Sun guide to our World Cup rivals.
www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3724975/Sun-guide-to-our-World-Cup-rivals.htmlSan Marino
LOCATION: Hill country covering 24 square miles surrounded by north Italy. Famous for its military tradition of crossbow-shooting.
POPULATION: 32,000.
Victory by an arrow margin ... crossbow training
STAR PLAYER: Striker Andy Selva of Italy's second-division Hellas Verona.
GREATEST FOOTBALLING ACHIEVEMENT: Beat Liechtenstein 1-0 in 2004 friendly - their only win.
NATIONAL DRESS:
The Guard Of The Rock, who patrol the state's border, dress in gaudy uniforms.
NATIONAL HERO: St Marinus, a
stonemason who founded San Marino in 301.
TOP EXPORTS:
Building stones and ceramics.
TOP IMPORTS:
Banking.NATIONAL DISH: Cake.
Safe haven.........landlocked .........Switzerland. www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sm.htmlEconomy - overview:
San Marino's economy relies heavily on its tourism and banking industries, as well as on the manufacture and export of ceramics, clothing, fabrics, furniture, paints, spirits, tiles, and wine. The per capita level of output and standard of living are comparable to those of the most prosperous regions of Italy, which supplies much of its food. The economy benefits from foreign investment due to its relatively low corporate taxes and low taxes on interest earnings. San Marino has recently faced increased international pressure to improve cooperation with foreign tax authorities and transparency within its own banking sector, which generates about one-fifth of the country's tax revenues. Italy's implementation in October 2009 of a tax amnesty to repatriate untaxed funds held abroad has resulted in financial outflows from San Marino to Italy worth more than $4.5 billion. Such outflows, combined with a money-laundering scandal at San Marino's largest financial institution and the recent global economic downturn, have contributed to a deep recession and growing budget deficit. Industrial production declined sharply in 2010, especially in the textile sector. However, San Marino has little national debt, and an unemployment rate less than half the size of Italy's. The San Marino government has adopted measures to counter the downturn, including subsidized credit to businesses. San Marino also continues to work towards harmonizing its fiscal laws with EU members and international standards. In September 2009, the OECD removed San Marino from its list of tax havens that have yet to fully implement global tax standards, and in 2010 San Marino signed Tax Information Exchange Agreements with most major countries. The future of the country's economy will be heavily influenced by the signing of a financial information exchange agreement with Italy, which many Italian investors see as fundamental for their business operations with San Marino.
So how many Countries are there in the region of the 'Vat' i can (Value Added Tax) that the owners of vast empires whilst residing in London have their Company name (not ownership) residing in another Country ? !.
>Many.
IS RA EL is San Marino one thousand six hundred and forty years ago !
A made up state too further an Agenda.San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino[1][6] (i/sæn məˈriːnoʊ/ san-mə-ree-noh; Italian: Repubblica di San Marino, also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino[6]), is a state situated on the Italian peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi) with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino. San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe.
San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, as the continuation of the monastic community founded on 3 September 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Rab. Legend has it that Marinus left Rab, then the Roman colony of Arba, in 257 when the future emperor, Diocletian, issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini, which had been destroyed by Liburnian pirates.[7]
The constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect.[8] The country's economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita), with a figure comparable to some of the more developed Italian regions, such as Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.[1]
History
Main article: History of San Marino
According to tradition, Saint Marinus left the island of Rab in present-day Croatia with his lifelong friend Leo, and went to the city of Rimini as a mason. After the Diocletianic Persecution following his Christian sermons, he escaped to the nearby Monte Titano, where he built a small church and thus founded what is now the city and state of San Marino. The official date of foundation of the Republic is 3 September 301.
By the mid-5th century, a community was formed; because of its relatively inaccessible location and its poverty, it has succeeded, with a few brief interruptions, in maintaining its independence. In 1631, its independence was recognized by the Papacy.
The advance of Napoleon's army in 1797 presented a brief threat to the independence of San Marino, but the country was spared its liberty thanks to one of its Regents, Antonio Onofri, who managed to gain the respect and friendship of Napoleon. Thanks to his intervention, Napoleon, in a letter delivered to Gaspard Monge, scientist and commissary of the French Government for Science and Art, promised to guarantee and protect the independence of the Republic, offering to extend its territory according to its needs. The offer was declined by San Marino, fearing to provoke future revanchism that might threaten its freedom.[9]
During the later phase of the Italian unification process in the 19th century, San Marino served as a refuge for many people persecuted because of their support for unification. In recognition of this support, Giuseppe Garibaldi accepted the wish of San Marino not to be incorporated into the new Italian state.
The government of San Marino made United States President Abraham Lincoln an honorary citizen. He wrote in reply, saying that the republic proved that "government founded on republican principles is capable of being so administered as to be secure and enduring."[10][11]
[edit]20th century
During World War I, when Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May 1915, San Marino remained neutral and Italy adopted a hostile view of Sammarinese neutrality, suspecting that San Marino could harbor Austrian spies who could be given access to its new radiotelegraph station. Italy tried to forcibly establish a detachment of Carabinieri in the Republic and then cut the Republic's telephone lines when it did not comply. Two groups of ten volunteers did, however, join Italian forces in the fighting on the Italian front, the first as combatants and the second as a Medical Corps operating a Red Cross field hospital. The existence of this hospital later caused Austria-Hungary to suspend diplomatic relations with San Marino.[12]
From 1923 to 1943, San Marino was under the rule of the Sammarinese Fascist Party (PFS).
During World War II, San Marino remained neutral, although it had been wrongly reported on to have declared war on the United Kingdom on 17 September 1940.
Three days after the fall of Benito Mussolini in Italy, PFS rule collapsed and the new government declared neutrality in the conflict. The Fascists regained power on 1 April 1944 but kept neutrality intact. Despite that, on 26 June 1944 San Marino was bombed by the Royal Air Force, which mistakenly believed that the country had been overrun by German forces and was being used to amass stores and ammunition. At least 35 people were killed in the operation. San Marino accepted thousands of civilian refugees when Allied forces went over the Gothic Line.[13] In September 1944, it was briefly occupied by German forces, who were attacked by Allied forces in the Battle of San Marino. Allied troops withdrew from the country shortly afterward.
The head of state is a committee (council) of two captains-regent. San Marino had the world's first democratically elected communist government, which held office between 1945 and 1957 and again between 2006 and 2008.
San Marino is the world's smallest republic, although when Nauru gained independence in 1968 it challenged that claim, Nauru's land mass being only 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi). However Nauru's jurisdiction over its surrounding waters (431,000 km2) is thousands of times greater than the territory of San Marino.[14]
San Marino became a member of the Council of Europe in 1988 and of the United Nations in 1992. It is not a member of the European Union.
Politics
Main article: Politics of San Marino
See also: Foreign relations of San Marino, Constitution of San Marino, Capital punishment in San Marino, San Marino passport, Law enforcement in San Marino, and Elections in San Marino.
San Marino has the political framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic: the Captains Regent are the heads of state, and there is a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Grand and General Council. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
San Marino was originally led by the Arengo, initially formed from the heads of each family. In the 13th century, power was given to the Great and General Council. In 1243, the first two Captains Regent were nominated by the Council. As of 2010, this method of nomination is still in use.
The legislature of the republic is the Grand and General Council (Consiglio grande e generale). The Council is a unicameral legislature with 60 members. There are elections every five years by proportional representation in all nine administrative districts. These districts (townships) correspond to the old parishes of the republic.
Citizens 18 years or older are eligible to vote. Beside general legislation, the Grand and General Council approves the budget and elects the Captains Regent, the State Congress (composed of ten Secretaries with executive power), the Council of Twelve (which forms the judicial branch during the period of legislature of the Council), the Advising Commissions, and the Government Unions. The Council also has the power to ratify treaties with other countries. The Council is divided into five different Advising Commissions consisting of fifteen councillors who examine, propose, and discuss the implementation of new laws that are on their way to being presented on the floor of the Council.
Every six months, the Council elects two Captains Regent to be the heads of state. The Regents are chosen from opposing parties so that there is a balance of power. They serve a six-month term. The investiture of the Captains Regent takes place on 1 April and 1 October in every year. Once this term is over, citizens have three days in which to file complaints about the Captains' activities. If they warrant it, judicial proceedings against the ex-head(s) of state can be initiated.
The practice of multiple heads of state, as well as the frequent re-election of the heads of state, are derived directly from the customs of the Roman Republic. The Council is equivalent to the Roman Senate; the Captains Regent, to the consuls of ancient Rome.
San Marino is a multi-party democratic republic. The two main parties are the San Marinese Christian Democratic Party (PDCS) and the Party of Socialists and Democrats (PSD, a merger of the Socialist Party of San Marino and the former communist Party of Democrats) in addition to several other smaller parties, such as the San Marinese Communist Refoundation. It is difficult for any party to gain an overall majority, and most of the time the government is run by a coalition. In the June 2006 election the PSD won 20 seats on the Council and currently governs in coalition with the (liberal) Popular Alliance of Sammarinese Democrats for the Republic and United Left.
On 1 October 2007, Mirko Tomassoni was elected as one of the heads of state, making him the first disabled person ever to have been elected as captain regent.[17]
San Marino is an associated state of Italy, which is responsible for its defense and which provides it an annual subsidy.
[edit]Economy
Main articles: Economy of San Marino, Sammarinese euro coins, and List of banks in San Marino
Although San Marino is not a European Union member, it is allowed to use the euro as its currency by arrangement with the Council of the European Union; it is also granted the right to use its own designs on the national side of the euro coins. Before the euro, the Sammarinese lira was pegged to, and exchangeable with, the Italian lira. The small number of Sammarinese euro coins, as was the case with the lira before it, are primarily of interest to coin collectors.
Other key industries are banking, electronics, and ceramics. The main agricultural products are wine and cheese.
San Marino's postage stamps, which are valid for mail only within the country, are mostly sold to philatelists and are a source of income. San Marino is a member of the Small European Postal Administration Cooperation.
The per capita level of US$55,449 and standard of living are comparable to those of Switzerland. San Marino imports goods such as food from Italy.
[edit]Taxation
The corporate profits tax rate in San Marino is 19 percent. Capital gains are subject to a five percent tax; interest is subject to a 13 percent withholding tax.
In 1972, a value added taxation
(VAT) system was introduced in Italy, and was applied in San Marino, in accordance with the 1939 friendship treaty. In addition, a tax on imported goods, to be levied by San Marino, was established. Such taxes, however, were not, and are not, applied to national products. Until 1996, goods manufactured and sold in San Marino were not subject to indirect taxation.
Under the European Union customs agreement, San Marino continues to levy taxes, the equivalent of an import duty, on imported goods. Also, a general
VAT was introduced, in replacement of the Italian
VAT.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_MarinoAs for Dan brown....Commercial !
and David Ovason.... Mathematical, Geographical documentation type person.........
Thanks ! ! !
too all those who research in their own way !!!!!!!!! I'm just trying to say when you've done your research and it comes down to a flick of a Coin, I know what I'm calling......
"My fate is to live among varied and confusing storms. But for you perhaps, if as I hope and wish you will live long after me, there will follow a better age. When the darkness has been dispersed, our descendants can come again in the former pure radiance." - Petrarch