Rocky Gibraltar

There it is! Gibraltar in its 3 Square Mile entirety! 

There has always been a certain Tory weakness for post Imperial Buffoonery so it may have escaped your notice that today is Gibraltar National Day celebrated by the Queen's second cousin and direct descendant of William IV, one David Cameron, Her Majesty's Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury. So Happy Tax Evasion Day to these pretend Brits too patriotic to pay Great British Taxes just like David Cameron's dear ol' Dad (and Grandad)! Call me Dave is descended from Elizabeth FitzClarence and has issued the pompous Gibraltar Day video below and decreed that the flag of this British Colony seized by force whose theft was legitimised in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 should be flown from the Foreign Office. 

One of the more interesting British monarchs, William IV who reigned from 1830 to 1837. His reign saw several reforms: the poor law was updated, child labour restricted, public hangings were abolished, slavery was abolished in nearly all the British Empire, and the Reform Act in 1832 refashioned the British electoral system. There is a particular Irish interest for he had 10 children with the Irish actress Dorothea Bland (known as Mrs Jordan) but on his death his niece Princess Victoria of Kent became Queen as he had no legitimate heirs and his eldest son became Earl of Munster, his other offspring taking the surname FitzClarence and receiving titles. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is a direct descendant of their sixth child, Elizabeth FitzClarence.

A tax exempt resident of Gibraltar

The story is told here;

http://daithaic.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/on-raglan-roag.html

Gibraltar’s strategic importance has given it a long and turbulent history and an influence on world events out of all proportion to its size and population. Its name is a legacy of the 8th century Arab invasion of mainland Spain, when the Moorish leader Tarik based his troop-ships there. The name is derived from Gibel (or Jebel) Tarik, meaning the mountain of Tarik. Although it was captured and held briefly by the Kingdom of Castile between 1309 and 1333, the Rock remained as a symbol of Moslem domination of the Western Mediterranean until finally regained by Spain in 1462. Britain captured the Rock in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Its cession to Great Britain in perpetuity was confirmed by the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, when it became a British possession.

Wide publicity has been given over many years to Spain’s claim to the Rock, the British possession of which it regards as prejudicing its territorial integrity. Despite its obligations under the Treaty of Utrecht, Spain has besieged the Rock on a number of occasions, the most notable being the Great Siege of 1779 to 1783. More recently, pressure has taken the form of a closure of the land frontier between 1969 and 1982. In response to this threat, the constitution granted in 1969 enshrines a commitment by the British Government, which has been frequently reaffirmed, never to cede the territory to Spain against the wishes of the population.

A tax efficient resident of Gibraltar

With the rundown of the British Military installations in Gibraltar the main activity of the 30,000 inhabitants in this 3 square mile artificial entity which Call me Dave wants us to celebrate is Financial Services, particularly those which facilitate tax evasion by British Companies, Offshore Gambling and wealthy individuals. While this totally dependent colonial entity has cleaned up from some years back when it was a byword for Financial Criminality, money laundering, corrupt police and cigarette and drug smuggling into Spain it now proudly boasts an OECD "White listing." However it still has more companies registered there than it has inhabitants and is sold with some understatement by the Big Accountancy Firms as a "tax efficient base." Here is how one of them, Deloitte's, sells Gibraltar as a place for companies to avoid tax:

Gibraltar Marina - How goes it with the Empire?
PS: No import duty on yachts over 18 M

"Gibraltar offers a powerful tax package. It does not apply any Capital Gains Tax, Sales Tax or VAT, Inheritance Tax or Wealth Tax. In addition, in its 2006 budget, the Government abolished tax on certain types of investment income. There is no withholding taxes on dividends paid to non-resident individuals or on interest payments where the “situs” of the loan is outside Gibraltar. Gibraltar operates a territorial tax system so that in certain cases business activities which do not “accrue or derive” from Gibraltar are not taxable in Gibraltar. Advance rulings can be obtained to provide certainty. As a member of the EU, directives such as the Parent/Subsidiary directive and the Interest & Royalties directive apply in Gibraltar. There is no capital duty on share transfers and nominal capital duty of £10 on share creation."

And here is how it sells it to individual fat Cats;

"Incentives for High Net Worth Individuals

Individuals who can show a net worth of over £2 million and have appropriate accommodation of a high standard in Gibraltar can apply for residency in Gibraltar as a Category 2 individual. This status only taxes the first £80,000 of assessable income with a minimum payment of £22,000 per annum. The assessable income is only the income remitted to Gibraltar, unless the individual applies for worldwide income to be included. The maximum tax payable under this status is £29,880."

Anyone with £2million net assets who buys an approved property for their exclusive residential use and hasn't lived in Gibraltar within five years may qualify for the prestigious Category 2 status, resulting in paying no greater than £29,880 on their total worldwide income.

If Boris the Buffoon of London was the Prime Buffoon of The Great British Remains of Empire instead of Call Me Dave gunboats, paddle steamers and cricket bats would already have been dispatched to Gibraltar along with a sweaty incredibly expensive Boris Bus which nobody else wants!