Leiden University Student Repository

Dekhkankhodjaeva, Makhbuba (2021)

Trouble in Paradise: Analysing Tax Avoidance in Tax Haven Jurisdictions

Master thesis | International Relations (MA)

Corporate tax avoidance is an aspect of tax haven activity that is under significant scrutiny by the international community. This lies in the belief that corporations should pay their fair share, and that tax competition serves to lower overall corporate taxation. The narrative in host countries is often within the realm of job creation and economic performance, which this thesis seeks to look into and explore. Does the host country of capital flight and profit shifting actually benefit on a socioeconomic basis or are they merely being affected by the financial curse? This study seeks to explore these concepts by applying them to two tax competitive jurisdictions in the EU, Malta and Ireland, in order to explore the validity of the aforementioned political rhetoric or whether the two countries are experiencing wealth inequality due to the influx of FDI via competitive taxation.

welfare inequality

tax havens

corporate tax avoidance

foreign direct investment

tax competition

Malta

Ireland

finance curse

Author

Dekhkankhodjaeva, Makhbuba

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Global Political Economy

Supervisors

Natermann, D.M.S.M.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en