4 ms·

> The fact that free people can move to lower (or higher!) tax jurisdictions, and judge the quality of those services based on how much they pay and what they g

> The fact that free people can move to lower (or higher!) tax jurisdictions, and judge the quality of those services based on how much they pay and what they get in return, is a good thing in my opinion. I think few would disagree that if you move to a new jurisdiction to benefit from a different tax scheme, that's fine. But therein lies two problems: First, so few people are able to move; the wealthy are disproportionally able to have their pick of tax jurisdictions so they can extract benefits from one society and then jump ship when it suits them without returning benefits to that society. Second is when people move on "paper" to benefit from another jurisdiction but don't physically move in reality. Thus they continue to benefit from the society they nominally "left" but don't pay into it. That's the kind of tax avoidance / evasion that most people have a problem with.

nordsieck 7y ago
> Second is when people move on "paper" to benefit from another jurisdiction but don't physically move in reality. Thus they continue to benefit from the society they nominally "left" but don't pay into it. What jurisdiction allows this? The US is particularly draconian by taxing worldwide income; every other country that I know of will tax your income if you live there.
- pjc50 7y ago
  Many jurisdictions have residency rules that allow people to partially move - e.g in the UK if you have a residence overseas and spend less than half a year in the UK, you don't count as UK resident for that tax year. Although really most of the tax avoidance schemes rely on moving one's income and assets to a company and then playing games with the "residency" of the company.
sbacic 7y ago
> First, so few people are able to move; Let me tell you a little story. In 2013, Croatia had some 350,000 unemployed. In a country of about 4 million people, that is a lot. Today, we have the lowest unemployment rate in the EU. What happened? Many of those people (and even some that were employed) left for Germany and Ireland. It's gotten to the point that the government has increased non-EU worker quotas in order to plug the hole - despite being part of the EU and having access to its huge labor market! So, as you can see, at least in the EU, people can and do move. What does this have to do with taxes? Germany does not have a problem with tens or even hundreds of thousands of skilled migrants emigrating to fuel its economy. But God forbid that some billionaire decides to leave Germany for Malta - that's an atrocity and a EU-wide problem that MUST be solved. Despite the fact that the EU is based on the free movement of labor, goods AND capital. I think that in the future, more and more people are going to be voting with their feet - and not just the rich. Between gerrymandering, vote buying, corporate lobbying, vocal minorities, apathetic voters and defective electoral systems (first past the post/two party systems) many have lost faith in democracy.

nordsieck 7y ago

> Second is when people move on "paper" to benefit from another jurisdiction but don't physically move in reality. Thus they continue to benefit from the society they nominally "left" but don't pay into it. What jurisdiction allows this? The US is particularly draconian by taxing worldwide income; every other country that I know of will tax your income if you live there.

pjc50 7y ago
Many jurisdictions have residency rules that allow people to partially move - e.g in the UK if you have a residence overseas and spend less than half a year in the UK, you don't count as UK resident for that tax year. Although really most of the tax avoidance schemes rely on moving one's income and assets to a company and then playing games with the "residency" of the company.

sbacic 7y ago

> First, so few people are able to move; Let me tell you a little story. In 2013, Croatia had some 350,000 unemployed. In a country of about 4 million people, that is a lot. Today, we have the lowest unemployment rate in the EU. What happened? Many of those people (and even some that were employed) left for Germany and Ireland. It's gotten to the point that the government has increased non-EU worker quotas in order to plug the hole - despite being part of the EU and having access to its huge labor market! So, as you can see, at least in the EU, people can and do move. What does this have to do with taxes? Germany does not have a problem with tens or even hundreds of thousands of skilled migrants emigrating to fuel its economy. But God forbid that some billionaire decides to leave Germany for Malta - that's an atrocity and a EU-wide problem that MUST be solved. Despite the fact that the EU is based on the free movement of labor, goods AND capital. I think that in the future, more and more people are going to be voting with their feet - and not just the rich. Between gerrymandering, vote buying, corporate lobbying, vocal minorities, apathetic voters and defective electoral systems (first past the post/two party systems) many have lost faith in democracy.