the problem
every second, a nurse’s yearly salary is lost to a tax haven.
Over the course of a year, our governments will lose about half a trillion dollars to tax havens – that’s public money that could have gone to hospitals, schools and a better future for billions of people.
Which tax havens are most responsible for this loss and what can we do about them? That’s what the Corporate Tax Haven Index is designed to answer.
Most people think of tax havens as small, palm-fringed islands. But the Corporate Tax Haven Index shows that the most harmful tax havens are some of the world’s biggest economies and the dependent territories that fall under their control. In fact, all countries enable global tax abuse to a different degree, so all countries have a responsibility to strengthen their laws against it and can benefit from the Corporate Tax Haven Index with that.
the how
index methodology
We regularly update the Corporate Tax Haven Index’s methodology to address the evolving nature of global tax abuse practices, similar to how a firewall is regularly updated to protect against newly exposed vulnerabilities.
how the index ranks countries
The Corporate Tax Haven Index thoroughly evaluates jurisdictions laws, and monitors the volume of corporate financial activity entering and exiting jurisdictions, to create a clear picture of the world’s biggest enablers of global corporate tax abuse.
Haven Score
Measures how much room for corporate tax abuse the jurisdiction’s laws and regulations provide, whether intentionally or not. Scores range from 0 (no room for tax abuse) to 100 (unlimited room for tax abuse). Evaluated against more than 70 questions which are organised into 18 indicators.
11
Low score = the jurisdiction’s laws allow little room for corporate tax abuse.
93
High score = the jurisdiction’s laws allow a lot of room for corporate tax abuse.
Global Scale Weight
Measures how much of the financial activity conducted by multinational corporations around the world enters or exits the jurisdiction. Based on IMF data on foreign direct investments.
1.2%
1.2% of the financial activity conducted by multinational corporations around the world entered or exited the jurisdiction.
Corporate Tax Haven Index Value (CTHI Value)
Combines Haven Score and Global Scale Weight to determine how big of a role the jurisdiction plays in enabling global corporate tax abuse. Jurisdictions are ranked on the index based on this value.
109
Low value = low enabler of global corporate tax abuse.
1478
High value = big enabler of global corporate tax abuse.
Corporate Tax Haven Index Share (CTHI Share)
Measures how much of all the global corporate tax abuse enabled around the world the jurisdiction is responsible for enabling. Calculated by dividing the jurisdiction's CTHI Value by the sum of all jurisdictions' CTHI Values.
1.6%
Enables 1.6% of global corporate tax abuse.
how we update our data
We regularly update the Corporate Tax Haven Index on a rolling basis. We evaluate countries’ laws and regulations against more than 70 questions, which we organise into 18 indicators. We update a few indicators at a time, every few months, making our way through all the indicators in batches over the course of our update cycle. Any regulatory changes brought to our attention pertaining to indicators that are not queued for the next update in our cycle are published ahead of cycle as part of the next update. These changes are published as “supplementary updates” alongside our queued “indicator updates”. This flexibility allows us to capture change on the Corporate Tax Haven Index without having to wait for our update cycle to reach the affected indicator. Countries’ Haven Scores - which are based on the 18 indicators - are updated every time we publish indicator and supplementary updates. Alongside the indicators, we update countries’ Global Scale Weights once a year, which are calculated into countries’ rankings. Prior to 2024, the Corporate Tax Haven Index was updated once every two years. All the indicators were updated together at the same time as part of each biennial update to the index. The new rolling basis allows us to capture changes more closely to when they occur and to offer a more dynamic view of countries’ roles in global tax abuse. We regularly share our evaluations with every country on the Corporate Tax Haven Index, inviting every country to check our assessments and query any discrepancies. If a country provides sufficient evidence to alter an evaluation we made, we update the evaluation to reflect the evidence.
the full picture
Corporate Tax Haven Index vs Financial Secrecy Index
Two-thirds of the global tax abuse that takes place every year is generally committed by multinational corporations moving their profits offshore. The rest is done by individuals hiding their finances offshore. The Tax Justice Network runs two indexes to monitor these two sides of global tax abuse.
corporate tax havens
Corporate Tax Haven Index
Identifies countries most responsible for helping multinational move their profits offshore.
Secrecy jurisdictions
Financial Secrecy Index
Identifies countries most responsible for helping individuals hide their finances offshore.
Index citations
Data in action
The Corporate Tax Haven Index is used by governments, international bodies, journalists, academics and campaigners to understand and tackle global corporate tax abuse.
European Parliament
Referenced in European Parliament resolution of 21 January 2021 on reforming the EU list of tax havens.
Go to source
UN Human Rights Council
Referenced in a report commissioned by the Human Right Council on the impact of fiscal policy on human rights.
Go to source
Argentina Anti-Corruption Bureau
Referenced in a study by Argentina's Anti-Corruption Bureau (Oficina Anticorrupción) on tax havens and their impact on Argentina.
Go to source
ABOUT
The Tax Justice Network believes our tax and financial systems are our most powerful tools for creating a just society that gives equal weight to the needs of everyone. Every day, we inspire and equip people and governments everywhere to reprogramme their tax systems to work for everyone.
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