4 ms·

So, what is this? His passion for the Mediterranian? Reconnecting with his ancestor's roots? BTW: All tax systems are draconian, at least to the middle class.

So, what is this? His passion for the Mediterranian? Reconnecting with his ancestor's roots? BTW: All tax systems are draconian, at least to the middle class. Not to people who can afford creative lawyers.

pembrook 6y ago
My guess, ease of movement in the EU for him and his kids. When you've got Eric Schmidt money, you probably want to have the ability to live and vacation anywhere you want, whenever you want. Otherwise you're limited to 90 days in the EU at a time as a tourist.
- throwawayay02 6y ago
  Many EU countries sell citizenship in exchange for very modest investments. Cyprus, however, is a very suspicious choice.
  - zajio1am 6y ago
    Many EU countries sell permanent resident status, not citizenship.
  - dharma1 6y ago
    There are many EU countries that have some type of golden visa, but for a citizenship Cyprus is the fastest one - AFAIK you can get it in 6 months if you invest $2m. The other countries require years of stay for citizenship. I doubt this has much to do with tax, or that he is about to renounce his US citizenship. It just makes it easier to stay and live in the EU (with family) for extended periods of time, nice extra passport to have if money is no object. I think Cyprus has come under fire for this so unsure how long it will last.
  - pingec 6y ago
    Oh really? Which ones? I'd only think of Cyprus and Malta
    - FDSGSG 6y ago
      Well, Romanian passports aren't uncommon among Russians in London. It's just not a very official scheme.
  - Scoundreller 6y ago
    Many of them have annoying requirements, like having to live there, possibly coming along with pesky tax obligations. Yuck!
addicted 6y ago
If you compare countries by how well they collect taxes, I am pretty sure it will completely correlate with how well their middle classes are doing. So it’s really hard to see how taxes are draconian for the middle classes. Or draconian at all.
- ben_w 6y ago
  “Middle class” is a very vague term; I assume in this case it refers to people rich enough to have a “nice bonus” from their investments, but not rich enough to actually live off their investments. For this group, I can believe it’s awkward and annoying, mainly because I am in it and I find investment T&Cs (and the consequences of being wrong) scary and confusing. However, I would not use the word “draconian” — I take the view that paying my taxes buys a civilization to live in, and that this is a very good deal.
  - wukerplank 6y ago
    I'm not against taxes, it was my cynical way of expressing that it is impossible to evade them for most people while it is quite easy for those who already have more than enough.
  - mixedCase 6y ago
    > I take the view that paying my taxes buys a civilization to live in, and that this is a very good deal. That is a fair way to look at it, but I'm sure you agree that salesmen of all kinds love when people have that view, since it's easy to get them to wildly overpay for a product.
- wukerplank 6y ago
  The "draconian" was a reference to a different comment by parent (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25038688 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25038688). Whatever your opinion is about taxes and the middle class: It's easy for the wealthy to not pay taxes - that was my whole point.
YinglingLight 6y ago
Extradition laws

pembrook 6y ago

My guess, ease of movement in the EU for him and his kids. When you've got Eric Schmidt money, you probably want to have the ability to live and vacation anywhere you want, whenever you want. Otherwise you're limited to 90 days in the EU at a time as a tourist.

throwawayay02 6y ago
Many EU countries sell citizenship in exchange for very modest investments. Cyprus, however, is a very suspicious choice.
- zajio1am 6y ago
  Many EU countries sell permanent resident status, not citizenship.
- dharma1 6y ago
  There are many EU countries that have some type of golden visa, but for a citizenship Cyprus is the fastest one - AFAIK you can get it in 6 months if you invest $2m. The other countries require years of stay for citizenship. I doubt this has much to do with tax, or that he is about to renounce his US citizenship. It just makes it easier to stay and live in the EU (with family) for extended periods of time, nice extra passport to have if money is no object. I think Cyprus has come under fire for this so unsure how long it will last.
- pingec 6y ago
  Oh really? Which ones? I'd only think of Cyprus and Malta
  - FDSGSG 6y ago
    Well, Romanian passports aren't uncommon among Russians in London. It's just not a very official scheme.
- Scoundreller 6y ago
  Many of them have annoying requirements, like having to live there, possibly coming along with pesky tax obligations. Yuck!

addicted 6y ago

If you compare countries by how well they collect taxes, I am pretty sure it will completely correlate with how well their middle classes are doing. So it’s really hard to see how taxes are draconian for the middle classes. Or draconian at all.

ben_w 6y ago
“Middle class” is a very vague term; I assume in this case it refers to people rich enough to have a “nice bonus” from their investments, but not rich enough to actually live off their investments. For this group, I can believe it’s awkward and annoying, mainly because I am in it and I find investment T&Cs (and the consequences of being wrong) scary and confusing. However, I would not use the word “draconian” — I take the view that paying my taxes buys a civilization to live in, and that this is a very good deal.
- wukerplank 6y ago
  I'm not against taxes, it was my cynical way of expressing that it is impossible to evade them for most people while it is quite easy for those who already have more than enough.
- mixedCase 6y ago
  > I take the view that paying my taxes buys a civilization to live in, and that this is a very good deal. That is a fair way to look at it, but I'm sure you agree that salesmen of all kinds love when people have that view, since it's easy to get them to wildly overpay for a product.
wukerplank 6y ago
The "draconian" was a reference to a different comment by parent (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25038688 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25038688). Whatever your opinion is about taxes and the middle class: It's easy for the wealthy to not pay taxes - that was my whole point.

YinglingLight 6y ago

Extradition laws