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Comment by vacri | Hacker News Reader

"United Kingdom includes Channel Islands and Isle of Man"

Well, I'm glad they specified that!

Though I am left wondering if the total for France includes New Caledonia... and of course, it's something of a travesty that they didn't indicate whether or not the total for Russia includes the Kaliningrad oblast.

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New Caledonia isn't a tax haven. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are, and most likely contain quite a large proportion of the UK's t-bill holdings.

The Channel Islands are not a 'tax haven'[1], though we sometimes get called this by foreign politicians[2]. It is easy to take a cheap shot at a few islands outside your voting district. A much easier idea for a politician to sell, than a plan to balance the budget at home.

[1]http://www.jerseyfinance.je/ceo-blog/it-s-official---jersey-... [2]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-23902431

If an island has 0%/10% corporate tax it is considered an offshore tax haven in the minds of the people that pay 15%+, just like sometimes Ireland or Cyprus is considered that way even though their tax is not 0%.

I'm not sure what the definition of a tax haven is, but here's a page from the jersey govt. I don't study this, but it seems like it is a light/very light tax regime?

http://www.gov.je/LifeEvents/MovingToJersey/HighValueResiden...

"companies are generally taxed at 0% and there is a special 10% rate applying to certain regulated financial businesses."

"There are no 'wealth' taxes such as capital gains tax or inheritance tax."

"the first £625,000 of world wide income (including Jersey based) will be taxed at 20% thereby accruing the £125,000 per annum minimum tax contribution all personal income over £625,000 will be taxed at 1%"

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/nov/09/hsbc-jersey-...

UK tax authorities are in the early stages of examining a recently received leaked list of 4,388 British residents who bank with HSBC in the tax haven of Jersey.

HM Revenue and Customs confirmed it was probing the list, following a report that serious criminals were banking in the Channel Islands, for potential tax evasion.

"We can confirm we have received the data and we are studying it," HMRC said in a statement. "Clamping down on those who try to cheat the system through evading taxes and over-claiming benefits is a top priority for us, and we value the information we receive from the public and business community."

The information is the latest in a string of illegal leaks of private offshore financial details from some of Europe's most controversial tax haven jurisdictions. HMRC is reported not to have paid for the information on HSBC accounts, though that could not be confirmed.

Secret bank accounts with low tax rates? Refusal to co-operate with UK tax authorities? Sounds like a tax haven to me.

It's worth specifying that if they've lumped them in with the UK, since the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man aren't actually part of the UK. Heck, they aren't even part of the EU either.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminology_of_the_British_Isle...

Wikipedia has a nice Euler diagram and the full nitty gritty details.

Wikipedia definitely has a thing for Euler diagrams[0], but this one is actually useful. Thank you very much! :)

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Supranational_European_Bo...

Yes, strange and inconsistent indeed. They also didn't specify wether 'The Netherlands' included the Dutch Caribbean or not. On a side note, I think that 80% of the Dutch don't know the difference between 'England' and 'UK'. I hear 'Im flying to Edinburgh tomorrow. England rocks!' all the time.

80%? Are you sure it's not 60%, the percentage that's not in Holland?

Try saying that once you step off the plane in Edinburgh.

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