The Emergence of the Swiss Tax Haven, 1816–1914

Bibliographic Data

ID9628256
AuthorsSébastien Guex (corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume96
Issue2
Pages353-372
Publication date2022-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Business History Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-6805 • E-ISSN: 2044-768X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0007680520000914
OpenAlexW3173131536
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited8

There is general consensus that tax havens have long played a major role in the evolution of the capitalist system on a global scale. There is also no doubt that Switzerland is one of the first, if not the first, tax haven to have emerged, as well as one of the most important in the world. However, knowledge and understanding of the history, particularly the distant past, of tax havens remains lacking, despite the considerable volume of literature devoted to them. Therefore, this article attempts to make two innovative contributions. The first is an attempt to explain the emergence of the Swiss tax haven, by analyzing the processes and factors whose intertwining led to its emergence. It thus improves the general understanding of the genesis of tax havens at an international level. The second contribution is to show that already on the eve of World War I, the Swiss Confederation possessed the necessary characteristics for a tax haven

Double taxation · Economics · Haven · International economics · International taxation · Political economy · Political science · Public economics · Safe haven · Tax avoidance · Tax competition · Tax haven · Tax reform · Corporate Taxation and Avoidance

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