Saturday, June 25, 2011

Foreign fill-ups keep Luxembourg's economic motor running

I'm sure some Luxembourg zealous political players fall for this. Deutsche Welle surfing on Luxembourg's gas tsunami:

The mayor of Wasserbillig Gust Stefanetti is complaining about his 11 gas stations and the traffic it generates, it says here. I'm sure he doesn't want to finance his Centre Culturel, Sports Center and other must haves.

Luxembourg should only raise the taxes it has to raise to balance a budget. Not to abide by foolish wishes of European bureaucrats or neighbors. The total amount of gas tanked in the world will not change by a drop, because Luxembourg raises taxes on it. The same cars still will drive the same mileage.

If Luxembourg had no tax on gas, I would say "tax haven". As there is one, just tell the neighbors to lower theirs if they want to compete!

As for the claim in the title, there is indeed a real tax haven that keeps the economic motor running, including the one of the border towns in Germany, France and Belgium, where 150,000 find employment in Luxembourg. But that's not at some gas station. Those only help the 150,000 people to commute internationally at a fair price, if they have the brains to shop for gas where they make a living.