Fugitive Tax-Slaves

Why people renounce US citizenship: A most Noble perspective

"Some of the reporting requirements defy any level of reasonable logic. A US citizen, stay-at-home mother for instance, who likely has no income and is signed onto her non-US citizen husband’s accounts, is required to report HIS bank account numbers, balances and so on. I doubt any US Homelander would be willing to do the same if living in the US, married to a foreigner with a government who demanded the same, or else be prepared to lose a considerable portion of savings, retirement plans, etc. Now FATCA promises to be even more punishing." Continue reading →

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Actor Gerard Depardieu ‘giving up French passport’ in tax controversy

"France’s leading actor Gerard Depardieu said on Sunday he was giving up his French passport after being 'insulted' by the prime minister calling him 'pathetic' for becoming a tax exile in Belgium. In an open letter to Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, the 63-year-old 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'Green Card' star said he had been treated unfairly after years of supporting France and paying millions of euros in taxes. Depardieu has joined some of France’s wealthiest business figures in Belgium following moves by President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government to tax annual incomes above one million euros ($1.3 million) at 75 percent." Continue reading →

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Here Are 15 Countries With No Income Taxes Whatsoever

"On the table in today’s political debate is the concept of raising taxes on some, or even all Americans (should the fiscal cliff kick in). If this bothers you, here are eleven countries that you would (hopefully) never, ever have to worry about paying an income tax in." Continue reading →

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Amazon’s billion-dollar tax shield

"By setting up in Luxembourg, and channelling sales through its units there, the world's biggest online retailer could minimise corporate taxes. It was a move with big financial consequences. Amazon's Luxembourg arrangements have deprived European governments of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax that it might otherwise have owed, as reported in European newspapers. But a Reuters examination of accounts filed by 25 Amazon units in six countries shows how they also allowed the company to avoid paying more tax in the United States, where the company is based." Continue reading →

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Google Revenues Sheltered in No-Tax Bermuda Soar to $10 Billion

"Google Inc. (GOOG) avoided about $2 billion in worldwide income taxes in 2011 by shifting $9.8 billion in revenues into a Bermuda shell company, almost double the total from three years before, filings show. By legally funneling profits from overseas subsidiaries into Bermuda, which doesn’t have a corporate income tax, Google cut its overall tax rate almost in half. The amount moved to Bermuda is equivalent to about 80 percent of Google’s total pretax profit in 2011. Governments in France, the U.K., Italy and Australia are probing Google’s tax avoidance as they seek to boost revenue during economic doldrums." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle Revenues Sheltered in No-Tax Bermuda Soar to $10 Billion

Virginia tells lies to trick emigrants into thinking they owe Virginia state tax

"As if federal citizenship-based taxation wasn’t bad enough, on the recently updated website of the Virginia Department of Taxation, we see a blatant attempt to scare people born in Virginia into paying taxes they don’t owe, by reiterating the falsehood that an American citizen by definition must be domiciled in one of the fifty states — since of course as we all know, no one ever checks out from the Greatest Country on Earth™ besides a few rich ingrates fleeing the estate tax. My advice? Stay as far away from Virginia as possible. And I thought California was bad …" Continue reading →

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Political Risk – The “Kill Switch” On Your Bank Account

"If you do anything the authorities don’t like - whether it’s speaking out against corruption, not filing your taxes correctly, having a Ron Paul bumper sticker, peacefully ingesting a non-approved substance, or just generally not being an obedient serf - you could find out the hard way that most governments are all too eager to exercise the “kill switch” that they hold over the assets within their reach. You could find your business or bank account shut down with the flip of a switch. In order to minimize your political risk and maximize your freedom, it is best to have your savings in one country, your citizenship in another, and your physical self in a third country." Continue reading →

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IRS looking at Lindsay Lohan’s cash appearance payments

"The night she was arrested outside Club Avenue, Lohan was reportedly searching for her sister’s purse because it contained $10,000 in cash. On Monday, it was revealed that the troubled actress had all of her bank accounts seized by the IRS because she owed in excess of $200,000. And while Lohan remains in serious trouble with the state of California, given that last week charges were filed against her for lying to police the same day she was arrested on assault charges in New York City, we’re told her IRS problems could ultimately prove to be Lohan's undoing." Continue reading →

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Despite Tax Increase, California State Revenues in Freefall

"California State Controller John Chiang has announced that total state revenue for the month of November 2012 fell $806.8 million, or 10.8%, below budget. Voters thought they could hammer 'the rich' by passing Proposition 30 to create the highest state income tax in the nation. But it now appears that high income earners have already 'voted with their feet' by moving themselves and their businesses out of state, resulting in over $1 billion shortfall in corporate and income taxes last month and the beginning of a new financial crisis." Continue reading →

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UK tax hitmen to track your spending

"Credit reference agencies will cross-check details of the income people declare on their tax returns against their spending patterns to identify 'high' and 'medium' risks of both illegal and legal tax avoidance. About two million people are expected to be scrutinised under the programme, which may lead to privacy concerns. Treasury sources said that 'hundreds of millions' are expected to be raised from the greater use of third-party data, such as that supplied by credit reference agencies. Information will also be routinely shared between the British and American authorities." Continue reading →

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