Fugitive Tax-Slaves

A New “Global Standard” Takes Shape

"Financial privacy should not be viewed in a negative light, as it is often portrayed. The Swiss view it as a fundamental human right to preserve dignity, akin to medical privacy. How would you feel if the government snooped into your medical records and automatically shared those records with foreign governments? While it would appear the primary objective of this new 'global standard' is to rake in more money for bankrupt governments, it seems another motive is at play here. The optimistic estimate for FATCA is that it will bring in around $9 billion over 10 years or $900 million on average per year. It appears the primary motivation here is control." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA New “Global Standard” Takes Shape

Four Reasons Why American Tax Laws Make U.S. Expats Suffer

"As any student of American history can tell you, one of the reasons behind the American Revolution was 'no taxation without representation.' Since then, America has striven to ensure that the government is responsive and fair. Until now. Sadly, the United States seems to be straying from her heritage, as millions of unrepresented American expats are being subjected to extra reporting requirements simply because they live overseas. To add insult to injury, the American government isn't the only body discriminating against Americans living overseas. Banks (both foreign and American), insurance companies, and credit/debit card companies are joining in." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFour Reasons Why American Tax Laws Make U.S. Expats Suffer

Judge Gives ’5 Second Probation’ In Widow’s $21M Tax Case

"Consider 79 year-old Mary Estelle Curran of Palm Beach who inherited Swiss and Liechtenstein accounts when her husband died in 2000. She failed to report them and the IRS lost out on approximately $667,716 in taxes. That’s a lot of money to be sure, but the size of her penalty was, well, enormous: 50% of the highest balance: $21,666,929. And that’s not all. She was facing serious jail time too. And it seemed doubly unfair that she was unsophisticated and had tried to come forward to the IRS long before. Fortunately, though, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Ryskamp eased up, even suggesting that the government could probably use a little more discretion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Gives ’5 Second Probation’ In Widow’s $21M Tax Case

Argentina’s Mad Dash for U.S. Dollars

"If you find yourself driving through the suddenly packed condo canyons of Miami—lamenting not having bought during the property crash—shake a fist or two at the Argentines. So many of them ponied up 80 percent cash down payments on units that South Florida’s condo depression rather abruptly turned into another boom. Their thinking was defensive: Swap iffy pesos for dollars and store that value in U.S. property, out of the prying hands of the government back home. Now, with Buenos Aires finding some rather innovative ways to crack down on the flight to dollars, that spirit of capital preservation has morphed into a panic." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina’s Mad Dash for U.S. Dollars

Rand Paul stirs business ire over blocking of U.S. tax treaties

"Citing privacy concerns about Americans' tax data, Paul, a Republican and libertarian, has single-handedly blocked Senate action on treaties with Hungary, Switzerland and Luxembourg that have been signed by authorities on both sides, but have been awaiting Senate review since 2011. Major U.S. businesses such as IBM Corp and Fluor Corp are lobbying for Senate action on tax treaties, according to Senate lobbying disclosure documents. The U.S. Treasury in 2012 began signing new tax pacts with countries as part of implementation of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a 2010 anti-tax-evasion law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul stirs business ire over blocking of U.S. tax treaties

Tax disclosure report reveals ‘minnows’ paid penalties of as much as 129x tax owed

"Thousands of middle-class immigrants and emigrants owed Uncle Sam less than three hundred dollars of back taxes per year, and for that the IRS put them through a nightmare involving tens of thousands of dollars of penalties and lawyers fees, and threats of criminal charges and jail time if they dared to exercise their right to opt out. This is not tax collection; this is asset confiscation, plain and simple. This of course won’t matter at all to Homelanders, who will continue screaming for traitorous emigrants to be stripped of all their assets and thrown into jail over two and three digit annual income tax deficiencies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTax disclosure report reveals ‘minnows’ paid penalties of as much as 129x tax owed

Better “Safe Haven” – Switzerland or Canada?

"Not only is Switzerland a nation with an impossible terrain for armies, it has an army (mainly reserves) of over a million soldiers ready for action at any time in a well-trained state of readiness. Its complex of bridges and tunnels, which link it with all the different parts of Europe and allow its own people to travel through the nation, is mined with explosives that will make it impassable should it be invaded. As a result its refuge for capital is 300 years old and its banking industry 5 times the size of its own GDP stretching all over the world. It has been tried and tested in war and in peace like no other nation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBetter “Safe Haven” – Switzerland or Canada?

Bloomberg News Writes About Americans ‘Paying Up’ Wherever They Reside…

"Why not renounce you say? Because, I never had a clue until now (at age 50) that USA even considered me a taxpayer. Why would I? It makes no sense to tax people who DO NOT LIVE in USA, never worked there, never earned income there, and never plan to live there. No other country does this. Since all the publicity surrounding FATCA, I discover I am in big trouble for not filing all these years, even though I have always paid taxes to the Canadian government. USA will not let me renounce unless I can prove 5 years of US tax compliance which requires paying 10′s of thousands in lawyers and accounting fees and risking PENALTIES for previous non-filing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBloomberg News Writes About Americans ‘Paying Up’ Wherever They Reside…

Lucerne orchestra axes concert with Depardieu over tax shopping

"The orchestra in the central Swiss city decided to scrap the May 25th concert over worries that the political waves caused by Depardieu’s tax avoidance activities would overshadow the performance. The film actor, one of the highest paid in France, recently took up official residence in Belgium and obtained Russian nationality to lower his income tax bill. Depardieu was criticized as 'rather pathetic' by French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault last December for his departure to Belgium, which sparked an angry response from the actor, who said he was handing back his French passport." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLucerne orchestra axes concert with Depardieu over tax shopping

Munich football boss’s Swiss account becomes German political football

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday distanced herself from Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, whose Swiss bank account and alleged tax dodge has poured fuel on a heated election-year debate. 'Many people in Germany are now disappointed in Uli Hoeness,' said Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert about the football club chief. The 61-year-old football legend voluntarily disclosed a Swiss bank account in January and was working closely with investigators on a tax evasion probe. At a Bayern Munich press conference, journalists were told that the event would be immediately scrapped if anyone asked about the tax issue." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMunich football boss’s Swiss account becomes German political football