PARADISE -CORRUPTION- POVERTY

The world moves on. A year and half ago the Panama Papers were released and the fallout was immediate and in some cases catastrophic for individuals.

Although not named in the Panama Papers, they were directly responsible for the downfall of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He had done nothing other than fail to disclose payments that his counsel argued that he never received anyway.

These very days there is another leak : the Paradise Papers, and it is going to have nothing like the effect of its predecessor.

For the last year, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists {ICIJ} have been trawling  13.4 million files leaked from among others Appleby, a prominent offshore law firm with offices in-

Bermuda, and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Unlike the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers are not a logbook of serial criminality and deception. Far from it.

More it is a list of where very rich people and companies and consortiums of companies put their wealth in order to reduce their tax burden. It is -so far but that may change  -perfectly legal and above the board to do this.

Tax avoidance -the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to avoid the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law -must be distinguished from tax evasion, which is not.

This may seem a matter of semantics but it is not, and any number of wealthy people are about to have their money movements exposed, including in Pakistan Shaukat Aziz who was a Finance Minister during one dictator's regime.

The money managers for the Queen of England, for instance invested GBP 10 million in offshore funds.

Other famous names will be seen to have parked their cash in places where taxman cannot reach.  In case of Mr. Aziz, there seems to be little likelihood that his financial dealings are ever going to land him or his family in court.

He spent a lifetime in the world of international finance and knew all about tax avoidance long before It became a talking point for those so poor as not to need offshore banking.

!WOW! admires and  thanks this editorial gem from The Express Tribune, as we join all to watch with growing interest.