Bandit Gang Writ Large

‘We can do this without Congress’: Obama to unilaterally impose cell phone tax

"President Barack Obama is looking to unilaterally impose a $5-per-year tax on all cellphone users to avoid asking a recalcitrant Congress for funding. Obama hopes to rake in enough funds for a project called ConnectED that will cost taxpayers billions: expanding high-speed Internet access in classrooms across the country so that 99 percent of public school students can freely access the Internet. Obama administration officials promise that the tax would end in three years after the FCC filled its coffers with $6 billion, but gave no details on how the government would prevent potential cost overruns or measure the program’s progress." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘We can do this without Congress’: Obama to unilaterally impose cell phone tax

Goodbye Switzerland, Hello Bitcoins

"Given that the allure of bitcoins has been attributed by some to its status as an untraceable alternative to currencies issued by central authorities, there is little reason to assume that bitcoin market participants will honor their tax obligations as soon as the rules are explained more clearly. Thus, it is not surprising that the potential for bitcoins and other virtual currencies to replace offshore accounts as '[t]omorrow’s tax havens' has been the subject of scholarly analysis and commentary (here and here). It remains to be seen how the IRS will attack the use of bitcoins and other virtual currencies to evade income tax obligations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoodbye Switzerland, Hello Bitcoins

Baltimore guard pleads guilty to drug smuggling racket in jail scandal

"Corrections officer Jennifer M. Owens pleaded guilty Tuesday to involvement in a racketeering conspiracy to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the Baltimore City Detention Center for an inmate, a gang leader who fathered two children with her and whose name she had tattooed on her neck. Owens, 31, of Randallstown, Md., is one of 13 female corrections officers who were indicted in April on charges of smuggling items into the state-run jail for Tavon White, a leader of the Black Guerrilla Family, enabling him to run a thriving drug enterprise inside the detention center. She is the first guard to enter a guilty plea." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBaltimore guard pleads guilty to drug smuggling racket in jail scandal

Baltimore guard pleads guilty to drug smuggling racket in jail scandal

"Corrections officer Jennifer M. Owens pleaded guilty Tuesday to involvement in a racketeering conspiracy to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the Baltimore City Detention Center for an inmate, a gang leader who fathered two children with her and whose name she had tattooed on her neck. Owens, 31, of Randallstown, Md., is one of 13 female corrections officers who were indicted in April on charges of smuggling items into the state-run jail for Tavon White, a leader of the Black Guerrilla Family, enabling him to run a thriving drug enterprise inside the detention center. She is the first guard to enter a guilty plea." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBaltimore guard pleads guilty to drug smuggling racket in jail scandal

Despite focus on right turn photo enforcement, turns on red rarely dangerous

"Lawmakers in several states have begun to crack down on excessive shortening of yellow light times at red light camera intersections, and the photo enforcement industry has responded by shifting focus to right turn enforcement. The states of Ohio and Georgia were the first to require one extra second of yellow be added to an intersection where cameras issue tickets, effectively eliminating the profit available to cities for enforcing straight-through violations at an intersection. Increasingly right-on-red ticketing has become the primary source of program revenue. In many cities, turning tickets account for up to 80 percent of tickets issued." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDespite focus on right turn photo enforcement, turns on red rarely dangerous

Corrupt Cops Protecting Rodeo Board Caught by Their Own Cruiser Camera

"Oregon's Malheur County Sheriff's Deputies will apparently do anything to protect the cruel Jordan Valley Big Loop Rodeo. The sheriff's department raises money at the rodeo, and sheriff's deputies sit on the rodeo board. The sheriff's department will even make illegal traffic stops, and openly talk about what they are doing. Too bad they forgot about that cruiser camera, which recorded every word." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCorrupt Cops Protecting Rodeo Board Caught by Their Own Cruiser Camera

Former Tulsa cop convicted of robbing Hispanic drivers while on duty

"A former Tulsa police officer was found guilty of 5 counts of armed robbery Thursday afternoon. Marvin Blades, Jr. was accused of pulling over Hispanic drivers and taking their money while on duty. Blades was convicted of stealing a total of $1,873 from drivers and $600 from an undercover Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs agent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer Tulsa cop convicted of robbing Hispanic drivers while on duty

California Court Overturns ‘Overly Lenient’ LAPD Vehicle Impound Policy

"Superior Court Judge Terry Green sided with groups that challenged the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for inventing a confiscation procedure that differed from procedures laid down by California state lawmakers. Proponents of car confiscation contend that the LAPD guidelines are an end-run around a law clearly ordering thirty-day impoundment of vehicles from drivers with expired or non-existent licenses. Confiscation is big business for the city. Towing and storage can run $1100 per vehicle, and with hundreds of thousands seized every year, the revenue generated reaches into the tens of millions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Court Overturns ‘Overly Lenient’ LAPD Vehicle Impound Policy

More Compelling Evidence that America’s Corporate Tax System Is Pointlessly Destructive

"One solution is to engage in a lot of clever tax planning to minimize your taxable income. Though that’s probably not a successful long-term strategy since the Obama Administration is supporting a plan by European politicians to create further disadvantages for American-based companies. Another option is to somehow turn yourself into a foreign corporation. You won’t be surprised to learn that politicians have imposed punitive anti-expatriation laws to make that difficult, but the crowd in Washington hasn’t figured out how to stop cross-border mergers and acquisitions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore Compelling Evidence that America’s Corporate Tax System Is Pointlessly Destructive

How Edward Snowden and others can avoid $450 U.S. citizenship renunciation fee

"Snowden would only have to demonstrate with a preponderance of evidence that he has committed an act of treason. Sufficient bi-partisan accusations from notable political figures have accused him of treason that he should be able to make such a claim. The downside would of course be that an attempt to relinquish in this manner would be tantamount to a confession to the alleged crime. I wrote a blog post in February, 2011, explaining that those who relinquish citizenship should be able to avoid the new $450 renunciation fee that the State Department had begun to assess to renunciants by making a claim to have already relinquished their US citizenship." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Edward Snowden and others can avoid $450 U.S. citizenship renunciation fee