The UK compared to many has a low commercial tax base with a very wide range of incentives for existing and new business so there is liitke excuse for those who chose to avoid such tax there is to move offshore and avoid tax on their UK activities.
I suspect that it is much easier to run a " dodgy " business in a tax haven compared to an established economy. Could this be the real reason why so many are registered in these domains !!

Whitelisted gambling jurisdictions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gibraltar is blacklisted by Portugal which some would think surprising as whatever the Spanish do the Portuguese do the opposite.

Fortunately, Gibraltar isn't one of them.

TIEA agreement between Gibraltar and Portugal

This TIEA agreement has been signed between Gibraltar and Portugal on 14 Oct 2009.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF GIBRALTAR FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION RELATING TO TAX MATTERS

Exchange of Information Portal

The Portugese really do need to catch up with themselves

The above information was posted on this thread about a year ago and therefore was available to anyone who takes a genuine interest in Gibraltar and Portugal or finance.

Ad nauseam

EU says Eastside works do not contravene EU directives

Date: 12 January 2015

The European Commission has reiterated that the works being carried out on the Eastside do not contravene EU directives. This follows further complaints by Spain, and calls for the Commission to revisit them.

In the past Spain has complained about the Eastside Reclamation and the subject was again raised by a Spanish MEP. In response the Commission said all representations from both Britain and Spain had been evaluated. It added that from the evidence presented, it’s been unable to find any infringements of environmental legislation.

The recently appointed EU Commssioner for the Environment, Karmenu Vella, said there was no proof that toxic matter had been used for the reclamation. The Representative of the Spanish Party Union Progreso y Democracia, Fernando Maura had argued that this may be the case, seeing as the materials used did not come from Spain because Spain had imposed a ban across the frontier

For its part, the Spanish Environmental Group, Verdemar, Ecologistas en Accion says its reinforced its claim, and has supplied the EU with further information that it claims, proves that EU directives are being violated. It claims to have studied the environmental impact, in depth, and has concluded that directives relating to the negative effects of the project and to the protection of flora and fauna have been infringed.

The Group claims the presence of a particular mollusc has not been included in the Environmental Impact Assessment, even though it forms part of the Habitats Directive and is found in the area. The lack of underwater studies, it says, invalidates the conclusion that there are no negative repercussions

GBC | Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation

Some people just cannot resist digging no matter how much evidence to the contrary is provided.

I'm afraid you have a rather naïve view of international finance. Look what has happened in France now Holland has taxed until the pips squeak - hundreds of companies have left France - many have come to London, even more have gone to Luxembourg and elsewhere. France's economy is in deep doo-doo.
Morally you may have a case but practically that's what happens.
The UK Government is trying to shame foreign companies into paying more tax to please the public but in practice they are doing very little because they know they operate in the real world. The only pressure that works is if the bottom line is hit. There was a feeble attempt to boycott Starbucks a couple of years ago and they suddenly coughed up £20m.

BTW - I wrote 'tax from employment' i.e. not just income tax but the tax generated when an employee spends the income, e.g. VAT etc. An employed person is an economic asset and unemployed person is an economic drain.
Employment is far more important in the great scale of things than tax on gambling. People will gamble no matter where the servers are sited - most don't have a clue anyway - so it may as well be Gibraltar where it benefits British citizens than in Lichtenstein or somewhere else.

We are not in the UK talking about high company taxation., but of companies with very high UK sales who pay very little UK tax.
The current government has finally seen the light and is targetting those companies who do not play fair with the country that generates a large part of their profits.
If some of the companies involved were paragons of virtue paying a decent living wage to their employees who could then as you say really benefit the UK economy it could be a different matter but of course that is not the case.

As for on line gambling it is one step up from Pay day loans and we all know what has happened to them.

A bit like UK banks

I wonder what the taxman receives in return for his / our investment of £1162 Billion

Definitely paragons of virtue without adding in the multi million fines for dodgy dealings.

Like stones and glass houses.

Good job there are no dodgy companies resident in the UK

As you will know the banking crisis was GLOBAL and affected almost EVERY major economy.
Also bad as the recession was the UK would have gone into melt down without bailing out the banks.
As for bankinbg practices that is what happens when you ease up on regulations and make it too easy for companies to act as they want.
So look out Gibraltar it is only a matter of time before the brown stuff starts to land.

Should Gib go into melt down I think you will find that the UK will be required to provide the bail out

Jan 13 - European Commission to Award Grants to Start-ups

Tuesday, 13 January 2015

The European Commission has approved Gibraltar’s operational programme for the European Regional Development Fund for 2014-2020, a scheme for the use of structural funds in Gibraltar that will aid in the stimulation of economic development.

The programme, set to focus on both enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, and supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy, will be launched on Wednesday 21st January at Grand Bastion House, as from 11:30am.

Such grants are awarded by the Commission in order to assist business start-ups, and promote sustainable employment. Funding to encourage the use of alternative renewable energy sources and schemes that meet EU objectives are also encouraged.

Jan 13 - European Commission to Award Grants to Start-ups

Last night it emerged Spanish sea pilots had begun leading merchant vessels through British waters off the Rock without consulting Gibraltar authorities, sparking new safety fears of a naval collision.
“This has happened six times in the last month,” said a Gibraltar Government source. “The problem with this goes far beyond the blatant incursion into British sovereign waters. The real danger is that they are not communicating at all with us, and have no idea about shipping traffic. This is dangerous and could lead to a collision.”



“If you deliberately send a warship into foreign territory, it could be construed as an act of war,” he said.
“I don’t think the Foreign Office understands that deterrence is in the mind. When a Spanish warship deliberately sails into British Gibraltarian waters, and we respond by sending out a 16ft launch, it’s like a cat being frightened by a mouse. In deterrence, size matters


Gibraltar is a pawn: David Cameron blasted for sacrificing the Rock to secure EU reforms | World | News | Daily Express

What, exactly, is your complaint? That companies are allowed to be successful? I know there are a lot of people who feel that way, even if they'd never admit it to themselves, but ominously, nearly all in that category have never had the benefit of running their own business and keeping their people gainfully employed.

Anyway, whatever you buy commercially in Europe requires charging VAT for it (and the seller must have a VAT number to track it with).

If Acme Widgets Ltd. of Yorkshire or Gibraltar sells a Spanish resident a widget, then is the VAT enough? or should they be paying income tax in Spain as well as anywhere else they sell stuff?

If you agree that the VAT is enough, then what exactly is your complaint?

And if you don't agree, then that may help explain why the concept of the European "free market" is so widely misinterpreted.

If your complaint is that companies like PayPal are registered in Luxembourg or Apple registered in Ireland where taxes are lower, then perhaps you should send them a letter explaining them why they should be registered and pay income tax in every country worldwide.

If your complaint is that online gambling and payday loans are immoral, then that's your subjective opinion and frankly, has nothing to do with taxation or the law, and as far as Gibraltar goes, it's equally as legal there as in most of the rest of the world, so, sorry, you can't blame your opinion of online gambling on Gibraltar.

Or are you just whinging about Gib for the sake of whinging about something?

Surely it cannot be right that a company trading in one country can reduce its tax liability in that country by trading the products it sells through an associated company based in a cheaper tax jurisdiction.