Friday, August 23, 2024

There is nothing in a tax haven

There is a famous Russian cartoon in which a hippopotamus, in the bush, points out a zebra to another hippopotamus: 'You see,' he says, 'now that’s formalism.
— Alain Robbe-Grillet, born in 1922








There is nothing in a tax haven

I've studied tax havens and can say with confidence that there's no actual money in them. 

The funds recorded in places like Jersey are just accounting entries, with the real money held elsewhere. 

Tax havens exist to facilitate tax avoidance by creating secrecy, but the goal isn't to recover money from them—it's to ensure that income and wealth recorded there are properly taxed in other jurisdictions.


In this morning's video I address the topic that, long ago, really got this blog going, which is tax havens.

Read the full article…


Snail farm in city office sparks tax avoidance probe


Police issue urgent warning over HMRC scam spike as expert slams 'believable' letters


Woooah… this is a very smart/evil scam. The web savvy will immediately spot the dodgy email address, but I bet plenty won’t.


Looks and Gaming: Who and Why? NBER


 Norway increasingly concerned by Swedish gangs.


Roznov pod Radhostem - This sleepy town in the Czech Republic known for its sweet pies and wooden houses just got $2 billion to help Europe compete in the global chip war


Czechia 🇨🇿


The Heart of Starmer’s Government The Northern Star. Ukraine


It turns out that the Trump mess was no bug in the system Greg Gutfeld, FOX:

Two months ago, a man in shorts and a T-shirt walked through an open door in the [FBI] Miami field office and spent the night. First, he took a shower, then downloaded porn on a computer…. Next morning, he asked employees where he could get a cup of coffee, and they got him coffee. Hell, I don’t get treated that well at Starbucks and I own Starbucks. He was only caught when he entered a defensive tactics class, and someone finally asked who the hell he was… Now, look, no agency is perfect, but when some clown can wander into a classified facility, watch porn, wash up, spend the night, have breakfast, and then attend a tactical training session, is it any wonder a whack job can ride up on a bike and shoot Trump? Best Buy has better security…. So forget the conspiracy theories unless it’s a conspiracy of decline, and it’s everywhere.


 These cool but creepy features of AI phones will erode trust in everything Business Standard


A Drunken Evening, a Rented Yacht: The Real Story of the Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage WSJ


The competing theories of the Nord Stream explosions FT


Germany issues arrest warrant for Ukrainian suspect over Nord Stream sabotage France24


Ukraine and Russia Plan to Keep Gas Flowing Amid Fighting Bloomberg

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Deception and a Gamble: How Ukrainian Troops Invaded Russia NYT


Ukraine’s Ombudsman explains purpose of establishing military commandants’ offices in Russia’s Kursk Oblast Ukrainska Pravda


SITREP 8/14/24: Zelensky Doubles Down as His Front Collapses Simplicius, Simplicius the Thinker

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French Fighters on Both Sides: ‘Normandie-Niemen’ Drone Squadron Helping Russia to Repel Ukraine’s Kursk Offensive Military Watch


Russians attack Odesa with ballistic missile, targeting port infrastructure Ukrainska Pravda

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Ukraine and Russia begin talks on exchange of prisoners captured in Kursk FT


Putin the Resilient Foreign Affairs The deck: “Predicting the Collapse of His Regime Is Wishful Thinking.”


The Value of Trust in World Politics Valdai Discussion Club