This paper investigates the impact of tax policy on international depositing. Non-bank international deposits are shown to be positively related to interest income and wealth taxes and to the presence of domestic bank interest reporting. This suggests that international deposits are in part intended to facilitate tax evasion. The tax sensitivity of international deposits is estimated to be higher in 1999 than before. At present, only part of international interest flow are covered by either non-resident interest withholding taxes or international exchange of information. This incomplete coverage may be a reason that these policies currently appear to have little impact on international depositing.

The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They should not be attributed to the European Commission.