Tax Havens: The Devil Incarnate?

We are indebted to William Shakespeare for so many wonderful words and phrases -- such as "the devil incarnate" (King Henry V & Titus Andronicus).

As used here, the meaning is the personification of all that is wrong, as in "villains who are evil incarnate."

That is what the U.K. based, far Left loonies at the Tax Justice Network (TJN) believe all the world's tax havens to be -- evil in incarnate -- and in need of destruction by a concerted global force of legions of tax collectors, backed by police state might, if need be.

(Sounds rather like that "new global financial order" Europe's Left now is touting).

Liars Do Figure

In recent years, since the TJN started issuing anti-tax haven statements and press releases, (their major activity), they’ve come up with some seriously insane claims, supported only by facts they conveniently invent to suit their needs, among which:

1) The world's richest folks supposedly are "hiding" $12 trillion or more of assets in offshore havens, mainly to avoid paying taxes.

2) These high-net-worth individuals are said to earn $900 billion each year from these 'hidden" assets.

Ergo claims TJN: Tax collectors of the world are losing $255 billion of taxes each year -- enough to feed millions starving children, cure illness world wide and even protect and neuter all stray animals (or left-wing advocates).

The Global Collapse

Oddly, the American banking, housing and credit crisis, and its alleged global ramifications, have given the Tax Justice gang a brand new argument -- all these economic problems were caused -- not by housing for the poor pushed by politicians, not by Wall Street greed nor by subprime investment madness -- but by -- you guessed it -- tax havens!

Two of the top TJN toadies, in a recent Manchester Guardian op-ed piece reveal the truth, as they see it: "The global economic crisis means financial re-regulation is, finally, on the agenda. Most agree it is needed on a global level. Some say this is impossible in a world of self-interested sovereign states, but we disagree: it is possible if we look at the context in which regulation is embedded. There we find the essence of the problem: tax havens. The offshore world created the conditions that led to this crisis, and unless the offshore world is tackled, it will undermine all efforts to deal with it." [emphasis added]

There you have it, dear reader, the world wide financial turmoil, the collapse of economic confidence and rampant fear is caused by -- tax havens! -- those wise and wonderful jurisdictions that levy little or no taxes on foreigners who choose to live or do business within their free territories.

New Soap Box

We've commented before on the blatant lies and phony statistics spread by the Tax Justice Network. Avowedly anti-capitalist, they preach that global business is raping third world countries and running off with trillions in euros and dollars that they stash in tax havens. Repeatedly, sympathetic leftist journalists regurgitate this, while lazy editors fail to question this drivel.

And the TJN will grab any available soap box from which to preach their screed.

Now it's world financial turmoil on which they're grabbing a free publicity ride. (And what is of concern to me is that, based on his sponsorship of totalitarian anti-tax haven legislation, Senator Barack Obama, seems to agree with these socialist charlatans).

Daniel Mitchell, the Cato Institute's tax expert, answers: "It certainly is true that politicians will use the turmoil that they created as an excuse to impose more red tape and restrictions. The more troubling is the assertion that regulation is needed on a 'global level.' This would be a spectacularly bad idea since it would increase systemic risk. In short, if all nations get dumped into a one-size-fits-all regulatory straitjacket, then the inevitable government mistakes will have a negative impact on the entire world's financial system."

More Taxes, More Regulation

Dan Mitchell adds: "The authors get credit for honesty in their conclusions. They admit their real goal, which is to attack free-market jurisdictions. Moreover, notwithstanding the alleged concern about regulatory gaps, they further admit their real goal is to give politicians more power to increase the tax burden and worsen the tax bias against income that is saved and invested."

William Woods, a member of the Sovereign Society Council of Experts and former head of the Bermuda Stock Exchange, has been especially incensed at the TJN charge that "corrupt officials in poor nations, illegally siphon huge amounts of money into bank accounts and shell companies." Says Woods, who knows from first-hand experience: "What a load of rubbish. Tax havens have 'know your customer' rules that far exceed those of London and New York."

Way down in the small print even the TJN admit that "most of money in offshore accounts is probably legitimate" and that it is legal to place cash offshore. But even so, the TJN wants it all stopped. Now! How dare anyone with money be allowed legally to avoid taxes!

Rubbish incarnate!

There still are many legal ways to bank and save taxes offshore; I tell you Where To Stash Your Cash: Click Here.  And if you're interested in Switzerland, Click here for Swiss Money Secrets.