Private city in Honduras will have minimal taxes, government

Small government and free-market capitalism are about to get put to the test in Honduras, where the government has agreed to let an investment group build an experimental city with no taxes on income, capital gains or sales.

Proponents say the tiny, as-yet unnamed town will become a Central American beacon of job creation and investment, by combining secure property rights with minimal government interference.

“Once we provide a sound legal system within which to do business, the whole job creation machine – the miracle of capitalism – will get going,” Michael Strong, CEO of the MKG Group, which will build the city and set its laws, told FoxNews.com.

Strong said that the agreement with the Honduran government states that the only tax will be on property.

“Our goal is to be the most economically free entity on Earth,” Strong said.

wow cool it will be interesting to see how this develops

agreed..... a singapore/Hong Kong of the west?

Both Singapore and Hong Kong became wealthy because they were British imperial bases--ports through which Asia's wealth was exported to the West, and Western manufactured goods were imported to Asia. Naturally, these areas were home to a lot of Western traders, diplomats, bureaucrats, etc..., so they saw to it that some of this wealth went to improving conditions in their own backyard.

The article says that they won't be using this city in the same way, so either they're lying and the place will become wealthy (by stealing Latin American wealth), or they're telling the truth...and it will fail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist...931930s%29

Both Singapore and Hong Kong became wealthy because they were British imperial bases--ports through which Asia's wealth was exported to the West, and Western manufactured goods were imported to Asia. Naturally, these areas were home to a lot of Western traders, diplomats, bureaucrats, etc..., so they saw to it that some of this wealth went to improving conditions in their own backyard.

The article says that they won't be using this city in the same way, so either they're lying and the place will become wealthy (by stealing Latin American wealth), or they're telling the truth...and it will fail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist...931930s%29

The reason "economic freedom" goes hand in hand with competitiveness, is because in this case, "freedom" means "no one looking over your shoulder making sure you follow the rules, pay taxes, and don't abuse your employees and the planet". It's expensive being a responsible company these days.

The government does not need to regulate how well the employer treats its employees - the employees themselves do a better job of them. If the company I work for doesn't value me enough as an employee or doesn't treat me the way I feel I should be treated, I will quit and go somewhere else.

The people incompetent enough to not understand you are able to quit a job and go somewhere else are the same people who don't have jobs because of said incompetence. Competition is a beautiful thing, and if you're a good asset companies will be fighting over each other to grab you.

Trade increases wealth for both parties in a voluntary contract, otherwise they wouldn't have agreed to trade. Go take economics.

Time will tell but it should be interesting to watch this experiment develop. Perhaps we could incorporate it in our country to some degree if it works.