[theRealMe]

You might not like it, but the Caymans are absolutely known as a tax haven. You can’t really be arguing that people stash money in the Caymans “because of the transparency”…

“The Cayman Islands are considered a tax haven because the Caymans do not impose a corporate tax, making it an ideal place for multinational corporations to base subsidiary entities to shield some or all of their incomes from taxation. The Cayman Islands do not impose taxes on residents. They have no income tax, no property taxes, no capital gains taxes, no payroll taxes, and no withholding tax.”

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/100215/why-cayman-i....

[DelaneyM]

By the way, Cayman has pretty substantial taxes. We operate a thriving country with no national debt and a great social safety net.

We just charge them differently. There’s an effective 22% consumption tax (with carve-outs for basics), levied on all imports and increased on luxuries. We have 7% taxes on all property transfers (for both income and to minimize house flipping). We have a ton of fees on any government interaction which aligns regulatory burdens with income.

[refurb]

I think you two are using different definitions of "tax haven".

You're using it (and your source) as "low or minimal taxes" are levied against corporations and people in the Cayman islands.

The grandfather's definition is "a great place to hide your money so you don't have to pay the taxes you're supposed to pay".

I would normally define "tax haven" as the second.

[theRealMe]

Entities DO hide their money in tax havens to avoid paying taxes. They avoid paying taxes BECAUSE tax havens have low or no taxes. Those two definitions are defining two ends to the same thing. The caymans have low or minimal taxes. The caymans are also used by entities to hide their money so they don’t have to pay taxes. Entities are not incorporating in the Caymans for any reason other than avoiding taxes. And the actual definition of a tax haven specifically is “a country or independent area where taxes are levied at a low rate.”