Headlines

• Nearly 7 in 10 young people were surprised by the revelations unveiled in the Pandora Papers leak
• On the other hand, 87% of those in the 55 to 65-year-old group were not surprised at all
• More than half of respondents (52%) said they would think more positively of an individual who decided to relocate the tax base of their corporate structure back to the UK

Press release

London, UK -- Revelations from the recent Pandora Papers leaks shocked young people but left older generations comparatively unfazed, according to a new survey.

Two-thirds of people aged between 18 and 24-years-old said they were "very" or "somewhat" surprised to read that so many wealthy individuals apparently used offshore financial centres, like Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man, for corporate structuring, tax planning, and confidentiality.

This new result shatters the misconception that the vast majority of the public were unmoved by this latest cache of offshore leaks and were largely unsurprised by wealthy people's association with offshore finance. It also underlines the risk of a renewed political backlash against offshore financial centres led by younger people.

The survey was commissioned by Transmission Private, a communication agency known for advising many of the world's most successful people on their reputations. It was untaken by polling agency OnePoll.

The difference between the generations was staggering. While nearly seven in 10 of the youngest respondents said they were surprised by the revelations, just 9% of those aged between 55 and 64 said they were similarly shocked. In fact, 87% of those people aged between 55 and 64-years-old said they were not surprised by the revelations at all.

Jordan Greenaway, Managing Director of Transmission Private, said: "Individuals who want to take their reputations seriously now cannot avoid difficult and challenging questions about tax.

"A strong reputation comes from positive and responsible action. We are increasingly advising clients and their advisors to think seriously about their corporate structures, especially if they have been inherited from earlier generations.

"Cultural expectations and norms have changed, and some legacy structures come with increasing levels of reputational risk."

The research also found that the public would look positively on individuals who decided to relocate offshore structures back to the UK. In fact, more that half of people (52%) said they would think more positively of an individual if they announced a decision to relocate the tax base of a corporate structure back to the UK.

But this wasn't always the case. 29% of the public said that they would not think any differently of an individual if they 'reshored' an offshore entity. The research suggests that this may be because these respondents believed that the entity should have been located in the UK in the first place.

Jordan Greenaway added: "There is also no doubt that there are widespread misconceptions about offshore financial centres. For the vast majority of families, offshore centres play an important and legitimate role in their structuring, but families will need to start taking more proactive steps to explain their use.

"In the past, it may have been possible for companies and individuals to take potentially unpopular decisions without feeling the obligation to explain the rationale. It is quickly becoming clear that is no longer possible."