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And don't forget the Channel Islands and Isle of Mann. Lots of sorta-British tax havens there.
You missed a few British territories. Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Jersey, Isle of Man, and Bermuda is the full list I think. Makes statements from Cameron on the topic especially hypocritical.
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)?
The government certainly doesn't need taxes to create money to pay for things.
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)?
A alternative system to taxes would be to demand payment whenever someone uses a state resource. A shop uses roads to have goods delivered, so they should pay a percentage to the state. Customers use the road to travel to the shop, so a small price is paid by the shop to the government per customer. If someone don't want to use the roads, they are free to buy the land necessary and build their own road system.
A factory has also transported goods and employees traveling to work, but they also uses the public education that those employees has. That mean for each hired employee, the factory should pay the relative price as compensation to the state. If a factory don't want to hire state educated citizen, they are free to find a workforce elsewhere.
A internet service sends bits traveling in copper and fiber that goes through state owned land. A price per bit then is reasonable. Same goes to radio waves traveling through state owned air space. If someone don't want to pay, they are free to build their own network.
Then there is the protection racket where police and military prevents theft. Those costs has to be recovered, so a monthly price in relation to the assets being protected sounds perfectly reasonable. If someone don't want to pay, the military can always go and make a visit.
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).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You missed a few British territories. Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Jersey, Isle of Man, and Bermuda is the full list I think. Makes statements from Cameron on the topic especially hypocritical.
You forgot Gibraltar, but your point stands.
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.
You say other countries are constantly pushing, but Ireland was only recently bailed out by exactly those other Eurozone countries, and even in that precarious situation, Ireland was not forced to change its tax rates.
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)?
Inflation wouldn't work since its used by governments as a tool to adjust import and export rates. A alternative system to taxes would be to demand payment whenever someone uses a state resource. A shop uses roads to have goods delivered, so they should pay a percentage to the state. Customers use the road to travel to the shop, so a small price is paid by the shop to the government per customer. If someone don't wan…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
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)?