Wealthy hiding $21 trillion in tax havens, report says

The "super-rich elite" are hiding more than $21 trillion US in tax havens around the world, an amount roughly equal to the combined GDP of the United States and Japan, according to a new report.

Commissioned by the Tax Justice Network, an independent British organization, the report is said to be the most comprehensive ever done concerning what it calls the “offshore economy.”

Researched and written by James Henry, an expert on tax havens, the report states the hidden money could be as large as $32 trillion, and represents a massive black hole in the world's economy.

The amount of tax income lost "is large enough to make a significant difference to the finances of many countries,” Henry noted.