Normally, tourists vist Kent for its castles, where widowed queens lived who lived out their days and kings who fought for England. And they also came for Canterbury Cathedral, who is known for the site of the murder of Thomas à Becket. There is also a retreat where Winston Churchill brooded and the House where Joseph Conrad wrote, etc.
But now, tourist are visiting Kent for a whole other reason, namely, Kent is considered one of the finest places in Europe to declare oneself bankrupt! The number of foreign debtors seeking bankruptcy in Britain has risen by 20 per cent, that because the English insolvency laws are very comfortable.
People call it the "bankruptcy tourism". They come to Kent because the tax laws are
better than the ones in their country.
Now, this phenomenon is still a legitimate thing but it is nog quite ethical.
In 2002, new European insolvency legislation came into force that made cross-border bankruptcies between member states easier to complete. It is possible for a person to shop around and find the most lenient bankruptcy.
I think this is a really akward situation. People are moving to Kent just for the bankruptcy. I guess that the city musn't be that cosy or nice to live in. All those 'depressed' people are coming to you town because they have enormous debts. It is a really bizar phenomenon. I think, people are not staying put with the real citizens who live in Kent. Has anyone asked for their opinion yet? perhaps their must be a law that equalizes all the bankruptcy procedures in the European Union. But I think and hope that this will happen in the future.
Source:
The Times, 23th of September 2009, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6845136.ece
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Reaction by Ben Van Laere:
It truly is a bizarre phenomenon. Travelling when you are almost bankrupt. Going bankrupt and travelling are very opposite to each other.
This article reminds me of the suicides in France Télécom. France Télécom is a company in which 24 employees have committed suicide in the last 19 months. The causes of these suicides are the changes in the company and the workload.
I hope the depressive visitors of Kent are just there to enjoy the better tax laws. Otherwise Kent would lose its popularity when debtors commit suicide.
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