mediajunk

They say you learn something new every day. Today I learned a phrase that made me smile -- "tax avoison". Now, if I could only learn how to practice tax avoison, that would make me smile even wider.

I heard the phrase mentioned in a radio discussion about Ireland's growing reputation as a -- sort of, almost, not quite, kinda -- tax haven. The discussion was spurred by the recent move of UK Drugs company Shire to Ireland, for tax reasons. (Source:The Times, UK)

Now, companies re-locating to, or locating branches in Ireland for tax reasons is nothing new. Large software firms, in particular, have been doing it for years. The nature of the software business -- much of it globalised and online -- allows these companies to "wash" certain profits through their Irish branch, and avail of Ireland's lower corporation taxes on these profits, and makes it difficult for anyone else (e.g. the US taxman) to disprove that the profits emerged elsewhere.

What's new about Shire story is that this the first FTSE 100 company to relocate to Ireland. And, as the UK tightens its tax laws, Ireland is being seen as a UK companies as, if not a tax haven outright, a safer haven than the UK.

Expect many more UK companies to follow suit over the coming months and years...

A lot of internet-related jargon comes and goes, but a term we can't seem to get rid of is "portal".

I still hear this jaded moniker bandied about a lot, typically from people who have "a great idea for a website" (you know who you are). Said great idea involves creating a "one-stop-shop" related to subject x.

Typically this "portal" is no more than a set of links to other websites -- at best, we could call it a directory.

In fact, when have you heard someone say they were looking up a certain portal last night, or "I read it on a portal"? Never, right? (Substitute the word blog, which works, and you'll see that this is a fair test.)

Some sites have risen beyond mere portality, since they describe themselves as "vortals". About.com tells us that a vortal is a vertical portal, or "a portal geared toward a specific niche audience with focused content."

Errr... so can someone now tell me how a vortal differs from a portal, and how either of these differs from, well, any old web page with a set of links about a specific topic?

Still, I guess "portal" looks good, even expensive, in public sector reports on spending. It's up there with the e words, like e-tourism and e-enterprise.

As I write, someone, somewhere (probably in a pub), is having a "great" idea: Why not create a website aimed exclusively at the niche of ... world tourism? Except it won't be just a website, it will be an e-portal!
[/end rant]