Bandit Gang Writ Large

Another Maryland Town To Refund Illegal Speed Camera Tickets

"Greenbelt, Maryland admitted Monday that 664 illegally issued speed camera tickets would be refunded because the for-profit vendor Brekford failed to meet the certification requirements set by state law. The same calibration problem was revealed in the city of Hagerstown in May. Brekford imported its speed cameras from Sweden, where the radar manufacturer Sensys self-certified the equipment after it came off the assembly line. Brekford and the cities that allow the company to operate their speed camera programs face additional legal jeopardy because the law specifies an independent calibration lab, not the camera manufacturer, must certify the devices." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnother Maryland Town To Refund Illegal Speed Camera Tickets

Audited Virginia farmer faces more thuggery

"Martha's disputes brought her national attention because of her willingness to stand up to ridiculousness. She was cited and threatened with $5,000 fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without an 'events' permit from the county. A Fauquier County supervisor blabbed about her IRS audit two days after the notice was signed at the IRS and six days before Boneta received it. That shows collusion. Then in 2011 the county concocted an ordinance restricting farm sales that was enforced only against Boneta. She was cited for selling such things as emu-feather necklaces and homemade pies without a 'special administrative farm sales permit.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAudited Virginia farmer faces more thuggery

Why Sir John Templeton renounced US citizenship – AKA why the US shot itself in the foot

"The media is prone to depict Templeton as a tax cheat. The reason? Had he been a U.S. citizen when he died, the U.S. government would have received approximately 100 million in estate taxes. I am not aware of Templeton ever publicly stating his reasons for renouncing U.S. citizenship. Nobody knows for sure. But, I suspect that the correlation between his renouncing U.S. citizenship in 1964 and the enactment of the CFC (Controlled Foreign Corporation and SubPart F) rules in 1962 did play a role. The 1962 changes in the Internal Revenue Code meant that Templeton may have been forced to choose between U.S. citizenship and his mutual fund business." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Sir John Templeton renounced US citizenship – AKA why the US shot itself in the foot

The State: Always the Accuser, Never the Defendant

"As Harvey Silverglate points out, each of us commits at least three acts each day that could be described as felonies by any reasonably ambitious prosecutor. By using NSA-provided metadata to conduct a 'pattern of life' analysis of a targeted individual, law enforcement agencies could probably contrive an excuse to arrest practically anybody at any time. This capacity will dramatically expand opportunities for official retaliation against Mundanes who seek redress for abuses committed by police – including family members of deceased victims." Continue reading →

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Perverted Judge Perverts Judgment With Pre-Signed Blank Arrest Warrants

"Michael Henderson, a former captain in the Murray County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office, has pleaded guilty to obstruction and witness tampering by retaliating against a woman who filed a complaint against a local judge. Henderson and a deputy sheriff staged a pretext traffic stop on a vehicle in which Mrs. Garmley was a passenger, a conspiracy to retaliate against Mrs. Garmley by planting methamphetamine in a small metal container hidden on the underside of the vehicle. Charges against them were dropped shortly after Judge Cochrane was forced to resign. In his letter of resignation, Cochrane admitted that he had illegally pre-signed blank warrants for police officers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPerverted Judge Perverts Judgment With Pre-Signed Blank Arrest Warrants

Proposed U.S. law could be a Snowbird tax timebomb

"The good news is that the JOLT Act, (Jobs Originated through Launching Travel), would allow Canadian retirees to spend up to eight months, or 240 days, each year in the U.S. without a visa. That’s almost two months longer than the current 182-day annual limit. The bad news is that snowbirds who spend that long in the U.S. may be required to pay U.S. taxes. 'It looks like a great deal. I can be in Palm Springs for 240 days., but they didn’t tell you that it comes with a very high tax cost,' Roy Berg, international tax lawyer at Moodys Gartner Tax Law in Calgary, said in an interview." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingProposed U.S. law could be a Snowbird tax timebomb

Canada: City To Pay $200k For Photo Radar Propaganda Campaign

"City leaders in Winnipeg, Canada are afraid photo radar opponents are winning the debate over the effectiveness of automated enforcement. The city has put a $200,000 contract out for bid for any company that can come up with a three-year plan to boost the public's perception of speed cameras. Last year, the city generated $8,619,966 in revenue through 73,293 speed camera tickets and 8,331 red light camera tickets. Affiliated Computer Services (which is now Xerox) has a contract to run the automated ticketing program through the year 2020." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCanada: City To Pay $200k For Photo Radar Propaganda Campaign

Illinois DOT Busted Over Red Light Camera Spreadsheet

"The Illinois Department of Transportation's attempt to keep information about its red light camera program secret by locking an Excel spreadsheet has backfired. The state's second-highest court last week ruled the move violated the state's freedom of information laws and ordered the agency pay an anti-camera activist $12,561 in compensation. IDOT claimed it locked the file 'to protect the integrity of the material and not to withhold information in any way,' but Fagel insisted the agency was obligated to provide the information in the format in which the agency normally keeps the records and that there is no statutory provision authorizing IDOT's action." Continue reading →

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“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

"The Geneva-based international group says that the 2009 OVDP in particular was 'extremely prejudicial to Americans living overseas who sought to become compliant with their taxes due to errors or omissions under the OVDP. Believing they could come back into the system by simply filing the appropriate paperwork and paying any outstanding tax burden, these individuals were later told they would be hit with a standard penalty of 20% of the highest value of their bank accounts over a five-year period.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

"The Geneva-based international group says that the 2009 OVDP in particular was 'extremely prejudicial to Americans living overseas who sought to become compliant with their taxes due to errors or omissions under the OVDP. Believing they could come back into the system by simply filing the appropriate paperwork and paying any outstanding tax burden, these individuals were later told they would be hit with a standard penalty of 20% of the highest value of their bank accounts over a five-year period.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans