UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014) • Hacker News Board

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#21

Post by varjag » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:18 PM UTC

vidarh wrote: post #9

dragonbonheur wrote: post #2

Speaks volumes why Obama wants the UK to remain in the EU. His corporate handlers know that it is inevitable that taxes will increase if there is a Brexit.

That makes no sense. The EU countries with higher tax levels are constantly pushing to reign in the EU "tax havens", whereas outside the EU, the UK will be free to use even lower tax rates and more tax breaks as a means of retaining and attracting international business, and may need to, in order to prevent an exodus from the City etc.

To be fair, exiting EU would put the UK at disadvantage as EU tax heaven / headquarters beachhead. Common customs and VAT space goes out of the window, as well as hundreds other compliance regulations tying the EU together. Luxembourg and Cyprus will certainly get a lot of new business.

But I really doubt Obama rationales have anything to do with that.

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#22

Post by mtmail » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:23 PM UTC

guard-of-terra wrote: post #14

mtmail wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That translates to "for multinational". I don't understand what you're getting at though.

A person who fits a profile: - Born in Russia - Speaks Russian - Holds or used to be holding Russian passport - Does not really consider oneself Russian or answers "I'm Russian, but" - Does not respect Russians, not really, but knows what's better for them - Probably has ancestors who were important Soviet officials, often in some now-independent Republics - Liberal political outlook but ends up backing Putinism when…

Thanks a lot!

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#23

Post by twic » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:23 PM UTC

Theodores wrote: post #19

It is quite hard to think of a tax haven that is not part of the Commonwealth or former British Empire, Panama being one of the few. A true tax haven is a different thing to mechanisms like the 'Double Irish', seems UK PLC is getting even with that. The Square Mile - 'City of London' - is like a country within a country too, so lots of strange finance things go on with London being one big black hole that money orbit…

None of Macau, Monaco, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland are former British possessions.

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#24

Post by dragonbonheur » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:26 PM UTC

vidarh wrote: post #9

dragonbonheur wrote: post #2

Speaks volumes why Obama wants the UK to remain in the EU. His corporate handlers know that it is inevitable that taxes will increase if there is a Brexit.

That makes no sense. The EU countries with higher tax levels are constantly pushing to reign in the EU "tax havens", whereas outside the EU, the UK will be free to use even lower tax rates and more tax breaks as a means of retaining and attracting international business, and may need to, in order to prevent an exodus from the City etc.

According to http://www.proeuropa.org.uk/twelevereasons, the UK enjoys all of this thanks to the EU:

1. Jobs

Around 3.5 million British jobs are directly linked to British membership of the European Union’s single market – 1 in 10 British jobs.

2. Exports & investment

The EU buys over 50 per cent of UK exports (54 per cent of goods, 40 per cent of services). Over 300,000 British companies and 74 per cent of British exporters operate in other EU markets. American and Asian EU firms build factories in Britain because it is in the single market.

3. Trade

The EU negotiates trade agreements with the rest of the world. Outside the EU Britain would have to renegotiate trade deals alone. While the EU is the world’s largest market, a UK outside the EU would not be a high priority for other counties to negotiate a trade deal.

4. Consumer clout

British families enjoy lower mobile phone roaming charges, lower credit card fees, cheaper flights and proper compensation when flights are delayed or cancelled. These sorts of benefits could not be achieved by Britain alone.

13. Research funding

The UK is the second largest beneficiary of EU research funds, and the British Government expects future EU research funding to constitute a vital source of income for our world-leading universities and companies.

A Brexit could mean that there will be increased taxes on all of this to compensate from these lost advantages, which will surely translate to increased corporate taxes.

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#25

Post by cylinder » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:27 PM UTC

Theodores wrote: post #19

It is quite hard to think of a tax haven that is not part of the Commonwealth or former British Empire, Panama being one of the few. A true tax haven is a different thing to mechanisms like the 'Double Irish', seems UK PLC is getting even with that. The Square Mile - 'City of London' - is like a country within a country too, so lots of strange finance things go on with London being one big black hole that money orbit…

Australia also has very lax money laundering laws, it is said that Mossack Fonseca would have faced less regulation being based in Australia vs Panama.

Tories are all about extracting wealth through property and money management (tax avoidance and money laundering are forms of asset management really).

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#26

Post by dragonbonheur » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:28 PM UTC

varjag wrote: post #21

vidarh wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That makes no sense. The EU countries with higher tax levels are constantly pushing to reign in the EU "tax havens", whereas outside the EU, the UK will be free to use even lower tax rates and more tax breaks as a means of retaining and attracting international business, and may need to, in order to prevent an exodus from the City etc.

To be fair, exiting EU would put the UK at disadvantage as EU tax heaven / headquarters beachhead. Common customs and VAT space goes out of the window, as well as hundreds other compliance regulations tying the EU together. Luxembourg and Cyprus will certainly get a lot of new business. But I really doubt Obama rationales have anything to do with that.

Obama by himself, no. But the executives from which he raised money will make him do and say anything they want.

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#27

Post by mentos » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:31 PM UTC

Anyone else feel like the problem here isn't tax havens but the tax system.

Is there a better approach than collecting taxes?

What if inflation was used as a tax (printing money)?

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#28

Post by bb101 » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:32 PM UTC

twic wrote: post #23

Theodores wrote: post #19

It is quite hard to think of a tax haven that is not part of the Commonwealth or former British Empire, Panama being one of the few. A true tax haven is a different thing to mechanisms like the 'Double Irish', seems UK PLC is getting even with that. The Square Mile - 'City of London' - is like a country within a country too, so lots of strange finance things go on with London being one big black hole that money orbit…

None of Macau, Monaco, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland are former British possessions.

But they all share the same similarity - culturally and historically connected to their larger counterparts, enabling well-connected citizens to hide their money.

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#29

Post by F2468 » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:39 PM UTC

mentos wrote: post #27

Anyone else feel like the problem here isn't tax havens but the tax system. Is there a better approach than collecting taxes? What if inflation was used as a tax (printing money)?

Wouldn't people just store wealth in things that are out of reach of politicians inflation policies? Bitcoin, gold etc?

Another approach is to lower taxes and create less of an incentive to circumvent them in the first place...

Re: UK 'a tax haven for multinationals' (2014)

#30

Post by otec » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 2:47 PM UTC

mtmail wrote: post #22

guard-of-terra wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A person who fits a profile: - Born in Russia - Speaks Russian - Holds or used to be holding Russian passport - Does not really consider oneself Russian or answers "I'm Russian, but" - Does not respect Russians, not really, but knows what's better for them - Probably has ancestors who were important Soviet officials, often in some now-independent Republics - Liberal political outlook but ends up backing Putinism when…

Thanks a lot!

Thanks for what?