statism

German tax officials raid UBS clients’ homes

"German authorities have launched nationwide raids on suspected tax evaders in connection with a probe into several hundred Germany-based clients of Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS. The raids were ordered by state prosecutors in Bochum. They were acting on data purchased by the authorities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Bochum is situated. Opposition lawmakers in the German Bundesrat say the latest developments could further undermine the German government's attempt to secure a tax deal with Switzerland. The treaty is due to come into effect on January 1, but still needs to be ratified by both houses of parliament." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGerman tax officials raid UBS clients’ homes

Merkel booed as she praises austerity cuts in bailed-out Portugal

"Police deployed in large numbers in Lisbon, blocking off some streets and keeping at bay demonstrators who booed Merkel as she arrived at the presidential headquarters. Activists brandished banners reading: 'She wants to kill the Portuguese, she wants supremacy in Europe!'; 'Portugal is not Merkel's country'; 'Angela Merkel assassin'; and 'A European Germany yes, a German Europe no'. Demonstrators released black balloons in a sign of 'mourning' and covered several Lisbon monuments in black sheets to show their discontent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMerkel booed as she praises austerity cuts in bailed-out Portugal

Amazon.com gets $252 million tax bill from France

"The back taxes, penalties and interest that the French are seeking from Amazon relate to earnings in France for the years 2006-10 and 'the allocation of income between foreign jurisdictions.' Amazon reduces its exposure to corporation tax in France and most of the rest of Europe by reporting European sales through a Luxembourg-based holding company, taking advantage of the tiny Duchy’s relatively generous taxation of non-domestic earnings." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmazon.com gets $252 million tax bill from France

Chinese demand for robots increases as labor costs rise

"China’s growing affluence and family planning laws have had dramatic effects on its workforce. Improved medical care has enabled older generations to live longer, and the one-child policy has effectively capped the younger generation’s size. In 2000 there were six working-age citizens for each Chinese person aged 60 and up; 20 years from now, population experts predict, there will be only two. Young Chinese have no choice but to seek skilled, high-paying work to support their parents. They’re better educated than their forebears, and less interested in menial assembly-line labour. Robots may fill the jobs they’ve left behind." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese demand for robots increases as labor costs rise

The Voters Who Stayed Home

"Truth be told, most of today’s GOP does not believe Washington makes things worse. Republicans think the federal government — by confiscating, borrowing, and printing money — is the answer to every problem, rather than the source of most. That is why those running the party today, when they ran Washington during the Bush years, orchestrated an expansion of government size, scope, and spending that would still boggle the mind had Obama not come along. No matter what they say in campaigns, today’s Republicans are champions of massive, centralized government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Voters Who Stayed Home

Illinois Debt Takes Toll On Services, Study Finds

"For years, Illinois has racked up billions in public debt to plug budget holes, pay overdue bills, and put money into its mismanaged pension funds. And for the people who live there, this has resulted in decrepit commuter trains and buses, thousands of unsound bridges, 200 hazardous dams and one of the most inequitable public school systems in America. Illinois has the lowest credit rating of the 50 states and has America’s second-biggest public debt per capita, $9,624, including state and local borrowing. Only New York State’s debt is bigger, at $13,840 per capita." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIllinois Debt Takes Toll On Services, Study Finds

Did the Election Save ObamaCare?

"The morning after Tuesday’s vote, there is one thing every commentator agreed on. The election of Barack Obama guaranteed that his signature piece of legislation—health reform—can now go forward. Republicans are powerless to stop it. Yet there is something all these commentators are overlooking. There are six major flaws in ObamaCare. They are so serious that the Democrats are going to have to perform major surgery on the legislation in the next few years, even if all the Republicans do is stand by and twiddle their thumbs. Here is a brief overview." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDid the Election Save ObamaCare?

World anti-doping agency wants a larger budget from national governments

"In the wake of the Armstrong scandal, which saw the Texan stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life, anti-doping agencies had to work more closely with the pharmaceutical industry. One way that the industry had helped so far was by making available to WADA samples of certain medications not yet available to the wider public to help develop tests more quickly and effectively when they are adapted for illegal use in sport. Rogge, however, said that sport also needed to enlist the support of law enforcement agencies to fight against doping, given that it frequently had links to 'other forms of corruption'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWorld anti-doping agency wants a larger budget from national governments

Interpol elects French woman as first female president

"Ballestrazzi, 58, became a police commissioner in France in 1975 and was already vice-president for Europe on Interpol’s executive committee. French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, who attended the Interpol assembly earlier this week, said Ballestrazzi was 'a great police woman'. Valls said her experience with organised crime would serve her well in fighting drug trafficking, mafias from southern and eastern Europe as well as growing political violence that requires a coordinated international response." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInterpol elects French woman as first female president

Man arrested for posting image of burning poppy on Twitter

"Kent Police said in a statement that the man, from Aylesham, was detained last night on suspicion of making malicious telecommunications and that he was in custody awaiting interview. The force does not say whether the arrested man actually burned the poppy, or just posted the photo online. The arrest was met with incredulity on Twitter, where people mounted a fierce discussion over civil liberties." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan arrested for posting image of burning poppy on Twitter