Leaked Documents Reveal Significant Tax Avoidance Schemes in Luxembourg

By Sam Willie

The Irish Times covers leaked documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which revealed that as many as 340 corporations had channeled hundreds of billions of dollars through Luxembourg as part of an alleged tax avoidance scheme. The leaked documents related to deals negotiated by the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), on behalf of clients like AIG, Amazon, Coach, FedEx, Ikea and Pepsi. This leak comes at a time when global tax avoidance schemes have come under increasing scrutiny from U.S. and European regulators. It is thought that the information contained in the leak is the tip of the iceberg, and that the total amount of money sent through Luxembourg as part of these tax agreements will undoubtedly grow once tax deals arranged through other accounting firms are revealed.