Yearly Archives: 2013

Swiss MPs endorse US tax compliance deal

"FATCA only addresses current and future accounts held by Americans, but Bern also recently agreed to a controversial deal focused on making amends for past wrongdoings by the banks. That deal offers individual Swiss banks the opportunity to avoid US prosecution if they agree to pay 'substantial fines', and provide details on US citizens' accounts, including the sources and destinations of funds transferred to and from the accounts. The agreement, which is expected to erode Swiss bank secrecy laws, has come under widespread criticism, tempered by recognition that without a deal the country's all-important financial sector could lose access to the US market." Continue reading →

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American threats against innocent expats are increasing

"A willful failure to file is considered a felony punishable by five years in prison. Holders of unreported foreign accounts have more than jail to fear. The IRS has proven itself very adept at finding taxpayers that have not filed an FBAR. Those that are caught can expect both a tax bill and a penalty assessment of the greater of $100,000 or half the highest balance in the account. Making things worse for taxpayers is next year’s looming FATCA law. If the IRS thinks you moved or renamed your account to avoid detection, chances of criminal prosecution increase dramatically. The Quiet Disclosure strategy not only doesn’t work, it sets up taxpayers for a huge interest and penalty bill." Continue reading →

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What can you buy from the IRS for $50,000?

"Well, that depends very much on who you are. For the same amount of protection money, you will get very different results. Companies with expensive international law firms on retainer have an irritating tendency to take their fights to Tax Court. Much better to go after soft & clawless prey who will roll over and beg for mercy because they’ve been psychologically conditioned with a visceral reflex against doing anything as 'drastic' as renouncing citizenship to protect themselves & their families." Continue reading →

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Rather than pay ridiculous taxes, Americans renouncing citizenship

"As Americans live and work overseas, they find themselves facing onerous tax reporting requirements designed to crack down on tax evaders. However, the paperwork and reporting requirements are exhausting. For a few Americans, it is easier to renounce their citizenship and escape the burden. Americans living overseas say they are weary of the paperwork and burdensome requirements. Most countries have lower tax rates and caps, which make it more attractive to become citizens elsewhere. Some citizens only retain their American passports for travel purposes, which makes the document very expensive." Continue reading →

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Americans Rejecting Mainstream Media for British Newspaper

"The fastest growing 'newspaper' in America is based in Manchester, England. The Internet analytics firm Compete.com found that the number of visitors to the website of The Guardian grew by 1111.75% in August and an astounding 671,389.51% over the past year. The main word that people going to The Guardian were searching for was 'Syria,' according to Compete’s blog. That would indicate Americans appreciate The Guardian’s skepticism of President Obama’s plans to attack Syria and its reputation for honest reporting. It also indicates that average Americans no longer trust their own media and are increasingly turning to a foreign news source." Continue reading →

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Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer defends tech company NSA cooperation

"Mayer said she was 'proud to be part of an organisation that from the beginning, in 2007, has been sceptical of – and has been scrutinizing – those requests [from the NSA].' Yahoo has previously unsuccessfully sued the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court, which provides the legal framework for NSA surveillance. In 2007 it asked to be allowed to publish details of requests it receives from the spy agency. 'When you lose and you don’t comply, it’s treason,' said Mayer. 'We think it make more sense to work within the system,' she said. The meeting came as Yahoo and Facebook filed suits once more to force the Fisa court to allow them to disclose more information." Continue reading →

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The Hidden Arms Race

"It’s safe to say that Muslims across the world see U.S. bombers and Tomahawk missiles as raw, 'Western Christian' aggression against their kith and kin. This is the case no matter how much legalistic justification our government places on what happens — like 'punishing' the Syrian government for using chemical weapons, or whatever. So what’s the biggest issue for investors right now? Well, at the Agora Financial Wealth Symposium in Vancouver, one speaker discussed how broad markets were 'priced for perfection.' That is, the general indexes, collective share prices, price-earnings ratios, etc. are all indicating a market psychology of everything being fine, and getting better." Continue reading →

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‘Legitimate Wiretapping’

"Russian spy agencies want easier access to all Skype conversations, notes Doug Valentine. Who can doubt the CIA, FBI, NSA, and the rest of the alphabet from Hell already have access from Bill Gates, the oligarch whose company Microsoft owns Skype? Now Bill wishes Obama could be even more of a dictator, adds Travis Holte, so the corporate state can crony-subsidize the plutocrats even more than it does now. And, Travis notes. Gates is openly anti-free market. His preferences should be enforced at the point of a government gun." Continue reading →

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Obama’s rogue state tramples over every law it demands others uphold

"For 67 years successive US governments have resisted calls to reform the UN security council. They've defended a system which grants five nations a veto over world affairs, reducing all others to impotent spectators. They have collaborated with the other four permanent members (the UK, Russia, China and France) in a colonial carve-up. Through this tyrannical dispensation – created at a time when other nations were either broken or voiceless – the great warmongers of the past 60 years remain responsible for global peace. The biggest weapons traders are tasked with global disarmament. Those who trample international law control the administration of justice." Continue reading →

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BEARCAT Bread And Circuses, Or Why I Ripped Up My Ticket

"We had eaten up the lie of hope that 'working within the system' is actually possible. I am ripping up my lifetime ticket to the circus that came with my birth certificate and social security number. Never again will I stoop to enter a government building. Never again will I grant credence to the idea that a government worker has rightful authority over me. Never again will I take precious hours out of my short life to grant legitimacy to this farcical freak show, when I could be spending that time trading with crypto-currency in the agora—the free market—in which we do not contract with or pay tribute to ring-leaders. It's anarchy or bust, baby. It always has been." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBEARCAT Bread And Circuses, Or Why I Ripped Up My Ticket