Europe

UK Government and Isle of Man in deal to stop offshore tax evasion

"Under the agreement, a wide range of financial information on UK taxpayers with accounts in the Isle of Man will be passed automatically to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A disclosure facility will allow account-holders to come forward and settle their past affairs before the details are automatically passed on to HMRC. The Treasury said the deal with the Manx authorities closely followed an agreement struck with the United States to improve international tax compliance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUK Government and Isle of Man in deal to stop offshore tax evasion

Bulgarian government resigns amid protests

"'We have dignity and honour. It is the people who put us in power and we give it back to them today,' Borisov told parliament, adding that he would not participate in an interim government. Bulgaria has been shaken over the past week by protests that initially were about soaring electricity prices but which have turned into nationwide demonstrations against the right-wing government in general. The clashes left dozens of people wounded and scores were arrested with demonstrators fighting running battles with riot police and vandalising government buildings in the capital Sofia." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBulgarian government resigns amid protests

Paris women allowed to wear pants after two hundred year-old ban is lifted

"An archaic by-law banning Parisian women from wearing trousers has finally been repealed 214 years after it was originally introduced. The November 1799 decree stipulated that any woman wishing to wear men’s clothing in the French capital had to seek official permission from the city authorities. It was amended two times a century later, when women were given the freedom to don 'pantalons' [trousers] if they were 'holding the handlebars of a bicycle or the reins of a horse.' The decree was passed when the working class fashion of wearing long trousers (as opposed to the aristocratic knee-length 'culottes') became a symbol of the French revolution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingParis women allowed to wear pants after two hundred year-old ban is lifted

Moms in Spain Strip to Raise Money for School Bus

"A group of mothers at a school in eastern Spain has decided to appear nude in an erotic calendar with the aim of collecting the 43,000 euros ($55,000) needed to restore school transportation services for their children. The problem, the mothers say, is that the 80 students at the school have had their school transportation taken away by decision of the regional authorities, and they say that their kids have to walk 6 kilometers (3.72 miles) over unpaved roads to get to class. The mothers, most of whom are young, are posing for the calendar inside bus stop shelters or next to the steep embankments of the town." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMoms in Spain Strip to Raise Money for School Bus

Senate committee chair: U.S. will likely have more active military role in Mali

"The United States is likely to play a more active military role in Mali, where French-led forces are battling Islamist rebels, after the country holds elections, the chair of a key Senate sub-committee said Monday. Washington has been providing intelligence, transport and mid-air refuelling to France, which launched its intervention last month, but cannot work directly with the Malian army until a democratically elected government replaces current leaders who came to power after a coup." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenate committee chair: U.S. will likely have more active military role in Mali

Britain pushing to provide weapons to Syrian rebels

"Britain, apparently backed by a handful of European Union allies, is fighting to lift an EU arms embargo barring the supply of weapons to the Syrian rebel coalition battling President Bashar al-Assad. Britain and France had seen the March 1 deadline as an opportunity to respond to requests for weaponry by the opposition. But France appears to have cooled, leaving Britain facing opposition from Germany, Sweden and even the EU’s foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, a British baroness who represents London on the European Commission." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritain pushing to provide weapons to Syrian rebels

New UK wealth tax plan to target ALL assets – including jewelry and buy-to-let homes

"Families will be forced to pay tax on jewellery and other heirlooms under controversial new plans drawn up by the Liberal Democrats. Under the scheme, tax inspectors would get unprecedented new powers to go into homes and value rings, necklaces, paintings, furniture and other family treasures. Householders would be forced to pay a new ‘wealth’ levy on the assets – with the threat of fines for those who refused to let snoops value their possessions. A policy document seen by The Mail on Sunday spells out how the taxman ‘may have to visit homes to test values of jewellery, paintings, etc’." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew UK wealth tax plan to target ALL assets – including jewelry and buy-to-let homes

Czech Republic Legalizes Medical Marijuana Use

"Czech President Vaclav Klaus has signed into law legislation that makes it legal in the Czech Republic to use marijuana for medical treatment. Klaus gave his approval on Friday, after the law had been approved by both houses of Parliament. It allows marijuana to be imported and later grown locally by registered firms licensed for such activity, which is currently illegal. Medical marijuana use is legal in a number of European countries and parts of the United States. The drug is commonly used to relieve conditions such as chronic pain and cancer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCzech Republic Legalizes Medical Marijuana Use

Guerrilla surveillance camera destruction hits the U.S.

"It started in Berlin: Anarchists, donning black bloc attire, hit the streets at night in pairs, small groups or alone to smash and dismantle the CCTV surveillance cameras adorning the city streets. The anti-surveillance project quickly spread throughout Germany, to Finland, Greece and hit the U.S. West Coast this month. A group identifying itself as 'the Barefoot Bandit Brigade' released a statement claiming to have 'removed and destroyed 17 security cameras throughout the Puget Sound region,' with ostensible photo evidence published alongside." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGuerrilla surveillance camera destruction hits the U.S.

Draconian Cash Controls Are Coming To France

"Ayrault trotted out his national plan, a 20-page document that outlined his all-out effort to go after any kind of behavior that could possibly deprive the government of those sorely needed euros. Stuffed into that 20-page national plan: prohibiting cash payments of over €1,000 per purchase. It’s urgent. He wants to get the process started soon so that 'a decree and legislative measures' can be finished by the end of 2013. Two crisp 500-euro bills and a single coin: voilà, an illegal transaction. But the limit would only apply to fiscal residents. Fiscal residents of a country other than France would be able to pay €10,000 in cash per purchase." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDraconian Cash Controls Are Coming To France