The leaked "Pandora papers" show how many rich people have set up international structures of shell companies to disguise what property they own.

For instance, the leaks show that King Abdullah of Jordan has disguised his owning properties, in various countries, worth 100 million dollars.

These article make a moral assumption which we should reject:

Has everyone named in the Pandora papers done something wrong? No. Moving money offshore is not in or of itself illegal,

The invalid assumption is to equate legality with moral legitimacy. That equation abdicates all moral judgment to the legislature of whichever country has jurisdiction.

This is what plutocrats want us to assume. If we accept it, then when they have set up tax laws to assess them little tax, we will conclude it is right for them to pay little tax. This balderdash helps plutocrats maintain their dominion, at the expense of everyone else.

King Abdullah is a slightly unusual case because, in Jordan, he is a monarch, more powerful than a plutocrat. Internationally, though, he is a plutocrat like any other. So this applies to him too.

In the US, the tax on a building is charged by local government. Disguising the owner's identity won't avoid that tax. But if selling the building brings in a profit, the owner may avoid paying taxes on that capital gain by not reporting it.

Disguising the "beneficial owner" of a business can enable the owner to dodge taxes on the income of the business.