In July and August this year Stratford, East London, will become a temporary tax haven. Millions of pounds will be channelled through foreign subsidiary companies operating in the area before it leaves these shores for the pockets of shareholders and CEOs the world over.

How is this possible in a country like the UK you might ask? The sad fact is that enacting tax avoidance legislation has now become a criteria for hosting international competitions such as the Olympics.

Big name athletes such as Usain Bolt (along with the organisers) have applied pressure to potential host nations to ensure that winnings (and profits) are not taxed

Many of the corporate sponsors are no stranger to the more traditional tax havens. The table below shows the 18 partner companies and the subsidiaries they have in tax havens. The long list contains all the usual suspects such as the Cayman Islands, Jersey and the British Virgin Islands. General Electric’s list of subsidiaries was most interesting. It included 71 subsidiaries listed in just one building in Ireland! Only one of the partner organisations, British Airways, appeared not to have subsidiaries registered in any tax havens.

:o Wow that is disgusting