How universities are dodging taxes – paradise papers leak

Over 13.4 million leaked documents have recently exposed the scope of what the BBC have termed ‘Britain’s offshore empire’. These documents reveal the extent of offshore investments made by figures prominent in the UK media as well as UK Universities.

The electronic files were leaked by German news organisation Suddeutsche Zeitung in early November, and currently it is thought that over 120,000 people and organisations are implicated. Current estimates on the amount harboured offshore are thought to be around $10 trillion US dollars.

Offshore investment has always been a known way to get around tax regulations.

It appears that over $500 billion has been invested offshore by UK and US universities…

Yet, the paradise papers involve some unlikely suspects. It has come to light that numerous political figures and celebrities have been mentioned in the leak, including Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, the band U2, and even Her Majesty, the Queen.

But the involvement in offshore investments of UK and US universities, and the hypocrisy that stems from the type of these investments, is even more shocking for the debt-ridden students in these countries.

Although still unverified, it appears that over $500 billion has been invested offshore by UK and US universities. According to the recent investigation by the Guardian, over half of Oxbridge’s colleges have invested offshore, with the most prominent occurrence to come to light being Oxford and Cambridge’s links to Coller International. The Daily Mail has reported that in 2006, Oxford invested ￡2.6 million into the Guernsey-based private equity fund, a fund which has contributed over ￡1 billion into Royal Dutch Shell, an oil and gas company.

The university sectors main pension scheme is thought to have contributed around $88 million…

Further involvement of UK universities have been referenced in the papers. According to another article by the Guardian, one of the alleged biggest contributions made to the fossil fuel-linked project was the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). The university sectors main pension scheme is thought to have contributed around $88 million.

Clearly, there is a hypocrisy in universities directly contributing to an offshore fund that aids global oil and gas companies when top UK and US universities, in particular Oxford and Cambridge, are leading the way on developing more environmentally-friendly alternative energy sources. Such progressive teachings and research on sustainable developments loses weight considering these actions.

In light of the leak, one can be forgiven for questioning the high tuition fees UK universities charge when, in some cases, universities have such sizeable offshore investments.

Indeed, while their actions are not illegal, universities have a responsibility to be moral institutions that set an example to the rest of society.