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Prince Nicolas Heads South
The French Republic’s Napoleonic (in both ambition and stature) president, Nicolas Sarkozy, headed way down south yesterday – all the way to the tiny mountain Principality of Andorra, nestled in the cool of the Pyrenees, between France and Spain – but I’ll get back to that in a moment.
Perhaps the brash French president was trying to escape the heat in Paris, where five separate judicial investigations are underway looking into the financial affairs of the L’Oreal cosmetics heiress, 87-year-old billionaire, Liliane Bettencourt. (below)
>Detectives are conducting an inquiry launched after secretly recorded tapes appeared to reveal a conversation between Madame Bettencourt and her business adviser, in which they allegedly discussed means of avoiding French tax using secret Swiss bank accounts. M. Woerth’s wife reportedly was one of her financial advisers.>
French Irony
The French not just love, but they may have invented irony — so it is more than ironic that Sarkozy and pals should be besmirched by a possible tax evasion scandal, especially one that may have employed that hated Swiss bank secrecy.
That’s because Sarkozy, as I have reported many times before, has been one of the loudest and least reasonable attackers of tax havens in general — and of Swiss bank secrecy in particular.
Indeed it was just one year ago when Sarkosy demanded that the anti-tax haven bar be raised still higher and the goal posts moved to include tax avoidance – which is not a crime – and not just tax evasion, which is.
How and why individual taxpayers or tax haven jurisdictions should be required to ban legal avoidance of taxes that are not owed is a mystery — but this inane demand did get press coverage which Sarkozy seems to love.
Stolen Goods
Earlier this year not to be outdone by German tax collectors, Sarkozy’s tax men purchased stolen bank account information from an employee of HSBC Holdings private bank in Geneva, all the better to track down the Betancourts of the world.
On ne décelait aucune trace d’ironie dans sa voix. When M. le president Sarkozy has repeatedly denounced all tax havens and those who dare to use them, even though such financial conduct is legal for Frenchmen (and women) – at least at the moment.
Return to Andorra
Getting back to Andorra, I’ve written about and have recommended it many times, as readers know, since it is tax haven worthy of consideration.
This tiny, mountainous country has no taxes, no army and no poverty. Until this year when its first and only airport was to open, it was accessible from France or Spain only by motor vehicles over mountainous roads in journeys that take many hours, depending on the weather. The country’s standard of living is high, the cost of living relatively low and the scenery delightful.
The Prince
But yesterday, Sarkozy visited Andorra in his official capacity as Prince Nicolas.
Since the 16th century the kings, emperors and lately, presidents of France, have also been princes of Andorra, serving jointly as head of state with the Catholic Bishop of Urgell in Spanish Catalonia.(below)
Last year, His Excellency Prince Nicolas threatened to abandon the royal title as his protest of Andorra’s strict bank secrecy laws, which he claimed helped depositors hide from the French Republic’s tax collectors.
Prince Nicolas praised the tiny mountain principality of Andorra for reducing tax evasion Thursday, one year after he threatened to abdicate as its honorary co-monarch.
Since then, the self-governing principality — best known to the French and Spanish as not only a tax and banking haven, but also as a ski resort and a stop-off to buy tax free cheap booze and cigarettes on the Spanish border – has moderated its reputation as a tax haven. It has even pledged to apply the tax information exchange required by Article 26 of the OECD model tax convention.
In September, Andorra’s 28 members of parliament passed a bill partially lifting banking secrecy laws and signed bilateral treaties to share tax information on request with several countries, including France.
Transparent & Fuming
“Transparency is not in conflict with the Andorran identity. The progress that you have made is considerable,” Prince Nicolas told his subjects in the Andorran parliament on his first visit to his domain since 2007. (Perhaps he should remind his friend, Madame Betancourt of that). But while the political differences between Andorra and its big northern brother seemed to have “dissipated,” on the level of protocol Sarkozy’s trip was less successful, and he left some of his local subjects fuming.
While traditionally a visiting monarch is supposed to tour all of the country’s six administrative parishes, Sarkozy only saw one — the capital, Andorra la Vella — and only stayed for two-and-a-half hours.
Perhaps he was reluctant, under the circumstances, to be absent from Paris for too long.
As they say a Paris: “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose”
To learn all about Andorra and all offshore tax havens see my books, Where To Stash Your Cash and The Passport Book.
You might also enjoy the just released latest edition of Forbidden Knowledge, one of our most popular books during the 13 years since our founding.
Other Posts from the Author
- Are You Among the 23% Entitled to a Second Passport? - May 14th, 2012
- The Real Problem With the French Elections - May 4th, 2012
- The Life of a “Sovereign Individual” - April 24th, 2012
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