Bandit Gang Writ Large

The Problem of Leviathan

"The Internal Revenue Service, already under fire after officials disclosed that the agency targeted conservative groups, faces increased scrutiny because of an inspector general's report that it spent about $50 million to hold at least 220 conferences for employees between 2010 and 2012. The report by the Treasury Department's inspector general about conference spending is set to be released Tuesday. The department issued a statement Sunday saying the administration 'has already taken aggressive and dramatic action to reduce conference spending.'" Continue reading →

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No Statute Of Limitations For Failing To File U.S. Tax Returns

"The statute of limitations—that legal egg timer, normally set to three years—never starts to run on unreported activities. And there are cases now of the IRS going back decades, collecting big money—plus penalties and interest—on form-filing failures, accounting errors, and innocent mistakes by unwary people. Consider the recent case of Sumner Redstone, the Viacom chairman who failed to report a taxable gift to his children. This happened in 1972, and nobody looked twice at it for 40 years. Then, just a few months ago, the IRS decided he owed $1.1 million in penalties and interest. All for an old error that everyone except the IRS had forgotten about." Continue reading →

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Costa Rica Probes Liberty Reserve Founder Marriage

"The man who allegedly founded currency transfer firm Liberty Reserve may have paid a Costa Rican woman to marry him so he could get citizenship in this country, which lacks an extradition treaty with the United States, authorities said Wednesday. Deputy director of judicial investigations Gustavo Vega said officials were still investigating the 2010 marriage between millionaire Arthur Budovsky and a woman who local media identified only by her last names of Valerio Vargas." Continue reading →

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‘Virtual’ Currencies Draw State Regulator Scrutiny

"State banking regulators are scrutinizing companies that let people buy and sell virtual currencies such as bitcoin, and some are looking at requiring costly licenses, according to people familiar with the efforts. Texas is one of 48 states that require companies to obtain money-transmission licenses to operate. South Carolina and Montana don't have such rules. New York bank regulators said they are also discussing the issues with virtual currency exchanges operating in the state. State money-transmission licenses can be costly. In Texas, companies seeking a license must provide a surety bond of between $300,000 and $2 million, depending on transaction volume." Continue reading →

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Social (Un)Security: “You Died This Month? We’ll Keep Your Dough.”

"With the recent death of a family member on the 26th of the month, I was reminded of a special provision for social security that gives the government a free pass for a last moment of theft, and that's after a lifetime of theft under the guise of overseeing one's 'security.' The provision essentially states that in the month of death, a person shall not receive any benefits for that month for the days that person was alive." Continue reading →

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The Real Reason Governments Are Killing Financial Privacy

"With the deficit in 2012 for the US federal government at $1.1 trillion, the expected $900 million from FATCA is not even a drop in the bucket. Even in the unlikely event that the US will moderately reduce its deficit in the future, the revenue from FATCA will remain a pittance in comparison. Why would the US government go through all the enormous trouble of implementing FATCA if it's going to bring in such a meager amount of money? If it's not money, it appears the primary motivation here is control. The new 'global standard' is a path that will put governments around the world one step closer to being able to track and control every penny you earn and every penny you spend." Continue reading →

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Speed Cameras Tear Apart Ohio Town

"The village of Elmwood Place, Ohio can no longer perform all the functions of local government, thanks to speed cameras. Four of the village's six councilmen have resigned over the way automated ticketing machines are used, and without a quorum village can no longer take any actions it faces a court contempt hearing on Tuesday. The controversy began in September 2012 when the village allowed Optotraffic to begin issuing $105 tickets using a portable speed camera with a 40 percent cut of the revenue going to the private company. Tickets were being issued at a rate that would have generated $2 million per year, or over $1000 per resident." Continue reading →

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IRS’s Shulman had more public White House visits than any Cabinet member

"Publicly released records show that embattled former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman visited the White House at least 157 times during the Obama administration, more recorded visits than even the most trusted members of the president’s Cabinet. By contrast, Shulman’s predecessor Mark Everson only visited the White House once during four years of service in the George W. Bush administration and compared the IRS’s remoteness from the president to 'Siberia.'" Continue reading →

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Marijuana’s IRS Problems Spark New Bill

"Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) will introduce the Small Business Tax Equity Act of 2013 on June 5, with the goal of ending the Internal Revenue Service’s persecution of medical cannabis dispensaries. The Small Business Tax Equity Act of 2013 will amend IRS Section 280E of the tax code to resolve a crisis in the newly legal billion-dollar industry, according to Betty Aldworth with the Washington D.C. lobby National Cannabis Industry Association. Marijuana is a federally illegal drug that 20 states have legalized for medical purposes. Two have legalized its use for adults over 21. But the IRS treats all marijuana-related businesses as 'drug trafficking organizations'." Continue reading →

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Father Of Florida Man Connected To Tsarnaev: FBI Killed My Son ‘Execution-Style’

"The father of a Chechen immigrant killed while being interrogated by the FBI about his ties to a Boston Marathon bombings suspect says agents killed his son 'execution style,' reports AP. There was even a shot to the back of the head. At a press conference Thursday in Moscow, Abdul-Baki Todashev showed journalists 16 photographs he said were of his son, Ibragim, in a Florida morgue. He said his son had six gunshot wounds to his torso and one to the back of his head and the pictures were taken by his son’s friend, Khusen Taramov. WESH-TV is reporting that unidentified FBI sources now say that Todashev was unarmed." Continue reading →

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