Tax Competition Teach-Ins In Major Offshore Centers

by Mike Godfrey, for LawAndTax-News.com, Washington

13 March 2007

The Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation is to conduct a month-long tax competition education campaign during March in Panama, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The education drive, consisting of major events in the three jurisdictions, began yesterday in Panama, where the Center co-sponsored an event in Panama City with the Fundación Libertad (Liberty Foundation), a Panamanian free-market think tank. Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute was the featured speaker and several topics were be discussed including the territorial tax system and OECD/EU/UN tax harmonization schemes. There was also a briefing for local business leaders and government officials at noon; today sees a forum for the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Panama.

On March 27th, Dan Mitchell will be one of the featured speakers at the "The Lion Roars" Conference in Singapore and he will speak on the "Status of International Anti-Tax Competition Initiatives: A Special Focus on Implications for Asian Financial Centers." The Center's Andrew Quinlan and Dan Mitchell will also be meeting with government officials and other interested parties. They are also scheduled to give presentations to the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

On March 30th, Quinlan and Mitchell will be the featured speakers at a lunch sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. Like the meetings with the other AmChams in Panama and Singapore, the threatened repeal of Section 911 – which partially protects overseas Americans from having their labor income taxed by both their host country and the IRS – and the implications of the EU and OECD efforts to force low-tax countries in Asia to surrender their fiscal sovereignty, will be featured topics.

Andrew Quinlan can be reached at 202-285-0244, quinlan@freedomandprosperity.org; Dan Mitchell can be reached at 202-218-4615, dmitchell@cato.org.

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