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A lot of the content here seems to be justifying breaching a law firm's security and disclosing sensitive attorney-client privileged information. Unlike some of

by piker 7y ago

A lot of the content here seems to be justifying breaching a law firm's security and disclosing sensitive attorney-client privileged information. Unlike some of the prior disclosures, there doesn't seem to be any allegation that the tax haven was being used for money laundering purposes (cf. Panama Papers), but just that the country itself was somehow acting unfairly to less developed jurisdictions. In addition to some of the sentiment below that the benefits in the form of capital inflows of such stabilizing treaties may exceed their costs in the form of top-line cap gains tax, etc., this distinction is striking. It goes so far as to call out the specifics of an investment by the founder of Live Aid, without accusing him of doing anything illegal or, arguably, immoral. While there is definitely educational benefit to understanding the potential effects of these sorts of treaties, at what point do these leaks cease to be newsworthy and begin to be gossip?

joshypants 7y ago
Sometimes we need to look at the second-order effects of something to decide whether it is moral or not.
d4rti 7y ago
A lot of content here is justifying avoiding taxation on the grounds that it's questionably legal and even arguing that it's not necessarily immoral.
davidwitt415 7y ago
It's money laundering of a different sort; the meaningful business activities are not taking place in Mauritius, it is just a post office box and some legal forms, so it is a tax dodge to claim the business is conducted in Mauritius (or any of the so-called tax havens). Taxes should be paid where a business does its real business activities. Tax avoidance is a huge business, and legions of lawyers and accountants have been employed for generations to find or create these loopholes. While they may be considered legal in narrow terms, they most often skirt the intent of the law. As the legality of these arrangements is often questionable, it is also right to look at them morally. After all, laws are supposed to be equitable, and a system may be 'legal' while also being wrong, either morally or equitably. Therefore, while Bob Geldolf's investments by be technically legal, it is still in the public's interest to know about these secretive arrangements, especially since 'Sir' Bob made his public acclaim over his supposed charitable interest in Africa, which is now revealed to be financial above all else. It's not gossip if it is in the public's material interest.

by piker 7y ago

joshypants 7y ago

Sometimes we need to look at the second-order effects of something to decide whether it is moral or not.

d4rti 7y ago

A lot of content here is justifying avoiding taxation on the grounds that it's questionably legal and even arguing that it's not necessarily immoral.

davidwitt415 7y ago

It's money laundering of a different sort; the meaningful business activities are not taking place in Mauritius, it is just a post office box and some legal forms, so it is a tax dodge to claim the business is conducted in Mauritius (or any of the so-called tax havens). Taxes should be paid where a business does its real business activities. Tax avoidance is a huge business, and legions of lawyers and accountants have been employed for generations to find or create these loopholes. While they may be considered legal in narrow terms, they most often skirt the intent of the law. As the legality of these arrangements is often questionable, it is also right to look at them morally. After all, laws are supposed to be equitable, and a system may be 'legal' while also being wrong, either morally or equitably. Therefore, while Bob Geldolf's investments by be technically legal, it is still in the public's interest to know about these secretive arrangements, especially since 'Sir' Bob made his public acclaim over his supposed charitable interest in Africa, which is now revealed to be financial above all else. It's not gossip if it is in the public's material interest.