Slow morning...

[anigo]

Did you know that Monaco occupies a space equivalent of 2 square kms?
Yet it has a population of 32,130.

If you live there you're Monegasque

It's chief Industries: Tourism and construction and it has no income tax

It's a 2 km square piece of land How much construction can there be?!?!

It has one AM radio station and no FM stations but 5 TV stations and 2 ISPs

It's a land full of Doozers

It has 1.7 km of railway, 50 km of paved highway and 50 km of unpaved highway

I'm picturing a mighty odd little country where people keep building things and tearing them back down again, with two roads, side by side, one paved and one dirt, that just wind around and around until it makes it to the centre of the country, where you'll find all five tv stations and the one am station all housed in a building that's under constant renovation.

And a rail road that doesn't quite make it all the way across the country.

Fun country.

Comments

no dirt road

[andreas_schaefer]

and as for construction - yes they may well tear down older houses of merely 5 stories to built yet another overpriced highrise appartmentcomplex. You mentioned the reason yourself - no income tax. This means also that if you are a European who has had some undeclared income and buys a yacht with it ( say an Austrian buying a 10 meter Catamaran ) you are well advised to berth your new old boat in Monaco - because here your home countries nice tax people wont see it - nor their cooperating collegues from the other European countries. And getting back to that Austrian - you also get a nice little letter from the Rhodesian former owner that this Austrian has borrowed the boat and is allowed to with it what one wants - so evn if our Austrian should sail into the Adriatic ad bert somewhere near Trieste ( which is nearest to an Austrian Port as one can get [ the area used to be austrian long ago ] ) to the tax people there he is not owning an expensive yacht he could not have paid from declared income and the Monegasque don't care much . They also get about 3 times as much berthing fees as any neighboring harbour in France or Italy would get.

Living in Monaco does not make one a Monegasque ( AFAIK it is VERY difficult to become one )

Being a hereditary monachy another export is prices and pricesses as well as supplying the yellow press with heartbreaking stories about life among the 'noble' - This has been going steady ever since Grace Kelly married the current reigning Rainier the third.
( http://www.visitmonaco.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=42 )

Monaco has long had a monetary union with France - which is useful because driving to the next French town or even to Italy ( Ventimiglia ) makes shopping a lot cheaper.

You did not mention the Casino - possibly the most famous casino in Europe - everybody dreams of winning big in MonteCarlo. :-)

Re: no dirt road

[anigo.livejournal.com]

I actually *had* mentioned the casino, and then deleted it, believe it or not.

I got my information from http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mn.html

But upon a second glance I see you're right, there are no unpaved roads, and it was "paved and unpaved" that I had mistaken for unpaved.

Fun stuff.

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

You know why they don't have income tax?
Because the casino is government owned... and the government derives most of it's income from it!

So, in effect, it's a tax upon those that can't figure the odds!
;)