At the heart of the intensifying debate about fairness and inequality is tax. Who can think without shuddering of the opportunity costs incurred by needy economies robbed of the tax to which they are entitled?
Well, yes, if you stretch a bit, you can say opportunity cost there. Tax not paid means revenue which the government cannot spend.
But if we are to consider opportunity costs then we’ve got to consider them all. What is the rise in revenue from having a larger economy as a result of tax dodging foreign investment? Standard economics tells us it’s really rather large in a developing economy. Possibly (and this is contentious, whereas “large” is not) more than 100% of the dodging actually.
The blacklist does not include any western country, even though accountants, lawyers, banks and much of the infrastructure that lubricates global tax avoidance are located in the west.
Note the rhetorical shift there. “Entitled” should mean tax evasion. A government is only entitled to the tax that the law says is due. Avoidance isn’t the same at all, is it?
The issue of tax avoidance is not going away.
Well, no, obviously not. It’s actually a right to organise your affairs so as to reduce your tax bill.
So everybody:
The EU, the UK and other countries could also ensure that no individual or company under their jurisdiction would be able to import or export any goods or services from designated tax havens. The UK is being asked to pay a fee to secure access to EU markets after Brexit; by the same logic, a fee should be demanded from tax havens in the shape of better transparency and accountability. Persistently aggressive jurisdictions might suffer travel and visa restrictions, or be denied the use of international satellites that tax havens rely on for communications and financial transactions.
Can you say colonialism? Picaninnies must do as we European say or else.
Robbed of opportunity?
Reminds of the Rockford files episode where Jim had a fight with some thug and his (Rockford’s) police pal tells him the ex-con had just been released early under California’s Second Chance program.
“Second Chance to do what?” says Jimbo.
Yeah pay your taxes to help third world socialist scum have the opportunity to buy the bullets, shackles and cattle prods they so badly need.
“needy economies robbed of the tax”
eh?
“to which they are entitled”
Entitled?
Go fuck yourself.
Can you say colonialism? Picaninnies must do as we European say or else.
“Embargo” and “blockade” are good words too. Remember the Guardian outrage about the US embargo on Cuba? Seems they are happy to do it when the foreigners do something they don’t like.
Ducky said first what I was going to say.
The lesser conflation of “legally entitled” and “evasion” would make sense.
But there is no deeper entitlement than expressed in the law (and I note the saw “Don’t go looking to the law for justice!”)
Not to mention that economies include both the private and public sector. Ergo a transferfrom one to the other per se says very little about the overall economy
‘At the heart of the intensifying debate about fairness and inequality is tax.’
Intensifying? Rilly?
He wishes it were intensifying.
To damn by faint praise, Professor Prem Sikka seems to be a reasonably competent bean counter.
“Who can think without shuddering of the opportunity costs incurred by needy economies robbed of the tax to which they are entitled?”
That’s part of why I voted Leave. All those needy economies being theived of their healthcare professions by us basing our healthcare on taking all their healthcare professions, and being theived of their economic base by basing our economy on taking all of their economic participants.
And Remainers were touting this imperial resource theft as a feature to be valued, in the same way they were touting as a benefit that being in the EU restricts our economic and governmental freedom of choice.
Rare sighting of the phrase “opportunity cost” in the Guardian.
The man is, to be blunt, a F^&&ing moron. South Korea has a higher Per Capita income than the UK. Additionally I think you’d have to be seven shades of stupid to see the UAE as an ‘economically poor’ country. No wonder Murphy thinks this guy is ‘an authority’.
Incidentally i did notice one omission from the list. No mention of North Korea, which is arguably the closest real world jurisdiction implementing Murphy and Sikka’s ideas. Progress?
Like Richard Murphy, Prem Sikka yearns for the days when The White Man (and his surrogates) where in a position to provide guidance to wogs.
They’re such children, those wogs.
To put it in ‘Merican terms, Sikka is the house nigger fretting about how the field niggers will get alone without him…
The European Commission made some threatening words about what would happen to post-Brexit Britain if we indulged ourselves in “tax dumping”. “Tax dumping” is an even nicer category than avoidance/evasion – you don’t need to prove that anybody in particular has avoided or evaded any tax, simply that one jurisdiction is competing unfairly for economic activity by setting its tax rates unfairly low.
Incidentally, Ireland did well to get through their tricky period (and increased dependency on the EU) without agreeing to get rid of their corporate tax rate. I wonder how many more years they can cling on.
You’re a strange bunch. It gets boring after a while, your dickery, having been steered here to get some sort of insight into Worstall.
It seems you’re a bunch of snowflakes that consider anyone who doesn’t have the opinions shown here are basically hated. It’s pre-emptive trolling.
How’s those Brexit plans going. Oh I see the champions of England are capitulating to the EUSSR.
@MyBurningEars, Macron and Martin Schulz have started calling out Ireland for their tax rates. There has been speeches stating that the tax veto can be overwritten if necessary.
Unforunately, Ireland will be licking the executions boots even as they drag her to the post.
Loved this! The guy did a great job of checking the spelling and grammar before he posted. Could it be Arnald back from the dead under another pseudonym?
‘It seems you’re a bunch of snowflakes that consider anyone who doesn’t have the opinions shown here are (sic) basically hated. It’s pre-emptive trolling.’
Dennis
Even appreciating you were referencing America, using the N word in connection with Sikka is offensive and inappropriate.
A better word would be Wallah, as in eg Punkah Wallah
I don’t particularly want to get any “insight into Worstall”. From, yes, but not into.
Am I excused?
To Van_Patten ^^^ Whuh? wtf are you talking about?
Oh dear, Mr Worstall.
“Can you say colonialism? Picaninnies [sic] must do as we European [sic] say or else”
That extrapolation from your quoted paste is wrong in all manner of ways. Your childishness aside, are you advocating that everyone at every time should try and not pay taxes? Surely such a position scares the horses?
BraveFart –
Life’s like that sometimes.
Strange: A well-named new cunt in town. Who is such a big bad proggie that he has to whine on here. Cos his scummy gang of leftist pricks are losing.
Yeah and we know May is actually a treasonous CM cunt just like you. But Brexit is still happening you dickwad and marxian scum like you are still going in the shitcan of history.
If you want to blubber–blubber on behalf of the 150 million murdered so far by socialist shite like you.
Mr Ecks ^?? Blimey, you’re worse than the other guy!