TAX evasion - which costs Australia $41.4 billion a year - is the cause of the Greek debt crisis that is destabilising Europe, according to the author of research into the problem.
Every year tax evasion costs the world's governments $3.1 trillion, or about 5.1 per cent of world gross domestic product (GDP), activist group the Tax Justice Network says in a report.
''Greece's problems stem from 40 years of tax evasion and not collecting enough tax revenue,'' TJN director John Christensen told BusinessDay.
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''There's no other cause. Their public revenues have been in disarray as long as anyone can remember, they've been borrowing on the international financial markets way, way beyond what's acceptable.
''One can say pretty much the same about Italy, where tax evasion is a national sport.
''The result of that is that the whole of the euro zone is under threat.''
On TJN's figures, the $29.4 billion in tax evaded by Greeks every year is equal to 9.65 per cent of the country's GDP, compared with an Australian percentage of 4.31 per cent.
The TJN claims criminals, dictators, the rich and big corporations have hidden trillions of dollars in tax havens such as Jersey, the tiny Channel Island where Mr Christensen was born.
The organisation is pushing for automatic information exchange between tax havens and tax authorities, the full disclosure of who owns companies, and country-by-country income tax reporting for multinational corporations.
Mr Christensen admitted there might be ''very, very restricted'' cases when a company might legitimately use a tax haven to avoid paying tax on the same income twice, in two countries.
''It's not about double taxation, it's about double non-taxation, in the majority of cases,'' he said.
He said he spoke from his experience working in Jersey for Touche Ross, which is now part of accountancy firm Deloitte.
''Most of the multinational clients I was working with were using offshore subsidiaries largely for thin capitalisation, transfer mis-pricing or downright tax evasion,'' he said. ''They're also using them for bribery and corruption at every single level.
''The real service offered to clients, whether it's high net worth individuals or multinational companies is secrecy, supported by judicial non-co-operation, weak information exchange processes and no requirement for any economic substance for the activities they're carrying out.''
Mr Christensen said the extradition to Australia on tax charges of his former schoolmate, accountant Philip de Figueiredo, triggered feelings of ''surprise and resentment'' and ''a great deal of fear'' among Jersey's population of 90,000 people.
An accountant with Channel Islands firm Strachans, de Figueiredo was extradited to Brisbane at Christmas last year and charged with money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth over the tax affairs of two Gold Coast businessmen - charges that have yet to be heard in the Queensland Supreme Court.
It is expected de Figueiredo will eventually face additional charges in Melbourne over the affairs of another Strachans client, music promoter and convicted tax cheat Glenn Wheatley.
''I was in Jersey last month and they're not very happy about this,'' Mr Christensen said.
The criminal charges and pressure over tax rates from the neighbouring European Union (Jersey is not a member) had brought unwelcome attention to a jurisdiction that had marketed itself as a quiet, safe, international financial centre, he said.
''From my experience the regulation there is piss poor, they are deceitful at every level, they are manipulative, and they're in a state of shock at how suddenly things seem to be unravelling.''
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I dont have an issue with Jersey being a low tax zone but the rest world does!
