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I don't understand why we need to specifically sanction tax havens. Unless rich people are making money in the tax havens themselves (in which case they're not just tax havens), we can just levy all the taxes we want before the money leaves our own borders.

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Yup - in particular VAT tax evasion (i.e. a company putting a $2000 sticker on laptops when they pass through Bermuda) is something that the US could easily solve with a minimal cumulative VAT tax - it just chooses not to.

The same corruption that leaves tax loopholes all over the place will prevent sanctions against tax havens - them existing is a desirable state by the corrupt that can purchase influence to perpetuate their existence.

Tax havens act as incentivizers for crimes - not just tax evasion, but also for routing around international sanctions or money laundering. We're punishing people who incentivize others to do criminal acts, so why should countries be exempt?

Could you explain that further? How do tax havens incentivize sanctions evasion or money laundering?

As far as I can tell, they’re just the most attractive places for such activities thanks to their low taxes. Laundering your money in Scandinavia probably wouldn’t be more difficult, it’d just be more expensive.

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