A topical guide to offshore e-commerce focused on tax
and regulation LawAndTax
-News.com
Daily news and background data on tax and legal developments
for international business
Lowtax
Network Hosted Blogs
10 July 2007
Never Trust Your Money To A Nation State The news that the Chinese government is arbitrarily demanding back taxes from
a range of state companies just underlines the dangers of investing in anything
to do with nation states, which are totally unethical (ok, pragmatic) in their
financial dealings with citizens, whether their own or not.
In this particular case, the authorities dished out tax breaks to encourage
investors to buy the companies' shares when they listed in Hong Kong in 1993.
Now they have taken back the tax breaks, which is fair enough in the light of
China's WTO commitments and its plan to level up taxation for all companies,
foreign and domestic.
What is not fair is to demand back taxes for some or all of the intervening
period, which is what they seem to be doing. Investors bought the shares on
certain information, and now have the rug pulled from beneath their feet.
Well, 'she who sups with the devil needs a long spoon', we say where I come
from. Although governments make law, and are often good at applying it to everyone
else, they normally consider themselves above the law, especially when it suits
them financially. The history of currencies is a case in point: governments
issue money at a certain price, but then undermine its value by reneging on
their promises of fiscal rectitude. Almost all currencies have lost value very
heavily over time, leaving their holders with losses. Zimbabwe is a current
example, but it stands out only by its particular egregiousness.
Markets function fairly only under the rule of law, and an investor will be
smart if she puts her money only where she can be sure that the law will apply.
That excludes dealings with government, whether it be to hold their currencies,
buy their bonds or invest in their projects.
You have been
reading an entry on the following blog:
Penelope Wise Penny Wise but not Pound Foolish! But remember: I am not offering investment advice. My comments are just for your general information; I do not recommend investments, and you should take professional advice before entering any investment contract. Penelope blogs on investment and financial services around the world: mainstream and alternative. Contact: penelopewiser@hotmail.co.uk
More
entries from this blog:
02 December 2007 Please Turn Out The Lights As You Leave The report that no fewer than 3.8 million British and Irish own overseas properties
means that a ...
23 September 2007 Caveat Emptor? Another bunch of investors have had their fingers burned after investing in
hedge funds based ap ...
16 September 2007 No More Fat Cat Investments For Me! The news that Hannover Re is thinking of moving its base from highly-taxed
Germany to lightly-ta ...
26 August 2007 To Buy Or Not To Buy? On investorsoffshore.com an adviser is singing the praises of overseas property
investment, but ...
05 August 2007 Don't Have A Foreign Boy-Friend! Brussels stands for 'ever closer union', but a court ruling that came into
force across Europe l ...
09 March 2008 Goodbye To Privacy
These last two weeks have seen the 'offshore' tax haven of Liechtenstein in
the pillory for tryi...
20 February 2008 Panama Today, Tomorrow And Always
This Christmas season 2007 everyone is asking: What is happening in Panama?
Every single hotel...
03 January 2008 Another Nail In The Currency Coffin
Two more countries join the mighty euro while the dollar slumps ever further
into the shadows an...
02 December 2007 Please Turn Out The Lights As You Leave
The report that no fewer than 3.8 million British and Irish own overseas properties
means that a...
23 September 2007 Caveat Emptor?
Another bunch of investors have had their fingers burned after investing in
hedge funds based ap...
16 September 2007 No More Fat Cat Investments For Me!
The news that Hannover Re is thinking of moving its base from highly-taxed
Germany to lightly-ta...
09 September 2007 Flat Tax, Not Flat Earth, Please!
Why is it that trade unions, especially European ones, seem to be stuck in
a 19th century econom...
Penelope Wise
Penny Wise but not Pound Foolish! But remember: I am not offering investment advice. My comments are just for your general information; I do not recommend investments, and you should take professional advice before entering any investment contract.
Interested in blogging on
Lowtax? We are currently accepting
submissions!
By hosting your blog on the network you or your company
can expect to benefit from our very high traffic levels.
We boast one of the largest communities of professionals
(tax, offshore, legal, etc) and HNWIs. If you are already
a blogger, but want a wider audience, you can move an
existing blog to our network, or if you've never blogged
before, why not have a go? We'll help you get started...
One of the web's largest and
most authoritative business and investment information sources. Alongside
topical, daily news on worldwide
tax developments, you can receive weekly newswires or
access up-to-date intelligence
reports on a range of legal, tax and investment subjects.
Our 16 constantly updated
intelligence reports cover every important aspect of 'offshore' and international
tax-planning in depth, including banking secrecy, the EU's savings tax
directive, offshore funds, e-commerce, offshore gaming and transfer pricing.
Reports are available for immediate downloading or as subscription
services with news pages.
Advertising & Marketing
With over 50,000 qualified readers every month our web-sites
offer a number of cost effective, targeted advertising,
sponsorship and marketing opportunities:
Display advertising - from 'skyscrapers' to 'buttons'
Content/article submission and sponsorship
Opt-in email marketing
On-line Services Directory listings
Could your corporate web-site or newsletter benefit
from incorporating regularly updated news and content
tailored to serve your clients' interests? We can provide
a variety of maintenance-free news and content solutions
that can be seamlessly integrated and dynamically delivered:
IMPORTANT NOTICE: TAX-NEWS.COM
has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information
contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial
or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular,
users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice
before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions,
offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials on this site
copyright TAX-NEWS.COM 1999 to 2004. Contact
us for further information.
