Tax exile - a place or a person?
I've come across the phrase "tax exile" in a Douglas Adams' book :
"And as theories go this was all very fine and pleasant until he suddenly claimed to have found
this planet, and to have worked there for a while driving a limousine for a family of cheap green
retractables, whereupon he was taken away, locked up, wrote a book, and was finally sent into tax exile,
which is the usual fate reserved for those who are determined to make a fool of themselves in public".

The verb "sent" somehow suggests to me that a tax exile would be a place (although it didn't quite make sense why they would send you to one). Then I looked it up, and Wikipedia says " A tax exile is a person who chooses to leave a country with a high tax burden and instead, reside in a foreign nation or jurisdiction which takes a lower portion of earnings. Going into tax exile is a means of tax mitigation or avoidance."

Could someone please give me some examples of how you use the phrase "tax exile"?

Thanks!

Question

Tax exile - a place or a person?
I've come across the phrase "tax exile" in a Douglas Adams' book :
"And as theories go this was all very fine and pleasant until he suddenly claimed to have found
this planet, and to have worked there for a while driving a limousine for a family of cheap green
retractables, whereupon he was taken away, locked up, wrote a book, and was finally sent into tax exile,
which is the usual fate reserved for those who are determined to make a fool of themselves in public".

The verb "sent" somehow suggests to me that a tax exile would be a place (although it didn't quite make sense  why they would send you to one). Then I looked it up, and Wikipedia says  " A tax exile is a person who chooses to leave a country with a high tax burden and instead, reside in a foreign nation or jurisdiction which takes a lower portion of earnings. Going into tax exile is a means of tax mitigation or avoidance."

Could someone please  give me some examples of how you use the phrase "tax exile"?

Thanks!

Answer

'Exile' can either refer to a person or a condition/status. It isn't a place.

If it's a person, it's a countable noun: 'They are exiles' 'He is an exile'.

If it's referring to the state, it is an abstract and uncountable noun. For example, 'in exile' is grammatically similar to 'in danger', 'under threat' , or even 'at home' - it's an adverbial phrase describing someone's circumstances, not location. This is how the word is used in your extract - to send someone 'into tax exile'. Note the lack of article - this is an indication that we are dealing with an abstract noun rather than referring to a particular physical location.

'Exile' doesn't refer to a specific or literal place. Tax exiles go to live in 'tax havens' like Monaco or Bermuda.

Answer

In this context it does not specifically refer to a place, or a person,  rather, a state of being (literally "he is in a state of tax exile").  In other words, one may choose "to go into (enter a state of) tax exile" by taking some particular action that is beneficial from a taxation point of view. In practical terms this typically this means moving to a country with a favourable tax regime (or leaving a country with a heavy tax burden).

Answers · 4

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