Bandit Gang Writ Large

Understanding the Budget Cuts in the Current Fiscal Crisis Talks

"Even someone following the budget negotiations closely might be surprised to learn that there are no real cuts on the table in the way normal people think of them. That goes for Republican proposals, too. For example, households may decide to reduce their holiday spending this year from $750 to $500 and forgo the summer family vacation because times are tough. Those are spending cuts. Washington is the only place where a cut isn’t a cut. Instead, so-called spending cuts are reductions in the growth rate of outlays as prescribed under current law. Nothing is cut." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnderstanding the Budget Cuts in the Current Fiscal Crisis Talks

U.S. Treasury to miss deadline on FATCA tax crackdown

"The Treasury Department will miss a year-end deadline to publish final rules for a new global tax enforcement regime targeting the offshore assets of U.S. taxpayers. FATCA was enacted in 2010 after an outcry over a Swiss banking scandal that revealed U.S. taxpayers had hidden millions of dollars in assets overseas from the Internal Revenue Service. The law requires foreign financial institutions to tell the tax-collecting IRS about Americans' offshore accounts worth more than $50,000. International businesses ranging from Western Union Co to BlackRock Inc are waiting anxiously to see the rules so they can figure out how to comply with the law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Treasury to miss deadline on FATCA tax crackdown

UBS Libor-fixing fine may reach $1.5 billion

"Swiss banking giant UBS may be slapped with a combined fine of $1.5 billion (1.1 billion euros) to settle allegations that it manipulated Libor interest rates, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. Around three dozen bankers and senior managers will be implicated, and according to the terms of the deal, the Swiss bank’s Japanese subsidiary will plead guilty to a US criminal offence, the paper said. If the Financial Times report is correct, the Swiss bank would be hit with one of the biggest fines ever imposed on a financial institution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUBS Libor-fixing fine may reach $1.5 billion

Police Raid at Deutsche Bank World Headquarters

"Frankfurt raid at Deutsche Bank: Before the Twin Towers are ten VW team buses and two large Mercedes buses of the Federal Police, in the foyer, five riot police taken a position. Tax inspectors and officials in suits and ties and black arm bands with the word 'police' rush out of the elevator into a conference room. They wear heavy black briefcase, a staff member described the start of the raid as 'martial'. Against five unnamed employees of Deutsche Bank warrants were issued, total is now calculated against 25 bankers. It now not only going to tax evasion, but also to the charge of money laundering." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Raid at Deutsche Bank World Headquarters

Too little punishment for Pr. George’s police officer’s assault

"If a witness hadn’t shot video of two Prince George’s County police officers savagely beating John McKenna, a University of Maryland student, after a March 2010 men’s basketball game, that would probably have been the end of it. The officers didn’t file a report, as required, on their use of force. When initially questioned about the beating, they lied. And when they filled out the initial paperwork on the incident, police said Mr. McKenna had sustained his injuries, including a concussion, from being kicked by a police horse. Thanks to the video, and to the persistence of Mr. McKenna’s lawyers in uncovering it, the coverup didn’t work." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingToo little punishment for Pr. George’s police officer’s assault

The HSBC Debacle – A Double Whammy Of Political Risk And Hypocrisy

"Where does all of this money in fines go? The booty goes to the Federal Reserve (which probably gives it back to these big foreign banks anyways through stealth bailouts), the Justice Department, and other federal agencies. I struggle to think of another country besides the US that could successfully impose such obscene fines for similar reasons – that is because there are no meaningful comparisons. It may be easier to see the political risk in this if it is put in another perspective. Imagine if China imposed a 13 billion yuan (~$2 billion) fine on JPMorgan for doing business that somehow involved Taiwan, a country Beijing considers a 'rogue state.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe HSBC Debacle – A Double Whammy Of Political Risk And Hypocrisy

10-Year Veteran TSA Screener Busted for Stealing iPads at JFK

"A Transportation Security Administration screener has been arrested on charges he swiped iPads and other electronic devices from passengers' luggage at John F. Kennedy Airport. Port Authority spokesman Steven Coleman said Wednesday that 32-year-old Sean Henry, of Brooklyn, was nabbed in a sting operation using decoy bags in cooperation with the TSA. Coleman says Henry was arrested after leaving work carrying in his backpack two planted iPads and other electronic devices. He says stolen items were also found in Henry's home." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10-Year Veteran TSA Screener Busted for Stealing iPads at JFK

A Long-Distance Relationship With the I.R.S.

"Foreign financial institutions will be required to scour their records for signs that customers are American, like a U.S. address or phone number or instructions to transfer funds to a U.S. bank account. Anyone flagged in the search will be asked to provide proof of citizenship and/or residence status, and Americans will have to provide a Social Security number. Even with the penalties, Fatca is not expected to raise significant revenue for the U.S. Treasury; the Congressional Budget Office forecasts a take of $8.7 billion over 10 years. That is barely a rounding error in an annual budget of more than $3 trillion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Long-Distance Relationship With the I.R.S.

Merry Christmas: Congress Could Vote for an Online Sales Tax before the End of the Year

"With less than five weeks to go in the year, supporters are concentrating most of their efforts on the Senate, where a measure giving states greater latitude to collect sales taxes from online purchases has a powerful backer in Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), says Politico. Both the Senate and House proposals would allow states to collect sales taxes from internet retailers located in other states, an approach that also has been backed by prominent GOP governors, such as Cato favorite Chris Christie." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMerry Christmas: Congress Could Vote for an Online Sales Tax before the End of the Year

UBS requires ‘US persons’ in Switzerland to renounce Swiss data protection law

"A startling Thanksgiving Day gift awaited Americans in Switzerland, green card holders and even non-US spouses of Americans who have bank accounts with UBS. The Swiss bank sent Americans a form where they agree to renounce protection under Swiss data protection laws 'to the extent necessary for reporting …and any other information regarding the Relationship which may be requested or required by the IRS.' Signatures required include those of Swiss citizens who do not have US citizenship and have never held of green card or lived in the United States, but who have an American spouse and joint bank accounts, including mortgages." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUBS requires ‘US persons’ in Switzerland to renounce Swiss data protection law