BANGKOK: Thailand's wealthiest are using offshore tax havens to avoid paying taxes in the country, a new report has revealed, citing millions of emails and records having been leaked exposing such practices. Among those using the tax havens are the family of the president of Azerbaijan and French President Francois Hollande's one-time campaign treasurer, the Guardian and Le Monde newspapers reported on Thursday. The investigation into offshore accounts has been carried out by a variety of media organisations in conjunction with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The ICIJ files also revealed details of foreign bank accounts of more than 600 Thais. But none of the accounts revealed were of current government members or prominent figures. The report also suggested that Thailand's wealthiest are getting involved in order to make money on the accounts and not be forced to report back to the government. In essence, they are using the offshore loopholes to get rich and keep the Thai government in the dark, said one economist, who asked not to be named when he spoke with Bikyanews.com as he has assisted his clients in doing just that. “We are still looking into ways to ensure that the wealthiest in this country are not forced to pay what they believe is their own earnings,” he said. “While the government should have a right to some of the dividends and earnings to be taxed, until they close these loopholes, it is all being done in a legal manner.” BN
