Angela Merkel, the most powerful woman on earth, is hell bent on challenging the Happiest Countries on Earth, the third world tax havens.
Hell bent on challenging the Happiest Countries on earth,
is the most powerful Woman on earth, Angela Merkel. Vanuatu, Costa Ricca, Columbia, Dominica and Panama, will all come under her spot light if Angela has her way. Third world countries which have featured high on the Happiest Planet Index.
In Aug 2008, Forbes Magazine announced their 11th annual list of the top 100 most powerful women in the world. It appears the magazine's criteria for power is based on a compound of public profile, how often the women were reported on by the paparazzi and how much financial influence the women wielded. Only 15% of women hold the top company positions. USA’s largest companies have less than 3% female chief executives and only one out of six company directors are women.
The magazine estimates the women on the list, control in the vicinity of $26 trillion dollars. Women who are defined by their jobs, rather than by who they are. It is reported that some take home an annual pay of $11 million plus.
Accomplishments, job title, past career, as well as the amount of money the woman controls, are all taken into account. The magazine draws comparisons between the different financial areas the women operate in, in order to assess the women's position on an even playing field.
· Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, tops the list in 2008 for the third time in
a row
· Second was Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp
· PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi came in third, gaining two positions over last year
· Angela Braly head of the health insurance Well Point retained fourth position,
same as last year
· Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State came in seventh
· Ho Chin, Temasek Holdings and wife of the Prime Minister of Singapore, was
No. 8,dropping from 3rd place last year
· Gail Kelly, head of Australian Wetspac Bank came in No. 11
· Hilary Clinton, with the highest media profile, ranked 28, dropping three places
from last year
· Oprah Winfrey ranked 36, dropping all the way from 8th position last year
· First Lady Linda Bush ranked 44
Angela Merkel has been nicknamed the 'Iron Lady', following in the footsteps of ex British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, even down to having a similar agenda. Vice Premiere of the People's Republic of China, Wu Yi, who held third place last year, is also known as the 'Iron Lady'. Wu Yi, having been in the top rankings, since 2004, has dropped from view this year. Maybe it’s because she resigned her position in March.
Angela Merkel is crusading for all the governments of the world to unite in a Tax Cartel. Her aim is to bring a heavy-handed fist down on all tax havens. The recent purchase, by Merkel, from a Lichtenstein bank, of confidential client data of alleged tax evaders, has highlighted Merkel's crusade. It is believed the Lichtenstein bank sold the same material several times over, netting the bank a nice profit.
As tax havens play a very relevant role in driving tax rates down in high-taxed countries. OECD quoted personal income tax as averaging 67%, in 1980. Top personal taxes now average only 40%. Corporate taxes have been driven from 50% in 1980 to a meager 27%. Merkel’s crusade could globally cost more than her crusade is worth. Without the alternative competition offered through tax havens taxes would soar unhindered.
While many say that tax havens are an open avenue for money laundering, tight regulations in tax havens can make money laundering almost impossible.
