Taxation logo taxation mission text

Since 1927 the leading authority on tax law, practice and administration

Pandora Papers – law vs morality

11 January 2022 / John Gould
Issue: 4823 / Categories: Comment & Analysis
Toe the line

Key points

  • The Pandora Papers leak purports to expose a ‘shadow financial system that benefits the world’s most rich and powerful’.
  • A Chatham House report argues that British professionals enable post-Soviet elites to launder their money and their reputations.
  • These reports argue that professionals know or ought to suspect that their clients are disreputable and should refuse to work for them.
  • Advisers who act like the three wise monkeys are falling below the professional standards and may be breaking the law.

Once it was thought that there was no moral dimension to giving tax advice. The assumption was that everyone was justified in arranging their affairs to pay as little tax as possible. There was no suggestion that advising how best that could be done might be culpable or immoral. The test to be applied was legality not whether people might consider avoiding tax to amount to sharp practice or...

If you or your firm subscribes to Taxation.co.uk, please click the login box below:

If you are not a subscriber but are a registered user or have a free trial, please enter your details in the following boxes:

Alternatively, you can register free of charge to read a limited amount of subscriber content per month.
Once you have registered, you will receive an email directing you back to read this item in full.

Please reach out to customer services at +44 (0) 330 161 1234 or 'customer.services@lexisnexis.co.uk' for further assistance.

back to top icon