USA Today: Panama Papers firm linked to over 1,000 U.S. companies
media mention“Nearly all of those companies were incorporated in Nevada and Wyoming, two states with permissive corporate secrecy laws.
“If your goal is secrecy and not having prying eyes find out even the most basic things about what you’re doing and what your company is and who owns it, Wyoming and Nevada are incredibly attractive places from that secrecy perspective,” said Matthew Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
“These companies are using mechanisms that are precisely designed to avoid prosecution, to avoid discovery,” he said. “Shell corporations are very effective for conduits for avoiding the law, for whatever purpose.””