If you have been paying attention to the news in the last few weeks you have probably heard about the recent leak of the Pandora Papers. If you’re like any regular person, you’re probably wondering what they are, and why they’re important. Why are there journalists scrambling to write stories about them? How does this affect everyone else?

The simplest way to describe them are leaked documents of how the world’s wealthiest people have been using their money. Or how they have been hiding their money offshore in order to avoid taxes. This includes dozens of world leaders from around the world, and these documents range from bank statements and passports to emails even. These papers have been leaked by the international consortium of investigative journalists, and this has been one of the biggest projects with several journalists working to uncover as much as they can.

These people have been hiding their money in places called tax havens. For those who do not know, a tax haven allows people in companies to pay a lower rate of taxes than they would in their native countries. So basically, a tax haven is any country that offers people and businesses lower rates of tax than their nation does. Tax havens are legal, but are often used for illegal reasons, or by criminals of organized crime. Some of the most well-known tax heaven countries include Belize and the UK Virgin Islands.

There are even tax havens in America that other countries frequently use. One of the most popular ones is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. About 100 billion dollars in trusts are held there, many of the customers being people accused of human rights violations, bribery and other things of that caliber. Another way people in other countries will move their money around is to buy properties in the U.S. or in other countries as well.

It is estimated that the worlds wealthiest have about 32 trillion dollars hidden away in these tax havens. This is money that they have saved from paying less taxes. This is money that could have gone back into the government to help their citizens. This is money that has been moved for years, and there is no sign of it stopping anytime soon.

Article by Sophia Meek