Offshore tax havens

[Gordon Barlow]

In the wake of the Cyprus fiasco, there is a general concern that other Offshore tax havens will be targeted by the world's Central Banks for destruction. Some posters on this Bitcoin site have expressed their anxiety. As a longtime resident of the Cayman Islands - and a former Manager and sometime Director of the local Chamber of Commerce - I am particularly concerned with the effect of Cyprus on these islands.

Cayman is a British colony ("Overseas Territory", these days), whose local government (politicians and bureaucrats) has overspent and overborrowed egregiously in recent years. So much so, that the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office has a special team of monitors on the ground here trying to persuade our government heavies to act sensibly. Britain has just released Turks & Caicos - another colony in the region - from direct rule from London, and the presence of the FCO team serves as a useful reminder that Britain could easily do the same here. That tacit threat is very effective. There is almost no sentiment here favouring independence from Britain. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing in the long run is moot; for the moment, it's a good thing. And Britain's active interest ought to save us from getting on the list of Offshore havens to be killed off, at least for a while.

I have a Cayman blogsite ("Barlow's Cayman", accessible via Google), the latest post on which discusses the Cyprus issue. I intend to use my new membership of this Bitcoin Forum to educate myself about Bitcoins. I'm embarrassed to confess my ignorance, but - hey - I'm an old codger who tries to dodge new things to burden his crabby old brain with.

[DeathAndTaxes]

Welcome.

IMHO Bitcoin is the offshore's offshore.

[alibaba teapot]

I'm from the Isle of Man.

We're NOT a tax haven.

Leave us alone.

(please)

[jvkuz]

I'm from the Isle of Man.

We're NOT a tax haven.

Leave us alone.

(please)

aint nw laws hitting you soon?

[zebedee]

Cayman is a British colony ("Overseas Territory", these days), whose local government (politicians and bureaucrats) has overspent and overborrowed egregiously in recent years.

You mean they've promised to the voters of today to pay them with the proceeds of the extraction of the sheep of tomorrow?  Surely that cannot be.  Surely they fully funded their promises from the existing tax grab?

Say it isn't so?  Please?

Is everywhere like that?

[AMuppInTime]

not sure about that.

[Bendex]

The Cyprus deal indeed sets a president. You can expect similar situations to occur in other troubled tax havens. The Cayman Islands' banks would contain large (mostly foreign) deposits, compared to the small population of the territory, making a government bailout of the banks very unlikely.

[alibaba teapot]

When Kapthung Singer and Friedlander, an icelandic bank that imploded in on itself the IOM government paid out some money to savers who were robbed. It was a stupid situation badly handled globally, but compensation was paid because of our caring banking practises.

We are NOT a tax haven.

[MegatonWarrior]

Buy your bitcoins anonymously.  Anonymity is power, a benefit, and a safety net.  It will come in handy in today's world of money printing, stealing of depositor's money, and prying eyes from those who are really in power within our "democratic" governments.

[Luno]

On the 12'th of December last year some representatives in Brussels drafted the "open Bank resolution" that was used to bypass bank depositors insurance against defaulting banks in the EU.

So in reality every bank in the Euro zone can be deemed unfit for business freezing any holders accounts until things are sorted out.

The table have turned. Banking serves no purpose other than it's own. national governments can only save it's citizens holdings by paying whatever EU demands.

So dear fellow citizens in the Euro Zone, our politicians credit cards have been revoked and we are the asset put up as assurance for their credit spending.

I suspect that by Tuesday when the markets open, European stocks are going to plummet. No one want's to invest in countries with rigged banks.

The definition of "tax heaven" is going to be rephrased as "a country where you only pay tax and don't risk having your account confiscated."

[zeroday]

There are some countries around the world where you are totally tax exempt if your income comes from abroad.
But you have to live in the country to use this benefit. Also it doesn't work for US citizens or green card holders as IRS fucks them everywhere.

If you got mega profit with bitcoin, it's better to think about moving yourself into some wealth-friendly country before you cash it out.

This is a list of few places to consider:

Dominican Republic
Cayman Islands
Bermuda
Panama
The Bahamas


Now I'm enjoying to live in such tropical paradise and paying ZERO taxes.

[theseusperse]

By all intents and purposes the whole of the UK is technically a tax heaven, at any rate it's ridiculously easy to find new ones, and Cyprus should teach people a lesson not to put all your money in one place!

[Gordonium]

Bitcoin is Galt's Gulch. Satoshi Nakamato is John Galt.