Bankocracy

Vietnam attempts to address ‘long illness’ of public sector

"State-owned enterprises have racked up some $61 billion of debt which represents more than half of total public debt in Vietnam. Several of the SOEs have already collapsed in spectacular fashion, including shipping giants Vinashin — which ran up $4.4 billion of losses — and Vinalines, which has defaulted on payments of some $1.1 billion. Experts say the SOEs have become expert at hiding their debts, have incomprehensible strategies, hazardous investments in non-core sectors which are cunningly designed to circumvent government regulations. The top officials running the companies frequently flaunt lifestyles incompatible with their official remuneration." Continue reading →

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Vietnam jails 22 activists for subversion

"The 22 were accused of running a 'reactionary' group disguised as an eco-tourism operator, which produced documents 'slandering' the regime and distorting its guidelines and policies, according to state media. Dozens of activists have been jailed since Vietnam — a one-party state that forbids political debate — began a new crackdown on free expression in late 2009. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered a new crackdown on online dissent, telling authorities to fight against anyone using the Internet to 'defame and spread propaganda against the party and state'. Vietnam bans private media and all newspapers and television channels are state-run." Continue reading →

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Chinese Justice – Or Orwell Circa 2013?

"The Ministry of Public Security is working to set up an annual high-level meeting with US judicial officials in a bid to catch and return more Chinese fugitives. 'We're negotiating with the US Department of Homeland Security and will try to arrange the first summit this year,' said Wang Liqiang, a senior official in the ministry's international cooperation bureau. The meeting is expected to bring together the minister of public security and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with their US counterparts to discuss cooperation on intelligence, operations, suspect repatriations and the recovery of stolen assets." Continue reading →

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Taiwanese billionaire launches Asian ‘Nobel prize’

"One of Taiwan’s richest men on Monday launched what has been widely touted as the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Samuel Yin, head of the sprawling Ruentex business empire, said that by donating Tw$3 billion ($101 million) for the Tang Prize he had fulfilled one of his biggest dreams. 'I hope that the prize will encourage more research that is beneficial to the world and humankind, promote Chinese culture and make the world a better place,' he said. Beginning in 2014 prizes will be awarded every two years in four different categories — sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, sinology and the 'rule of law' — to individuals, regardless of nationality." Continue reading →

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FATCA: Do I have to report my offshore gold?

"Imagine what would happen if the Chinese government passed a law requiring US banks to share customer information with Beijing. People would go nuts. But in the Land of the Free, it’s normal. Crazy. It gets worse. FATCA was a mere 18 pages of poorly worded legislation that failed to define critical terms. How many pages of regulations did the IRS issue? The answer is a mind numbing 544 pages. After an initial read, though, the language of the regulation does suggest that custodial gold institutions (like GoldMoney, etc.) should be reported. Offshore safety deposit boxes (like Das Safe) do not." Continue reading →

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The Communist Romania Exit Tax

"In order to receive a visa for permanent non-citizen residence in the U.S., I had to pay a tax for all the government benefits I had received in my first twenty years of life, schooling, medical care, subsidized concrete block housing, pot-holed road use, constant police surveillance, and other 'services' I was not even aware existed or received. I was worried since I had no penny to my name and I knew I would not be able to leave without paying. The final figure was provided to me after months of deliberation and computation by the communist party apparatchiks – my freedom was worth exactly $160 U.S. dollars. I owned a Japanese boom box which I sold quickly for $160." Continue reading →

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Should You Renounce Your U.S. Citizenship?

"In the case of Saverin, he was already living in Singapore and did not have deep ties to the U.S. because he hadn’t been here very long. In his case, the financial benefits were clear: he would’ve paid a 35% federal tax rate in the U.S. in addition to 15% on capital gains, while in Singapore his tax rate would be 20% at most and no capital gains tax. So how would your tax burden stack up? If you earn $1 million a year, that’s almost $396,000 you’re keeping in your pocket (based on the top 39.6% income tax rate) if you said goodbye to the U.S. and took up residency in a place like Monaco, which doesn’t tax income at all." Continue reading →

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Scotland’s independence could see descendants worldwide eligible for passport

"Scotland First Minister Alex Salmond told ONE News he would want to offer citizenship to an independent Scotland to as many descendants as possible. The offer could also allow citizens to live and work anywhere in the European Union. 'I think like Ireland, Scotland would want to use its global reach in the most effective way and make that sort of inclusive statement,' said Salmond. Salmond's Scottish National Party swept to power on the back of a promise to hold a referendum on independence. 'Scotland's a country of five and quarter million people, we have a reach internationally, across the world we'd want maximum entitlement to citizenship,' said Salmond." Continue reading →

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The Italian Patient: Resisting Berlusconi’s Charms

"Other populists are also gathering votes in the race to the finish line. One of them is Beppe Grillo of the protest movement 'Movimento 5 Stelle.' Grillo travels around the country on a 'tsunami tour,' hates Merkel, doesn't want to repay a cent of debt and is seriously calling upon Al-Qaida to bomb the parliament in Rome, saying that he would even provide the terrorists with the necessary coordinates. Polls estimate that Grillo has the potential to capture 20 percent of the vote. He could become the third-strongest force by securing the support of the sizable number of undecided Italians who are weary of politics." Continue reading →

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Chief Greek Statistician Threatened with Jail For Revealing True Size of Deficit

"At a time when the rest of the world was furious that Greece had artificially improved the country's budget statistics, Greek prosecutors are accusing Georgiou of doing the opposite. Prosecutors acted after a 15-month investigation into allegations made by a former ELSTAT board member. If found guilty, Georgiou faces five to 10 years in prison. Some argue that the technocrat Georgiou was serving his former superiors at the IMF and the European statistics agency Eurostat, which is led by a German. This theory holds that Greece was to be brought to its knees by imposing harsh austerity measures based on bloated deficit figures." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChief Greek Statistician Threatened with Jail For Revealing True Size of Deficit