Conclusions

This concluding chapter assesses the central policy issues that are raised by the discussion in this book and explores possible directions to address them. It draws out three major themes that emerge from the discussion so far. These themes relate to (1) particularities of the banking business landscape and the tax rules for financial markets and products, (2) the nature and consequences of systemic complexity, and (3) the failure of governance and control mechanisms. Collectively, the themes explain not merely the recurrence of misconduct by banks in relation to tax systems, but they also support the starker conclusion that, in the absence of significant change, it is practically inevitable that misconduct of the sort seen in cum-ex will continue to occur.