Fugitive Tax-Slaves

Marc Faber: What Happened In Cyprus Will Happen Everywhere

"'It will happen everywhere in the world, in Western democracies,' Faber said. 'I think you have to be prepared to lose 20 to 30%. I think you're lucky if you don't lose your life.' 'If you look at what happened in Cyprus, basically people with money will lose part of their wealth, either through expropriation or higher taxation. The problem is that 92% of financial wealth is owned by 5% of the population. The majority of people don't benefit from a rise in the stock market. They are being hurt by a rising cost of living and we all know that the real incomes of median households has been going down for the last few years,' he said." Continue reading →

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Americans fall out of favour with Swiss banks

"Already battle-scarred from the hard lessons of recent years, Swiss banks are taking a very cautious approach when it comes to the introduction of FATCA. The US law requires banks around the world to report information on American account holders to Uncle Sam. There are also concerns that FATCA’s collateral damage could extend beyond the home front into the business world. If an American owns more than 10 percent of a company, it is reportable to the IRS. The worry is that this rule may make it harder for US entrepreneurs to find business and banking partners, shutting them out of attractive investment opportunities." Continue reading →

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Analyst: All Of My Clients Think There’s A Bitcoin Bubble, Despite ‘Perfect Storm’

"Where is all of the momentum behind the Bitcoin trade coming from? 1. An increasingly tech-savvy base of savers all around the world don’t think it is any stranger to trust an open-source piece of software than it is to put your money in a commercial bank. 2. Lots of people around the world are uncomfortable with central bank policies, which seem to give money away to a global banking system which remains fundamentally broken. 3. Worries over heavy deposit taxes in various European countries (Spain, Greece, and even Italy), courtesy of the resolution to the Cypriot banking crisis 4. Some clarification of U.S. regulations, bringing Bitcoin long-needed legitimacy..." Continue reading →

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France’s President Hollande finds loophole to impose 75% tax on the rich

"The 75% super-tax on the mega-rich, which was rejected by France's constitutional court might be imposed anyway. French President Francois Hollande suggests laying the burden on businesses rather than on individuals. In the interview with France 2 television President Hollande said he has revised his original plan to lay the massive tax on individuals earning above €1 million, which has been ruled 'unfair' and rejected by the Constitutional Court and later the State Councils, leaving the President embarrassed. Hollande will now propose to tax employers paying their workers more than €1 million. The measure, if approved, will last for two years." Continue reading →

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IRS Reneges on Offshore Asset Voluntary Disclosure Deals

"If you took advantage of one of the three amnesty programs and were accepted, the IRS promised only to hit you with the back taxes, various penalties and interest. The good news was that you would escape criminal charges and time in prison. You now have an empty bank account, but at least you also have the peace of mind that the IRS won’t be knocking at your door, right? Wrong. Earlier this month, the IRS sent faxes to tax attorneys across the country telling them that clients who it had previously been accepted in the current voluntary disclosure program, the 'Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative' (OVDI) are now mysteriously 'disqualified.'" Continue reading →

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Are You A Good Candidate For Expatriation?

"I’ve discovered the motivations for our expatriation clients to take this step are more nuanced than mere tax avoidance. A case in point is the overwhelming compliance burden U.S. taxpayers living overseas face. The information reporting regime they face is complex, overlapping, and constantly evolving. Even minor violations are subject to draconian penalties. What’s more, U.S. laws force foreign banks and other financial institutions to enforce U.S. tax and reporting rules with respect to their U.S. clients. In many cases, it’s easier for foreign banks to 'fire' U.S. clients than deal with this risk." Continue reading →

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Internationalization and the Libertarian Principle

"A quiet exodus has begun. Increasingly, citizens of the troubled First World are investigating the possibility of expatriating to more favourable destinations. At present, a 'flood' has not occurred into any jurisdiction; however, the numbers are unquestionably on the rise in quite a few countries. Many of these people come from those countries that, until recently, were considered to be the best places to be. Of greater interest than the actual percentages, however, is the description of those expatriating." Continue reading →

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Swiss expats unhappy with FATCA deal

"Swiss citizens who live abroad have made their displeasure with their home country known regarding its planned implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The U.S. law has been agreed to by Switzerland and is set to go into effect in 2014. Some 76,000 Swiss citizens who currently reside in the U.S. are being told they cannot hold Swiss bank accounts, or are now being charged higher fees, according to the OSA." Continue reading →

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French minister in charge of combating tax avoidance resigns over Swiss bank account

"Jérôme Cahuzac, French budget minister, resigned on Tuesday night following the opening of a judicial inquiry into a secret Swiss bank account allegedly held in his name but which he has repeatedly denied having. His resignation was announced by the Elysée Palace following weeks of mounting pressure on the Socialist politician. The move by prosecutors to open a full investigation into the Swiss UBS bank account he allegedly used to hide assets from the tax authorities, made Cahuzac's position untenable and deeply embarrassing for the Socialist government as he was the minister in charge of combating tax avoidance." Continue reading →

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Renouncing Your U.S. Citizenship: Is Divorcing Uncle Sam Right For You?

"The billionaire co-founder of Facebook, the only American member of Monty Python, a Civil Rights Leader with a PhD from Harvard, the founder of Carnival Cruise Lines and owner of the Miami Heat NBA franchise, and arguably the best chess mind to ever live have more in common than you might think. So what do Eduardo Saverin, Terry Gilliam, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ted Arison, Bobby Fischer and thousands of U.S. citizens living in Canada have in common? The answer is all five have renounced their U.S. citizenship." Continue reading →

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