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10 Feb, 2014
Why does Luxembourg want to deny that's it's a "tax haven"? "Profiting 'fiscally' from other countries." Well, we know why: because in dying Europe it's not politically correct to compete against other countries any more, so Luxembourg has to pretend that it doesn't have an advantageous tax regime. But it does! And its efforts to cling on to that regime are the reason for giving it a prize. While pretending otherwise, Luxembourg is engaged in fighting a rearguard action against the extension of the Savings Tax Directive and AEI (automatic exchange of information).
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29 Jan, 2014
Spain's Rajoy has promised income tax cuts in 2015, so half a cheer for him for at least talking the talk. But will he walk the walk? Perhaps more credibly, the Finance Minister would only say that he is not planning a VAT rise "for now." If they weren't politicians, they wouldn't even begin to consider lowering taxes at this moment in history: the deficit for 2013 was probably just over 6 percent, while debt was 84 percent of GDP in 2013 and is expected to rise to 94 percent in 2014. While these figures aren't as catastrophic as those for Greece (and Italy's debt stands at 135 percent of GDP and rising), they are quite frightening. What they ought to do, of course, is to cut public spending, even though that would increase already massive unemployment (26 percent).
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21 Jan, 2014
David Cameron and George Osborne have been EU-bashing again this week, and they mean what they say as regards the financial transactions tax and financial services regulation. Its not clear that they mean what they say as regards immigration: they have to pretend to be against it in order to placate would be supporters of UKIP and other lunatic fringes. In fact, as they know very well, the UK has benefited enormously from successive waves of immigration resulting from illiberal and repressive policies pursued by successive Continental tyrants, from Huguenot weavers in the seventeenth century to Jewish scientists in the 20th.
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01 Aug, 2013
It's all happening in trade at the moment with the United States gaining its second star in a week after reporting good progress with the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, after a successful opening to the US/EU TTIP talks last week. Japan has now officially joined the process, which also includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
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03 Jul, 2012
With the demise of Greece, the interwoven Cyprus economy has taken a beating. Following the footsteps of other Euro members, the Cypriot government has asked the EU for a bailout. Of course it would be foolish for them not to try, since the European Commission seems so keen in handing out billions of Euro's.
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01 Jul, 2012
A lot can happen in one month time. The following developments and articles caught our eye for various reasons:
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28 Jun, 2012
As the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre reminds us, there is much that is unpalatable or worse about China, but any opening up is progress of a kind towards a better future, so we must welcome the loosening of the QFII rules which will allow a considerable expansion of foreign portfolio investment in the country, and marks another step on the road towards convertibility of the renminbi. It is trade, whether in goods or in money, that is the precursor of individual liberties (one of the main arguments for free trade), and who can deny that China's booming economy has brought benefits to its people, oppressed as they still are in many respects?
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07 Jun, 2012
Ed Fast for the WTO! This is not to do down Pascal Lamy, who soldiers on gamely with the Doha Round, but even this determined marathon runner has to get tired sometime, and when he does, Ed would be a good replacement. He has bone-dry free trading credentials, on display once again this week as he took a 30-strong delegation of Canadian business-people to Russia. You do have to wonder slightly what they are going to sell each other: hockey players? snow-ploughs? But that's the wonder of free trade: once the barriers are down, all kinds of amazing things happen. In BT 50 (an alternative calendar, BT for before taxes, round about 1900, and AT for after taxes) my great-great grandfather made money buying eggs in Kazan (that's where Ed was this week) and selling them in Rochdale. Who could have guessed it?
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31 May, 2012
The UK wins this week's first encomium for abolishing a tax. Mind you, the government hadn't much choice after it was heaped with ridicule during 'pastygate'. In England, pasties are a rather down-market food often bought by poorer people hot from take-aways, big on pastry and potato, with a token piece of meat hiding somewhere in the middle. Operators of take-aways said they would let the pasties cool off before selling them (avoiding the tax) and instal diy ovens for customers to re-heat them. But the best was that neither the Prime Minister nor the Chancellor (both seriously rich toffs) could remember whether they had ever eaten one. Probably not!
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