Fugitive Tax-Slaves

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 →

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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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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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Tax Haven Reputation Plagues Planned EU Bailout of Cyprus

"The euro rescuers face a dilemma. On the one hand, they want to prevent the country from going bankrupt. On the other hand, they lack the support of a majority of member states for an aid program that would mostly benefit rich Russian tax fugitives. The tricky situation is prompting European leaders to do what they always do when a crisis comes to a head: play for time. Until now, someone who wanted a safe haven for his money could simply take a plane to Nicosia, because the country is an EU member and yet is lax when it comes to financial regulation, say German investigators." Continue reading →

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Yahoo, Dell Swell Netherlands’ $13 Trillion Tax Haven

"The Netherlands, in the heart of a continent better known for social welfare than corporate welfare, has emerged as one of the most important tax havens for multinational companies. Now, as a deficit-strapped Europe raises retirement ages and taxes on the working class, the Netherlands’ role as a $13 trillion relay station on the global tax-avoiding network is prompting a backlash. The Dutch Parliament is scheduled to debate the fairness of its tax system today. Lawmakers from several parties, including members of the country’s governing coalition, say they want to remove a stain on the nation’s reputation." Continue reading →

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Lithuania turns Google Street View on tax cheats

"Lithuanian tax authorities said Thursday they would use the Baltic state’s recently launched Google Street View platform to track tax cheats by identifying the real value of property holdings. 'It will help ascertain which property is ‘hiding’ under the entry recorded in the real-estate register and provide a preliminary assessment of whether the value corresponds to the declared value,' Lithuanian deputy state tax inspector Arturas Klerauskas told AFP. Google Street View was launched in Lithuania a week ago, after Google overcame initial reluctance on the part of the authorities that stemmed from privacy and security concerns." Continue reading →

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