Bandit Gang Writ Large

California man posing as cop charged with sexual assault

"Stepp reportedly used a website to arrange for a meeting with a prostitute at a hotel in El Segundo, California. Police spokesperson Lt. Jaime Bermudez told CBS News that once inside the room with the woman, Stepp allegedly identified himself a police officer, flashed a fake badge and locked the woman into handcuffs, then sexually assaulted her. The woman reported that Stepp was joined by an accomplice who took her cash and credit cards. Stepp was apprehended on Monday when he tried to use one of the stolen credit cards." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia man posing as cop charged with sexual assault

Watch As City Changes Parking Signs Then Issues Tickets To Cars That Had Been Parked Legally

"Once you find a spot and check all the signs, you should be good, right? Not if the city comes by and changes the signs on you. CBS 2 in New York has security camera footage of this exact thing happening outside of a Manhattan building recently. Cars parked along one side of the street shown in the video are parked legally when the video begins. But as you can see on the video, a city employee comes in and installs a new No Standing Anytime sign. And within 25 minutes of that sign going up, a parking enforcement officer is swooping in to issue tickets — $115 each — to cars that had been legally parked before the sign was changed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWatch As City Changes Parking Signs Then Issues Tickets To Cars That Had Been Parked Legally

IRS head Lois Lerner invokes 5th Amendment but may be compelled to testify anyway

"The woman at the center of the IRS scandal refused to testify to Congress on Wednesday, but House Republicans said Lois Lerner botched her attempt to invoke her right against self-incrimination and said they likely will force her to come back and explain why the agency targeted conservative political groups. Ms. Lerner’s refusal to testify shifted attention to her onetime boss, former Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman, who apologized to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee but refused to take responsibility, leaving furious lawmakers warning that the Internal Revenue Service could end up facing a special prosecutor." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS head Lois Lerner invokes 5th Amendment but may be compelled to testify anyway

Nigel Farage Bashes Tax-Advantaged Hypocritical European Politicians

"If we look at the EU officials who work for the European Commission and the European Parliament, the highest category [the most common grade is AD12] are people that earn a net take home pay of just over 100 thousand pounds a year. And yet under EU rules they pay tax of 12 per cent. It is tax fraud on an absolutely massive scale. And Mr Barroso I would say to you, how can that be deemed to be fair? How can people out there struggling - the 16 million people unemployed in the eurozone - how can they look at these institutions, not only paying people vast sums of money but allowing them tax and pension benefits on a scale not seen anywhere else in the world?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNigel Farage Bashes Tax-Advantaged Hypocritical European Politicians

Austria Turns Rat Fink

"Europe moved closer to ending banking secrecy on Wednesday after Austria dropped objections to sharing data on foreign depositors and the EU focused on negotiating a similar agreement with Switzerland. 'It's a bad day for tax cheats,' Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told reporters at a meeting of EU leaders to discuss fighting tax fraud. 'We will act jointly and I believe we will manage the exchange of data by the end of the year.' Luxembourg and Austria had not wanted to reveal the names of account holders to other countries and instead allow banks to withhold tax, but under pressure from their European partners both have now agreed to." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustria Turns Rat Fink

Swiss banks face massive fines over Americans’ untaxed bank accounts

"Swiss banks holding US citizens’ funds that are not declared to American tax authorities are set to have to pay a massive fine, under a deal between Switzerland and Washington, a newspaper reported Wednesday. The Swiss daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung, quoting sources familiar with the talks, said that the fine could reach 40 percent of the funds in question. Swiss media have reported that under a compromise hammered out by negotiators, the 300 banks in Switzerland would be classed according to their level of alleged complicity in tax evasion. The dozen banks seen as the main perpetrators would reportedly be forced to make a case-by-case deal with the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss banks face massive fines over Americans’ untaxed bank accounts

France mulls ‘culture tax’ on smartphones

"The French government is considering creating a new tax on smartphones and tablets in a bid to raise millions to support the creation of digital cultural content inside France. The proposal, handed to President Francois Hollande Monday, outlines a 1 percent tax on the sale of Internet-compatible devices, targeting companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon. The tax would yield about 86 million euros per year. The revenue would help cultural industries create French content such as music, images and videos. The proposal is part of France's 'cultural exception,' a policy that protects French cinema and music industries, and other creative sectors, against competition." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance mulls ‘culture tax’ on smartphones

Taxes on 8,000 French households were greater than 100% of income last year

"More than 8,000 French households' tax bills topped 100 percent of their income last year, the business newspaper Les Echos reported on Saturday, citing Finance Ministry data. The newspaper said that the exceptionally high level of taxation was due to a one-off levy last year on 2011 incomes for households with assets of more than 1.3 million euros ($1.67 million). President Francois Hollande's Socialist government imposed the tax surcharge last year, shortly after taking office. The government has been forced to redraft a proposed bill to levy a temporary 75 percent tax on earnings over 1 million euros, which had been one of Hollande's campaign pledges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaxes on 8,000 French households were greater than 100% of income last year

IRS Demands: “Turn Over Those Names!”

"In 2012, the IRS demanded that the Conservative Leadership Institute turn over the names of its student interns. It also demanded the names of interns in 2008. No other years were audited. Both were election years. The Leadership Institute refused to comply. It supplied none of this information. The IRS found nothing amiss, but it cost the Leadership Institute $50,000 in legal fees." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Demands: “Turn Over Those Names!”

Truck Driver Nearly Beaten to Death By Police For Not Signing Traffic Ticket

"Two officers, one of them a trained fist-boxer, beat Kozacenko on the side of the highway nearly to death. He suffered a crushed left orbital eye socket, multiple facial fractures, a broken left arm, broken ribs, a concussion, loss of consciousness, and possible neurological damage. His injuries caused a deprivation of oxygen for a prolonged period of time. Officers Andrew P. Murrill and Jim Sherman maintained that the force was not excessive. Both are still on the job a full 2 years after the incident. Olegs Kozacenko suffers long-term physical and emotional injuries and is no longer able to work." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTruck Driver Nearly Beaten to Death By Police For Not Signing Traffic Ticket