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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zonder who wrote (35692)	6/1/2005 12:01:50 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

Lower than zero? How did you convince the taxman to PAY YOU for every $ you earn? :-) Well he doesn't have to pay a VAT, and if the state run monopolies charge more than the private sector would than the difference in some ways resembles a tax. But, maybe he means lower than they used to be. Tim

To: zonder who wrote (35692)	6/1/2005 12:53:59 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

But of course you are right, it is dishonest and too close to bullying for my taste. It's called "casino operation". Still, very far from "theft" because clients go in and hand over their money out of their own free will and obviously get something in return (excitement, thrill, etc?), so they keep going back for more. Try "false hope" and "adrenaline rush". "You're same argument can be made for heroin addiction or bank robbery." Let's say "cigarette smoking". Nicotine is far more addictive than gambling can ever be considered, and in a world where cigarettes are considered legal and honest business, I don't see what your problem can possibly be with casinos. Fraud? Casinos advertise how rich they are going to make you while picking your pocket. >>>50% from VAT (state tax on consumption)<<< Impressive. Assuming you pay all tax legally due, what percentage of your income would it come to? I don't think you understand what VAT ("Value Added Tax" or 'TVA' in French) is. You don't CHOOSE to pay it. It is included in the price of EVERYTHING you spend your money on, from the meal you eat in a restaurant, to the pants you buy in the corner shop. That is why everybody, including the tourists who just spend an hour here, pay it, consciously or not. It is 19.6% on pretty much everything. The only exception I know if 5.5% for renovation work (decorating your house, etc). I understand quite well what VAT is, thank you. Perhaps you don't understand the concept of what we call "hidden taxes" which from our POV are the same thing. You just seem to prefer gov'ts that lie to you. "We'll pass a law that allows any resident of Europe to divert all their income in American banks and pay not one dime of tax on it and see what YOU think of it." Do you realize that IS the current situation? That there are tax havens for investment (and Monaco is only one of them) where Europeans can bank offshore? I don't think anything bad of it, obviously. Being a beneficiary of it, I wouldn't expect you to. I wonder Jacques Chiraq has to say. By the way, maybe I should repeat that Americans don't have any tax advantages, even in banking, in Monaco, nor anywhere else that I know of. Banks make investors fill out forms asking if they are "A US person, as defined in the tax code of xxx...". It is virtually impossible to escape Uncle Sam's tax man for you guys. Apparently word of the Underground Economy hasn't reached Europe. And you are wrong anyway. If a country has the proper treaty with the US, a US citizen end up owing ZERO US taxes. MY taxes are lower. Sorry about that. Lower than zero? How did you convince the taxman to PAY YOU for every $ you earn? :-) You just told me you pay at least 19.6% in VAT. Now you say you pay no tax at all. Which is it? And my taxes are LOWER than they were under Slick.