Re:How Puerto Rico Became a Tax Haven for the Super Rich
by hkmurakami on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @04:13PM
(#18018710)
In theory once you attract a big enough cluster of “tax hackers”, the government can then modestly increase taxes on these folks and that can be a high leverage thing once you’ve attracted a large revenue base.
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Re:How Puerto Rico Became a Tax Haven for the Super Rich
by Jtsummers on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @04:17PM
(#18018741)
In theory...
But many of these people have sufficient mobility that you have to remain under the tax level of your competition. Most of them have no actual tie to Puerto Rico and would leave in a heartbeat if they found a better deal.
Re:How Puerto Rico Became a Tax Haven for the Super Rich
by mikeyouse on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @05:02PM
(#18019095)
Also, it turns out that these super high net worth individuals and entities have a lot of political sway. Once you start talking about raising their costs (taxes), they will put a ton of resources into making sure you are no longer in position to do so.
Re:How Puerto Rico Became a Tax Haven for the Super Rich
by darawk on Wednesday September 19, 2018 @04:05AM
(#18022623)
> But many of these people have sufficient mobility that you have to remain under the tax level of your competition.
Not really. Puerto Rico has no real competition. It's the only place you can live inside of the US without paying federal income tax. If Puerto Rico were to raise its local tax, to say, 10%, it would still be the lowest overall tax jurisdiction in the US by a mile.
Re:How Puerto Rico Became a Tax Haven for the Super Rich
by kenmicklas on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @04:50PM
(#18018998)
Modern capitalists are way too efficient at moving capital via financialization for that to work in practice.