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Offshore: The Dark Side of the Global Economy [Paperback]

William Brittain-Catlin (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Book Description

0312425589 978-0312425586 June 13, 2006 First Edition
An unknown realm to many investors, offshore finance allows giant corporations--such as Wal-Mart, British Petroleum, and Citigroup--to legally keep huge profits out of sight of regulators and the public.
 
William Brittain-Catlin tells the story of how tax havens in the Caribbean and elsewhere have become central to global finance today. He takes us through the secret networks of Enron and Parmalat, behind international trade disputes, and into organized crime and terror. This book gives disquieting evidence that, as a result of offshore practices, the key value of capitalism and civilization alike--freedom--is being put in grave danger.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this ambitious meditation on the soul of capitalism, "offshore" means places like the Cayman Islands, where shadowy holding companies process vast sums of money on behalf of corporate behemoths eager to evade taxes and government scrutiny. But it's also an almost metaphysical realm where finance capital seeks to detach itself entirely from economic and social realities in the "onshore" world, but finds itself inevitably undone by that very impulse, à la Enron. Brittain-Catlin, a BBC producer and corporate investigator, blends muckraking exposé with dense philosophical rumination in a way that suggests what Hannah Arendt might have accomplished as a business reporter. He delves into the details of epic malfeasances, such as the byzantine scams Enron concocted with its 692 Cayman Island subsidiaries and partnerships, and interprets these frauds in light of Kant's views on the necessity of individual moral autonomy and Walter Benjamin's dissection of the role of secrecy in the bourgeois psyche. Unfortunately, his explanations often fall just short of really clarifying the murky financial shenanigans he investigates, crowded as they are by his grand but ill-digested musings on capitalism, the state and human nature. His promising critique of the global economy would have been more effective had he simply followed the money. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Cogent, graceful, and persuasive."--Kai Maristed, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Brittain-Catlin shows real narrative skill."--San Francisco Chronicle

"Fabulously researched . . . His exposé of shady corporate-accounting techniques is so spot-on it will probably make readers furious. . . . A clear primer for anyone interested in how offshore banking works. . . . Ample advice that we need tax reform now."--John Freeman, Time Out New York

"A glimpse inside the secretive world of offshore banking [that] ought to raise hackles among those who wonder why the world belongs to the wealthy."--Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Picador; First Edition edition (June 13, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312425589
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312425586
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,410,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Some Good Information, but Too Long and Divergent, December 26, 2005
Brittain-Catlin begins by observing that the Cayman Islands are the 5th largest banking center in the world, with over $700 billion in assets.

These assets, however, are largely not physically held on the island - simply notations in accounting books for the purposes of reducing or eliminating taxes. Corporations taking advantage of this include GM, ExxonMobil, Ford, IBM, Wal-Mart, G.E. (reduced its 27% '99 tax rate to 16% in '03), Citigroup (saved $778 million in '03 taxes), Apple, Enron, Halliburton, Tyco, Global Crossing, Long Term Capital Management, Global Crossing, and Enron.

"Transfer-pricing" manipulation is the main tax-avoidance mechanism afforded by offshoring. This involves corporations maximizing overseas production profits in a non-taxable offshore subsidiary.

Unfortunately, Brittain-Catlin seeming dwells forever on his basic facts, and even spends considerable time exploring the philosophy of Kant. (I tried reading Kant long ago - Brittain-Catlin's version was no more interesting.)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Subject, Frustratingly Boring Presentation, February 7, 2009
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dschwabe "David" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Offshore: The Dark Side of the Global Economy (Paperback)
Several years ago I saw Mr. Brittain-Catlin on Charlie Rose and was intrigued enough with the interview to buy his book.

I have to assume that he has presented a factual depiction of how offshore banking works, the extent of it use, and its ramification in the the global economy.

However, his presentation was so wordy, scattered, and often times boring that I found it sheer drudgery to read. I cannot believe it was edited very carefully.

One well written part of the book is his description of how Enron used offshore accounts to hide its losses. Very informative.

It's a shame this book isn't better written and edited. Offshore banking is a compelling subject.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Prescient, January 20, 2009
This review is from: Offshore: The Dark Side of the Global Economy (Paperback)
Published in 2005, William Brittain-Catlin nevertheless had the foresight to challenge the received wisdom of his day: 'In both the neoliberal and reformist positions there is a strong element of naive idealism: in the former that a world of unrestrained economic liberalism would not bring about such catastrophe that the state would need to step in and sort out the mess'. Although we are indeed living in such a time, this is still an excellent analysis of how we got to where we are, mixing case studies, history and philosophy in a highly intelligent way
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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
From the public beach off West Bay Road, you can see George Town, the capital, due south down the shoreline. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
offshore freedom, offshore capitalism, offshore network, onshore advantage, onshore control, onshore world, offshore interior, offshore world, secret realm, offshore corporation, offshore tax havens, offshore entities
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, George Town, Euro Bank, Cayman Islands, Swap Sub, New York, United Kingdom, Wall Street, Bank of America, Federal Reserve, Grand Cayman, West Bay Road, Bill Walker, Castle Bank, Henry Harford, London Plan, Saudi Arabia, Latin America, Middle East, Netherlands Antilles, New Britain, Royal Bank, Tony Blair, European Union, Lakshmi Mittal
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