Sudden Outbreak of Common Sense

Rick Perry urges Californians to relocate to Texas

"In a new radio ad, the Republican governor urges California businesses to relocate to Texas to avoid high tax rates and regulations. The ad will air in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Inland Empire and San Diego. 'Building a business is tough, but I hear building a business in California is next to impossible,' Perry says in the ad. 'This is Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and I have a message for California businesses: come check out Texas. There are plenty of reasons Texas has been named the best state for doing business for eight years running.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRick Perry urges Californians to relocate to Texas

Italy’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

"Former premier Silvio Berlusconi vowed Sunday to refund the money Italians have had to fork out for an unpopular property tax if his coalition wins this month’s elections. Speaking at a rally in Milan, Berlusconi vowed to scrap the levy and refund the taxes paid on primary residences in 2012 'as compensation for an erroneous decision by the state' — to the tune of some four billion euros ($5.5 billion). 'One should never touch the primary residence, which is the pillar on which families build,' he said, asserting that the reintroduction of the tax had caused property values to plummet 'by five to 20 percent', and had led to a drop in home sales and construction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

Two-thirds of French people agree with labour minister’s statement that country is ‘totally bankrupt’

"Michel Sapin made the gaffe in a radio interview, which left French President Francois Hollande and other ministers racing to undo the potential damage to the country's reputation as a solid economy for investors. It came as several high profile individuals, including the actor Gérard Depardieu, have left the country to avoid punitive taxes. Last week it transpired that Bernard Arnault, France's richest man, had transferred his entire fortune to Belgium, where he hopes to gain citizenship. France last balanced its budget in 1973. State spending accounts for almost 57 per cent of gross domestic product while public debt has now reached 91 per cent of GDP." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwo-thirds of French people agree with labour minister’s statement that country is ‘totally bankrupt’

Iceland Kicked Out FBI Agents Who Flew in Unannounced to Investigate WikiLeaks Operations in the Country

"According to the RUV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, FBI agents landed in Reykjavík in August 2011 without prior notification in an attempt to investigate WikiLeaks operations within the country. However, their plan was interupted when Home Secretary Ögmundur Jónasson learned about the FBI's visit and sent them packing. The Icelandic government then formally protested the FBI's activities with U.S. authorities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIceland Kicked Out FBI Agents Who Flew in Unannounced to Investigate WikiLeaks Operations in the Country

Republican lawmaker’s bill mandates NRA gun training for Missouri first graders

"State Sen. Dan Brown on Tuesday told the Senate General Laws Committee that his bill bringing the NRA’s Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program to every elementary school was an effort to teach children how to react if they encounter an unsecured firearm. Brown had first introduced the bill one day before 20 students were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Some Missouri schools already use the NRA program, but Brown aims to make it a universal requirement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRepublican lawmaker’s bill mandates NRA gun training for Missouri first graders

Chileans will be able to incorporate companies in one day

"Chileans will now be able to create and register a new company in one day, Start-Up Chile reports on its blog. This is the result of a new law voted this week by the Chilean Senate, and which should come into effect by May. It’s not just about speed, but also about convenience and affordability, with the implementation of a free one-stop online incorporation system. Company creation aside, it also covers structural changes, mergers and closures." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChileans will be able to incorporate companies in one day

Liberty Is Making the World Richer. You’re Included.

"In China and India, the pain has been minimal. That is because the economic effects of the earlier systems created such devastation. Think of the phrase, 'I've been down so long, it looks like up to me.' Think of China today and China in 1973 under Mao. The positive change has been greater than any seen in recorded history, and on a scale that was inconceivable in 1980. Every month, urban living space sufficient to house the population of Philadelphia gets built: 1.5 million people. When we are talking China and India, we are talking something in the range of 35% of the world's population moving out of either Communism or Fabian Socialism." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLiberty Is Making the World Richer. You’re Included.

Financial Times: Other Countries Should Follow Germany’s Gold Repatriation Lead

"The Bundesbank's move is important: not for what it says about Germany's faith in French or American vaults; nor for the cost of shifting 674 tonnes of gold; but because it is a major victory for transparency in the gold market. Central banks are notoriously secretive about their gold-trading activities. Most report, on a monthly basis, their gold reserves to the International Monetary Fund. But these data fall a long way short of full transparency. They tell us nothing about derivative positions in the gold market -- for example, gold loans, agreements for future sales, or options transactions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFinancial Times: Other Countries Should Follow Germany’s Gold Repatriation Lead

Federal Judge Shoots Down IRS Attempt To Regulate All Paid Tax Preparers

"In 2010, the IRS decided to require all paid preparers to register with it and those who weren’t otherwise subject to national standards to pass a minimum competency test. Registration began in 2011 and preparers were supposed to pass the test by the end of this year. But on Friday, in a surprise ruling, Washington D.C. Federal District Court Judge James E. Boasberg blocked the IRS from implementing the new requirements, finding the agency 'unambiguously' lacked authority from Congress to regulate those who simply prepare returns and don’t otherwise 'practice' before the IRS by, for example, representing a taxpayer in an audit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Judge Shoots Down IRS Attempt To Regulate All Paid Tax Preparers

Dealers hijack Seattle’s gun buyback with makeshift gun show

"Following the mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut last month, Seattle raised $120,000 to hold the first gun buyback effort in 20 years at a downtown parking lot on Saturday. The plan was to trade gift cards for guns that would later be destroyed, but a number of dealers set up a mini-gun show just a block away in a effort to buy up the guns and keep them in circulation. 'I pay cash, I don’t give Amazon gift cards,' one dealer told a gun seller in video captured by KING. 'It’s a historical firearm, I would hate to see it get destroyed,' a buyer remarked to another gun owner. 'I’ll give you $100 cash for it.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDealers hijack Seattle’s gun buyback with makeshift gun show