**Self-Principality™ ** [MICROPATROLOGY] Network Operators
Self-ownership / individual sovereignty - Wikipedia
condition where an individual has the exclusive moral right to control his or her own body and life and supreme authority and sovereignty over their own choices, without the interference of governing powers. This notion is central to individualistic political philosophies such as abolitionism, ethical egoism, anarchism, classical liberalism and libertarianism. Those who support the product of labor as private property often premise their position on self-ownership, reasoning that if an individual owns himself then he personally owns his labor and the resulting products. Sovereign individuals hold to the premise that government only has authority and power which is given to it by the individual, with decentralized administrative organizations acting as their servants and not their master.
Micronation - Wikipedia
Micronations – sometimes also referred to as cybernations, fantasy countries, model countries, and new country projects – are entities that resemble independent nations or states, but which are unrecognized by them, and for the most part exist only on paper, on the Internet, or in the minds of their creators. Micronations also differ from secession and self-determination movements in that they are largely viewed as being eccentric and ephemeral in nature, and are often created and maintained by a single person or family group.
Institut Français de Micropatrologie
Se situant dans la continuité de l'International Micropatrological Society de Frederick W. Lehmann créé en 1973, l'Institut Français de Micropatrologie (IFM), Association régie par la loi de 1901, entend proposer au public francophone quelques éléments de réflexion et de recherches sur les micro-États et les micro-nations.
What Is A Micronation?
**Secession** [TEMPORARY AUTONOMOUS] Network Operators
League of Secessionist States
Secession - Wikipedia
act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or political entity. Typically there is a strong issue difference that drives the withdrawal.
Urban secession - Wikipedia
city's secession from its surrounding region, to form a new political unit (usually a state or district or province of the same country as its surroundings, but not always). It is the extreme form of urban autonomy, which can be expressed in less formal terms or with ordinary legislation such as a City Charter.
Economic secession - Wikipedia
libertarian/anarchist activist technique. John T. Kennedy and others suggest that people who oppose the state abstain as much as they are able from the state’s economic system – for instance by replacing the use of government money with barter or commodity money (such as gold), providing goods and services without submitting to government regulations and licensing, avoiding taxation by keeping assets out of traceable accounts, etc.
Separatism - Wikipedia
attitudes or motivations of those seeking independence or "separation" of their land or region from the country that governs them. To a lesser extent, separatism may also refert to social isolation or involvement in cliques. The term separatist movements usually refers to social movements that aspire to autonomy for a particular group of people from a dominant political institution under which they suffer, although separatism can also be enforced by a ruling political power, as occurred in South Africa under apartheid. The grounds for separation can be regional, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, or gender — or a combination of these factors.
Temporary Autonomous Zone - Wikipedia
T.A.Z.: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism is Hakim Bey's most famous work. It is composed of three sections, "Chaos: The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism," "Communiques of the Association for Ontological Anarchy," and "The Temporary Autonomous Zone." It describes the socio-political tactic of creating temporary space that eludes formal structures of control. The essay uses various historical and philosophical examples, all leading to the conclusion that the best way to create a non-hierarchical system of social relationships is to concentrate on the present and on releasing one's own mind from the controlling mechanisms that have been imposed on it.
Permanent Autonomous Zone - Wikipedia
A Permanent autonomous zone (or a PAZ) is a community that is autonomous from the generally recognized government or authority structure in which it is embedded. PAZs are not controlled by any government (as recognized by other governments) or by any religious authority.
Pirate utopia - Wikipedia
Pirate utopias were described by historian Peter Lamborn Wilson (aka Hakim Bey) in his 1995 book Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes, and in his earlier essay Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ), as secret islands once used for supply purposes by pirates that were early forms of autonomous "mini societies" existing beyond the realm and reach of governments. These pirate enclaves typify proto-anarchist societies in that they operated beyond mere laws and governance and, in their stead, embraced freedom.
Data haven - Wikipedia
A data haven is a computer or a network that holds data protected by both technical means (encryption) and location in a country that has either no laws, or poorly-enforced laws against the most common uses of data havens and no extradition treaties.
Burning Man
**Phyle** [NEIGHBORHOOD] Network Operators
nation sans territoire / Nation without territory
Phyle (φυλή; "clan", "race", "people") - Wikipedia
* Phyle is an ethnological and sociological term for a tribe, particularly in ancient Greece. o derived from this, an ancient name of Fyli * A sociological analog of a biological phyla, mentioned in a novel The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson which includes three great tribes.
Panarchism - Wikipedia
Panarchism is a political philosophy advocating the peaceful co-existence of all political systems, where each individual may voluntarily adhere to the system of their choice, free to join and leave the jurisdiction of the governments he sees fit. International law would be used to settle possible conflicts between individuals having chosen different systems of government.
PanArchy - PanArchie - PanArchia - PanArquia
Index (panarchy.org) A Gateway to Selected Documents & Web Sites
Panarchy.com
complexity and networked governance in the information age, including economics, sociology, culture, political science, commons, etc.
Panarchism / Exterritoriality
exterritorial.info / panarchism.info / panarchy.net / panarchism.net THE EXTERRITORIAL IMPERATIVE: Info on all the solutions leading to Peace and Prosperity!
Panarchisme - Wikipédia
Le panarchisme est une théorie politique prônant la coexistence de tous les systèmes politiques, où chacun s'affilie au gouvernement de son choix (ou ne s'affilie à aucun gouvernement), et où les règles du droit international s'appliquent aux rapports entre individus dépendant de gouvernements différents ou d'aucun gouvernement. Le terme a été inventé en 1860 par le Belge Paul Émile de Puydt. Les panarchistes affirment que la panarchie est anti-politique, puisque tous les pouvoirs politiques (impôts obligatoires, règlements imposés, autorité gouvernementale et administrative) disparaissent pour laisser place aux seuls rapports volontaires entre les hommes.
Isonomy (isonomia) - Wikipedia
legal concept that all citizens of a nation are subject to the same laws. Austrian Economist F.A. Hayek regarded the maintenance of isonomic law as one of the necessary conditions for freedom in his influential book The Constitution of Liberty.
Non-aggression principle / axiom - Wikipedia
deontological ethical stance associated with the libertarian movement. It holds that "aggression" — which is defined as the initiation of physical force or the threat of such upon persons or their property — is inherently illegitimate. The principle does not preclude retaliation against aggression. The non-aggression principle typically includes property as a part of the owner; to aggress against someone's property is to aggress against them. Thus, the principle leads to the rejection of theft, murder and fraud. When applied to governments, it has been taken to prohibit many policies including taxation and the military draft.
Comparative government
Comparative government / politics - Wikipedia
method in political science for obtaining evidence of causal effects by comparing the varying forms of government in the world, and the states they govern, although governments across different periods of history may also be the units of comparison. There are several methods at work in comparative government (method of difference as opposed method of similarity and variable as opposed case study approaches) but all have in common the explanation of differential changes in dependent variable by the presence of different independent variables in the systems under comparison. The nature of dependent (what is to be explained) and independent variables (what explains the pattern of the dependent variable) in the method is almost unlimited, from government form to electoral system to economic or cultural factors
Civics - Wikipedia
science of comparative government and means of administering public trusts—the theory of governance as applied to state institutions. It is usually considered a branch of applied ethics and is certainly part of politics.
AdHocracy
AdHocracy - Wikipedia
temporary structure, formed to resolve a given problem and dissolved afterwards. An example are cross-department task forces.
Libertarian Management - Wikipedia
participative and/or non-authoritarian self-management, which typically emphasizes repetition of proven successes, institutional learning, and earmarking funds to project investment. Libertarian consultants generally focus on management and system productivity, not worker productivity. Libertarian management exponents believe the method can be applied beyond industrial settings in areas such as alternate family arrangements, co-housing, and the co-op movement.
"Principality of New Utopia"
New Utopia - Wikipedia
The Principality of New Utopia is a libertarian micronation founded in the mid 1990's by Oklahoma resident Lazarus Long, his family and business associates. It is generally dismissed by those who see Long's claims as overstated and unattainable. It is conceptually similar to several unrelated attempts at establishing sovereign libertarian city-states on man-made islands extending as far back as the 1960s, including such efforts as the Atlantis Project the Republic of Minerva as well as The Palm & World projects in Dubai
Principality of New Utopia
The Principality of New Utopia is a constitutional sovereignty based on the principles of free enterprise and capitalism, embracing a substantially tax free economy, with assurance of freedom and privacy in connection with any commercial enterprise.
Tech-Utopia
the Utopian Technology Consortium: A consortium of technology research and development companies dedicated to bringing cutting edge technologies to all areas of the globe. Our consortium is based offshore in the Carribean's latest free trade zone country; The Principality of New Utopia.
<A id=rdf:#$HU5u6 href="http://www.nu-flotilla.com/" LAST_CHARSET="ISO-8859-1" ADD_DATE="1147282492">NU Flotilla Company
U Flotilla Company is a primary designer, builder of floating homes and SWATH hull deck barges. We have developed designs which will allow you to make your home from the inland waterways, to the deep oceans of the world. We have designed floating home systems that are breakthrough priced with rock hard durability.
Delphi University
Misteriosa Shire of The Principality of New Utopia
Formerly in old Great Britain a Shire was an administrative district, equivalent to a county. The Earl is the official charge or administrator of the Shire. This is the administrative model we have chosen for Misteriosa Shire. Misteriosa Shire is an administrative district within the Principality of New Utopia. It is a 4 square mile district in the West and South of the territory of New Utopia
Enclave & exclave - Wikipedia
An enclave is a country or part of a country lying wholly within the boundaries of another An exclave is one which is politically attached to a larger piece but not actually contiguous with it. Many entities are both enclaves and exclaves, but the two are not synonymous.
CommonCensus Map Project
The CommonCensus Map Project is redrawing the map of the United States based on your input, to reveal the boundaries people themselves feel, as opposed to the state and county boundaries drawn by politicians.
Franchising - Wikipedia
method of doing business wherein a franchisor licenses trademarks and tried and proven methods of doing business to a franchisee in exchange for a recurring payment, and usually a percentage piece of gross sales or gross profits as well as the annual fees. Various tangibles and intangibles such as national or international advertising, training, and other support services are commonly made available by the entity licensing the 'chain store' or franchise outlet (commonly shortened to the one word: franchise), and may indeed be required by the franchisor, which generally requires audited books, and may subject the franchisee or the outlet to periodic and surprise spot checks. Failure of such tests typically involve non-renewal or cancellation of franchise rights
Ethnicity / cultural tribalism - Wikipedia
An ethnic group is a human population whose members identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry (Smith 1986). Ethnic groups are also usually united by common cultural, behavioural, linguistic, or religious practices. In this sense, an ethnic group is also a cultural community. From an objective standpoint, an ethnic group is also an endogamous population, that is, members of an ethnic group procreate primarily with other members of their ethnic group, something which is measurable in terms of characteristic average genetic frequencies. These differences, however, usually do not approach the magnitude of racial difference in that the genetic differences within an ethnic group are greater than the difference between any two ethnic groups. The characteristic of endogamy is reinforced by proximity, cultural familiarity, and also social pressure (in extreme cases, by legal command) to procreate within the ethnic group.
Customer Loyalty program - Wikipedia
In marketing generally and in retailing more specifically, a loyalty card, rewards card, points card, or club card is a plastic or paper card, visually similar to a credit card or debit card, that identifies the card holder as a member in a commercial incentives programme. Loyalty cards are a system of the loyalty business model. In the United Kingdom it is typically called a loyalty card, in Canada a rewards card or a points card, and in the United States either a discount card, a club card or a rewards card. Cards typically have a barcode or magstripe that can be easily scanned, and some are even chip cards. Small keyring cards are often used for convenience.
CashBack Rewards Systems / Loyalty program cashback - Wikipedia
Imitating the Frequent Flyer reward programmes used by many airlines around the world, a cashback rewards systems works by rewarding the customer for purchasing from a particular company. Rewards may either literally be a "cashback" in the form of a discount, or they may be given as vouchers towards the next purchase or as points that can be redeemed for items once enough have been accumulated. Web merchants use rewards systems as a means of retaining customer loyalty.
Peuplade
Immeubles en Fête
Intentional Communities
Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives, and other projects where people strive together with a common vision.
City-state - Wikipedia
region controlled exclusively by a city, and usually having sovereignty. Historically, city-states have often been part of larger cultural areas, as in the city-states of ancient Greece and Phoenicia, the Aztecs and Mayans of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, or the city-states of Renaissance Italy. City-states were common in ancient times. Though sovereign, many such cities joined in formal or informal leagues under a high king. In some cases historical empires or leagues were formed by the right of conquest (e.g., Mycenae, or Rome), but many were formed under peaceful alliances or for mutual protection (e.g., the Peloponnesian League). In the Middle Ages, city-states were particularly a feature of what are now Germany, Italy and Russia. A number of them formed the Hanseatic League, which was a significant force in trade for a number of centuries
Neighborhood planning - Wikipedia
idea of "neighborhood" (political settlement of small territory and familiar association, whose absolute property is its capacity for deliberative democracy) as an ecological concept with urban planning implications. Neighborhood planning deals with a level of planning greater than household size but smaller than that of a city. In fact, one of the first steps in planning for a neighborhood is to define the boundaries of the neighborhood. This process can sometimes be problematic. It becomes difficult when some areas do not want certain streets or houses to be included in their neighborhood boundary. On the other hand, it can also be a problem if more than one neighborhood district attempts to claim a certain street or group of homes. Two less problematic ways in which to define neighborhood boundaries are by using natural objects like rivers and parks or by dividing up the city using information based on the census report. If all else fails, public meetings and surveys can help the decision making process. After the boundaries of the plan are established, officials need to decide how to get the neighborhood involved with the planning process. Most people wrongly assume that a neighborhood plan will be done democratically. In reality, a city official may do all of the planning with minimal contact or input from the residents. The plan may also be done by a small, self-selected group of residents who ignore input from others in the neighborhood. Either way, without involvement of as many neighborhoods as possible, the outcome may lack critical information and perspectives and thus not fully represent the desires of the neighborhood residents. This may create problems for the community.
Oath of Fealty - Wikipedia
from the Latin fidelitas or faithfulness, a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Typically the oath is made upon a religious object such as a Bible or saint's relic thus binding the oath taker before God.
Secret society - Wikipedia
organization that requires its members to conceal certain activities—such as rites of initiation—from outsiders. Members may be required to conceal or deny their membership, and are often sworn to hold the society's secrets by an oath. The term "secret society" is often used to describe fraternal organizations (e.g. Freemasonry) that may have secret ceremonies, but is also commonly applied to organizations ranging from the common and innocuous (collegiate fraternities) to mythical organizations described in conspiracy theories as immensely powerful, with self-serving financial or political agendas, global reach, and sometimes satanic beliefs. Like the most successful forgeries, it is conceivable that the most effective secret societies are unknown beyond their adherents.
Diaspora (διασπορά, "a scattering or sowing of seeds") - Wikipedia
used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands; being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture. In the beginning, the term Diaspora (capitalized) was used by the Ancient Greeks to refer to citizens of a grand city who migrated to a conquered land with the purpose of colonization to assimilate the territory into the empire. The original meaning was cut off from the present meaning when the Old Testament was translated to Greek, the word diaspora was used to refer specifically to the populations of Jews exiled from Judea in 586 BC by the Babylonians, and Jerusalem in 136 AD by the Roman Empire. This term is used interchangeably to refer to the historical movements of the dispersed ethnic population of Israel, the cultural development of that population, or the population itself. The probable origin of the word is the Septuagint version of Deuteronomy 28:25, "thou shalt be a diaspora (Greek for dispersion) in all kingdoms of the earth". The term has been used in its modern sense since the late twentieth century. The academic field of diaspora studies was established in the late twentieth century, in regard to the expanded meaning of 'diaspora'. Jacob Riis, a renowned New York journalist and photographer, concluded that diaspora was established in the mid twentieth century but it was a confirmed fact that the expanded meaning of diaspora was thoroughly researched in the late twentieth century.
Perpetual traveler / permanent tourist (PT) - Wikipedia
a lifestyle and a philosophy. people who live in such a way that they are not considered a legal resident of any of the countries in which they spend time. In this way, they seek to avoid the legal obligations which may accompany residency, such as taxes, jury duty, and military service. For example, while PT's may hold citizenship in one or more countries that impose taxes based solely on residency (the United States is unusual, in that it taxes all citizens, regardless of their residency status), their legal residence will most likely be in a tax haven. They may spend the majority of their time in other countries, never staying long enough to be considered a resident.
PTClub
What is PT? PT - The Perpetual Traveler Permanent Tourist, Prior Taxpayer = Perfect Thing! INDIVIDUAL SOVEREIGNTY In a nutshell, a PT merely arranges his or her paperwork in such a way that all governments consider him a tourist. A person who is just "Passing Through". The advantage is that being thought of by government officials as a person who is merely "Parked Temporarily", a PT is not subjected to taxes, military service, lawsuits, or persecution for partaking in innocent but forbidden pursuits or pleasures. Unlike most citizens or subjects, the PT will not be persecuted for his beliefs or lack of them. PT stands for many things: a PT can be a "Prior Taxpayer", "Permanent Tourist", "Practically Transparent", "Privacy Trained", "Party Thrower", "Priority Thinker", "Positive Thinker", "Prepared Totally", "Paranoid Together" or "Permanent Traveler" if he or she wants to be. The individual who is a PT can stay in one place most of the time. Or all of the time. PT is a concept, a way of life, a way of perceiving the universe and your place in it. One can be a full-time PT or a part-time PT. Some may not want to break out all at once, or become a PT at all. They just want to be aware of the possibilities, and be prepared to modify their lifestyle in the event of a crisis. Knowledge will make you sort of a PT. A "Possibility Thinker" who is "Prepared Thoroughly" for the future.
PT Shamrock
Guide to Protecting Wealth and Privacy
How to Start Your Own Country - Wikipedia
How To Start Your Own Country was a six-part British television series aired by the BBC at 10:00pm from August 3, 2005, until September 6, 2005. It was presented by Danny Wallace and followed his quest to start his own country in his flat in Bow, East London, eventually named Lovely. A show called Citizen TV, also presented by Danny Wallace, was shown to digital viewers after each episode, giving news and discussions about the country. New episodes of Citizen TV, a half hour phone-in show that was available after the main show via BBCi, can now be viewed online at Citizens Required.com.
Micronations.Net
Apart from a few serious secessionist movements, most micronations are essentially nation-state simulations, with varying degrees of seriousness. Unlike role-playing games, micronations have real people who compete for fame, fortune and power, and engage in lively debate and entertainment. Many nations incorporate popular sports and economic simulations.
[DYNAMIC GEOGRAPHY] Network Operators
Patri Friedman - Wikipedia
Dynamic Geography
: A Blueprint for Efficient Government
Seastead.org
home of the Seasteading Project, which aims to build sovereign, self-sufficient floating platforms, thus creating new territory on the oceans. Our fundamental principle is to approach this ambitious vision in a realistic manner. This includes using conventional technologies whenever possible, coming up with profitable business models, and progressing by bootstrapping through a reasonable series of steps.
Seastead - Wikipedia
Seasteads are floating platforms which could be used to create sovereign micronations, or otherwise serve the ends of ocean colonization. The term was first used in a paper by Wayne Gramlich, and later in a book by Gramlich, Patri Friedman and Andy House, which is available for free online[1]. Their research aims at a more practical approach to developing micronations, based on currently available technology and a pragmatic approach to financial aspects.
[FLOATING CITY] Network Operators
Floating city - Wikipedia
settlements that use buoyancy to remain in the atmosphere of a planet. Buckminster Fuller first proposed the concept for Earth, by building a geodesic sphere that would be heated by sunlight, and float. A similar design would permit settlers to live on Venus, where at ground level the temperature is too hot and the atmospheric pressure too great. It would also permit settlement of the outer three gas giants which have no ground. The main industry of floating cities in gas giants might be to extract Helium-3 or other useful materials from their atmospheres. Jupiter is unacceptable for habitation due to its high gravity, escape velocity and radiation, but the solar system's other gas giants are more practical.
Laputa - Wikipedia
flying island or rock with an adamantine base, that can be manoeuvred by its inhabitants in any direction using magnetic levitation. The population of the island mainly consists of educated people, who are fond of mathematics, astronomy, music and technology, but fail to make practical use of their knowledge (the rest are their servants). They had mastered magnetic levitation and discovered the two moons of Mars (something which would not be discovered in reality for another 150 years), but couldn't construct well-designed clothing or buildings - reason for this being that measurements are taken with instruments such as quadrants and a compass rather than with tapes. It is a male-dominated society; often, the wives of these men request to leave the island to visit the land below. However, these requests are almost never granted because the women never want to come back voluntarily. The ground below the floating island, within the region it can travel, is also controlled by the king of Laputa. The king, being a tyrannic ruler, controls the mainland mostly by threatening to cover rebel regions with the island's shadow, thus preventing sunlight and rain. In extreme cases, the island is lowered on the cities below in order to crush them, although this has not been successful every time, notably in the case of Lindalino.
Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta (天空の城ラピュタ, "Laputa: Castle in the Sky") - Wikipedia
The film's introductory scenes show the historical foundation to the legend of the ancient flying cities. The skies are initially filled with such city-fortresses, which are later shown disgorging streams of humanity into the world, having come crashing to earth, apparently after a series of meteorological disasters. One of the fortresses, Laputa, is said to still exist, propelling itself through the sky concealed within the swirling clouds of a violent thunderstorm. While most people consider Laputa to be a myth, some, like Pazu, believe it to have a basis in reality; Pazu's deceased father once caught sight of Laputa, and even managed to take a photograph of it when his airship was caught in a storm. However, even with this evidence he was ridiculed, contributing to his untimely death.
Ephemerisle
Walking city - Wikipedia
idea proposed by British architect Ron Herron in 1964. In an article in avant-garde architecture journal Archigram, Ron Herron proposed building massive mobile robotic structures, with their own intelligence, that could freely roam the world, moving to wherever their resources or manufacturing abilities were needed. Various walking cities could interconnect with each other to form larger 'walking metropolises' when needed, and then disperse when their concentrated power was no longer necessary. Individual buildings or structures could also be mobile, moving wherever their owner wanted or needs dictated.
Freedom Ship - the City at Sea
The Freedom Ship has little in common with a conventional ship; it is actually nothing more than a big barge. The bolt-up construction and the unusually large amount of steel incorporated into the ship meets the design engineer's requirements for stability and structural integrity and the cost engineers requirements of "economic feasibility" but the downside is a severe reduction in top speed, making the ship useless for any existing requirements. For example, it would be too slow to be a cruise ship or a cargo ship. But what if this big, overweight, barge was assigned a voyage that required slowly cruising around the world, hugging the shoreline, and completing one revolution every 3 years? If the designers then incorporated the following amenities into this barge, what would be the results? * 18,000 living units, with prices in the range of $180,000 to $2.5 million, including a small number of premium suites currently priced up to $44 million. * 3,000 commercial units in a similar price range * 2,400 time-share units * 10,000 hotel units * A World Class Casino * A ferryboat transportation system that provides departures every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, to 3 or more local cities giving ship residents access to the local neighborhood and up to 30,000 land-based residents a chance to spend a day on the ship. * A World-Class Medical Facility practicing Western and Eastern medicine as well as preventive and anti-aging medicine. * A School System that gives the students a chance to take a field trip into a different Country each week for academic purposes or to compete with local schools in numerous sporting events. For example; The Freedom Ship High School Soccer team plays a Paris High School team this week at home and an Italian team next week in Italy, while the Freedom Ship High School Band presents a New Orleans Jazz musical at a concert hall in London. * An International Trade Center that gives on-board companies and shops the opportunity to show and sell their products in a different Country each week. * More than 100 acres of outdoor Park, Recreation, Exercise and Community space for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.
[SHELL CORPORATION] Network Operators
International Business Corporation, IBC, Personal Investment Companie, PIC, front company, "mailbox" company
Shell corporation / International Business Corporation (IBC) / Personal Investment Company (PIC) / front company / "mailbox" company - Wikipedia
company that is incorporated but has no significant assets or operations. Shell corporations are not in themselves illegal, and they may have legitimate business purposes. However, they are a main component of underground economy, especially those based in tax havens. A classic tax evasion operation, called transfer pricing, is based on the buying and selling through tax haven shell companies to disguise true profits. The firm does its international operations through this shell corporation, thus not having to report to its country the sums involved, avoiding any taxes. Oxfam International calculates that the flux of money flowing out from developing countries and deposited in tax havens at $50 billion a year. Such corporations may be formed for several purposes: * Legally, to obtain financing prior to starting operations. * Fraudulently, as fronts to conceal tax evasion schemes. * Money laundering * Tax avoidance, taking advantage of the existence of 250 free zones and tax havens, 95% of which are former British, French, Spanish, Dutch or U.S. colonies or concessions that remain dependent on the former colonial powers. * By secret services
Front organization / group / company - Wikipedia
any entity set up by and controlled by another organization. A front organization may simply be a proxy that keeps the parent group's name out of the picture or it may look publicly as if it is set up to do one thing, but actually be set up to do something else on behalf of its parent group. Front organizations are also commonly used to shield the parent organization from legal liability; this is the most common reason for the creation of shell corporations. |
