Why tax-havenry is the killer app (was Halo from orbit -- bandwidth

>
> > If the orbital society sets itself up as a tax haven, and as you
> > argue imposes no income tax or capital gains tax, then how does
> > it benefit from establishing itself as a tax haven?
>
> It attracts these guys to set up permanent-residency:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_billionaires_%282008%29

So what? Here's a analogous scenario - a billionaire from a planet
orbit Tau Ceti shows up on Earth. The next day an ordinary spaceman
from Alpha Centauri also shows up. How does the billionaire, with all
of his wealth "back home" improve the living circumstances for his
Earthling neighbors compared to the paycheck astronaut from Alpha
Centauri who is not wealthy?

> It also attracts the middle-class, and the better-paid of the
> skills-class, because the savings from the lack of an income tax
> offset the higher living-expenses.

And what's to stop Bermuda, the Bahamas, Dubai, London, etc from
offering the same deal? That's right, they're already offering the deal.

> ...but as long as most Earth-nations remain tax-nations, the
> comparative-advantage exists.

Why do most nations institute taxes? What prevents an orbital
settlement from facing the same environmental factors?