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THE SOVEREIGN SOCIETY OFFSHORE A-LETTER
Your Link to Freedom, Prosperity & Privacy in the Offshore World
Friday, November 15, 2002 - Vol. 4 No. 119
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In This Issue:
* COMMENT: Index Season.
* OFFSHORE: Bahamas Reform Gap. Bermuda Braces. Panama Monopoly. Gibraltar History. Swiss No Again. EU-Hungary Spat. Zimbabwe Exodus. Sovereign Society, Other Groups Demand IRS Rule Be Killed.
* WEALTH: Bush Curbs Inversions? US Treasury Tax Reform. HSBC Probe. Russian Investing. UK Tax Targets Rich. Cyberbanks. Hedge Collapse.
* PRIVACY & RIGHTS: You Are A Suspect! US, Canada Surveillance, IDs
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COMMENT: Index Season
Dear A-Letter Reader:
As the end of the year 2002 approaches, 'tis the season of indexes, as well as the more traditional holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
In the last week three different indexes have been published, all of them apparently trying to measure purely economic factors that in theory impact the conduct of business and exercise of free enterprise.
The Heritage Foundation in Washington. DC, in conjunction with the Wall Street Journal, produced their '2003 Index of Economic Freedom.' They claim the index is an 'annual survey of the world's economies' based on 'up-to-date data available on foreign investment codes, taxes, tariffs, banking regulations, monetary policy, black markets' which, they say, also includes measuring the degree of government intervention in the economy of each nation.
By their measure, for the 9th year, HONG KONG, is their choice for the freest nation, just ahead of SINGAPORE. For my part, it is difficult to understand how these two city-states, both of which suffer from massive government intervention in their national economies, can be praised for maximum freedom. In addition, both nations are highly undemocratic, allowing little leeway for real political opposition to government policies imposed from above by a small group of oligarchs. Indeed an argument can be made that both are semi-fascist states in the tradition of Mussolini's Italy.
Of two other indexes released this week, one measures risk of investing or doing business in various nations (Standard & Poors), and the other rates competitiveness among 80 industrialized nations. Argentina is one of the most risky; the US comes out on top as the most competitive.
Some years ago a left wing American group, that I assume by now has died a natural death, Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), started rating the safety of toys each Christmas, although toys had little or nothing to do with their liberal agenda. (In fact they favored aborting unborn children, so their alleged concern about toy safety seemed cheeky in the extreme). But the ADA kept on issuing their annual ratings because lazy media and press corps members kept on giving them free publicity disguised as news.
Perhaps it's about time that these phony indexes should be retired from the scene. Freedom is under attack everywhere, particularly in the United States, and the real issue is whether terrorism or anti-terrorism poses the greater threat to our liberties. Come up with a true measure of those insidious anti-liberty trends and you'd have a truly shocking index.
That's the way that it looks from here.
Faithfully yours, Bob Bauman, Editor
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COMMENT LINKS:
* Hong Kong Named Freest Economy. Tax-News.com
LINK: http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=9980
* Heritage-WSJ 2003 Index of Economic Freedom Published.
LINK: http://www.heritage.org/Research/TradeandForeignAid/wm174.cfm
Full text of index: http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/
* S&P Index of Country Risks. LINK:
http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2002/11/13/rtr793130.html
* World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index. LINK:
http://www.economist.com/markets/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1450325
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* OFFSHORE *
BAHAMAS PRIME MINISTER'S HOT AIR
NASSAU: Elected on a promise to reform radical anti-offshore laws,
PM Christie talks a lot but does very little. LINK:
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/business/280815766468974.php
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BERMUDA BRACES FOR MORE AMERICAN DEMAGOGUERY
HAMILTON: Fresh US assault on 'Bermuda tax dodges' expected. LINK:
http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=RG&Date=20021114&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=111140037&Ref=AR
* More Bermuda insurance companies chartered. LINK:
http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20021112&Category=BUSINESS&ArtNo=111120001&Ref=AR
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PANAMA KEEPS ON BLOCKING NET PHONE ACCESS
Government monopoly more important than Web freedom? LINKS:
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=HHSE1NBZQJVSICRBAE0CFEY?type=internetnews&StoryID=1734066
http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_08/issue_21/business_02.html
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THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR
An historic perspective on the UK-Spanish deal over Gibraltar.
LINK: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig2/stewart3.html
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SWITZERLAND STANDS FIRM ON BANK SECRECY
LONDON: Swiss official tells UK Chancellor to his face 'no' again.
LINK: http://www.nzz.ch/english/swiss_week/index.html#text_2
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E.U. DEMANDS HUNGARY END PRO-BUSINESS TAX BREAKS
BUDAPEST: EU doesn't like tax laws that attract foreign business.
LINK: http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=9991
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MASS EXODUS FROM ZIMBABWE
HARARE: Thousands flee Mugabe dictatorship, dying economy. LINK:
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/daily/2002/November/November14/8708.html
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SOVEREIGN SOCIETY JOINS DEMAND TO KILL I.R.S. RULE
Protest aimed at Clinton/IRS proposal to report interest payments to non-resident aliens investing in US. LINKS:
http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/ltr/ctc5/ctc5.shtml
http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=9994
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* WEALTH *
U.S. GOVERNMENT TRIES TO CURB OFFSHORE INVERSIONS
Bush Administration micomanages corporations trying to save taxes by re-incorporation offshore; more reports, capital gains taxes. LINKS:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/13/business/13TAX.html
http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=9987
* Government statement text. LINK (pdf file):
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/reports/proposedreg.pdf
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U.S. TREASURY CONSIDERS OFFSHORE TAX REFORM
International corporate taxes may get major overhaul; big companies to loose current tax breaks Dep. Treas. Sec. says. LINKS:
http://www.ananova.com/business/story/sm_709759.html?menu=business.latestheadlines
http://www.quicken.com/investments/news_center/story/?story=NewsStory/dowJones/20021114/ON200211141234000750.var&column=P0DEC
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HSBC TARGET OF SPANISH FRAUD PROBE
MADRID: UK bank faces investigation in Spanish fraud scandal. LINK:
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1035873282786
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MAJOR NATIONS INVEST IN RUSSIA
MOSCOW: But Russian cash is stashed in offshore tax havens.
LINK: http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/11/14/39535.html
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HIGH NET WORTH INDIVIDUALS HIT BY U.K. TAXES
LONDON: British taxes keep on rising; rich a major target. LINK:
http://www.portfolioint.co.uk/archive/article.asp?id=1337&a=7&m=76&y=2002
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LOST IN CYBERBANKS
One man's account of an Online banking nightmare.
LINK: http://www.feer.com/articles/2002/0211_21/p048innov.html
* Government mandated software now spies on mortgage seekers.
LINK: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021114/mnth014_1.html
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HEDGE FUND CRASH WORRIES INVESTORS
Beacon Hill fund collapse shocks hedge fund market, investors.
LINK: http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=9993
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* PRIVACY & RIGHTS *
YOU ARE A SUSPECT
William Safire explains why the privacy destroying plans of the Bush Administration makes every one of us potential suspects.
LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/14/opinion/14SAFI.html
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GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE FACTS SOUGHT
ACLU seeks information on increased surveillance in the US conducted under the USA PATRIOT Act. LINK:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1761068
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CANADIANS UNDER SURVEILLANCE
OTTAWA: Provincial officials tell government stop spying on citizens.
LINK: http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/11/13/privacy021113
* Canada government wants national ID cards for all. LINK:
http://www.canoe.ca/WinnipegNews/ws.ws-11-14-0034.html
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* Philippines to push ahead with national ID system. LINK:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/24535/1/.html
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