statism

UK government publishes 30 tax cheats’ photos on Flickr

"Over 30 of the UK’s top tax cheats are being publicised on Flickr as part of HMRC’s current tax evasion campaign. Exchequer secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said, 'The government is committed to closing in on tax evaders. Collectively the 32 criminals have been sentenced to more than 150 years. Most people play by the rules and pay what they owe, but HMRC is cracking down on those who don’t. We hope that publishing these pictures will help get across that it always makes sense to declare all your income, and tax dodgers are simply storing up trouble for the future.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUK government publishes 30 tax cheats’ photos on Flickr

French budget minister under probe for tax fraud

"French Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac is under investigation for tax fraud after a media report that he had an undeclared UBS account in Geneva which he then moved to Asia, prosecutors said Tuesday. Cahuzac, who is in charge of battling tax evasion, has denied the report by the respected Mediapart investigative website that he had an undeclared Swiss account which he then transferred to Singapore." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench budget minister under probe for tax fraud

‘We can no longer afford to be American citizens’

"Well, you could always move to Canada, right? Think again. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) comes more fully into effect this year, and as The Globe and Mail's Barrie McKenna explains, 'FATCA will force the hand of many Americans in Canada, making them choose between compliance or giving up their U.S. citizenship.' Here's why." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘We can no longer afford to be American citizens’

France’s Socialists Generate A New Class Of Tax Exiles

"The message could not be clearer: The number of requests by French citizens to leave France are suddenly up by 400 to 500 percent. As far as my tax law business is concerned, we used to have three to five such cases a year, and we are already facing more than 20 this year. We are witnessing an explosive rise in tax exile since April 2012. Currently, however, we are seeing a lot of young entrepreneurs, not necessarily wealthy, but who would like to get wealthy and will not hand over their wealth to the government. The hopeful tax exiles are therefore getting younger: today they are aged between 35 and 50, and not between 55 and 70, as was seen before." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance’s Socialists Generate A New Class Of Tax Exiles

France’s Financial Transaction Tax Experiment Is Turning Into The Worst Kind Of Failure

"Investors who own French shares are selling them and taking positions on them through derivatives instruments such as contracts for difference, structured products and ETFs, according to a Paris-based lawyer. 'Most structured transactions remain outside the tax,' he says. 'It is due only if you have actually purchased the shares.' In other words, instead of curbing excessive speculation, the tax is simply forcing those speculative activities into darker, less-regulated corners of the market." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance’s Financial Transaction Tax Experiment Is Turning Into The Worst Kind Of Failure

Term limits for Congressional ethics investigators removed

"Congress has voted to keep intact an independent office that polices the behavior of House members. Lawmakers approved the Office of Congressional Ethics as part of a package of rules that will govern the new Congress, which convened Thursday. The terms of four of the six members of the office's board were set to expire this week — raising concerns among congressional watchdogs that the office would lose its investigative powers. The new rules drop term limits for board members, allowing top congressional leaders to reappoint current members." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTerm limits for Congressional ethics investigators removed

White House wins fight to keep drone killings of Americans secret

"A federal judge issued a 75-page ruling on Wednesday that declares that the US Justice Department does not have a legal obligation to explain the rationale behind killing Americans with targeted drone strikes. United States District Court Judge Colleen McMahon wrote in her finding this week that the Obama administration was largely in the right by rejecting Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times for materials pertaining to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to execute three US citizens abroad in late 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House wins fight to keep drone killings of Americans secret

Illinois Bill to Register Buyers of Gold and Silver Coins

"It had to come. It has been introduced in Illinois, the most anti-gun state in the USA. 'Creates the Precious Metal Purchasing Act. Provides that a person who is in the business of purchasing precious metal shall obtain a proof of ownership, create a record of the sale, and verify the identity of the seller. Provides that a person who is in the business of purchasing precious metal shall not pay for the precious metal in cash and shall >record the method of payment. Requires the purchaser to keep a record of the sale for one year or, if the purchase amount is over $500, for 5 years.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIllinois Bill to Register Buyers of Gold and Silver Coins

Passport Denials Long a Feature of U.S. Foreign Policy

"Neither national nor international law appears likely to stop the U.S. government’s concerted efforts to deny due process to those placed on the No-Fly List. While today’s mechanisms of travel control are far more sophisticated than those that Mrs. Shipley had at her disposal, the net effect is virtually identical: Both U.S. citizens and those wishing to visit the United States are denied a fundamental human right. Hopefully, you’ll never be placed on the No Fly List. But if you are, you’ll appreciate the utility of a second passport, 'just in case.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPassport Denials Long a Feature of U.S. Foreign Policy

U.S. Inflation Since 1775 And How It Took Off In 1933

"Yesterday at the American Economic Association's 2013 Annual Meeting, Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff offered a paper titled Shifting Mandates: The Federal Reserve’s First Centennial. The paper included a cool chart of inflation since 1775. The authors argue that inflation didn't take off until the U.S. went off the gold standard in 1933." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Inflation Since 1775 And How It Took Off In 1933