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0 sats \ 14 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 27 Jul \ parent \ on: The Increasing Impact of Bitcoin’s Ancient Supply bitcoin
Which jurisdictions have no sales/value added tax?
I do not know of any jurisdictions where income tax can be legally avoided by only transacting in sats- even in El Salvador if accepting sats you must still pay sales tax as I understand it though there may be an exemption for very small businesses. Sales/value added taxes are anyway just a convoluted means of taxing income as they are calculated on the value added by the business paying- so are a form of sly income tax in almost all cases.
Where/how do you live and completely avoid paying tax?
For myself the majority of the tax I pay is probably via sales tax anyway, not income tax.
I am sure many here would be interested to know if it is legally possible to avoid paying any tax, while in almost all jurisdictions it is possible to avoid/evade paying taxes but only by evading the law.
Yes, I don't see universal adoption of Bitcoin as necessary but I would like to see the taxation of Bitcoin where it is used as a MoE payments protocol removed as it severely restricts and inhibits both use and competition in the market of monetary payments options...and such change is unlikely to happen without ongoing pressure from voters on politicians seeking votes.
Milei has appears to have provided Argentine voters with such an option and more is needed of that kind of change, imo...even if he cannot yet deliver freedom of monetary exchange MoE market, he is voicing the idea and objective that such a change is desirable...and it surely is!
Which jurisdictions have no sales/value added tax?
Several US states and Caribbean islands. Some of the islands don't charge income tax either.
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So some Caribbean islands charge no sales or income tax?
Sounds too good to be true...
How do they fund government?
Roads, infrastructure, law and order and all government administration - how are they funded?
Import Tariffs?
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- Direct investment / citizenship programmes
- Licensing of public goods - funniest example: Anguilla's TLD is .ai which brings in 20% of revenue (though I think they actually have GST now, haven't been for a while)
- Tourism taxes
Also... what roads? You mean those places where you drive your cars where potholes are manhole-sized? lol
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'Today, up to half of global offshore wealth is hidden in British jurisdictions and Britain and its dependencies are the largest global players in The Secret World of Finance.'
'The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire' is an informative doco on how Britain established many of these tax havens as its global wealth and power declined after the WWs.
With the decline of US empire it looks a lot like Trump is creating virtual mechanisms of a similar character...via tether and crypto.
Tax havens can be seen as parasites feeding off the wealth extracted by wealthy selfish and greedy expats and their multiple entities.
They are perhaps a natural part of the global tax ecosystem but for the vast majority of humanity, tax havens take away much more than they give.
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There may well be principled exceptions to the rule but as you have stated many of these tax havens charge an entry/citizenship fee and so are purposely and inherently exclusive to those capable of paying entry and would logically appeal most to those who are wealthy and for whom it is worthwhile to pay a substantial fee for citizenship in order to avoid paying taxes in their original location.
In many cases these wealthy expats will have gained their wealth as a result of their original locations attributes and opportunities and so motives of selfishness and greed certainly are strongly implied when they flee their origins in order to avoid returning some of their profits to its source and origin.
The wealth of nations is, imo, strongly related to the strength and integrity of their governments and ultimately the loyalty and integrity of citizens.
The doco I have linked probably covers the topic in more depth than I can.
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But then: if you as a government screw with your citizens (or corporations) and they leave, are they greedy and selfish for that? Are they non-free beings that are of lifelong allegiance to the state they were born (or initially formed) in?
Did you choose where you were born? I sure as hell didn't and regime change (I've lived through 3 major ones) is a thing too. What binds you to this nation state that taxes you and then squanders your contribution?
If you hate your job, you look for a better one elsewhere. And if you hate your country, you look for a better one elsewhere too. Sometimes, you suffer through a bad job for a couple of years because you'll gain experience that will help you land a better job. Same with countries. Sometimes you may need to work hard under very bad circumstances but save up and then be able to move.
Ask yourself: if you would have worked hard and saved as much as you could, in sats, since 2015, would you now, 10 years later, care about a 1-1.5 BTC (in the cheaper places) one-time tax and then you're free?
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I guess its a grey area and there are a wide range of situations and opinions on it.
But imo the most likely candidates to seek tax havens to avoid tax will be bringing wealth they gained as a result of their original citizenship and seeking to avoid returning any of that wealth to its origins.
In some cases that could be seen as selfish ungrateful greed.
In other cases it may be justified as escaping unjust and tyrannical governance.
Each situation will be different.
Personally while I do not like some of my governments actions I feel lucky to live in a country where tax funds free education, health care and universal basic support for the elderly and infirm. Where I have been successful I am happy to pay tax to support those less successful.
I believe that human wealth is based upon collective effort and taxes are a natural part of wealth building...that of course requires that we also participate in politics where we see the wrong decisions and allocations occurring, rather than opting out and re locating to somewhere we do not participate in the collective process of governance and taxation.