According to a new study, many European banks make a significant part of their profits in tax havens. The European Observatory for Tax Policy found in a study of 36 large financial institutions that they post an average of 20 billion euros in profit per year in tax havens. According to the study, this corresponds to 14 percent of total profits before taxes. There are indications that institutes such as Deutsche Bank or Commerzbank are moving funds to tax havens in order to pay less taxes, according to the researchers. They classified 17 areas such as the Bahamas, but also EU countries such as Ireland, Malta and Luxembourg as oases because of their low tax rates.
The European Observatory on Tax Policy is co-financed by the EU and is located at the École d’Économie de Paris.