LISBON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's money outflow between 2016 and 2018 climbed to 30 billion euros (about 33.7 billion U.S. dollars), with an increase of 67 percent compared to the previous three years, Portuguese Economic Journal reported on Friday.
The outflow is equivalent to 15 percent of the Portuguese GDP, compared to the 18 billion euros (about 20.2 billion dollars) outflow recorded between 2013 and 2015, said the report, adding that Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among the most common destinations of tax havens.
The data showed that more than 7,200 business customers and around 6,000 individuals passed 8.9 billion euros (about 10 billion dollars) through tax havens in 2018. More than a third of the outflow in 2018 was transferred to Switzerland, which is the most popular destination.
The report did not specify reasons for the significant growth of money outflow, saying that prosecutors have warned that there are more and more economic entities exploiting the companies based in territories with more favorable taxation.
