Yearly Archives: 2013

French bank watchdog levies stiff fine against UBS over tax avoidance

"A French banking watchdog said on Wednesday that it fined the French branch of UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, ten million euros for helping hundreds of well-heeled clients stash money away in undeclared Swiss accounts. The bank immediately hit back in a statement, protesting that the fine, about $13 million, was disproportionate. The issue jumped back to the top of the government's agenda in the wake of a scandal surrounding the former budget minister Jérôme Cahuzac, who in April was himself placed under investigation for tax fraud. His role as budget minister included tackling tax evasion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench bank watchdog levies stiff fine against UBS over tax avoidance

The French National Sport Is Taxation, not Soccer

"It seems that Monaco’s fiscal policy is good for the local soccer team. But it seems there’s a controversy in this fiscal paradise. Or, to be more accurate, there’s a controversy in the tax hell next door. The French are complaining that lower tax rates are an 'unfair' form of tax competition. So how did the French react? By engaging in their true national sport – imposing higher taxes. Naturally, their 'solution' is to impose higher taxes in Monaco, not to lower taxes in France. It’s also worth noting that the French approach won’t work. The French soccer league will continue to lose top players so long as the government has a 75% tax system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe French National Sport Is Taxation, not Soccer

Tempers fray in France as drastic cuts loom

"President Francois Hollande has already angered much of his own Socialist base with plans to cut spending next year in absolute terms for the first time since 1958, but this may be just start of the battle. The Cour des Comptes said France is not even 'halfway' through its fiscal squeeze. The warnings came as a blizzard of grim news dashed hopes for a rapid recovery from two years of slump. A recent study by Pew Foundation said French support for the European Project has crashed from 60pc to 40pc over the past year. Just 22pc now think EU economic integration is positive." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTempers fray in France as drastic cuts loom

Very Bad News for Europe’s Young People

"Big business, big labor, and big government are getting together and considering a €100 billion slush fund that will line their pockets. They want us to believe this will lead to more jobs for young people, but they overlook (and hope we’re unaware of) Bastiat’s warning about the seen and the unseen. Expanding the EIB will simply divert resources from more productive uses. So what’s the answer? Here’s what I recommended as part of some speeches earlier this month in Europe. I began with what should be a common-sense observation that businesses won’t create jobs unless they think new workers will add to the bottom line." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVery Bad News for Europe’s Young People

Nestlé unveils European youth jobs scheme

"Swiss-based Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company, has announced a plan to help at least 20,000 young people find work in Europe over the next three years. The company said on Thursday its initiative would offer employment and create 'thousands of apprentice positions and traineeships by 2016' for job seekers under the age of 30. Nestlé said it will also encourage its European suppliers to offer positions to young people. Nestlé said it was continuing to expand in Europe despite challenging economic conditions. It highlighted its biggest-ever investment in Germany last month, a 220 million-euro Nescafé Dolce Gusto factory in Schwerin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNestlé unveils European youth jobs scheme

Is There Hope for Recent College Grads?

"Since the great recession, the labor market has become an especially difficult place for recent college graduates. The unemployment rate for 22-year-olds jumped from 4.5% in 2000 — at the tail end of a historic technology boom — to 10.3% in the 2009 — 2011 period, according to a presentation Thursday by researchers at the New York Fed. Possibly more concerning is the spike in underemployment among younger workers. Those are recent graduates who have jobs that don’t require a degree, such as a salesperson in a retail store, a food server or even an electrician. In 2001 the underemployment rate fell to as low at 35%, but last year it rose to 44%." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs There Hope for Recent College Grads?

By Global Standards, The US Education Bureaucracy Gets the Most Money With Mediocre Results

"America has a very costly and inefficient government school monopoly. The strongest piece of evidence is an amazing chart put together by a Cato colleague. It shows that education spending has skyrocketed while educational performance has stagnated. We’ve now surpassed Switzerland to become the biggest spenders on education. But we still get a crummy return on all that money that is spent. One reason the system is so expensive is that we squander so much money on bureaucratic overhead. But I guess we need all those paper pushers so we can stop little kids from engaging in terrorist behavior." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBy Global Standards, The US Education Bureaucracy Gets the Most Money With Mediocre Results

Michigan News and Alerts!

One insidious practice which sugar-coats the dose of Federal intrusion is the division of expense for public improvements or services between state and national treasuries…. The average American, believing in our dual-sovereignty system, must feel that the policy of national-doles to the states is bad and may become disastrous. We may go on yet for …

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A Surprising Health Insurance Option For Those Who Refuse ObamaCare

"The IRS has no authority to go after someone’s assets or wages in order to collect the penalty. It only has the authority to deduct the penalty from a person’s tax refund at year’s end. People will figure out how to fix that problem by trying to ensure they have only enough withheld to meet their tax obligation. Those who are uninsured and successful at hitting the tax mark will face no effective penalty. There are policies available now that would work very well for the ObamaCare avoiders. Some of these policies are built on a life insurance platform rather than health insurance — which, incidentally, means they are outside ObamaCare’s regulatory control." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Surprising Health Insurance Option For Those Who Refuse ObamaCare

More than half of Americans disapprove of Obamacare

"A majority of Americans say Obamacare will make things worse for their families and the nation overall, a poll released on Thursday found, highlighting the challenges his administration still faces in winning over the public. Overall, the survey of nearly 2,050 adults showed 52 percent disapprove of the 2010 law aimed at expanding access to health insurance for millions of people, according to Gallup. Another 44 percent said they back the changes. Among those polled, 42 percent said it would make their family’s healthcare situation worse while 33 percent said it would have little impact. Just 22 percent said they thought it would help, the poll showed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore than half of Americans disapprove of Obamacare