Bandit Gang Writ Large

Carnegie Mellon research shows cellphone use may not cause more car crashes

"For almost 20 years, it has been a wide-held belief that talking on a cellphone while driving is dangerous and leads to more accidents. However, new research from Carnegie Mellon University and the London School of Economics and Political Science suggests that talking on a cellphone while driving does not increase crash risk. Additionally, the researchers analyzed the effects of legislation banning cellphone use, enacted in several states, and similarly found that the legislation had no effect on the crash rate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCarnegie Mellon research shows cellphone use may not cause more car crashes

Massive jump in people who renounced US citizenship last quarter

"We come to view our nationalities rather ironically as a big piece of our core individuality. I am an American. I am a Canadian. I am an Austrian. Instead of– I am a human being. It has taken decades… centuries even… to reach this point. So the fact that more and more people are making the gut-wrenching decision to ditch their US passports is truly a powerful trend. So what’s driving it? Taxes… and the search for liberty. For many, their tax bills constitute a financial breaking point. Particularly for people who spend most of their time outside of the United States and are constantly hamstrung by worldwide taxation and information disclosures." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMassive jump in people who renounced US citizenship last quarter

Australian Safety Official Seeks Refund Of 987 Speed Camera Tickets

"On June 30, electronic speed limit signs were used to reduce the speed limit to 80km/h (50 MPH) and then once again to 40km/h (25 MPH) through a construction zone in front of the tunnel. Drivers were tricked into thinking after the end of the highway work zone, the limit would have returned to 80km/h or 100km/h. They may also have been unable to see the electronic speed limit signs, distracted by traffic merging from three lanes to one. 269 vehicle owners received serious penalties that included a license suspension, plus fines of up to $722 (which rises to $1660 for heavy vehicles). Another 718 received fines of up to $289 each." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustralian Safety Official Seeks Refund Of 987 Speed Camera Tickets

Shield Your Nest Egg from Its Two Biggest Threats

"For a government to siphon off wealth efficiently, it must know where the wealth is, set up ways to take it, and have a strong enough police force to make sure citizens comply. The intention is to make it easier to pay up than go to jail. Even people with modest nest eggs are constantly looking for ways to legally protect their wealth. Lawyers love it, since it means citizens need a variety of trusts and complicated legal avenues for minimizing taxes. That's part of the game. As governments press on, the stakes escalate, taxes increase, and we have to escalate our efforts to protect ourselves." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShield Your Nest Egg from Its Two Biggest Threats

Congress Wants the IRS to Cancel Your Passport

"If you think your U.S. citizenship gives you the right to a U.S. passport, think again. The government has several ways to cancel or refuse to renew your passport. And now, Congress is poised to give it one more: if you owe money to the IRS. Hidden within the 2013 highway funding bill are a few paragraphs with the innocent-sounding title of the 'Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.' Section 40304 of this act would revoke your passport if you have a 'seriously delinquent tax debt.' In other words, if you owe the IRS $50,000 or more, the Feds can revoke your passport. There's no hearing and no opportunity to contest this decision." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongress Wants the IRS to Cancel Your Passport

The IRS has become one of America’s leading exports

"If a 747 jetliner filled with one investor from each jurisdiction on earth touched down in a newly independent country, and each investor risked $1000 in a start-up venture, in the new economy, the American would face a far higher tax than anybody else on any gains. Special, penal taxation of foreign investment, exemplified by the so-called PFIC taxation, plus the U.S. nationality tax, can result in tax liabilities of 200 per cent or more on long term assets held outside the United States. A successful American could reduce his total lifetime tax burden as a citizen of any of more than 280 other jurisdictions on the globe." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe IRS has become one of America’s leading exports

Anaheim & the Feds Use Civil Forfeiture to Subvert State Law

"When IJ client Tony Jalali fled Iran in 1978, he came to America seeking protection of the rule of law, due process, and justice. He never would have imagined that 35 years later he would be battling in federal court to save the small Anaheim, Calif., office building that represents his family’s life savings. Although Tony has never been charged with any crime, the federal government is attempting to use civil forfeiture to take his entire $1.5 million commercial building merely because he used to rent office space to a medical marijuana dispensary that was entirely legal under state law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnaheim & the Feds Use Civil Forfeiture to Subvert State Law

Tax-Saving AB Trusts and New Estate Tax Rules

"Under the old tax laws, each spouse had an estate tax exemption, but typically, the first spouse to die didn't use his or her exemption. That's because most spouses left everything to the survivor and bequests to a surviving spouse aren't subject to estate tax. But the surviving spouse then owned all the couple's assets; estate tax would be owed when the second spouse died. The portability provision (which became effective in 2011) lets the surviving spouse use any part of the total exemption -- $10.24 million for deaths in 2012 -- that isn't used by the first spouse to die. So for most couples, there's no need for an AB trust." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTax-Saving AB Trusts and New Estate Tax Rules

Liechtenstein bank to pay $23.8M in US tax evasion case

"U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan and Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG, located in Vaduz, announced the agreement, saying the bank will forfeit $16.3 million, representing revenue it earned for maintaining the undeclared accounts, and will pay $7.5 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. IRS official Richard Weber said the parliament of Liechtenstein, an alpine country between Switzerland and Austria, also changed tax laws to make it easier to identify non-compliant U.S. taxpayers to the United States. Since then, Liechtenstein has transferred more than 200 files of U.S. taxpayers to the U.S. Department of Justice." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLiechtenstein bank to pay $23.8M in US tax evasion case

Zimbabwe to Seize Mines While Compensating Banks

"The government and black Zimbabweans will take half of the value of assets it has identified in the economy, he said. The state empowerment fund has so far acquired about $1 billion in assets, he said. The government will open a new stock exchange to trade the black-owned stakes in the companies, he said. Trading at the Harare Stock Exchange may start within 100 days of the new government taking office and will only be open to black Zimbabweans, he said. Investments in Zimbabwe will be protected by the government as long as companies do not seek to exploit the country without its people benefiting, Kasukuwere said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingZimbabwe to Seize Mines While Compensating Banks