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The OECD and offshore financial centres: rearguard action against globalisation?

With publication of Harmful Tax Competition: An Emerging Global Issue the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) initiated a campaign to eliminate income tax competition. The OECD characterised income tax rate competition between states as ‘harmful’. The advancement of communication technologies has broadened and deepened opportunities for citizens to utilise this gap within international relations to avoid taxes. Using technological features of globalisation to avoid tax, it is suggested these citizens are engaged in civil disobedience against income redistribution. Thus the action of the OECD is as much an action against globalisation as are street protests against World Trade Organisation (WTO) meetings. The argument here introduces the concept of harmful tax competition and describes the nature of the offshore financial centre. This is followed by a discussion exploring the interplay of taxation, technology, and the myriad small ways citizens avoid paying tax. The conclusion finds that the OECD is attempting to interdict opportunities to avoid taxation that are offered by the globalisation of financial services.