Re: Stopping Tax Avoidance

["Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There is a clear legal distinction between tax evasion and tax avoidance. The
issue of off-shore banking is mostly one of tax evasion - the hiding of taxable
income from the IRS.

Tax avoidance is the legal invocation of tax loopholes.

TE is ciminal but TA is not.

In fact, every taxpayer is obligated to maximize TA.  The government is not
entitled to revenue not legitmized by the tax codes.

A related but more fundamental issue is that of financial privacy which is the
bedrock of freedom.  An attack on privacy, even when rationalized by criminal
abuse of it, often merely hurts the innocent.  Crook intending to break the law
(by definition), will get around legal measures.  Only those who feel oblidged to
obey the lw will be inconvinienced.  For example, one should have the right to
spend one's money in support of any cause, being it a church or a currently
defined "terrorist group".   The American War of Independence could not have been
won if flow of funds had been effectively controlled by the British.  Those who
argue for free markets cannot at the same time argue for selective usefulness of
money.  Money must be universally useful to all, or it will be useful to none. The
only legitimate way to fight terrorist funding is to fund anti-terrorist measures.

Henry C.K. Liu

pdavidso wrote:

> >===== Original Message From Ian Murray <seamus2001@xxxxxxxxx> =====
> >Show us the money
> >
> >An international clampdown on tax avoidance is long overdue
> >
> >
>
> If my IMCU international payments proposal was adopted, then tax avoidance by
> offshore banking-- as well as financing terrorists, hiding illegal drug money,
> etc would not longer be possible.
>
> Paul
>
> Paul Davidson
> Editor, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics
> University of Tennessee
> SMC 523
> Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0550
> phone # (865)974-4221; fax #(561)737-8262;
> email pdavidson@xxxxxxx
> http://econ.bus.utk.edu/davidsonextra/Davidson.html