The publication of the Pandora and Panama Papers has helped inspire renewed and urgently needed attention around the issue of wealth-hoarding and tax evasion by the global elite. It’s less well understood, however, that many individual US states have transformed themselves into localized tax havens. Key to this story is the trust industry, which helps the billionaire class stash away trillions in wealth and keep untold sums completely hidden from view. A new report entitled Billionaire Enabler States coauthored by Kalena Thomhave and Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies offers a detailed and systematic analysis of the problem — and an astonishing glimpse into the sheer scale of secretive wealth hoarding.

Jacobin’s Luke Savage spoke with with Thomhave and Collins about their analysis, findings, and the intricate machinations of tax avoidance in the United States.