How do Countries Make Money?

Well, for one thing, the loan money to other countries.

Hi,

First time I've seen that question.

When you say countries do you mean countries? As in - making money from exporting?

Or do you mean governments? Governments tax entities/individuals, not 'countries'.

Alternatively, explain why you are asking in order to help people understand what you want to know.

Well tax is a MAJOR source of revenue. Don't forget tax is more then just income tax. For example in the UK there is VAT where the government takes 17.5% (well currently 15%) of everything sold.

Then they have extra taxes on fuel, alcohol, cigarettes etc...

Countries also have Sovereign Wealth Funds see:
Sovereign wealth fund - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also interest on loans made to other countries.

Countries can also raise huge amounts of capital by issuing bonds. The UK government again sells bonds like crazy. People see government bonds as the safest investment to make as they as close to risk free that a person can get (well apart from Argentine bonds )

These are just some points of the top of my head.

Bomb other countries under the pretext of terrorism for valuable resources like oil, gas, oil or gas.

Cheers =)

- Derek

just asking...and yes i meant governments...

i know we talk about how we individuals make money...but i was
watching a tv show about coutnries ...and how US owed money to china
or something...

...and i was wondering if a country can't pay back...can they be bought out?

just thinking and this is the only forum i am active in...so thought i'd ask...

because we talk a lot about making money as individuals...but i'm sure governments must have TOP people who really know how to make money as well....

want to know how THEY think...in big pictures...maybe we can learn from their mindset and patterns...

Where did the idea that countries make money come from?

The citizens of a country make money. The money the citizens make is clumped together in a figure that is called 'the Gross Domestic Product'.

From the GDP, governments decide how many new toys it wants and levies a range of taxes which are supposed to pay for the new toys.

The days when the taxes from the GDP actually did any more than scratch the surface of national debt are long gone.

The only way countries can make money is to devalue it by printing more of it - and even that is generally done by private citizens who will pay tax on the process even though the process is self defeating.

Incidentally, international loans are really only paper exercises - a bit like granny guaranteeing that her grandson can pay for his car. The interest that is 'paid' on the loans is also a paper exercise but comes in very handy when a demonstration of largesse will benefit the government - as it often is in the Third world.

do some calculations on the tax.....
find out how many different taxes there are for businesses.....
and how many different "levies" and "duties" on certain products.......
you will be shocked to see how little of the money you hold is actually yours....

and then there are exports, tourists......

but the tax is the big one...

born free....

taxed to death......

If you're talking about the government and how they make money, you need to remember that they also generally own alot of state owned enterprises, like utilities and transport companies.

What I want to know is how royalty, like the english royal family make the fortune they have. I read somewhere that the crown actually costs UK taxpayers 80 million pounds anually. But why do they just give them that money, what purpose does the royalty actually serve

Duties and tariffs

not to go out of topic...but since a lot of this is interesting...does this have anything to do with secret societies and illuminati or some kind of elite group controlling all this?

In US (and Canada) there is no law that says people have to pay taxes - so the primary income for these countries is... well, stealing.

Also I know that in the province of Quebec (not sure about the rest of Canada) anything gambling related belongs to the government; VLTs, Casinos, Lottery tickets... - I can't even imagine how much money they make off of that! Tabacco and Alcohol are also government controlled - so the taxes on these products are very high.

I may be showing my bias/ignorance here but, I'd LOVE not to have to hand over an arbitrary portion of my income every year. I know that roads and infrastructure must be kept up, but the more you make, the more you pay in tax, they don't need 50%, 20% maybe. Seems stupid to me to "reward" those successful people in society with the "privilege" of (among other things) helping those who don't want to help themselves. Anyone can do what we do, but fighting social conditioning takes too much effort for most. They'd rather watch the soaps.