Monthly Archives: April 2013

Where Nervous Europeans Are Really Putting Their Money

"Demand for $100 bills has jumped since 2008 as nervous Europeans stuff them under the mattress, providing vivid proof that the world still loves the dollar and confirming the benefit to the US of the currency’s status as a global reserve. The amount of dollar cash in circulation has risen by 42 per cent in the last five years, with a main reason being demand from Europe, according to a top US Federal Reserve official. According to one set of estimates by the Fed in Washington, the share of US currency held abroad has risen from about 56 per cent to nearly 66 per cent in the last five years. It amounts to a $19bn-a-year gift from the rest of the world." Continue reading →

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Swiss court orders stolen East German millions returned

"The ruling, upholding an earlier verdict by a lower court, concerns the transfer into a Swiss bank of 128 million euros from the communist East Germany after the impoverished country's demise in 1990. This transfer by Rudolfine Steindling, a colourful Austrian communist dubbed 'Fini the Red' who died last year, was conducted by a former subsidiary of Bank Austria, itself now part of Italy's UniCredit. In the 1990s Germany, by then reunified, complained that Steindling had no right to the money, which was amassed by East Germany charging fees from Western firms investing there, and that Bank Austria knew this." Continue reading →

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Lucerne orchestra axes concert with Depardieu over tax shopping

"The orchestra in the central Swiss city decided to scrap the May 25th concert over worries that the political waves caused by Depardieu’s tax avoidance activities would overshadow the performance. The film actor, one of the highest paid in France, recently took up official residence in Belgium and obtained Russian nationality to lower his income tax bill. Depardieu was criticized as 'rather pathetic' by French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault last December for his departure to Belgium, which sparked an angry response from the actor, who said he was handing back his French passport." Continue reading →

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Munich football boss’s Swiss account becomes German political football

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday distanced herself from Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, whose Swiss bank account and alleged tax dodge has poured fuel on a heated election-year debate. 'Many people in Germany are now disappointed in Uli Hoeness,' said Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert about the football club chief. The 61-year-old football legend voluntarily disclosed a Swiss bank account in January and was working closely with investigators on a tax evasion probe. At a Bayern Munich press conference, journalists were told that the event would be immediately scrapped if anyone asked about the tax issue." Continue reading →

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Top ten celebrity expats living in Switzerland

"When was the last time you saw packs of photographers door-stepping the Swiss home of a star or politician? The answer is probably never. Welcome to Switzerland – the land where the rich and famous can walk down a busy street without anyone so much as batting an eyelid. Here, even the very notion of celebrity seems foreign. It’s no surprise, then, that increasing numbers of global celebrities are choosing the Swiss mountains over the Hollywood hills. Of course, camera shyness isn’t the only reason why celebrities choose to move there. Switzerland's famous tax breaks for rich foreigners have reportedly drawn many a minted magnate in recent years." Continue reading →

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Zurich Mayor Renounces U.S. Citizenship Amid Tighter Tax Rules

"Corine Mauch, 52, a member of the Socialist Party born in Iowa City, Iowa, returned her passport to the U.S. Embassy as she regards Switzerland as her home and doesn’t want to deal with IRS paperwork. 'My relationship with the U.S. is limited to my very early youth,' said Mauch, who retains Swiss citizenship. 'Neither the double taxation or any new directives on the taxation of U.S. citizens outside the U.S. have affected this decision. But I won’t miss the U.S. tax bureaucracy either.' The U.S. is the only nation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that taxes citizens wherever they reside, including an estimated six million expatriates." Continue reading →

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Tina Turner claims Swiss citizenship

"Tina Turner, the US-born singer famed for hits such as 'Private Dancer' and 'What’s Love Got to Do With It', has become a Swiss citizen, the Swiss newspaper Blick reported. The 73-year-old retired entertainer, who has lived in Switzerland for nearly two decades, received her red Swiss passport with its distinctive white cross on it on Monday, the publication said. Swiss media reported in January that Turner was to hand in her US passport when she got her Swiss one. She was quoted as saying that 'I cannot imagine a better place to live' than in the European Alpine state, where privacy laws are strictly enforced." Continue reading →

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White House: Internet sales tax ‘will level the playing field’

"'We believe that the Marketplace Fairness Act will level the playing field for local small-business retailers, who are undercut every day by out-of-state online companies,' said White House spokesman Jay Carney. The Act would require Internet and remote retailers to collect state sales taxes no matter where they are located when a transaction takes place, and advocates hope it would ease budget problems in many cash-strapped states. Opponents of the Act say it would still be unfair because retailers in a state which has no sales tax would still be liable to collect tax on purchases made in distant states which do have sales taxes." Continue reading →

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Never throw away your tax returns

"David started working in his teens. Surely, he has 40 credits (or 10 years) in the system? Yes, he does. But having gotten rid of his older tax returns, he can no longer prove it. David asked the IRS for copies of certain missing years, dating back to about 20 years ago. Not only did the IRS not have copies, but they didn’t even have electronic transcripts going that far back. What can David do? Not a thing. He accepted this philosophically, knowing he must work two more years to build up his benefits. How can you avoid this problem? It’s easy. Never, ever throw out a tax return." Continue reading →

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Bulletproof whiteboards installed in Minnesota school district

"A Minnesota school district where two students were killed in a 2003 shooting unveiled a new device Tuesday aimed at adding a last-ditch layer of safety for teachers and students: bulletproof whiteboards. The Rocori School District has acquired nearly 200 of the whiteboards, made of a material touted by its manufacturer as stronger than that in police-issue bulletproof vests. The 18-by-20-inch whiteboards can be used by teachers for instruction and used as a shield in an emergency. Police Chief Phil Jones demonstrated the whiteboards Tuesday in a school gym by leveling a karate kick at one, whacking it with a police baton and stabbing it with a knife." Continue reading →

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