Paul L. Caron
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Monday, January 30, 2017

Oei Presents The Law of the Leak Today At Washington & Lee

OeiShu-Yi Oei (Tulane; moving to Boston College) presents The Law of the Leak (with Diane Ring (Boston College)) at Washington & Lee today as part of its Faculty Workshop Series hosted by Michelle Drumbl:

Over the past decade, a number of well-publicized data leaks concerning the secret offshore holdings of high-net-worth individuals and multinational taxpayers have reverberated through tax circles worldwide, leading to a sea change in cross-border tax enforcement. Spurred by leaked data, tax authorities have prosecuted offshore tax cheats, attempted to recoup lost revenues, enacted new laws, and signed international agreements that promote “sunshine” and exchange of financial information between countries.

The conventional wisdom is that data leaks enable tax authorities to detect and punish offshore tax evasion more effectively, and that leaks are therefore socially beneficial from an economic welfare perspective. This Article argues, however, that the conventional wisdom is too simplistic.

In certain circumstances, leak-driven lawmaking may in fact produce negative social welfare outcomes. Agenda-setting behaviors of leakers and media organizations, inefficiencies in data transmission, suboptimally designed legislation, and unanticipated behavioral responses by enforcement-elastic taxpayers are all factors that may reduce social welfare in the aftermath of a tax leak. This Article examines the potential welfare outcomes of leak-driven lawmaking and identifies predictable drivers that may affect those outcomes. It provides suggestions and cautions for making tax law, after a leak, in order to best tap into the benefits of leaks while managing their pitfalls.

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2017/01/oei-presents-the-law-of-the-leak-today-at-washington-lee.html

Colloquia, Scholarship, Tax | Permalink

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