Comments on: Double movements

By: s.e.

s.e. — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:19:51 +0000

“At stake is our reputation as a part of society.”
“a part of…”

The choice of words itself is interesting.

By: Theron

Theron — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:22:36 +0000

Oops! A little too happy on the cut and paste on that last one. I can’t spell worth a dang so I always check stuff in Word or something. Sorry.

By: Theron

Theron — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:21:20 +0000

Look, natural born mean that you were a citizen the moment you were born. McCain was, because his parents were citizens. He could have been born on the moon – he’d still be a natural born U.S. citizen. He never had to apply for citizenship; hence he is a natural born citizen. As much contempt as I have for the guy, this is the usual nonsense we get from the historically illiterate right wing.

So when do we stop cutting taxes? The whole “less taxes” theme has been bankrupted by its proponents. Economy doing well? Then tax revenues are up, and we can cut taxes. Yay! Economy doing poorly? Well, we need to cut taxes to stimulate growth. Economy doing OK? Well, think how much better it would be if we cut taxes?

And so on, and so on, and so on. The anti-tax types rarely step forward with a coherent argument about how tax rates, economic growth, needed infrastructure, and voter desires for services should be balanced. Nope – just “cut taxes!” and a Laffer curve drawn on the back of a napkin no matter what the situation is.

By: Scott Hughes

Scott Hughes — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 02:38:58 +0000

At least they are being charged. Sometimes the big businesses get out with a little sub rosa deal.

But less taxes is what I would like to see most of all.

By: bjk

bjk — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:03:12 +0000

No, they should be fully prosecuted, just like Boris Becker was. And the taxes should be cut too.

By: Martin Wisse

Martin Wisse — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:50:02 +0000

That's what I said two weeks ago when this scandal broke, that it could be an opportunity for Die Linke. Typical how understanding some people become of crime when it's the ruling class that's guilty of it. Would bjk be as understanding if an ordinary thief said he only stole because prices were too high?

By: bjk

bjk — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:31:40 +0000

Somebody has to make this point, I’ll be the first: maybe the tax rates are too high, and maybe that’s the problem.

In other news, the SPD’s only potential coalition partner is the former communists.

By: Tim Worstall

Tim Worstall — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:45:52 +0000

I have to admit to a certain amusement at one part of this story.
There’s a special 10% tax rate for income received by whistleblowers in the process of their whistleblowing. And yes, this guy did benefit from it.

By: gr

gr — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:36:29 +0000

It’s true that attitudes in Germany differ in that respect. The ‘man on the street’ is going to be seething with rage at the higher ups. The point about austerity measures is well-taken. Especially since many people in Germany have been told that the measures are really part of some kind of implicit bargain: You accept wage-restraint, more job market flexibility, and lower taxes on capital (all of which have been introduced), and we are going to a) keep your jobs in Germany and b) once again pay our taxes. But the higher ups are perceived as failing to reciprocate. They took advantage of the ‘reforms’ and still don’t pay taxes and still slash jobs like there’s no tomorrow. This is widely considered to be unacceptable, not just by social democrats.

By: John Quiggin

John Quiggin — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:17:12 +0000

According to the Australian media, he’s now living here under an assumed name, and our tax office, along with those of the UK and US, has bought access to the list. One immediate projected result is that Lichtenstein is going to meet EU/OECD demands on tax compliance, modifying the bank secrecy laws that were broken in this instance.

By: SamChevre

SamChevre — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:23:49 +0000

Backstory from another blog (and I’m too hurried to research which one—McArdle?); he’s not really a disgruntled employee, so much as a disgruntled scammer—his main complaint was a conviction for fraud.

By: otto

otto — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:17:43 +0000

I think the Economist is all online these days. But if you want irritation with Germany’s ‘turning left’, even before Liechtenstein etc, as well as the views you indicate, you could try Wolfgang Munchau’s (he of FT) blog e.g. “The cause of tax evasion are taxes” among others.

http://www.eurointelligence.com/Article.620+M53c171ad4b7.0.html