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I suspect the more hands-on tools by which law and order is enforced such as asset seizure, 24/7 monitoring, discreditation, and prison time could be the motiva

I suspect the more hands-on tools by which law and order is enforced such as asset seizure, 24/7 monitoring, discreditation, and prison time could be the motivation for otherwise tax averse entities to transparently contribute their exact tax proportion.

gogopuppygogo 5y ago
So enhancement of punishment and enforcement to allow government to redistribute wealth from some citizens to the government? I think we’ve seen this before… usually ends in democide… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democide
- Dah00n 5y ago
  "enhancement of punishment and enforcement" is what the whole US justice system is built to do*, unlike systems in Northern Europe for example. *Except for white-collar crime.
dkarras 5y ago
It still won't work unless the whole world agrees to do it simultaneously. A classic game theory problem, the more some countries agree on it, the more benefit to those countries that don't do it. Because worst case, the rich entity can flee, or renounce citizenship and buy citizenship where the tax climate is more favorable. With the amount of money we are speaking about, you can buy anything. Each and every country has a very fast track to citizenship in exchange for money (and an instant path to pretty much all rights except for voting). So you threaten the wealthy with torture? Unless you do all this by surprise one day all of a sudden, they can and will escape.
- Trias11 5y ago
  Definitely. $150k buys you a Carribean citizenship + passports for the family of 4. 0% income tax and 0% capital gains tax in Antigua and Barbuda. 365 sandy beaches. What not to love for freedom seeking individuals?
- jollybean 5y ago
  Not so. The US can simply refuse to recognize or work with entities that don't want to report the incomes of US residents. There is quite a bit of progress among rich nations, which is indeed why the article mentioned many of the individuals come from corrupt nations. The issue, therefore, may not be so much of 'tax havens' but of 'corrupt systems that allow for tax havens'. I don't think Bezos has a pile of cash secretly offshore.

gogopuppygogo 5y ago

So enhancement of punishment and enforcement to allow government to redistribute wealth from some citizens to the government? I think we’ve seen this before… usually ends in democide… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democide

Dah00n 5y ago
"enhancement of punishment and enforcement" is what the whole US justice system is built to do*, unlike systems in Northern Europe for example. *Except for white-collar crime.

dkarras 5y ago

It still won't work unless the whole world agrees to do it simultaneously. A classic game theory problem, the more some countries agree on it, the more benefit to those countries that don't do it. Because worst case, the rich entity can flee, or renounce citizenship and buy citizenship where the tax climate is more favorable. With the amount of money we are speaking about, you can buy anything. Each and every country has a very fast track to citizenship in exchange for money (and an instant path to pretty much all rights except for voting). So you threaten the wealthy with torture? Unless you do all this by surprise one day all of a sudden, they can and will escape.

Trias11 5y ago
Definitely. $150k buys you a Carribean citizenship + passports for the family of 4. 0% income tax and 0% capital gains tax in Antigua and Barbuda. 365 sandy beaches. What not to love for freedom seeking individuals?
jollybean 5y ago
Not so. The US can simply refuse to recognize or work with entities that don't want to report the incomes of US residents. There is quite a bit of progress among rich nations, which is indeed why the article mentioned many of the individuals come from corrupt nations. The issue, therefore, may not be so much of 'tax havens' but of 'corrupt systems that allow for tax havens'. I don't think Bezos has a pile of cash secretly offshore.