(Source: Detroit Free Press)
LUXEMBOURG _ Sadly, being a world tax haven isn't what it used to be. All those nasty new disclosure laws. Uncle Sam snooping into private bank vaults. Euro powers whining about tax evaders. Suddenly, the party's over in offshore banking glamour spots like Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Not to worry. I'm here to help.
Not with my millions _ with my tourist dollars.
My new policy? Take a tax haven vacation today, and keep these little places afloat.
A tax haven _ also called an offshore banking center _ is a country with banking laws so lenient that depositors earn money tax free in total secrecy.
Traditional European tax havens are in picturesque nations so cute they could be in a storybook _ Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland _ and so small you have to park your Mercedes in the next country.
But this fall, these banking secrecy spots suddenly became secret no more. Bowing to international pressure, all have agreed to rat out investors to the tax man. Poof! End of an era.
Concerned about its very survival, I hurry to offer my support to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
I'm determined to help out this little nation, which may have the highest per-capita income in the world of $79,000 but whose heart is undoubtedly aching.
First up, I spend $169 a night for a basic room at the Mercure across from the train station in the capital city, which also is called Luxembourg. Then I spend $4 on a cafe latte. And $5 on a bag of chips, $5 on a Sprite from the mini-bar, $20 on a pretty good bus tour around the city and $1.50 on a city brochure from the tourist office.
Surprise! From the upper deck of the tour bus, I notice no unemployment lines. No frayed Hermes scarves or rumpled cashmere. Luxembourg, it seems, is not only wealthy in cash, but also in the looks department. How well it hides its pain!
It has a Euro-fairy-tale vibe, with 12th-century fortifications that date from its days as a fortress city. It has cobblestones older than Cinderella. It has a tasteful palace where the country's royal family, led by the hunky Grand Duke Henri, lives when in town. It has three incredibly beautiful arched bridges that connect two sides of town over a deep green valley.
The tiny nation that borders Belgium, Germany and France has a quaintly small population of just 440,000.
It also has 151 foreign banks, 9,000 holding companies and is the eighth-largest lender to the United States.
The next morning, I make my way to Luxembourg's Le Musee de la Banque _ the Bank Museum.
