Heisenberg wrote:I find it hilarious that people still pretend to be shocked that the rich keep their money in offshore accounts. It amazes me that it is even considered news, since finding a list of Cayman-domiciled hedge funds doesn't really require that much effort.
And, I'd find it much easier to take whiners like @Atlantis seriously if they weren't also rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of the financial services industry moving to Frankfurt post-Brexit. You do realise that hedge funds, securitisations and the like are deliberately structured to be "tax efficient" whether they're launched in Britain or Germany, right? All it'll mean is that post-2019, you'll have to froth at the mouth over Irish- or Luxembourg-domiciled vehicles rather than Cayman funds. 
(Of course, this won't happen because you are motivated purely by anti-British spite, rather than anything resembling a principle)
Financial services are necessary for every economy, however, tax havens, tax avoidance schemes, high risk speculation, etc., are neither beneficial for society, nor are they necessary for a functioning economy.
There is nothing wrong with wanting EU financial services to be based in the EU. Firstly, because profit margins are typically higher in the financial industry than in manufacturing and there is no reason why the UK should profit from the single market without contributing to it. Secondly, for the majority of Euro clearing to be based outside the control of EU regulatory authorities in a potentially hostile environment is totally out off the question. London wouldn't allow the pound to come under the control of Russia, for example.
Almost 90% of the world's tax havens and black money is related to the UK. They used to serve to rob 3rd world countries by providing a safe haven for the corrupt political and business elite of poor countries. The money doesn't actually stay in the tax havens. Since the majority of shell companies are managed via the City, that money is also reinvested via the City and thus provides an important economic benefit to the UK and to yourself.
Your pointing of fingers at others who want to profit like your bankers, because it is you people who control international finances, or at the EU, which has been unable to crack down on tax havens because they are protected by Westminster, is particularly perfidious.
For liberals or leftists to belittle the negative effects of tax avoidance and tax havens is totally disgusting. Tax avoidance hits the poorest countries the hardest, where it makes a functioning state impossible. But it even hits poor people in rich countries, because those who amass their riches by exploiting the infrastructure don't pay their fair share for maintaining that infrastructure. It is one of the greatest curses of our times and a principal reason for inequality.
The Brexit process is particularly instructive because it shows all the lies, one by one, your media have concocted about the EU for decades. This is going to drag on for years, and I'm going to enjoy every bit of it as the imperialists are cut down to size.
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