Comment by evandale | Hacker News Reader

Comment by evandale | Hacker News Reader

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It's hasn't been a conspiracy theory since the Panama papers came out. Everyone is now aware of the extent rich people go to use tax havens and are rightfully upset. They make record profits, encourage irresponsible consumerism, and don't even pay their fair share for the damage they inflict upon the world.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/panama-paradise-pandora-pap...

Furthermore there's a reason rich people flock to places like Delaware, Washington, or California. Those states all have tax schemes that allow the wealthy to pay the least amount of taxes.

Hell us rubes even suffer through coach so that the ultra wealthy's luxury jets are subsidized.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ultra-wealthy-private-flyers...

We understand exactly what they're doing, just because we don't agree with it doesn't make us ignorant or uneducated.

People flock to Delaware because it's the most corporate-friendly state, especially regarding regulations and court cases.

Washington and California are two massive economies, so it's no surprise that rich people flock there.

If this CEO wanted to register a shell company to dodge taxes, he would have done it in better places than Southlake, Texas [1]. Anyone can register an LLC as long as they have valid identification and pay the $300 Texas filing fee...nothing nefarious.

Talking about the Panama Papers will be a long story, but notice how relatively few Americans are on that list. It was mostly people from developing countries with weak rule of law and high levels of corruption...the type where rich folks hide assets to avoid the government or rival business goons coming for it, and it's much easier to cheat taxes in those countries because of weak law enforcement.

1- https://pitchbook.com/profiles/limited-partner/232176-79

California and Washington are amongst two of the most regressive tax systems in the United States.

They punish the poor more than the rich in both those states. That's why they flock there and the size of their economy is a side effect of that.

California of all places doesn't have low taxes for wealthy people. Its tax system actually depends on wealthy people. (IPOs specifically)

It has low taxes for people who've lived there a long time.

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