Bandit Gang Writ Large

Scotland Yard stole dead children’s identities

"London’s Metropolitan Police stole the identities of some 80 dead children and issued false documents in their names for use by undercover officers, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday. The force authorised the practice over three decades for officers attempting to infiltrate protest groups, without informing the children’s parents, the broadsheet said. Its investigation described officers creating aliases based on the dead children’s details and being issued with documents such as passports and driving licences in their names. Some officers reportedly spent up to a decade pretending to be these people." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScotland Yard stole dead children’s identities

Scotland Yard stole dead children’s identities

"London’s Metropolitan Police stole the identities of some 80 dead children and issued false documents in their names for use by undercover officers, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on Sunday. The force authorised the practice over three decades for officers attempting to infiltrate protest groups, without informing the children’s parents, the broadsheet said. Its investigation described officers creating aliases based on the dead children’s details and being issued with documents such as passports and driving licences in their names. Some officers reportedly spent up to a decade pretending to be these people." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScotland Yard stole dead children’s identities

Expatriation – Everyone’s Doing it, Maybe You Should Too

"Take a look at these names and you will know what unites this disparate group: Pop icon Tina Turner; Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin; French movie star Gerard Depardieu. These three individuals have in common good sense and a keen grasp of the bottom line on a profit and loss sheet. And they all recently have been in the spotlight for ending their native citizenship and moving their residence elsewhere. They were sensationalized by the news media and accused by politicians of unpatriotically avoiding high taxes at home." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingExpatriation – Everyone’s Doing it, Maybe You Should Too

Italy’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

"Former premier Silvio Berlusconi vowed Sunday to refund the money Italians have had to fork out for an unpopular property tax if his coalition wins this month’s elections. Speaking at a rally in Milan, Berlusconi vowed to scrap the levy and refund the taxes paid on primary residences in 2012 'as compensation for an erroneous decision by the state' — to the tune of some four billion euros ($5.5 billion). 'One should never touch the primary residence, which is the pillar on which families build,' he said, asserting that the reintroduction of the tax had caused property values to plummet 'by five to 20 percent', and had led to a drop in home sales and construction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

California Man Pays Off $13,000 Property Tax Bill in Coins, Dollar Bills

"A California man who failed to pay his property taxes for over five years has finally come up with the money — but he made local tax office workers count nearly $15,000 worth of change and dollar bills. Larry Gasper of Redding, Calif. brought in a wheelbarrow and two buckets worth of coins and cash to the Shasta County Tax Collector’s Office on Wednesday afternoon. Gasper rolled and collected the coins and bills until he had enough to clear his debt. If Gasper had not paid the bill, his property would have been auctioned off next month. He said he lost his tree business a couple of years ago." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Man Pays Off $13,000 Property Tax Bill in Coins, Dollar Bills

Cops who shot puppy come back, ticket owner after he contacts media

"Residents are also upset because the shooting occurred not far from a preschool, on a street where pedestrians including children could have been hurt. Police were writing a parking ticket for a van belonging to Al Phillips, so Phillips came out to move the vehicle. My little bull terrier followed me out,' Phillips explains. 'Then, all I hear is boom! Boom! Two shots. You shot the dog!' While FOX 32's Larry Yellen was interviewing the dog's owners, two police officers drove by the home. 90 minutes later, they came back, asked why Phillips why he had contacted the media and gave him a ticket for not keeping Colonel on a leash." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops who shot puppy come back, ticket owner after he contacts media

Nine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges charged in probe

"Nine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges were charged with conspiracy and fraud Thursday, capping a three-year FBI probe into what authorities said was rampant ticket-fixing and pervasive corruption on the bench. The charges, outlined in a 77-count indictment, described 'a well-understood conspiracy of silence' that created two distinct courts: one where typical citizens paid for their infractions, and a second where offenders with the right connections won acquittals or saw their fines or cases disappear." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges charged in probe

Italian tax dodgers uncovered by the Redditometro

"The Italian authorities have been accused of resorting to police state-style tactics with the introduction of a new weapon to hunt down the nation's many tax dodgers. The new procedure makes it possible to scrutinise any family's spending pattern, and compare this with what it says it earns. But some commentators have been outraged by this month's launch of what is called the Redditometro - the Income Meter. It has been described as unacceptably intrusive, the sort of thing that East Germany's secret police might have dreamt up." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItalian tax dodgers uncovered by the Redditometro

France Proposes an Internet Tax

"France, seeking fresh ways to raise funds and frustrated that American technology companies that dominate its digital economy are largely beyond the reach of French fiscal authorities, has proposed a new levy: an Internet tax on the collection of personal data. The idea surfaced Friday in a report commissioned by President François Hollande, which described various measures his government was taking to address what the French see as tax avoidance by Internet companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance Proposes an Internet Tax

EU Financial Tax Portends Loss of Market Leadership

"Although limited presently in scope and at an apparently low rate, the tax will nevertheless provide an extra layer of financial bureaucracy that will dissuade some market participants from transacting in the Eurozone. More importantly, the measure is a 'supra national' tax that helps to pave the way towards a global taxation system. Not only will such a system be economically damaging, but it will be devoid largely of effective democratic accountability. At a time when governments should be encouraging the free flow of capital, this measure moves us exactly in the wrong direction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEU Financial Tax Portends Loss of Market Leadership