“Europe’s Tiny Tax Havens Should Be Left in Peace” de Matthew Lynn (Bloomberg)
Places such as Monaco and Liechtenstein have a right to keep banking secrecy and shouldn’t be forced to act as tax enforcers for other countries. Germany should spend more time worrying about why so much wealth is fleeing its borders — and less time picking on places a mere fraction of their size.(…)
[W]hile they may not be full-blown nations, these are sovereign entities. Germany has a right to set whatever laws it likes for people living in Germany. If it wants to ban its citizens from holding accounts — or setting up trusts and foundations — in other countries, it can do so (and deal with the flight of people and capital). But it can’t harass other countries into changing their practices.
If people invest in low-tax countries or in legal structures such as foundations, their tax liability is their business, not the responsibility of the host nation. For most legitimate investors, low-tax principalities provide a useful alternative to the high-tax, big-government consensus that suffocates much of Europe.(…)
[I]t is ludicrous to say that this kind of tax “competition” is unfair. All competition is unfair. These are small nations entitled to make their living any way they want to. It is no more unfair than Germany’s proficiency at making cars, or the French aptitude at making wine. Should the Germans shut down their luxury-car industry because it makes life difficult for auto workers in the rest of Europe? Of course not. So why should Liechtenstein close its financial-services industry?
Pedro Sette-Câmara
André Azevedo Alves
Carlos Guimarães Pinto
Helder Ferreira
Bruno Garschagen
João Luís Pinto
LA
Bruno Alves
Miguel Botelho Moniz
ruicarmo
Miguel Noronha
Elizabete Dias
António Costa Amaral (AA)
LT
Rui Oliveira
BZ
dos ∫antos
André Abrantes Amaral
planca12
rui a.
Rodrigo Adão da Fonseca
Adolfo Mesquita Nunes
Michael Seufert
Luciano
Carlos M. Fernandes
Maria João Marques
jtcb
Nuno Branco
elisabetejoaquim
filipeabrantes
Tomás Belchior
Bruno Gonçalves
Ricardo G. Francisco
Tiago Loureiro
Ricardo Campelo de Magalhães
Filipe Faria
Ricardo Arroja
Ricardo Lima
Ein Reich, ein volk, ein setuer…
http://blogs.ft.com/maverecon/2008/02/blockade-the-tax-havens/
Comentário por Helder — Março 7, 2008 @ 12:33
steuer…
Comentário por Helder — Março 7, 2008 @ 12:33
Os comentários também são uma delícia…
Comentário por João Luís Pinto — Março 7, 2008 @ 13:48
Excelente texto. O que a Alemanha tem a fazer é desincentivar as aplicações de contribuintes alemães em países como o Liectenstein.
A propósito deste texto, passe a publicidade, aqui um post que eu escrevi acerca do assunto no Portugal Contemporâneo.
http://portugalcontemporaneo.blogspot.com/2008/02/o-bufo-de-vaduz.html
Comentário por Ricardo Arroja — Março 7, 2008 @ 16:36