Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by koonsolo 2486 days ago
I'm from Belgium, which has one of the highest income taxes in the world. Why do you put "anti money laundering" as a benefit?
2 comments

Not OP

Most people would agree that not allowing criminals to enjoy the spoils of their crime is a good thing.

If you think that your taxes are too high, and would like to be a law abiding citizen, you've got options:

ballot box (you might need your own party)

move to a different country

Money laundering is typically tied illegal behavior, things such as tax evasion, extortion, trafficking, etc. Having the means to deal with money laundering helps inhibit the illegal activity tied to it.
So why is it a benefit to the user of the money?
Assuming that you're an average Belgian, the effect of money laundering is that you pay taxes while the criminals don't, so the money that your government could and would have spent in things that benefit you gets stolen instead.

Less money laundering would mean that you could either get more gov't services or lower taxes.