Additional Monaco Observations - Taxes, Gun Control, and Social Chaos

It's been nice pretending to be part of the top one-tenth of one percent, but I return to reality tomorrow (as if Washington, DC, could be considered part of the real world).

Two concluding observations about Monaco. On the plus side, gun ownership is very easy. It seems everyone has at least one weapon. Not surprisingly, there is almost no crime (unlike England, where crime rates are skyrocketing because thugs know that people have been disarmed by a disgusting government).

On the minus side, Monaco does have a payroll tax, which finances things such as health care. And it's a steep one, requiring about 35 percent from employers and somewhere about 10 percent for workers (it all comes out of workers' wages, of course, but that's an issue for another day). The only positive things to say about this punitive tax is that it only applies to about the first $40,000 of income, so it can be considered a very inefficient user fee for a set of (probably substandard) government services rather than a vehicle for redistributionism.

So while Monaco is a very attractive jurisdiction for many reasons, it ranks below Cayman in the Dan Mitchell ranking of ideal tax regimes.

One final point. It is astounding how many of Monaco's tax refugees fully expect social chaos to seize Europe sometime in the next 5-15 years as nations experience Greek-style fiscal collapse. I think 15 years is more realistic, but my main reaction is anger that Bush and Obama have been pushing the U.S. in that direction.

Greetings from Monte Carlo

This is quite a place. Every possible luxury car is sold here, including ones I've never heard of (if you have more than one Lotus, do you have Loti or Lotuses?). The yachts in the harbor are enormous. Best of all, there is no income tax. And because European nations are much better than the United States about letting people escape withouth fascist exit taxes, Monaco has attracted many wealthy people from all over Europe.

I give a speech to their business association tomorrow before heading back to the United States.

By the way, this is not exactly a fun trip. Everything is too expensive, and it is too cold to vegetate in the sun. I could go to the casino, I suppose, but I find gambling tedious and they probably wouldnt't even allow peasants like me to enter the place. Be envious of me when I go to Cayman, not when I'm in Europe in March.