Billionaire, morally defensible?

[Murdochcat]

Billionaires prefer countries which are well run. Where they and their families are unlikely to be robbed, murdered or kidnapped. Where their property is unlikely to be seized. Where they are unlikely to be thrown into prison for lack of support to the ruler. Where the police and courts are not commonly corrupt. Where there are well-run airfields and air traffic control. Where the roads are safe. Where armed brigands do not roam. Where the marinas are not raided by pirates. Where there are luxury jewellers, couturiers and restsurants for their wives and mistresses. Where there are well-connected schools for their offspting. Where there are trustworthy bsnks. Where there is good sanitation and health systems so diseases are not rife. This limits the number of suitable boltholes.

Such countries are mostly in the prosperous West. They are countries that have taxation to fund their attractive systems.

Tax-dodgers often threaten to move if their privileges are reduced. They seldom do.

Many such countries see the disadvantages of competing to race to the bottom, and are willing to enter into co-operative alliances making it possible to establish common standards.

Nonsense. Billionaires hop around to the most tax efficient places.

 

[JohnD]

Nonsense. Billionaires hop around to the most tax efficient places.

That's what they tell you. In the hope you will be generous.

Tax-dodgers often threaten to move if their privileges are reduced. They seldom do.

 

[JonathanM]

I think the world would be happier without such extremes. But whether the process of becoming a self made billionaire plays an important economic role is unclear.

 

[Andydevon]

Monaco good climate low tax and a lack of communists.

 

[Brigadier]

Monaco

Like West Brom, but with more sunshine and more Ferraris

 

[motorbiking]

That's what they tell you. In the hope you will be generous.

Tax-dodgers often threaten to move if their privileges are reduced. They seldom do.

No they really do.

List of Portuguese by net worth - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Super-rich abandoning Norway at record rate as wealth tax rises slightly

Flood moving abroad has come as a shock and is costing tens of millions in lost tax receipts

www.theguardian.com

 

[motorbiking]

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France had a wealth tax from 1982 to 1986 and again from 1988 to 2017. The top rate was between 1.5% and 1.8%, with the total tax rate on fortunes larger than 13 million euros ($14.3 million) hovering at about 1.4%. This is much less than the 6% top rate proposed by Warren (not to mention the 8% proposed by her fellow candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders), but it's close to the 2% rate Warren would impose on fortunes larger than $50 million.
The wealth tax might have generated social solidarity, but as a practical matter it was a disappointment. The revenue it raised was rather paltry; only a few billion euros at its peak, or about 1% of France’s total revenue from all taxes. At least 10,000 wealthy people left the country to avoid paying the tax; most moved to neighboring Belgium, which has a large French-speaking population. When these individuals left, France lost not only their wealth tax revenue but their income taxes and other taxes as well. French economist Eric Pichet estimates that this ended up costing the French government almost twice as much revenue as the total yielded by the wealth tax. When President Emmanuel Macron ended the wealth tax in 2017, it was viewed mostly as a symbolic move.
Another French experiment was the so-called supertax, a 75% levy on incomes of more than 1 million euros. Introduced by socialist President François Hollande in 2012, the supertax added to the exodus of wealthy individuals, most notably actor Gerard Depardieu and Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Star soccer players threatened to go on strike, and there was fear that France would become a wasteland for entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, the supertax raised much less money than even the wealth tax had -- only 160 million euros in 2014. The unpopular tax was repealed two years after its adoption.
France’s experiments with taxing the wealthy at very high rates didn’t raise much money and didn’t prove politically sustainable. The flight of wealthy individuals from the country probably helped reduce inequality on paper, but it's not clear that their departure left France better off.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Billionaires are highly mobile as are most multi-millionaires. They will choose to base themselves wherever they please.

If one country tries to tax them too much, you can guess where they will go.

The only way, would be for all countries to tax them, and that simply would not happen.

 

[motorbiking]

In my industry a hell of a lot of people do a couple of years in Dubai to build a tax free nest egg.

 

[Murdochcat]

The only way, would be for all countries to tax them, and that simply would not happen.

Actually a far better worldwide tax would be a levy on aviation fuel

 

[motorbiking]

can you imagine the oil producers agreeing to that?

 

[JohnD]

most moved to neighboring Belgium

Very notably, another prosperous Western country having all the attributes I mentioned, plus parts speaking much the same language and having a similar culture. And being a short journey away from their favourite haunts. Very much in the same way that rabid Brexer Rice-Pudd set up business in RoI to retain the benefits of EU membership.

Perhaps there is some way that the majority of Western European nations could form some sort of club, for their mutual benefit, and agree to align some of their tax regimes.

But wait! They already have!

 

[JohnD]

The only way, would be for all countries to tax them, and that simply would not happen.

Unless they agreed to.

It would not be necessary for Afghanistan, Russia and Costa Rica to agree, since they do not have the characteristics necessary to attract billionaires.

 

[motorbiking]

Very notably, another prosperous Western country having all the attributes I mentioned, plus parts speaking much the same language and having a similar culture. And being a short journey away from their favourite haunts. Very much in the same way that rabid Brexer Rice-Pudd set up business in RoI to retain the benefits of EU membership.

Perhaps there is some way that the majority of Western European nations could form some sort of club, for their mutual benefit, and agree to align some of their tax regimes.

But wait! They already have!

You think the EU have income tax harmony?