Bandit Gang Writ Large

Austria, Luxembourg to give up banking secrecy for foreigners

"Austria has initiated the abolition of banking secrecy for foreigners and will begin talks with the European Union (EU) over automatic information exchange, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said Tuesday. Up to now Luxembourg and Austria have been the only two EU nations to refuse to disclose the identity of bank account holders from other EU countries. Luxembourg announced during the weekend its own intention to give up the practice for foreigners. Faymann added that the practice of tax avoiding through falsifying tax liabilities had to be stopped." Continue reading →

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Spain opposes extradition of Swiss bank data thief

"Swiss authorities want Hervé Falciani, a French-Italian citizen arrested in Barcelona in July 2012 and then granted conditional release, sent back to Switzerland to face charges of breaching banking secrecy. The files, which were subsequently relayed by French investigators to their counterparts in the United States, Spain, Italy and several other European Union countries, led to a raft of prosecutions. He told the court he obtained the files from colleagues and said the information was so abundant that 'if printed, it would fill an entire freight train.' Falciani said he informed Swiss authorities in 2008 but they refused to let him make an anonymous complaint." Continue reading →

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Fr33 Aid Abandons Non-Profit Tax Status in Favor of Bitcoin

"Many organizations seek non-profit recognition from the IRS in an attempt to protect themselves from asset confiscation. In April 2012, Fr33 Aid applied for this privileged status, but since then the process has been nothing but a bureaucratic nightmare. Today Fr33 Aid announced they have abandoned their IRS application and adopted bitcoin as their primary financial instrument. Fr33 Aid Treasurer, Teresa Warmke said: 'Now that there are ways for us to do banking without government involvement, we decided fulfilling (IRS demands) would not be a responsible way for Fr33 Aid to spend its money nor for our volunteers to spend their time.'" Continue reading →

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Are You a Milk Cow for the Government?

"I thought it would be useful to look at when Tax Freedom Day occurs across the world to gain some perspective. Tax Freedom Day (TFD) is the day of the year that the average person has in theory earned enough money to pay their annual tax bill. If TFD falls on January 1st that means you are a milk cow for ZERO days out of the year for the government. If it falls on June 30th it means you are working 181 days each year to pay off your taxes. Unfortunately most of us will spend some time during the year acting as a milk cow in some fashion for a government. Below is a table showing when TFD hits in the countries within the EU." Continue reading →

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Happy Tax Freedom Day?

"Tax Freedom Day is the day that 'the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year.' National Tax Freedom Day comes just a few days behind our deadline to pay up, with the exception of Texas, where residents have a lower average state and local tax burden. Tax Freedom Day for Texans began on April 10. On average, Americans nationwide will work 40 days just to pay their income tax, another 25 days for payroll taxes, 15 days for excise taxes, and 12 days for property taxes. Overall, Americans will spend more on taxes than on food, housing, and clothing combined this year." Continue reading →

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Maryland ‘rain tax’ to be enforced through satellite surveillance?

"The tax, officially known as a 'storm water management fee,' will be enforced in nine of the state's counties. Former 2012 GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dan Bongino bashes the tax in a Wednesday afternoon press release. The law 'requires individuals, businesses, and even charitable organizations and houses of worship to pay a tax based on the amount of rain that falls on their property and the 'impervious surfaces' on their land,' he says. The tax, mandated by the EPA and enforced locally, will be calculated 'through satellite surveillance of your property,' the statement claims." Continue reading →

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Arizona House Panel Says Cops Can Destroy Marijuana, Even If Patients Had Right To It

"An Arizona House panel voted on Tuesday to let police destroy marijuana they have seized, even if it was seized from legal medical marijuana patients who had a right to possess it. The panel ignored the pleas of Arizona's former top federal prosecutor, who told members of the Judiciary Committee that SB 1441 -- supposedly meant to 'tighten up' the state's medical marijuana law -- is an improer end-run around the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, approved by voters in 2010, reports Howard Fischer at Capitol Media Services." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArizona House Panel Says Cops Can Destroy Marijuana, Even If Patients Had Right To It

EMU plot curdles as creditors seize Cyprus gold reserves

"First they purloin the savings and bank deposits in Laiki and the Bank of Cyprus, including the working funds of the University of Cyprus, and thousands of small firms hanging on by their fingertips. Then they seize three quarters of the country’s gold reserves, making it ever harder for Cyprus to extricate itself from EMU at a later date. The people of Cyprus first learned about this from a Reuters leak of the working documents for the Eurogroup meeting on Friday. This seemed to catch the central bank by surprise. Officials said they knew nothing about it. So who in fact made this decision?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEMU plot curdles as creditors seize Cyprus gold reserves

Obama Budget Contains Middle Class Income Tax Hike

"Chained CPI means the Obama budget contains a tax increase on 100 percent of middle class taxpayers (anyone who pays the federal income tax). Many other tax provisions—the standard deduction, the personal exemption, PEP and Pease, IRA and 401(k) contribution limits, and many others—are also tied to how CPI is measured. Chained CPI as a stand-alone measure (that is, not paired with tax relief of equal or greater size) is a tax increase and a Taxpayer Protection Pledge violation. Various reports peg the tax increase amount as exceeding $100 billion over the next decade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Budget Contains Middle Class Income Tax Hike