By Matthew Kish From Portland Business Journal

The Tax Justice Network on Monday released a biennial report that says the U.S. now ranks No. 3 for financial secrecy, ahead of countries traditionally regarded as tax havens, including the Cayman Islands and Singapore.

The report comes one month after the Business Journal published a three-year investigation of shell company abuse in Oregon. Shell companies are legal entities without operations or employees that can be used to hide financial transactions.

A Tax Justice Network press release says the U.S. is now “more of a cause for concern than any other individual country” when it comes to financial secrecy.

The U.S climbed three spots since the Tax Justice Network’s last report in 2013. It’s now ahead of the Cayman Islands (No. 5) and Singapore (No. 4).

Switzerland ranks No. 1.

Many countries have addressed problems with financial secrecy in recent years. The U.S. has been criticized for not doing enough.

The U.S. has “been a pioneer in defending itself from foreign secrecy jurisdictions … (but) provides little information in return to other countries,” according to the Tax Justice Network press release.

The organization described the report as the “biggest ever survey of global financial secrecy.” It estimates $21 to $32 trillion is held in tax havens worldwide.

A separate report released Monday about financial secrecy in the U.S. does not provide a state-level breakdown.

The Business Journal’s recent report documented how Oregon has become a hotbed for shell company abuse, joining the likes of states known for hospitality to corporate scoundrels, such as Delaware, Nevada and Wyoming.

The coverage included an in-depth print story, an interactive timeline, an audio story and a Q&A with retired U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, one of the leading voices for reform.

For more on this story go to: http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/2015/11/u-s-climbs-3-spots-now-worse-than-cayman-islands.html