At 7:59 PM -0400 7/10/01, Adam Back wrote:
I was thinking online obscurity (nyms, pseudonymous web pages etc) coupled with a low tax jurisdiction like Anguilla wouldn't be one interesting combination.
But there are plenty of disadvantages too -- limited amenities - shops, computer parts, the advantages being within reasonable travelling distance of a large western city affords. The inconvenience and cost of travelling from a remote locale such as Anguilla if you do much international travelling to visit family, friends, conferences etc.
Apparently there are some tax advantages to residing in some Swiss cantons.
But as Tim says there aren't really any jurisdictions which offer significant advantages in physical and financial privacy over general western jurisdictions.
I wasn't singling out Anguilla, just noting it is hardly a libertarian paradise. Having spent a week in Nassau in 1980, that's a close as I want to come to moving to the Bahamas or places like that. (The sandy beaches were O.K., but not significantly better than here in Carmel--though the water's warm enough to snorkel and scuba dive in. But the crimes by blacks against whites were horrific: living in a walled compound on Paradise Island or on one of the outlying islands was the only hope a white man had.) The "nym" approach to online obscurity is hardly sufficient, Adam. After all, I don't want to face hanging for having a firearm. Or 5 years in the local jail for having a copy of "Penthouse." Or deportation for offending the Seven Families. These little Carribean potentates are far, far, far worse than what we face in the U.S. But enough about Anguilla, Nevis, St. Barts, all of the other little rocks on the Caribbean. --Tim May -- Timothy C. May tcmay@got.net Corralitos, California Political: Co-founder Cypherpunks/crypto anarchy/Cyphernomicon Technical: physics/soft errors/Smalltalk/Squeak/agents/games/Go Personal: b.1951/UCSB/Intel '74-'86/retired/investor/motorcycles/guns