That leaves Belgium out then, looking at the Walloon/Flemish divide. I mean do you call it a fucking functioning society a policeman may not speak in French in a Flemish county behind the desk?

Neither have especially high standards-of-living or purchasing power—in western European terms, they are both near the bottom, albeit slightly above Finland. I won’t say they are worse than, say, Zimbabwe though.

“Can you name a low tax paradise”

Nothing in Europe really qualifies as a “low tax paradise.” There are competitive countries that are smartly structured. But no real paradises.

“that has a functioning society and is not bolstered by Nazi gold”

That leaves Sweden out, once again. Despite benefiting during ww2, the standard-of-living in Sweden is nothing to brag about.

“It’s only that it’s precisely income tax that has been cut the most.”

Unfortunately there are other taxes , besides income taxes, that affect individuals.

Finland also has exceptionally high VAT and protectionism via autovero… Plus it took several years allowing outside competitors like Lidl and Ikea to even operate in Finland… Then there’s the indirect effect caused by government monopoly, like Alko and alcohol pricing in general…

All these measures keep prices high, and prevent individuals from aquiring startup capital. And they reduce their chances of success even if they manage to take the first step (success meaning that they get a suitable return on investment, not just so the owner can live the same as he would as an employee somewhere).

All these measures give existing businesses in Finland a big advantage over potential startup competitors. They especially help big foreign ones, whose owners don’t need to live according to the constraints of the Finnish economy.

The most obvious choice is Sweden, of course. Belgium is another one. Can you name a low tax paradise that has a functioning society and is not bolstered by Nazi gold and drug money?

“If you slash corporate taxes but leave individual taxes high, then that’s exactly what happens.”

It’s only that it’s precisely income tax that has been cut the most.

Can you name one? —that isn’t bolstered by its own oil/gas reserves?
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/tax_tot_tax_as_of_gdp-taxation

“the oligopolies of Finland have only strengthened during the tax-slashing orgy of the 90s.”

If you slash corporate taxes but leave individual taxes high, then that’s exactly what happens.

Aside from over-regulation, it’s the best protectionism that *existing* companies could possibly have.

Good question. Clearly taxes are a flimsy, ideologically-based explanation as countries with a higher tax burden have better functioning local economies and the oligopolies of Finland have only strengthened during the tax-slashing orgy of the 90s.

On the contrary, upper middle class wage earners have it reasonably good in Finland. That’s because only small percentages of their respective budgets are affected by the overpriced local economy. And they can sidestep many of the bigger costs that ordinary people face, by purchasing key items abroad. And vacationing abroad in lower-priced destination for that matter—even if only a short trip to c. Europe.

Another nice benefit for high earners is to transfer abroad for a few years and save a pile of money. Then, they can move back to Finland and live better than their peers. Many luxury automobiles have found their way into Finland that way, sans autovero.

Lower income people are the ones who have to pay for—e.g. overpriced groceries, restaurants and entertainment. Forget about traveling anywhere outside of their respective cities; transportation costs are nearly twice Germany’s. Hostel/hotel costs are also about twice Germany’s.

Furthermore, healthcare is mediocre for low income people in Finland, compared to what’s offered in Germany.

You might have a point about it being better than Albania, though.

“This, again, has more to do with Finland’s oligopolistic labour market than taxes.”

And what do you think causes the oligopolistic behavior?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_wedge

We should remember that when Finland’s low standard of living is discussed, it always concerns the upper middle class, or people who would be upper middle class in other countries. This, again, has more to do with Finland’s oligopolistic labour market than taxes. Making Finland a tax haven would not change this one iota. Well, there would no longer be affordable municipal housing for Nokia engineers, so they’d have to move to mom’s basement or under the bridge. As for the lower income classes, they enjoy an excellent standard of living - quite competitive against, say, Germany and completely from a different planet compared to, say, Albania or the US.

Fortunately, the exploited white collar proletariat can find solace in ditching the corporate treadmill and taking their fate in their own hands through entrepreneurship.

Actually, Finns think more about—e.g. why they can’t enjoy a more dynamic market economy, with competitive pricing, as in central Europe. It’s an especially popular topic amongst the many Finns who regularly schlep low-priced consumer products, cars, etc., back from Germany via Silja Line and Superfast. Such conversations are commonly heard in the ships’ dining saloons.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always occur to them that high-taxes, combined with a highly-centralized form of government, is the direct cause of Finland’s lackluster standard of living.

“complete removal” was last years resolution. What agin, you have no original thoughts from the left side of the house?

It’s very far from all we think about! Sadly it is almost all 2 of FfT’s guest contributors think about ;). I agree with the sentiments in your message - My wish for 2008 would be that Phil regains control of his blog and returns it to its former high quality.

Incidentally, Giustino, your blog on Estonia is very good. I read it now and then, I don’t make comments as I haven’t got myself a Google account. Perhaps I shall one of these days.