Singapore Democrats, 13 Apr 2012
Tax havens are economies that attract wealthy individuals and corporations by offering low or even no taxation. The authorities also guarantee secrecy of the identity of account holders. High net-worth individuals trying to avoid the kind of scrutiny their business activities would get from their own governments or evading higher taxes in their home countries are naturally attracted to such jurisdictions.
Understandably, it is difficult to see how attracting wealth from foreigners is detrimental to our own economic well-being. And yet, it remains a fact that our being a tax haven hurts our economy and our workers in ways that are, perhaps, not immediately obvious.
For one thing, it contributes significantly to the widening disparity of wealth and income in this country, causing much economic and social strife in the process (read Part 1 of this series). To understand how being a tax haven and an acolyte of neo-liberal globalisation has hurt Singapore, we need to look further afield - starting with America. Full story
