Bandit Gang Writ Large

Government Fees, Parking Tickets May Soon Be Paid in Bitcoin

"While some call Bitcoin an 'existential threat to the state,' local governments could soon embrace the digital currency and payment system as a practical alternative to credit and debit cards. E-Gov Link, an Ohio company that helps municipalities accept payments online for parking tickets, permits, and the like, now allows its customers to take bitcoin.- Bitcoin transactions can be processed at a fraction of the cost of other payment methods because they avoid the interchange structure of the legacy card processors." Continue reading →

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Canadian Senator’s husband’s offshore trusts exposed

"A prominent Canadian lawyer, husband to a Liberal senator, moved nearly $2 million to secretive financial havens while he was locked in battle with the Canada Revenue Agency over his taxes, according to documents in a massive leak of offshore financial data that were shared exclusively in Canada with CBC News. Tony Merchant of Regina transferred money to a tax haven in the South Pacific and then onward to an account in the Caribbean, according to the files. His wife, Senator Pana Merchant, as well as their three sons are named in the documents as beneficiaries of the funds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCanadian Senator’s husband’s offshore trusts exposed

Disgraced French budget minister lied to Swiss bank over taxes

"Disgraced former French budget minister Jerome Cahuzac lied to a Swiss bank when it accepted his assertion that funds paid into his account had been declared to tax authorities, a newspaper report said Saturday. The Zurich-based Tages Anzeiger said the politician presented a 'bogus tax certificate' to the Julius Baer bank. Cahuzac — the minister responsible for cracking down on tax evasion until he resigned in mid-March — was charged Tuesday with 'laundering the proceeds of tax fraud' after he admitted to having the foreign bank account, following weeks of denials." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDisgraced French budget minister lied to Swiss bank over taxes

Massive info leak reveals rich politicos who hide wealth in offshore accounts

"Millions of emails and leaked records from offshore tax havens have exposed the identities of thousands of holders of offshore accounts, including the family of the president of Azerbaijan and French President Francois Hollande’s one-time campaign treasurer. The alleged involvement of Jean-Jacques Augier adds to the pressure on Hollande, who is already on the defensive after his former budget minister Jerome Cahuzac was charged in a tax fraud probe. Britain’s Guardian said the information came from a leak of two million documents and emails which mainly concern the British Virgin Islands, but also the Cayman Islands." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMassive info leak reveals rich politicos who hide wealth in offshore accounts

Italian-Switzerland border checks strike gold

"Italian finance police had a lucky find on Easter Sunday during a routine check of a family car crossing into Switzerland: they discovered gold ingots worth about €4.5 million concealed in false compartments. The car was driven by a 53-year-old Italian resident of the Swiss canton of Ticino, described by the police as the legal representative of a Swiss company. He was travelling with his wife and three children, apparently going for an Easter trip. The man was immediately charged with money laundering. The ingots and the car were seized. There has been an upsurge in the smuggling of gold from Italy to Switzerland in the past few months." Continue reading →

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IRS collecting tax payer information from Facebook and Twitter

"You have until April 15th to file a return - and the IRS will be collecting a lot more than just taxes this year. According to several reports, the agency will also be collecting personal information from sites like Facebook and Twitter. It says the effort is to catch people trying to beat the system, but some say it goes too far. Attorney Kristen Mathews warns to be careful with what you say on social media platforms. She has concerns the government is pushing the limits of what has historically been considered private. The government has said it would only check a Facebook page or twitter account if there is already red flag in a tax form." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS collecting tax payer information from Facebook and Twitter

State Confiscates $10,000 From Airline Passenger Over Exchange Rate Disagreement

"Docherty was boarding a flight to Costa Rica in November 2010 when a dog trained to sniff out money (they have those?) found Docherty's stash of cash. There was $9,880 in U.S. currency and another $335 Canadian. Docherty explained he'd calculated the Canada-U.S. exchange rate so the total amount to come in under the $10,000 limit. The trouble was that by the time he took his flight two days later, the U.S. dollar had strengthened, making his package worth more than $10,000 Canadian. Agents seized the money under the legislation and unlike criminal charges, the onus falls on people like Docherty to prove the money was legitimately acquired." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Confiscates $10,000 From Airline Passenger Over Exchange Rate Disagreement

New Poll Finds 86 Percent Of Americans Don’t Want To Have A Country Anymore [2006]

"Among the 86 percent of poll respondents who were in favor of discontinuing the nation, the most frequently cited reasons were a lack of significant results from the current democratic process (36 percent), dissatisfaction with customer service (28 percent), and exhaustion (22 percent). Of those who were against maintaining an American nation, 77 percent said they believe that having a country is 'counter to the best interests of Americans.' Twelve percent said 'the time and effort citizens spend on the country could be better spent elsewhere,' and 8 percent said they just didn't care." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Poll Finds 86 Percent Of Americans Don’t Want To Have A Country Anymore [2006]

You Are an Anarchist. The Question Is How Often?

"Everyone, at least sometimes, is an anarchist. Consider Cambodia in the late 1970s. The Khmer Rouge government intentionally killed more than two million of its own citizens. That’s an average of 8 percent of the population killed each year while government simultaneously inflicted countless other horrors. Do you think the Cambodian people, faced with that government, would have been better off with no government at all? Congratulations. You are, sometimes, an anarchist. The real issue is found in an area economists call 'comparative institutions.' That is, in a specific time and place, how well would anarchy work compared to an actual obtainable state?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYou Are an Anarchist. The Question Is How Often?

The State: Crown Jewel of Human Social Organization

"Since the earliest stage of human history (say, the time of Cain and Abel), human beings have been homicidal maniacs. Yet, for untold ages, something was missing, something with the capacity to raise their murderous mania to truly magnificent heights. Only very late in human history—perhaps 10,000 years ago or thereabouts—did the long-awaited breakthrough take place: men finally devised the state. By employing its powers of organization, command, violence, and plunder, rulers could finally bask in the glories of heretofore undreamed-of atrocities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe State: Crown Jewel of Human Social Organization