Tax Havens Welcomes New Business For 2012

Andorra la Vella

The tax haven of Andorra has just started to welcome new and establshed businesses to establish themselves in the Principality.

Up to now anyone wanting to start a business or relocate their exisiting one to the Principality had to have an Andorra partner - and for many entrepreneurs the thought of not being able to go it alone was understandably off-putting, especially when the new partner was become part of the company not through merit but because the law stated you had to have one.

It's all part of the country trying to attract inward investment.

The economy is tourism driven - by ski holidaymakers - and in the last three years the number of people taking winter holidays has fallen, and subsequently the Andorra economy has been hit.

Other changes are in the pipeline, including the qualifications for residency. Up to now it was pretty much a case of renting or buying an Andorra property and the government is currently looking at changing this.

More details are available at this Andorra blog

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix November 13 2011

A report by a blog who deal with Monaco property and the Grand Prix has been posted about today's race in Abu Dhabi.

To read it click through to the blog entitled Hamilton Ends Dry Spell In Desert Race

Monaco Property Prices Remain The Highest In Europe

 With the Euro imploding, and Italy having to pay nearly 7% interest this morning on the international markets to borrow money to keep going, property prices are surely going to have to fall further?

Cyprus has seen her property prices drop dramatically, and Spain isn't far behind with tens of thousands of villas and apartments standing empty and un-sold.

But surprisingly there are areas of Europe where property prices are still rising, driven by the 1% of the wealthiest members of society that are currently the subject of protests in London and New York.

And it's the better parts of London and Monaco that are benefitting from the top 1% who are still buying property - and pushing prices up.

In Monaco for example a small studio apartment of 30m2 will cost over a million Euros, with two bedroom apartments ranging between 3 and 8 million Euros.

But with taxes on the rise it makes financial sense for those with money to nuy a Monaco property, take residency, and have no income tax to pay - the initial outlay of buying a Monaco property is often offset in a year with the money the buyers save by not having any income tax to pay.

Will property prices in Monaco rise further, or crash in the next year or two is the subject of a blog post recently by a Monaco property company. To read it click through to this Monaco property blog

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Budget Airlines - Are They Good For A Local Economy?

Opponents of low cost airlines say that their service is poor, and their customer relations worse.

But if you are going to easyJet's or Ryanair's websites to book a flight, wouldn't you know that you have to add on extras for luggage, getting on the plane first - and if you turn up late for a flight you're not going to be able to get on board?

It always astonishes us here at Tribune the attitude some people have when they arrive late for a flight, blaming traffic conditions, public transport delays, etc. And seeing them rant and rave at the airines staff is never a pretty sight.

Would these same people rant and rave at a dental surgery's receptionist if they turned up late for a dental appointment, and then had to wait until the dentist was free or re-schedule for another day, or would they expect the dentist to wait while their patient was stuck in a traffic jam? We think not.

The answer is quite simple but beyond some. 

If you know you need to be at the check-in desk by a certain time or you miss the flight, work out how long it's going to take you to get there from leaving home - and add an hour to allow for delays. And if you don't want to pay extra for suitcases and other incidentals such as snacks on board - book with an airline that  has these as standard, pay more most of the time for the privilege, and stop moaning about the budget airlines who overall provide a great service and allow many more people to travel abroad on holiday because of their lower fares.

And as a Lanzarote blog points out, if you think people who use budget airlines are those without the money to fly on other airlines - you're wrong. Take a low cost flight out of Stansted to Nice and you'll be joined on board by people who own Monaco property and villas in the South of France.

Or fly to Barcelona and you'll almost certainly be on board the same low cost flight that's carrying passengers on their way to their property in Andorra - another tax haven.

To read how the budget airlines are of benefit to islands like Lanzarote, click through to this Lanzarote blog