However, the lender would have to take certain upfront losses, like cutting the principle amount owed on the mortgage to compensate for the decline in home values.

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Eric Sim, the club's secretary said it was a matter of principle, rather than the amount involved, though there was concern that the sum could rise over the next few years.

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SaaS works on the on-demand principle, which means that the enterprises can license only the amount of software required versus the traditional way of procuring the license per device.

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David McNair, senior economic justice adviser at the charity Christian Aid, says tax havens are used in a variety of ways, but the general principle - for a business active in a number of countries - is to maximise the amount of profit made by subsidiaries based where taxes are low, at the expense of those based where taxes are high.

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