called Panama Papers Thursday as prosecutors opened an investigation into his offshore financial dealings.
Macri, the leading symbol of a budding right-wing resurgence in Latin America, joins Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping in the tempest unleashed by the leak of millions of offshore financial documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
But unlike Putin and Xi, who are only connected to the revelations via their inner circles, Macri is listed on the board of directors of two offshore firms -- one registered in the Bahamas and the other in Panama.
Argentine federal prosecutor Federico Delgado said he had asked a judge to request information from the national tax authority and anti-corruption office to determine whether Macri "omitted, with malicious intent, to complete his sworn declaration" of assets, a requirement for Argentine public officials.
Macri did not list either company in his financial declarations when he became Buenos Aires mayor in 2007 or president last December.
The conservative leader, who vowed to fight corruption during his presidential campaign, denies wrongdoing and says the firms were legitimate operations set up by his father, a wealthy business magnate.
Putin for his part ridiculed the international media probe behind the revelations, deriding it as US-orchestrated and boasting that a year-long investigation had failed to find any mention of his name.
"They combed through these offshore accounts. Your humble servant is not there. What is there to talk about?" Putin said, referring to himself, at a televised forum held in Saint Petersburg.
He denied any "element of corruption" and warmly defended his friend, cellist Sergei Roldugin, whom the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) found had "secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies."
The ICIJ coordinated the investigation with more than 100 media groups around the world after the 11.5 million documents were obtained from an anonymous source by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
Putin lambasted the probe as a Washington conspiracy, pointing to a Twitter post by whistleblowing group WikiLeaks that said "US govt funded #PanamaPapers attack story on Putin via USAID."
- 'Dismayed' -
The leaks have put a host of world leaders, celebrities and sports stars in the hot seat and left Panama fighting to salvage its reputation.
Already, they have toppled Iceland's prime minister and led to a Swiss police raid on the headquarters of European football body UEFA.
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela fended off accusations that his country has allowed the rich and powerful to hide their funds from international tax authorities and the law, vowing to "confront whoever comes to put down Panama's image."
He called on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to "return to the table for dialogue," after the group sharply criticized lawlessness in the Panamanian finance sector, which accounts for seven percent of the Central American country's economy.
There was no immediate reaction to Varela's comment from the Paris-based, 34-nation OECD, which helps to coordinate the global fight against tax evasion.
The Panama Papers put the embattled world of football back in the spotlight, too.
On Wednesday, Swiss police searched UEFA's Geneva offices as part of a probe into a Champions League television rights deal signed by Gianni Infantino before he became the president of world football's governing body.
The Panama Papers purportedly showed that Infantino had signed TV rights contracts for Champions League tournaments in 2006 and 2007 with a company headed by two defendants later caught up in a corruption scandal.
Infantino, who was UEFA's legal director at the time he did the deals with Argentinian TV rights specialists Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, told AFP he was "dismayed" by the claims and denied any wrongdoing.
- Banks suffer -
The Panama Papers, which come from around 214,000 offshore entities and cover almost 40 years, claimed another scalp Wednesday when Uruguayan Juan Pedro Damiani resigned as a FIFA ethics judge after he was also named in the leaks.
FIFA, which is already reeling from a vast corruption scandal, thanked Damiani for stepping aside and "standing watch for the protection of FIFA and its ethics committee," in a letter signed by his former boss, Hans-Joachim Eckert, and seen by AFP.
In Iceland, former agriculture minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson was sworn in as premier after his predecessor, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, was forced out over allegations he hid millions of dollars of investments in the country's banks.
Though not illegal in themselves, offshore financial transactions may be used to hide assets from tax authorities, launder the proceeds of criminal activities or conceal misappropriated or politically inconvenient wealth.
Investigators around the world, including in Australia, the Netherlands, El Salvador and Costa Rica, have all announced probes following the leak. A judicial source said Spain had opened a money-laundering probe into the law firm.
Many of the world's top banks have also been named in the leaks, including HSBC, UBS, Credit Suisse and Societe Generale, as creating thousands of offshore companies.
European banking shares took a pounding Thursday after British and French regulators ordered lenders to come clean on any links to the scandal.
Argentina president faces Panama Papers probe
AFP on April 8, 2016, 4:04 am
Putin denies Panama Papers claims of corruption in inner circle
Panama City (AFP) - Argentine President Mauricio Macri became the latest world leader caught in the storm of the so-called Panama Papers Thursday as prosecutors opened an investigation into his offshore financial dealings.
Macri, the leading symbol of a budding right-wing resurgence in Latin America, joins Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping in the tempest unleashed by the leak of millions of offshore financial documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
But unlike Putin and Xi, who are only connected to the revelations via their inner circles, Macri is listed on the board of directors of two offshore firms -- one registered in the Bahamas and the other in Panama.
Argentine federal prosecutor Federico Delgado said he had asked a judge to request information from the national tax authority and anti-corruption office to determine whether Macri "omitted, with malicious intent, to complete his sworn declaration" of assets, a requirement for Argentine public officials.
Macri did not list either company in his financial declarations when he became Buenos Aires mayor in 2007 or president last December.
The conservative leader, who vowed to fight corruption during his presidential campaign, denies wrongdoing and says the firms were legitimate operations set up by his father, a wealthy business magnate.
Putin for his part ridiculed the international media probe behind the revelations, deriding it as US-orchestrated and boasting that a year-long investigation had failed to find any mention of his name.
"They combed through these offshore accounts. Your humble servant is not there. What is there to talk about?" Putin said, referring to himself, at a televised forum held in Saint Petersburg.
He denied any "element of corruption" and warmly defended his friend, cellist Sergei Roldugin, whom the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) found had "secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies."
The ICIJ coordinated the investigation with more than 100 media groups around the world after the 11.5 million documents were obtained from an anonymous source by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
Putin lambasted the probe as a Washington conspiracy, pointing to a Twitter post by whistleblowing group WikiLeaks that said "US govt funded #PanamaPapers attack story on Putin via USAID."
- 'Dismayed' -
The leaks have put a host of world leaders, celebrities and sports stars in the hot seat and left Panama fighting to salvage its reputation.
Already, they have toppled Iceland's prime minister and led to a Swiss police raid on the headquarters of European football body UEFA.
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela fended off accusations that his country has allowed the rich and powerful to hide their funds from international tax authorities and the law, vowing to "confront whoever comes to put down Panama's image."
He called on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to "return to the table for dialogue," after the group sharply criticized lawlessness in the Panamanian finance sector, which accounts for seven percent of the Central American country's economy.
There was no immediate reaction to Varela's comment from the Paris-based, 34-nation OECD, which helps to coordinate the global fight against tax evasion.
The Panama Papers put the embattled world of football back in the spotlight, too.
On Wednesday, Swiss police searched UEFA's Geneva offices as part of a probe into a Champions League television rights deal signed by Gianni Infantino before he became the president of world football's governing body.
The Panama Papers purportedly showed that Infantino had signed TV rights contracts for Champions League tournaments in 2006 and 2007 with a company headed by two defendants later caught up in a corruption scandal.
Infantino, who was UEFA's legal director at the time he did the deals with Argentinian TV rights specialists Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, told AFP he was "dismayed" by the claims and denied any wrongdoing.
- Banks suffer -
The Panama Papers, which come from around 214,000 offshore entities and cover almost 40 years, claimed another scalp Wednesday when Uruguayan Juan Pedro Damiani resigned as a FIFA ethics judge after he was also named in the leaks.
FIFA, which is already reeling from a vast corruption scandal, thanked Damiani for stepping aside and "standing watch for the protection of FIFA and its ethics committee," in a letter signed by his former boss, Hans-Joachim Eckert, and seen by AFP.
In Iceland, former agriculture minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson was sworn in as premier after his predecessor, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, was forced out over allegations he hid millions of dollars of investments in the country's banks.
Though not illegal in themselves, offshore financial transactions may be used to hide assets from tax authorities, launder the proceeds of criminal activities or conceal misappropriated or politically inconvenient wealth.
Investigators around the world, including in Australia, the Netherlands, El Salvador and Costa Rica, have all announced probes following the leak. A judicial source said Spain had opened a money-laundering probe into the law firm.
Many of the world's top banks have also been named in the leaks, including HSBC, UBS, Credit Suisse and Societe Generale, as creating thousands of offshore companies.
European banking shares took a pounding Thursday after British and French regulators ordered lenders to come clean on any links to the scandal.
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
German paper won't publish all Panama data
By Frank Jordans - AP on April 7, 2016, 10:12 pm
The German newspaper that first obtained the so-called Panama Papers, a vast trove of documents on offshore companies, says it won't publish all the files, arguing that not all are of public interest.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung received the documents from an unidentified source more than a year ago and shared at least parts of them with dozens of other media outlets around the world.
Since the first reports were published on Sunday, prominent politicians, celebrities and businesspeople have had their offshore business dealings dragged into the spotlight, prompting a flurry of public outrage, official investigations and fierce denials from some of those named.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the complete set of 11.5 million documents "won't be made available to the public or to law enforcement agencies. That's because the SZ isn't the extended arm of prosecutors or the tax investigators."
Authorities have legal powers to obtain such documents from those suspected of wrongdoing, and in many cases there's no public interest in revealing companies' or individuals' offshore business dealings, the Munich-based paper said on Thursday.
The documents relate to Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which helps create shell companies for the world's rich and famous. The firm said it has filed a criminal complaint alleging that the data was stolen in a hacking attack.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it didn't know how the anonymous source obtained the data, but that he or she had expressed "a very strong moral impulse" and wanted to make "these crimes public".
Panama's government on Wednesday accused wealthy nations of unfairly attacking the Central American country while ignoring their own failings.
President Juan Carlos Varela said an international committee of experts would be created to recommend ways to boost transparency in the Central American country's offshore financial industry. Experts say that while offshore companies can be used for tax evasion and money laundering, there are also legitimate and legal grounds for creating them.
German MPs said on Thursday they plan to hold an urgent debate on the offshore leaks next week.
"The revelations in the Panama Papers have triggered a broad discussion among politicians and the public about necessary consequences," said Christine Lambrecht, an MP for the Social Democratic Party that is part of Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition.
Responding to readers' queries about the absence of prominent German or American politicians in the reports, Sueddeutsche Zeitung said such names haven't yet been found in the documents.
It said the documents include copies of the passports of 200 Americans, and about 3500 shareholders in offshore companies listed addresses in the US.
"One possible reason why comparatively few Americans appear in the documents could be that US citizens have no reason to contact a law firm in Panama," the paper said.
"That's because offshore companies can easily be created in US states such as Wyoming, Delaware or Nevada."
German paper won't publish all Panama data
By Frank Jordans - AP on April 7, 2016, 10:12 pm
The German newspaper that first obtained the so-called Panama Papers, a vast trove of documents on offshore companies, says it won't publish all the files, arguing that not all are of public interest.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung received the documents from an unidentified source more than a year ago and shared at least parts of them with dozens of other media outlets around the world.
Since the first reports were published on Sunday, prominent politicians, celebrities and businesspeople have had their offshore business dealings dragged into the spotlight, prompting a flurry of public outrage, official investigations and fierce denials from some of those named.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the complete set of 11.5 million documents "won't be made available to the public or to law enforcement agencies. That's because the SZ isn't the extended arm of prosecutors or the tax investigators."
Authorities have legal powers to obtain such documents from those suspected of wrongdoing, and in many cases there's no public interest in revealing companies' or individuals' offshore business dealings, the Munich-based paper said on Thursday.
The documents relate to Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which helps create shell companies for the world's rich and famous. The firm said it has filed a criminal complaint alleging that the data was stolen in a hacking attack.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it didn't know how the anonymous source obtained the data, but that he or she had expressed "a very strong moral impulse" and wanted to make "these crimes public".
Panama's government on Wednesday accused wealthy nations of unfairly attacking the Central American country while ignoring their own failings.
President Juan Carlos Varela said an international committee of experts would be created to recommend ways to boost transparency in the Central American country's offshore financial industry. Experts say that while offshore companies can be used for tax evasion and money laundering, there are also legitimate and legal grounds for creating them.
German MPs said on Thursday they plan to hold an urgent debate on the offshore leaks next week.
"The revelations in the Panama Papers have triggered a broad discussion among politicians and the public about necessary consequences," said Christine Lambrecht, an MP for the Social Democratic Party that is part of Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition.
Responding to readers' queries about the absence of prominent German or American politicians in the reports, Sueddeutsche Zeitung said such names haven't yet been found in the documents.
It said the documents include copies of the passports of 200 Americans, and about 3500 shareholders in offshore companies listed addresses in the US.
"One possible reason why comparatively few Americans appear in the documents could be that US citizens have no reason to contact a law firm in Panama," the paper said.
"That's because offshore companies can easily be created in US states such as Wyoming, Delaware or Nevada."
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
Regulator to investigate Swiss banks’ connections to Panama Papers; 1MDB and Petrobras also in spotlight
PUBLISHED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 1:05pm
UPDATED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 1:05pm
Bloomberg
Switzerland’s financial regulator will investigate “suspicious” bank connections that have surfaced in “Panama Papers” leaks and is stepping up probes into the troubled Malaysian 1MDB fund and Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
“The leaked database from Panama is just the latest proof of how money flows like water through multiple jurisdictions, sometimes for legitimate purposes, sometimes not,” Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) director Mark Branson said at a news conference in Bern on Thursday.
A series of reports this week based on millions of documents leaked from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed how its lawyers, including a Geneva team, worked with Credit Suisse Group AG, UBS Group AG and other big banks to create numerous offshore shell companies for world leaders, athletes and other rich clients.
Finma will investigate the “suspicious” Swiss bank connections, Branson said, noting that this represents considerable work because of the sheer volume of information. The regulator had said on Monday it would “clarify” the extent to which Swiss banks may have used the services of Mossack Fonseca to determine if they broke any domestic banking rules.
Vast Sums
UBS said it ended its relationship with Mossack Fonseca in 2010. Credit Suisse Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said in an interview this week that his bank doesn’t engage in tax avoidance and only accepts offshore structures if they serve a legitimate purpose.
Two other international probes into alleged corruption have intensified in recent weeks. Finma is pursuing three enforcement cases against financial institutions in the Petrobras affair and four proceedings tied to allegations of bribery at 1Malaysia Development Bhd, Branson said.
“There is concrete evidence that the risk management and measures taken to fight money laundering were not sufficient,” Branson said. 1MDB directors offered to resign Thursday after a parliamentary committee probe found poor oversight of the fund.
Brazilian politicians are trying to impeach the country’s president Dilma Rousseff over allegations her campaign received illegal donations from a kickback scheme at state-run Petrobras. A quarter of Swiss banks questioned in connection with Petrobras may have violated rules to prevent money laundering, he said.
“The extent of the cases and the sums involved are vast,” in the Brazilian and Malaysian cases,” Branson said. “We are talking about cash flows amounting to several billion US dollars, with individual transactions running into hundreds of millions.”
Regulator to investigate Swiss banks’ connections to Panama Papers; 1MDB and Petrobras also in spotlight
PUBLISHED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 1:05pm
UPDATED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 1:05pm
Bloomberg
Switzerland’s financial regulator will investigate “suspicious” bank connections that have surfaced in “Panama Papers” leaks and is stepping up probes into the troubled Malaysian 1MDB fund and Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
“The leaked database from Panama is just the latest proof of how money flows like water through multiple jurisdictions, sometimes for legitimate purposes, sometimes not,” Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) director Mark Branson said at a news conference in Bern on Thursday.
A series of reports this week based on millions of documents leaked from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed how its lawyers, including a Geneva team, worked with Credit Suisse Group AG, UBS Group AG and other big banks to create numerous offshore shell companies for world leaders, athletes and other rich clients.
Finma will investigate the “suspicious” Swiss bank connections, Branson said, noting that this represents considerable work because of the sheer volume of information. The regulator had said on Monday it would “clarify” the extent to which Swiss banks may have used the services of Mossack Fonseca to determine if they broke any domestic banking rules.
Vast Sums
UBS said it ended its relationship with Mossack Fonseca in 2010. Credit Suisse Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said in an interview this week that his bank doesn’t engage in tax avoidance and only accepts offshore structures if they serve a legitimate purpose.
Two other international probes into alleged corruption have intensified in recent weeks. Finma is pursuing three enforcement cases against financial institutions in the Petrobras affair and four proceedings tied to allegations of bribery at 1Malaysia Development Bhd, Branson said.
“There is concrete evidence that the risk management and measures taken to fight money laundering were not sufficient,” Branson said. 1MDB directors offered to resign Thursday after a parliamentary committee probe found poor oversight of the fund.
Brazilian politicians are trying to impeach the country’s president Dilma Rousseff over allegations her campaign received illegal donations from a kickback scheme at state-run Petrobras. A quarter of Swiss banks questioned in connection with Petrobras may have violated rules to prevent money laundering, he said.
“The extent of the cases and the sums involved are vast,” in the Brazilian and Malaysian cases,” Branson said. “We are talking about cash flows amounting to several billion US dollars, with individual transactions running into hundreds of millions.”
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
Panama Papers: What next for Asia?
Karishma Vaswani Asia business correspondent
7 April 2016
Business
Tax has never been so sexy.
Chances are by now you know all the gory details - allegations in the Panama Papers that the super-rich and politically connected, and even some of their relatives, have moved hundreds of thousands of dollars from their own countries into offshore accounts in Panama, Hong Kong and Singapore, amongst other places.
A lot of the international spotlight has been centred on the practice of offshore banking.
Some of the biggest global offshore banking centres can be found in Asia - Singapore, Macao, Dubai and Hong Kong, for example, are amongst the top spots for the global super-rich looking to open an offshore account.
The practice in itself isn't illegal, but Asian capitals have been under pressure to share more information about who account holders are, and where the money comes from. So will the Panama Papers force more governments to become more transparent about tax?
There is often a thin line between tax avoidance and tax evasion. Getty Images
Unlikely, says Andy Xie, an independent economist based in China and Hong Kong.
"In Asia it's about how to hide your wealth that often hasn't been legitimately acquired," says Mr Xie. "Political power and ill-gotten wealth go hand in hand here.
"How are you going to convince people to close these doors?"
Evasion v. avoidance
Now let's be clear - setting up an offshore account or an offshore company is perfectly legal.
But here's where it gets complicated. There is a difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. And the devil is in the details.
Tax evasion, according to Paul Lau, tax partner with professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), is when "someone has income to report and then doesn't report it."
Singapore is one of a number of major financial centres in Asia. Getty Images
So if you have income in that offshore account, that you haven't declared to tax authorities back in your home country, and you are required to report that income to them - then that could be illegal.
But tax avoidance is something a bit more "nebulous", as Mr Lau puts it.
"Tax avoidance is taking advantage of certain tax provisions in a way that is not within the intent of the provision, to avoid paying tax."
So that means - if you've found a perfectly legal way to avoid paying taxes because of a provision in the tax system - well, then depending on the country, you may not be doing anything illegal at all.
Lots of hedges and provisos here, but that's sort of the point.
"The world is dotted with states and territories that make a speciality of providing services whose purpose is to facilitate ways to hide assets," says anti-corruption advocacy group Transparency International.
The so-called Panama Papers were leaked from law firm Mossack Fonseca. Getty Images
Activists say it is time for these countries to reform the secret world of finance they operate and become more transparent.
"The enablers - the accountants, the lawyers, the business formation people - they're all involved," says Transparency International's Casey Kelso.
"They are all getting a great deal of money as a percentage of these profits from these transactions."
'Serious view'
But reforming these offshore banking centres won't be easy. This sort of business attracts billions of dollars for offshore banking centres every year, and it's not just from individuals. Massive profit-making corporations often set up shop in these centres to pay less tax as well.
Google, Apple, Microsoft, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto - they're all household names - and all have admitted to being under audit by Australian tax authorities for using Singapore as a marketing and service hub.
They report hundreds of millions of dollars of income in Singapore, but pay lower tax on their money there than they would back in Australia, because of Singapore's lower tax rates.
The companies say they're not doing anything wrong, because Singapore is an important hub for them. But Australia says if money was earned from business done in Australia, tax should be paid there.
People have long sent money overseas to try to limit the taxes they have to pay. Getty Images
Both Singapore and Hong Kong have said they take a serious view of tax evasion and support international efforts to tackle cross-border transgressions.
The government here has been quick to point out its efforts to clamp down on any illegal activities.
"Singapore takes a serious view on tax evasion and will not tolerate its business and financial centre being used to facilitate tax related crimes," the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement.
Singapore's Ministry of Finance added: "We are reviewing the information being reported in connection with the so-called Panama Papers and are doing the necessary checks.
"If there is evidence of wrongdoing by any individual or entity in Singapore, we will not hesitate to take firm action."
In fact, many Asian countries have committed to exchange more tax information by 2018 as part of the Automatic Exchange of Information initiative set up by the OECD. Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia have all signed up.
So if you're an Australian and you open a bank account in Singapore, by 2018 in theory, your government could know about it.
But critics say there's no incentive for countries who depend on offshore banking to do this. In fact, their business depends on keeping things secret.
"The livelihoods of these offshore financial centres depend on giving their clients confidentiality," says Mr Xie. "Otherwise why would people hide their money there?"
In the end, it's all about who goes first. Countries want a level playing field, because if one offshore banking centre starts opening itself to greater scrutiny, there's a very good chance their wealthy customers will flee, running to the next most secret place to park their cash.
And as we all know, where there's demand, there will always be a ready supply.
Panama Papers: What next for Asia?
Karishma Vaswani Asia business correspondent
7 April 2016
Business
Tax has never been so sexy.
Chances are by now you know all the gory details - allegations in the Panama Papers that the super-rich and politically connected, and even some of their relatives, have moved hundreds of thousands of dollars from their own countries into offshore accounts in Panama, Hong Kong and Singapore, amongst other places.
A lot of the international spotlight has been centred on the practice of offshore banking.
Some of the biggest global offshore banking centres can be found in Asia - Singapore, Macao, Dubai and Hong Kong, for example, are amongst the top spots for the global super-rich looking to open an offshore account.
The practice in itself isn't illegal, but Asian capitals have been under pressure to share more information about who account holders are, and where the money comes from. So will the Panama Papers force more governments to become more transparent about tax?
There is often a thin line between tax avoidance and tax evasion. Getty Images
Unlikely, says Andy Xie, an independent economist based in China and Hong Kong.
"In Asia it's about how to hide your wealth that often hasn't been legitimately acquired," says Mr Xie. "Political power and ill-gotten wealth go hand in hand here.
"How are you going to convince people to close these doors?"
Evasion v. avoidance
Now let's be clear - setting up an offshore account or an offshore company is perfectly legal.
But here's where it gets complicated. There is a difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. And the devil is in the details.
Tax evasion, according to Paul Lau, tax partner with professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), is when "someone has income to report and then doesn't report it."
Singapore is one of a number of major financial centres in Asia. Getty Images
So if you have income in that offshore account, that you haven't declared to tax authorities back in your home country, and you are required to report that income to them - then that could be illegal.
But tax avoidance is something a bit more "nebulous", as Mr Lau puts it.
"Tax avoidance is taking advantage of certain tax provisions in a way that is not within the intent of the provision, to avoid paying tax."
So that means - if you've found a perfectly legal way to avoid paying taxes because of a provision in the tax system - well, then depending on the country, you may not be doing anything illegal at all.
Lots of hedges and provisos here, but that's sort of the point.
"The world is dotted with states and territories that make a speciality of providing services whose purpose is to facilitate ways to hide assets," says anti-corruption advocacy group Transparency International.
The so-called Panama Papers were leaked from law firm Mossack Fonseca. Getty Images
Activists say it is time for these countries to reform the secret world of finance they operate and become more transparent.
"The enablers - the accountants, the lawyers, the business formation people - they're all involved," says Transparency International's Casey Kelso.
"They are all getting a great deal of money as a percentage of these profits from these transactions."
'Serious view'
But reforming these offshore banking centres won't be easy. This sort of business attracts billions of dollars for offshore banking centres every year, and it's not just from individuals. Massive profit-making corporations often set up shop in these centres to pay less tax as well.
Google, Apple, Microsoft, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto - they're all household names - and all have admitted to being under audit by Australian tax authorities for using Singapore as a marketing and service hub.
They report hundreds of millions of dollars of income in Singapore, but pay lower tax on their money there than they would back in Australia, because of Singapore's lower tax rates.
The companies say they're not doing anything wrong, because Singapore is an important hub for them. But Australia says if money was earned from business done in Australia, tax should be paid there.
People have long sent money overseas to try to limit the taxes they have to pay. Getty Images
Both Singapore and Hong Kong have said they take a serious view of tax evasion and support international efforts to tackle cross-border transgressions.
The government here has been quick to point out its efforts to clamp down on any illegal activities.
"Singapore takes a serious view on tax evasion and will not tolerate its business and financial centre being used to facilitate tax related crimes," the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement.
Singapore's Ministry of Finance added: "We are reviewing the information being reported in connection with the so-called Panama Papers and are doing the necessary checks.
"If there is evidence of wrongdoing by any individual or entity in Singapore, we will not hesitate to take firm action."
In fact, many Asian countries have committed to exchange more tax information by 2018 as part of the Automatic Exchange of Information initiative set up by the OECD. Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia have all signed up.
So if you're an Australian and you open a bank account in Singapore, by 2018 in theory, your government could know about it.
But critics say there's no incentive for countries who depend on offshore banking to do this. In fact, their business depends on keeping things secret.
"The livelihoods of these offshore financial centres depend on giving their clients confidentiality," says Mr Xie. "Otherwise why would people hide their money there?"
In the end, it's all about who goes first. Countries want a level playing field, because if one offshore banking centre starts opening itself to greater scrutiny, there's a very good chance their wealthy customers will flee, running to the next most secret place to park their cash.
And as we all know, where there's demand, there will always be a ready supply.
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
Cameron offshore fund row: PM accused of 'hypocrisy'
1 hour ago
UK Politics
Labour has accused David Cameron of "hypocrisy" after he revealed he had owned shares in an offshore fund set up by his late father.
On Thursday, the PM said he sold the shares before he entered Number 10 in 2010 and had paid all UK taxes due on profits from the £30,000 sale.
He said the firm, Blairmore Holdings, had not been set up to avoid tax.
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said the PM had called people who invested in similar schemes "morally wrong".
Business Minister Nick Boles said "with the benefit of hindsight" it might have been better if the PM had revealed details of his shareholdings when the allegations first surfaced on Monday but he understood Mr Cameron's "natural human instinct to rally round his father".
The key point, he insisted, was that the prime minister had paid all the taxes expected of him.
'More answers'
There have been days of headlines about Blairmore Holdings - a fund for investors which until 2006 used "bearer shares" to protect its clients' privacy - following the leak of 11 million documents held by Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca.
They show that Mr Cameron's father, Ian, was one of five UK directors who flew to board meetings in the Bahamas or Switzerland.
Downing Street and Mr Cameron had issued four statements on whether Mr Cameron had any financial involvement with Blairmore Holdings before the PM told ITV News on Thursday about the shares he had owned.
Mr Watson said Mr Cameron could not be blamed for his father's actions but added: "He can for hypocrisy. He said that sunlight is the best disinfectant and wasn't entirely straight with the British people about what his own financial arrangements were.
"That wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't also been lecturing very prominent people about their own tax arrangements, some he called morally wrong for being invested in similar schemes."
What Cameron said when
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Owen Smith said there were now "doubts about the prime minister's trustworthiness", accusing him of "speaking out of both sides of his mouth" in recent days and calling on him to publish details of all his past investments.
And SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the prime minister had "big questions to answer", adding that tax avoidance regulations need "root and branch reform".
Ian Cameron was a director of Blairmore Holdings. Getty Images
But James Quarmby, a specialist in tax planning and wealth structuring at law firm Stephenson Harwood, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there was a "massive misunderstanding" about what Mr Cameron had invested in.
He said it was a hedge fund that was "about as boring as it gets for investments", adding that it would not be used for avoiding tax.
"It's no different from Mr Cameron investing in a UK stock," he said.
And Conservative MPs rallied round the prime minister. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he had "acted quite properly" while Mark Pritchard said the focus on his family was "very distasteful".
Mr Boles told BBC Breakfast that tax evasion was a "terrible thing" but no-one was suggesting the prime minister had not made all of the payments "he was required to make under UK law or that he has in any way used any of this to try to avoid tax".
"People have to pay tax," he said. "They have to pay tax on all income, from their work or from investments and I don't care where that investment is... that is what matters, that people pay the tax that is due. The prime minister has done so."
Analysis by deputy political editor James Landale
When a politician is under pressure, facing questions about their family and their finances, their natural instinct is to protect their privacy and say as little as possible. But when that pressure gets too great, there comes a moment when they have to go public and for David Cameron that moment came this evening/ last night.
In the long run, the prime minister will hope to achieve his aim of drawing a line under this story. Journalists and opposition MPs will naturally keep asking questions.
But there are unlikely to be more significant revelations than the fact that Mr Cameron did indeed benefit from an offshore trust, something that is legal but over which people have differing views. The problem for the prime minister is that the political imagery is not good. He is engaged in the political fight of his life, trying to convince the British people to vote to stay in the European Union.
And anything like this that distances Mr Cameron from the electorate, that reminds people of his wealthy and privileged background, well let's just say the timing is not great
Asked why it had taken four days for the prime minister to disclose the information, Mr Boles told Radio 4's Today he understood why Mr Cameron had not wanted to "intrude on his father's memory" at the start of the week and "feed" speculation about his business activities.
"I am sure with the benefit of hindsight he would rather all of what has come out over the last four days had come out on the first day.
"The instinct is one that we can all identify with even if it is something he might have done differently if given a second chance."
'Nothing to hide'
In his interview on Thursday, Mr Cameron told ITV News: "I don't have anything to hide. I'm proud of my dad and what he did and the business he established... I can't bear to see his name being dragged through the m&d."
Mr Cameron said much criticism was based on a "fundamental misconception" that Blairmore was set up to avoid tax.
"It wasn't. It was set up after exchange controls went, so that people who wanted to invest in dollar denominated shares and companies could do so, and there are many other, thousands of other unit trusts set up in this way," he said.
Downing Street said Mr and Mrs Cameron bought their holding in April 1997 for £12,497 and sold it in January 2010 for £31,500.
That year the personal allowance before capital gains tax was paid was £10,100 per person.
What are the Panama Papers?
A leak of 11.5 million documents has lifted the lid on how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.
The files were leaked from one of the world's most secretive companies, a Panamanian law firm called Mossack Fonseca.
Among the files are details about:
The scandal also touches football's world governing body, Fifa.
Mossack Fonseca says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and never been accused or charged with criminal wrong-doing.
Cameron offshore fund row: PM accused of 'hypocrisy'
1 hour ago
UK Politics
Labour has accused David Cameron of "hypocrisy" after he revealed he had owned shares in an offshore fund set up by his late father.
On Thursday, the PM said he sold the shares before he entered Number 10 in 2010 and had paid all UK taxes due on profits from the £30,000 sale.
He said the firm, Blairmore Holdings, had not been set up to avoid tax.
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said the PM had called people who invested in similar schemes "morally wrong".
Business Minister Nick Boles said "with the benefit of hindsight" it might have been better if the PM had revealed details of his shareholdings when the allegations first surfaced on Monday but he understood Mr Cameron's "natural human instinct to rally round his father".
The key point, he insisted, was that the prime minister had paid all the taxes expected of him.
'More answers'
There have been days of headlines about Blairmore Holdings - a fund for investors which until 2006 used "bearer shares" to protect its clients' privacy - following the leak of 11 million documents held by Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca.
They show that Mr Cameron's father, Ian, was one of five UK directors who flew to board meetings in the Bahamas or Switzerland.
Downing Street and Mr Cameron had issued four statements on whether Mr Cameron had any financial involvement with Blairmore Holdings before the PM told ITV News on Thursday about the shares he had owned.
Mr Watson said Mr Cameron could not be blamed for his father's actions but added: "He can for hypocrisy. He said that sunlight is the best disinfectant and wasn't entirely straight with the British people about what his own financial arrangements were.
"That wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't also been lecturing very prominent people about their own tax arrangements, some he called morally wrong for being invested in similar schemes."
What Cameron said when
- Asked on Monday whether she could confirm that no family money was still invested in the fund, Mr Cameron's spokeswoman said: "That is a private matter"
- Then in an interview on Tuesday, Mr Cameron said: " I have no shares, no offshore trusts, no offshore funds, nothing like that. And, so that, I think, is a very clear description"
- Downing Street issued a statement later that day: "To be clear, the prime minister, his wife and their children do not benefit from any offshore funds. The prime minister owns no shares. As has been previously reported, Mrs Cameron owns a small number of shares connected to her father's land, which she declares on her tax return"
- No 10 then released a further clarifying statement on Wednesday, saying: "There are no offshore funds/trusts which the prime minister, Mrs Cameron or their children will benefit from in future"
- On Thursday the PM told ITV News: "We owned 5,000 units in Blairmore Investment Trust, which we sold in January 2010"
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Owen Smith said there were now "doubts about the prime minister's trustworthiness", accusing him of "speaking out of both sides of his mouth" in recent days and calling on him to publish details of all his past investments.
And SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the prime minister had "big questions to answer", adding that tax avoidance regulations need "root and branch reform".
Ian Cameron was a director of Blairmore Holdings. Getty Images
But James Quarmby, a specialist in tax planning and wealth structuring at law firm Stephenson Harwood, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there was a "massive misunderstanding" about what Mr Cameron had invested in.
He said it was a hedge fund that was "about as boring as it gets for investments", adding that it would not be used for avoiding tax.
"It's no different from Mr Cameron investing in a UK stock," he said.
And Conservative MPs rallied round the prime minister. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he had "acted quite properly" while Mark Pritchard said the focus on his family was "very distasteful".
Mr Boles told BBC Breakfast that tax evasion was a "terrible thing" but no-one was suggesting the prime minister had not made all of the payments "he was required to make under UK law or that he has in any way used any of this to try to avoid tax".
"People have to pay tax," he said. "They have to pay tax on all income, from their work or from investments and I don't care where that investment is... that is what matters, that people pay the tax that is due. The prime minister has done so."
Analysis by deputy political editor James Landale
When a politician is under pressure, facing questions about their family and their finances, their natural instinct is to protect their privacy and say as little as possible. But when that pressure gets too great, there comes a moment when they have to go public and for David Cameron that moment came this evening/ last night.
In the long run, the prime minister will hope to achieve his aim of drawing a line under this story. Journalists and opposition MPs will naturally keep asking questions.
But there are unlikely to be more significant revelations than the fact that Mr Cameron did indeed benefit from an offshore trust, something that is legal but over which people have differing views. The problem for the prime minister is that the political imagery is not good. He is engaged in the political fight of his life, trying to convince the British people to vote to stay in the European Union.
And anything like this that distances Mr Cameron from the electorate, that reminds people of his wealthy and privileged background, well let's just say the timing is not great
Asked why it had taken four days for the prime minister to disclose the information, Mr Boles told Radio 4's Today he understood why Mr Cameron had not wanted to "intrude on his father's memory" at the start of the week and "feed" speculation about his business activities.
"I am sure with the benefit of hindsight he would rather all of what has come out over the last four days had come out on the first day.
"The instinct is one that we can all identify with even if it is something he might have done differently if given a second chance."
'Nothing to hide'
In his interview on Thursday, Mr Cameron told ITV News: "I don't have anything to hide. I'm proud of my dad and what he did and the business he established... I can't bear to see his name being dragged through the m&d."
Mr Cameron said much criticism was based on a "fundamental misconception" that Blairmore was set up to avoid tax.
"It wasn't. It was set up after exchange controls went, so that people who wanted to invest in dollar denominated shares and companies could do so, and there are many other, thousands of other unit trusts set up in this way," he said.
Downing Street said Mr and Mrs Cameron bought their holding in April 1997 for £12,497 and sold it in January 2010 for £31,500.
That year the personal allowance before capital gains tax was paid was £10,100 per person.
What are the Panama Papers?
A leak of 11.5 million documents has lifted the lid on how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.
The files were leaked from one of the world's most secretive companies, a Panamanian law firm called Mossack Fonseca.
Among the files are details about:
- The late father of UK Prime Minister David Cameron
- The brother-in-law of China's President Xi Jinping
- Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri
- Three of the four children of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
- The documents show that Iceland's Prime Minister, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, had an undeclared interest linked to his wife's wealth. He has now resigned
The scandal also touches football's world governing body, Fifa.
Mossack Fonseca says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and never been accused or charged with criminal wrong-doing.
Re: New Panama Papers leak exposes relatives of President Xi, Jackie Chan, Putin aide
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35991155
Panama Papers: Argentina President Macri to go before judge
3 hours ago
Latin America & Caribbean
Argentine President Mauricio Macri has pledged to assert his innocence when he appears before a federal prosecutor on Friday to explain his finances.
An investigation began on Thursday after it transpired Mr Macri was mentioned in the Panama Papers, leaked files of law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Mr Macri said he would file a judicial "declaration of certainty" so the court can see he is telling the truth.
In a televised address, he vowed to prove he had done nothing wrong.
According to local media reports, the president was listed as director of an offshore company in the Bahamas.
He said he wanted to co-operate fully with any inquiry.
"I know there are some people concerned about these allegations in the Panama Papers that have come out and involve me," he said.
"I want to say one more time that I am very calm, I have complied with the law, I have told the truth and I have nothing to hide."
Protest have been held in Buenos Aires calling for the president to resign. AP
President Macri - a US-educated businessman - has made it a priority to mend relations with foreign powers. Reuters
Mr Macri said that he had made clear in his initial declaration that he did not have any shares and did not receive any payment for acting as a director of offshore companies.
His office has insisted that he had no shares in the company in question and never received any income from it.
Argentina's national tax authority and anti-corruption office will be asked to provide information to the inquiry.
Prosecutor Federico Delgado said he wanted to determine if Mr Macri had "omitted, with malicious intent" mentioning his reported role in the Bahamas-registered offshore company Fleg Trading.
La Nacion, one of the newspapers examining some of the leaked documents, reported that Mr Macri was listed as a director of Fleg Trading from 1998 until 2009.
Mr Macri did not list the company in his 2007 financial declaration, when he became mayor of Buenos Aires, or in his 2015 declaration when he became president.
On Tuesday, Mr Macri's office confirmed that a business group owned by the president's family had set up an offshore company through the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal.
But his office argued that because he had never received any income from it there had been no reason to mention it in the financial declarations.
Mr Macri campaigned on a promise to combat corruption.
Leaks continue to make waves
Meanwhile, Panama's vice-president and foreign minister, Isabel De Saint Malo, has defended her country, saying it had been unfairly singled out.
Speaking to the BBC, she said: "This publication has information on many jurisdictions, over twenty-one jurisdictions where banks are based - and not one bank is based in Panama...So this has made Panama in a wrong and bad way the focus of attention in the world."
Elsewhere:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35991155
Panama Papers: Argentina President Macri to go before judge
3 hours ago
Latin America & Caribbean
Argentine President Mauricio Macri has pledged to assert his innocence when he appears before a federal prosecutor on Friday to explain his finances.
An investigation began on Thursday after it transpired Mr Macri was mentioned in the Panama Papers, leaked files of law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Mr Macri said he would file a judicial "declaration of certainty" so the court can see he is telling the truth.
In a televised address, he vowed to prove he had done nothing wrong.
According to local media reports, the president was listed as director of an offshore company in the Bahamas.
He said he wanted to co-operate fully with any inquiry.
"I know there are some people concerned about these allegations in the Panama Papers that have come out and involve me," he said.
"I want to say one more time that I am very calm, I have complied with the law, I have told the truth and I have nothing to hide."
Protest have been held in Buenos Aires calling for the president to resign. AP
President Macri - a US-educated businessman - has made it a priority to mend relations with foreign powers. Reuters
Mr Macri said that he had made clear in his initial declaration that he did not have any shares and did not receive any payment for acting as a director of offshore companies.
His office has insisted that he had no shares in the company in question and never received any income from it.
Argentina's national tax authority and anti-corruption office will be asked to provide information to the inquiry.
Prosecutor Federico Delgado said he wanted to determine if Mr Macri had "omitted, with malicious intent" mentioning his reported role in the Bahamas-registered offshore company Fleg Trading.
La Nacion, one of the newspapers examining some of the leaked documents, reported that Mr Macri was listed as a director of Fleg Trading from 1998 until 2009.
Mr Macri did not list the company in his 2007 financial declaration, when he became mayor of Buenos Aires, or in his 2015 declaration when he became president.
On Tuesday, Mr Macri's office confirmed that a business group owned by the president's family had set up an offshore company through the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal.
But his office argued that because he had never received any income from it there had been no reason to mention it in the financial declarations.
Mr Macri campaigned on a promise to combat corruption.
Leaks continue to make waves
Meanwhile, Panama's vice-president and foreign minister, Isabel De Saint Malo, has defended her country, saying it had been unfairly singled out.
Speaking to the BBC, she said: "This publication has information on many jurisdictions, over twenty-one jurisdictions where banks are based - and not one bank is based in Panama...So this has made Panama in a wrong and bad way the focus of attention in the world."
Elsewhere:
- UK Prime Minister David Cameron is accused of "hypocrisy" by the opposition Labour Party after he said he had owned shares in an offshore fund set up by his late father
- Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office says it is investigating 16 people, including current and former politicians and well-known business people, whose names appeared in the papers
- Russian President Vladimir Putin denies having any links to offshore accounts, despite not being named directly in the papers, and claimed the leak was part of a US-led plot to weaken Russia
- A number of Congo-Brazzaville officials close to the country's president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, are linked to offshore firms trading in Congolese oil, France's Le Monde reports
