It has been quite a grim century for Mongolia, many decades under the Soviet yoke after the ‘Mad Baron’ von Ungern-Sternberg managed to take over in the chaos after WW1, and write his own grim chapter, and still its capital is called ‘Red Hero’, but despite that name, Mongolia has got itself into the EU’s bad books, not by human rights abuses, but by a lack of them as a tax haven.
To determine whether a country is a “non-cooperative jurisdiction” the EU index measures the transparency of its tax regime, tax rates and whether the tax system encourages multinationals to unfairly shift profits to low tax regimes to avoid higher duties in other states. In particular these include tax systems that offer incentives such as 0% corporate tax to foreign companies.
The scoundrels, the shame of it, not taxing someone!
EU members have been left to decide what action to take against the offenders. Ministers ruled out imposing a withholding tax on transactions to tax havens as well as other financial sanctions.
OK, how about undercutting or matching them for starters? That would, actually, hurt them.
For some reason, the ‘charity’ Oxfam thinks it is entitled to chip in.
The UK-based charity Oxfam last week published its own list of 35 countries that it said should be blacklisted.
Are Oxfam’s shops taxed (or business-rated) in the same way as their commercial neighbours? Can they explain how sanctions (so useful against South Africa under Apartheid) improve the lot of the poor? Since sanctions harm, the corollary is that free trade doesn’t, and yet… But I digress.
Let’s hope that Mongolia shows the same defiance before its accusers as the Baron von Ungern-Sternberg did when facing a People’s Court, from ‘Setting the East Ablaze’ by Peter Hopkirk.
‘Showing no signs of fear at the fate awaiting him, the baron challenged the right of a ‘people’s court’ to try him. He told his Bolshevik accusers: ‘For a thousand years Ungerns have given other people orders. We have never taken orders from anyone. I refuse to accept the authority of the working class’.
Then they shot him.
The full blacklist is:
The 17 blacklisted territories are:
American Samoa, Bahrain, Barbados, Grenada, Guam, South Korea, Macau, The Marshall Islands,Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates.
and conceding the point that taxes create poverty:
The EU made exceptions for countries faced with natural disasters such as hurricanes, and put the process temporarily on hold.
“The 17 blacklisted territories are: American Samoa, Bahrain, Barbados, Grenada, Guam, South Korea, Macau, The Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates.”
How good of them to provide us all with a list of the dwindling number of jurisdictions where your right to the fruits of your labour is still respected and your hard-earned money is safely out of their grasping reach.
Hopefully, BREXIT will leave the UK free to join that illustrious group (or at least decline to share personal financial information with the EU leeches).
Not exactly the ready sword excalibur then, as yet.
After Brexit, we can care less about the eurocrats and they can care more about reality. Meanwhile, it may be useful to see what measures they can encourage. Forewarned is forearmed if they amount to much, and if they amount to little then that will also be useful to know.
For the eurocrats, I wondered if this was because they have their own money stashed in such places. Why Oxfam would omit the ‘most notorious’ tax havens I know not.
Don’t worry about Mongolia! Nations have karma, as well as individuals. Remember Ghenkis Khan? This is a part of payback. Keep it up until the Mongols stop treating him as a hero!
I was fortunate in that I learned all I needed to know about large, international “charity” orgs, when I
discovered the truth about UNICEF at a young age.
Then I learned the similar truth about smaller, national, “state”, and to a lesser degree local “charities”, in conjunction with our fine “established” tax legislators, and our noble Internal Revenue Service management folks.
I understand that Haiti is STILL in quite a mess, in some cases WORSE, since the presence of The Clinton Family Charitable Foundations.
I could be wrong of course.
Both lists have been criticised as omitting the most notorious tax havens.
That’s a shame. I’d like to know which they are. It won’t help me to stash any of my massive wealth ( 😆 ) there, since the IRS forces disclosure and reporting, but at least I could support them with tourist dollars.
Oxfam takes advantage of their reduced rates quite blatantly to compete with retailers who have to pay full rates. In Rochester Oxfam opened a shop selling just furniture a couple of days down from an established furniture retailer. I’ve nothing against charity shops but competing unfaitly in this way has meant I will never give a penny to Oxfam or go in their shops.
A superb book, as is The Great Game by the same author.
South Korea is on the list? What are the populace of the EU going to do for smart phones and TVs?
Aside: Does this mean that the EU has officially declared North Korea to be superior to South Korea?
So… a European empire dictates policy to countries populated by black and brown people and the “progressives” cheer it on, denouncing conservatives who contend that they should be left in peace to run their own affairs?
It’s a funny old world.
As someone on this blog has said already, I am looking forward to when the UK joins this honoured list.
As others have said – being “non compliant” to the tax demands of the European Union should be a badge of honour. For example when “tax authorities” go to another country and ask questions – they should be told to return to Hell.
However, the United Kingdom Chancellor and United Kingdom First Lord of the Treasury do NOT want Britain to be a boo-hiss “Tax Haven”.
Ironically the policy that Comrade Jeremy Corbyn FALSELY claims the government is following,lower taxes, lower government spending, less regulation, is the policy the government SHOULD follow.
Whether it is the government of the United Kingdom – or, indeed, of Mongolia.