10 Things that Cause Tax Audits of US Expatriates

"1. Not Reporting All Of Your Taxable Income. 2. Filling Out Forms 2555 Incorrectly. 3. Form 1116 (foreign tax credit) not done correctly. 4. Taking Higher Than The Average Deductions. 5. IRS Finders Fee Program. 6. Business Meals, Travel And Entertainment. 7. Claiming 100% Use Of Your Car For Business. 8. Large Cash Transactions. 9. Math Errors. 10. Failure to Properly Abandon your State Tax Domicile." Continue reading

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What the Passport Pitchmen Don’t Tell You…

"A few years ago, my father had heart problems. I’m his only child, his only living relative, and his sole heir. So I thought that if I could come back to the United States, we could spend time together while we still had the chance and I could be close to my future inheritance. We put in all the paperwork required by U.S. Immigration, paid all the fees, etc. You would think that 'immediate family' members of U.S. citizens would get a residency permit easily right? NOT!!! Long story short, two years later the paperwork was STILL in process. Then, in April this year, I got that call that all of us dread, announcing the death of my father." Continue reading

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Ohio Lawsuit Seeks To Use Court Precedent To Shut Down Speed Cameras

"Earlier this month a Hamilton County, Ohio judge declared Elmwood Place in contempt of court for ignoring a ruling that found speed cameras to be an unlawful 'scam.' A group of lawyers is seeking to replicate that legal success by shutting down the automated ticketing machines in New Miami, a village of 2000 residents located twenty miles to the north, with a class action lawsuit filed on Friday, citing the March decision in the hope that a Butler County Court of Common Pleas judge would agree that the automated ticketing ordinance fails to provide adequate due process to vehicle owners that receive a ticket from Optotraffic demanding payment of up to $180." Continue reading

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Pennsylvania police chief: ‘F*ck all you libtards out there, you take it in the a**’

"The mayor of Gilberton, Pennsylvania is standing by her city’s police chief despite a series of profanity-laced and threatening videos. In a video that has received wide attention, police chief Mark Kessler repeatedly tells those upset by his use of profanity to 'go f*ck yourself' as he fires various automatic weapons. Mayor Mary Lou Hannon told The Morning Call that Kessler had the right to express himself. The city would 'not take action to quash free speech, whether or not each member of council or any member of council agrees with it.' In one video, Kessler berates 'libtards' and warns of an armed rebellion against the government." Continue reading

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Texas man raised over $4.5M in 2012 Bitcoin Ponzi scheme, feds allege

"The government's financial regulator alleges that Shavers violated a number of federal financial regulations. In court documents, the SEC wrote: 'Shavers falsely promised investors up to 7 percent interest weekly based on BTCST’s purported BTC market arbitrage activity, including selling BTC to individuals who wished to buy BTC 'off the radar,' quickly, or in large quantities. In reality, the BTCST offering was a sham and a Ponzi scheme whereby Shavers used new BTCST investors’ BTC to pay the promised returns on outstanding BTCST investments and misappropriated BTCST investors’ [bitcoins] for his personal use.'" Continue reading

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Foodler bitcoin orders growing by 30 percent a month

"When US restaurant delivery network Foodler began accepting bitcoin paymentsin April, it formed a natural combination for programmers: code and steaming boxes of delivered food. So it makes perfect sense that Foodler co-founder Christian Dumontet set up the interface to make Foodler bitcoin-friendly during a few late nights of delivery-fueled coding. In that week, Boston-based Foodler transformed the art of dining on bitcoin from an adventure to a few swipes of a smartphone screen and an exercise in patiently waiting for the doorbell. Bitcoin users have been eating it up." Continue reading

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Israelis can now buy bitcoins in person with Bits of Gold and local exchange bureau

"Israelis can now purchase bitcoins at their local exchange bureau thanks to a new collaboration between bitcoin exchange Bits of Gold and Global Money Transfer (GMT). The partnership with GMT means Bits of Gold can ensure it complies with current and future anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer regulations in Israel. At the moment, the maximum amount of cash people can change into bitcoins via Bits of Gold is 10,000 Israeli new shekel (around $2,800)." Continue reading

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Amagi Metals to Lose Bank Account Over Accepting Bitcoin

"Precious metals purveyor Amagi Metals announced on Friday that as of mid-August, their current bank account with San Francisco headquartered Bank of the West would be closed. In the latest case of banking aversion to bitcoin, Amagi Metals stated that the basis for the account closure is the fact that Amagi Metals accepts bitcoin as a payment method, which Bank of the West views as a risk. While it is the prerogative of a bank to choose not to do business any entity based on a risk assessment, a decision to cut off a customer based on the fact that they accept a specific method of payment is unusual." Continue reading

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The Curiously Uncurious Ben Bernanke

"If I were chairman of the Federal Reserve and didn't understand the forces that move gold, learning about them would be near the top of my to-do list, if for no other reason than a large swath of the investment community uses gold as a barometer to evaluate how good a job I'm doing. Bernanke's clueless quote paints a stark contrast between the academic and real world. Upon observing the recent correction in the price of gold, how many asset managers do you think threw their hands up in confusion and proclaimed that no one can possibly know what's going on, so why even try?" Continue reading

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