16/05/25
LUXEMBOURG: Luxembourg recovered €54m in taxes after Panama Papers publication
As published on: luxtimes.lu, Friday 16 May, 2025.
Luxembourg authorities collected more than €50 million in additional tax revenue immediately following the publication of the “Panama Papers”, Finance Minister Gilles Roth has said.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published an exposé and 11.5 million documents, including thousands linked to Luxembourg, leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca in April 2016.
The investigation revealed global networks of secret offshore companies allegedly used to hide wealth, evade taxes, and launder money. The leak implicated hundreds of politicians, businesspeople, and public figures by revealing their connections to offshore entities registered in Panama and other financial centres.
Most of the Luxembourg documents “did not lead to an adjustment of the taxable income” of the parties and transactions mentioned in the leaked cache, according to Roth. “Nevertheless, certain adjustments took place, which allowed Luxembourg to collect direct tax arrears of the order of €230,000.”
At the time the Panama Papers were published, however, Luxembourg tax agency ACD was running a “temporary fiscal regularisation regime” that allowed taxpayers to retroactively declare assets and income. Taxpayers avoided further penalties and prosecutions in exchange for “the full payment of the evaded taxes” plus a surcharge of 10% in 2016 and 20% in 2017, Roth said. The regime lasted from January 2016 to December 2017.
“This regime, encouraging greater transparency, allowed the collection of a total amount of approximately €54 million in additional taxes,” Roth said.
Roth provided the figures in response to a parliamentary question from the LSAP MPs Franz Fayot and Mars Di Bartolomeo, released on 8 May 2025.
According to Fayot and Di Bartolomeo, Belgian tax authorities collected an additional €39.6 million following Panama Paper-related investigations, with “more than €192 million” in France, €162 million in Spain and “more than €28 million” collected in the Netherlands.
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Luxembourg Panama Papers
