Replies

I hope they prevail against the OECD. After all-- if even the mega-wealthy can be deprived of privacy, what hope do the rest of us have?

Exactly correct. The U.S. is the only country the claims the right to tax its citizens, no matter where the wealth is created. This didn't use to be the case, but the IRS and the government got so greedy that they forced it on us. Any person should be able to leave a country and take their money with them, but in the US you can't. Now, just as in the old Soviet Union, you have to ask the IRS for permission first. Being able to put wealth out of the reach of government is a safety valve that prevents them from becoming too greedy. If the taxes are reasonable, it isn't worth it to go to the trouble of moving wealth overseas. That is one of the reasons the Laffer curve works.