If you are interested in inequality, global justice, and the future of democracy, then you should definitely read this book. Gabriel Zucman's The Hidden Wealth of Nations is perhaps the best book ever written on tax havens and what we can do about them. It achieves three goals in an effective and concise manner. It provides a fascinating history of tax havens, then offers the most comprehensive and accurate quantitative assessment to date of the global financial importance of tax havens in today's world economy. Finally, and most importantly, it proposes a precise and realistic course of action for change, based essentially on the creation of a global register of financial wealth that records “who owns what” in terms of stocks, bonds, and other financial assets. It proposes a precise and realistic course of action for change, based essentially on the creation of a global register of financial wealth that records “who owns what” in terms of shares, stocks, and bonds.
But what makes the book so important is that it does not merely address abstract principles and dangerous threats, but broadens its scope to include data and solutions, with Zukman providing one of the most credible estimates of the global weight of tax havens to date.
