Tax Havens Pledge to Ease Secrecy Laws

Discussion in 'Wall St. News' started by ASusilovic, Mar 13, 2009.

  1. The European principalities of Andorra and Liechtenstein pledged to relax their bank-secrecy laws, yielding to international pressure on tax havens to stop shielding the holdings of the rich.

    The moves raise the stakes for big tax-haven centers such as Switzerland to take similar steps before the coming meeting of the Group of 20 developed and emerging nations in London. Offshore tax evasion is expected to be a topic at the April 2 summit.

    The global financial crisis has encouraged cash-strapped governments to crack down on the offshore industry, which helps wealthy clients evade billions of dollars a year in taxes. The downturn has also exposed alleged financial frauds that flourished under lightly regulated jurisdictions such as Antigua and Barbuda, a tiny Caribbean nation that hosts scandal-plagued Stanford International Bank.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123685028900906181.html
     
  2. moarla

    moarla

    the biggest tax heaven is the USA (using a LLC)...
     
  3. That's a shame.

    I don't bank overseas (yet) and any illegal tax evader deserves what's coming to them, but with that being said, I don't approve of these draconian new laws and blacklists. If a country wants to raise a giant FU flag to the IRS and its global counterparts, it should damn well have the sovereign right to do so with impunity. And citizens of the free world should have the right to do business with whatever bank they please, despite what Senator Levin and others would have you believe (or legally force you to do if they get their way).
     
  4. moarla

    moarla

    i like to evade taxes. my money is my money :)
     
  5. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the US is the only nation that requires citizens to pay taxes regardless of where they live. THAT is crap, in my opinion. If you live 365 days in another country, then you take advantage of nothing the US offers and should be exempt, just like other nations allow.

    Regardless, if you want to hide your money, move to a country like Croatia and trade with a foreign broker.
     
  6. That´s the right place to live in, Ivanovich ! :)