Pandora Papers expose US tax havens, Facebook promotes the 'metaverse' and topical Halloween costumes
October 2021
Hello!👋
Does anyone else find it crazy that we’re in the final ten weeks of 2021?!
As always, please feel free to get in touch with your thoughts and story suggestions.
UNLIKELY TAX HAVENS
South Dakota, Wyoming and Nevada probably don’t spring to mind when you consider global destinations for wealth. However, these US states attract billions of dollars thanks to lucrative tax haven policies.
This reality has been common knowledge among clever accountants and their elite clients for many years now, but the release of the Pandora Papers in October cast light on the incredible volume of foreign assets flowing into the United States.
According to the investigation of the offshore financial system, there are a number of US-based trusts and shell companies linked to people or firms accused of fraud, bribery or human rights abuses.
[To recap: A trust is a way of handling (or hiding) valuable assets on behalf of a person or entity. The idea is for the trust manager to distribute those assets in line with the instructions in the deed. Basically, trusts act as discreet - and often tax exempt - treasure chests for future generations.]
Ironically, when Washington cracked down on Americans engaged in secretive banking in Switzerland, Panama et al., legislative loopholes at home allowed for a high degree of privacy and anonymity.
Various states offer tax-friendly environments, yet unassuming South Dakota leads the pack. A 2019 article in the Guardian explains why it’s a popular pick:
Clients can create trusts for the benefit of themselves, whereas in most jurisdictions trusts have to benefit someone other than the benefactor
The state approves of perpetual trusts, so money can remain untouchable for centuries
A South Dakotan trust is secret. Court documents relating to it are kept private forever, preventing knowledge of its existence from leaking out
South Dakota has no income tax, inheritance tax or capital gains tax
Granted, the majority of trusts are totally legit - but loose regulations can be easily manipulated by suspicious characters to shield their wealth from government agencies, creditors, business partners, and even ex-spouses.
REBRANDING AMID BAD PR
The world’s biggest social media conglomerate is in hot water again. The Facebook Papers and testimony by former employee Frances Haugen paint a damning picture of Mark Zuckerberg and his empire.
The leaked documents expose Facebook’s lax controls on misinformation, which have encouraged the spread of hate speech and violent imagery, stoked ethnic tensions and caused harm to younger users.
Needless to say, these revelations are hardly shocking. Zuckerberg is a frequent visitor to Capitol Hill, regularly defending himself before Congress. And if past performance is anything to go by, advertisers will focus on their vast market reach while investors will keep their eyes on the bottom line. In fact, Facebook’s latest results show that quarterly revenue rose to US$29 billion.
Despite his company’s resilience, Zuckerberg wants to spell out his grander vision - or, to quote Kendall Roy in a recent episode of Succession, “detoxify the brand and go supersonic”.
On Thursday, the CEO announced a new corporate identity at the annual Connect event. Like Google coming under the Alphabet umbrella, Facebook (along with WhatsApp and Instagram) will be part of Meta.
Why Meta? Well, Zuckerberg has been promoting the “metaverse” since the spring earnings call in July. The metaverse is meant to be a virtual realm where people can work, communicate and play together through their avatars. The platform will rely on VR and AR (augmented reality) technology.
“We believe the metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet. We’ll be able to feel present – like we’re right there with people no matter how far apart we actually are,” Zuckerberg said. “We’ll be able to express ourselves in new joyful, completely immersive ways.”
Facebook aims to spend US$10 billion on metaverse projects this year, and on 17 October it outlined plans to hire 10,000 high-skilled workers in Europe to help build the platform.
TAPPING INTO THE ZEITGEIST 👻
And finally…with Halloween around the corner, there’s been lots of chatter about 2021-inspired outfits.
Squid Game’s tracksuits, an Olympic athlete and Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala are obvious choices - but how about recreating a quirky current affairs story? Extra points to anyone dressed as the Ever Given cargo ship, a meme stock, or Jeff Bezos in a space suit.
The folks at Morning Brew have brilliant ideas as well:
Deep Dive welcomes photos of your fancy (and topical) get-up.
Till next time! Take care and stay curious, Sara x