Sick of Taxes? Time to Move to Forvik.
Posted: June 27th, 2008 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Economy | Tags: Forvik, Independence, Taxes | 1 Comment »
Are you sick of paying high taxes? I know I am and I’m not alone. Stuart Hill is sick of paying taxes too, but he is alone. Very alone, at least for now.
Mr. Hill is the sole denizen of Forvik island, and he’s just declared his independence. Forvik, a tiny Shetland island located on the edge of the Atlantic, acquired its lone citizen in 2001 when Hill capsized his boat there “during an unsuccessful attempted to circumnavigate Britain.”
Sounds like a real character.
From Reuters:
“He is Forvik’s only resident, and his home is a tent on the storm-battered island. He says on his website that he plans to create Forvik’s own currency — the “gulde” — print his own stamps and raise his own flag.”
Sounds like my kind of guy.
“”There will be no income tax, VAT (value added tax), council tax, corporation tax, or any of the other taxes instituted by the British government,” Hill wrote.”
Right on!
But can he really declare his independence from the UK AND European Union?
” Hill’s claim dates back to a 15th century arrangement between the Norwegian King Christian and King James III of Scotland when the Shetland Islands were effectively pawned to King James in lieu of a marriage dowry.
According to Hill’s studies of the history of the island, in 1669 King Charles II re-confirmed Shetland’s status at the time of the pawning, meaning the islands remained directly answerable to the crown — represented today by the Queen.”
I’m not sure what kind of a legal leg he has to stand on here, but it’s an interesting story nonetheless. I’m guessing that the government is more or less going to ignore him as a rogue nutter since he probably doesn’t have much worth taxing anyway. But who knows, maybe he’s got a huge bank account or investment portfolio in a mainland bank?
It says that Stuart made his declaration on his website… I’m not sure how since it seemed like he had minimal resources when he was shipwrecked on the 2.5 acre island, but more power to him. He’d better be careful though or his 2.5 acres will quickly get over populated:
“”I also invite anyone from any country in the world, who supports these aims, namely to become free of liars, thieves and tyrants in government, to become a citizen of Forvik,” he added.”
You can read the Forvik Declaration of Direct Dependence here. There’s quite an interesting history there.
Technorati Tags: Forvik, Independence, Taxes, Stuart Hill, Shetland Islands
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