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noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
(snip)"The UK has resumed day-to-day control of the Turks and Caicos islands amid ongoing allegations of widespread corruption in the British overseas territory, the Foreign Office said tonight.
Local government in the islands, which lie 500 miles south-east of Florida in the Atlantic, will be suspended for up to two years while their affairs are put back in "good order", according to the FCO.
The move went ahead after a legal challenge by former premier Michael Misick failed in the court of appeal in London earlier this week. He resigned in March but, along with other senior officials, continues to deny accusations of corruption highlighted by a parliamentary committee and commission of enquiry last year.
Misick has been accused of building a multimillion-dollar fortune financed from questionable dealings that gave property developers access to crown-owned land."(snip) from
^^^ this action now exposes US holders of Turks & Caicos based bank accounts to full IRS information sharing under the US-UK anti-money laundering treaty !
plus an update regarding Switzerland / UBS ...
... putting all of the pieces together, it would appear that a major effort is underway to systematically shut down 'offshore' tax shelters for merely 'rich' Americans. Of course, Uber-Rich Americans will still have access to 'offshore' tax shelters like Monaco that merely 'rich' Americans cannot afford to take advantage of.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Hopefully, they'll get to the Uber-Rich soon too.
I say pay your fucking taxes like the rest of us.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Wealthy people are only allowed to maintain their wealth through the good graces of the governments that created the environment to produce wealth in the first place.
I know that this appears to be a chicken or the egg kind of argument, but it really isn't. Without the basic infrastructure needed to maintain a successful business (including a well trained work force) and the other side is the support of a progressive tax system to maintain that infrastructure, there wouldn't be any wealth at all.
Too often the very wealthy seem to think that the system is beholden to them as the generators of wealth. But history has shown that once that attitude has been adopted, the universe works very hard at proving otherwise.;)
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
^^^ well in the 'real world' there is a difference between the 'rich' and the 'very wealthy' ! In essence, this US IRS effort is targeted at shutting down 'offshore' tax shelters for the merely 'rich' ...
(snip)"While banking with UBS in the Cayman Islands, McCarthy’s bankers told him, “a lot of United States’ clients don’t report their income and just take it off the top,” according to his plea agreement.
Swiss Lawyers
McCarthy skimmed money from his U.S. business into a domestic bank account in 2003, and with the help of UBS representatives and his Swiss lawyers, transferred that money into his COGS account in Switzerland, according to the plea agreement.
McCarthy, a resident of Malibu, California, met with UBS bankers and his Swiss lawyers over the next five years to discuss UBS accounts, the agreement said. His Swiss lawyer advised him to set up a Liechtenstein foundation or a Panamanian or Hong Kong corporation to “create an extra layer of privacy” and help hide his identity, according to the plea agreement.
As recently as last year, former UBS employees, together with McCarthy’s Swiss lawyer, helped McCarthy move his funds from UBS to another, unnamed Swiss bank in an effort to continue to conceal his accounts from U.S. authorities, according to the plea agreement.
As part of the plea, McCarthy agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and will pay a penalty totaling 50 percent of the highest amount of his COGS account since 2003, prosecutors said in yesterday’s statement."(snip) from
What we're talking about here is a 'small businessman' who managed to set aside a few million dollars of business profits in 'offshore' accounts thus (temporarily it seems) avoiding the payment of a couple of million dollars in taxes to the IRS. In other words, this guy is an 'upstart' or 'nouveau riche'.
But what we're NOT talking about here is cracking down on the 'truly rich', because their hundreds of millions ( or billions ) of dollars are still safely stashed in 'qualified investor' accounts in Monaco or Dubai, still stashed in 'foundations' and 'trusts' and 'tax favored US investments ( i.e. ethanol, wind farms, etc). In other words, 'old money' or 'the ruling elite'.
The likely result of this most recent IRS enforcement effort will be to create fear in the minds of similar successful small business people that they will indeed have to pay something much nearer to the 'official' published tax rates than they were actually paying in the past. This will undoubtedly prompt a shift in thinking / tax planning, probably resulting in a major increase in the amount of future money that will flow to municipal bonds and other 'tax favored' US investments. Such a shift won't actually result in the collection of more tax revenues ( since such investments are tax exempt ), but it WILL stop money from flowing out of the country and it WILL force money to flow to places where the US government WANTS it to flow.
Quote:
Hopefully, they'll get to the Uber-Rich soon too.
Not likely ! The 'tin foil hat' crowd would tell you that it is the 'uber-rich' who, via their political contributions and media influence, decide which politicians wind up in power. And many US politicians are 'uber-rich' themselves !
~
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
also this latest ...
(snip)"Thanks to unprecedented pressure and threats aimed at foreign banks by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Americans, both at home and abroad, are being blocked from being able to have bank or investment accounts in Swiss banks—and this IRS inspired anti-American movement may spread to other countries.
In the last few months, tens of thousands of Americans’ offshore accounts have been shut down and new account requests denied.
It started in Switzerland, where resident U.S. citizens were told their Swiss bank accounts would be closed. Among the banks imposing this “Yankee Go Home” policy are the two largest Swiss banks, UBS and Credit Suisse. HSBC and even small private banks, like Mirabaud & Cie. have adopted this policy. UBS alone closed a reported 52,000 U.S. accounts.
More than 5 million Americans live abroad, including about 30,000 in Switzerland. A large number of Americans in both groups could be hurt if this “no American bank accounts” movement spreads. Although at first, terminations mostly involved investment accounts, American expatriates fear that closures of personal operating accounts for individuals and U.S. business accounts may be next.
UBS decided to end offshore banking with U.S. clients last July after admitting that bank officials assisted an unknown number of American clients to evade U.S. taxes. Now UBS is embroiled in a bitter court case with the IRS that threatens the future of the Swiss banking secrecy law. [ now settled more or less in favor of the IRS - sic ]
Other Swiss banks, fearing UBS-like legal problems and IRS red tape are adopting a safety-first attitude, abandoning U.S. clients. The banks justifiably feel threatened by an IRS demand that UBS surrender the names of its 52,000 American accounts. The IRS is also threatening to sue other Swiss banks for U.S. client names.
“More banks are publicly announcing that they don’t want American clients anymore. The banks are simply not willing to take such risks and are eliminating American clients,” says Andy Sundberg of the Geneva-based group, American Citizens Abroad. “The U.S. administration has decided that it is justified to turn its citizens into toxic clients,” he claims.
This bizarre international banking disruption results from the Obama administration’s ravenous hunger for more tax collections to finance its plans to remake the U.S.
The stick the IRS is using is the little known IRS “qualified intermediary” (QI) program. Established in 2001, more than 7,000 foreign banks participate in the QI program. They must because without IRS-QI approval the foreign banks can be cut off from access to the U.S. financial and banking systems (as some few already have), a ruinous possibility.
Currently the QI system allows participating IRS-approved banks to have U.S. clients without disclosing their names to the IRS. Until now the IRS has relied on the banks promise to identify U.S. clients, withhold a 30% tax on U.S. securities in their accounts, and send taxes owed to the IRS. But the IRS claims offshore banks and their U.S. clients have become tax cheats, each year evading at least $15 billion in taxes owed under the QI system.
Under new QI rules proposed to take effect in 2011, foreign banks must become IRS spies, actively investigating and reporting to the IRS, not only information on individual U.S. clients, but also on legal entities (trusts, corporations, foundations) that Americans control as beneficial owners. U.S. persons are required by law to report all offshore accounts on annual IRS Form 1040, but the IRS claims thousands fail to do so.
Adding to the woes of offshore banks and their American clients, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is trying to force offshore banks that give investment advice to Americans, even if rendered outside the U.S., to register with the SEC, a complex and costly process.
If you have a current bank or investment account in a foreign country, ask your bank what its policies are and how they may affect you. You may need to make other banking plans."(snip)
from
^^^ in other words, even when the IRS is not able to 'force' foreign banks to hand over financial information regarding US account holders / clients, they are able to discourage foreign banks from accepting new US clients - as well as encourage foreign banks to 'dump' existing US clients - and especially US clients whose balances are towards the lower end of the scale (i.e. single millions rather than hundreds of millions or billions).
The reason of course is that tougher enforcement of existing rules, and future threat of new rules, will vastly increase foreign banks' exposure to possible US / IRS charges ( with huge associated problems for any foreign bank also doing business in the USA ). To 'insulate' themselves, foreign banks must keep meticulous records in regard to US client activities - which involves a major new cost to the foreign banks. Thus many foreign banks are simply choosing to 'cut loose' US clients, or at least to 'cut loose' US clients with balances under $10 million ( or whatever ), where the additional costs and risks to the foreign bank cannot be justified by profits from US client accounts.
So from a 'real world' standpoint, if you are an American still living in America with $10 million or less to deposit / invest, your ability to open a new secret 'offshore' bank account is now approaching zero. If you are an American still living in America with $10 million or less already deposited / invested in a secret 'offshore' bank, your ability to continue using that secret 'offshore' bank to avoid IRS reporting / taxes is approaching zero.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
WAAAH! My hearts breaks for greedy, wealthy American criminals no longer able to hide huge amounts of cash from my government, removing that money from our economy, and forcing honest citizens to potentially pay more taxes to make up the shortfall.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
^^^ again, uber-wealthy Americans WILL continue to be able to hide huge amounts of cash from the gov't - since they have enough money and influence to make use of the impregnable financial secrecy of Monaco, Dubai etc. It is only the moderately wealthy Americans, who can't afford to buy a $1 million dual citizenship or opening of a $100 million 'qualified investor' account, and who have traditionally made use of the less esoteric financial institutions in Switzerland, the Cayman Islands etc., who are finding the door slamming shut.
I agree that forcing the 'slightly' rich to pay appropriate taxes is the 'right' thing to do. However, this will not be free of consequences i.e. less small business investment, fewer new jobs created etc.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Yeah by god why should they keep the money they busted their ass to earn. Fuk em i say take it all. Why dont we just make the direct deposit straight into the goverment that gives it to people that do chit for themselves. Jesus i am so sick of people wanting more of what you got....
Get a god damn job and leave people alone
Maybe if we were a little more fair this wouldnt happen
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Paris
Wealthy people are only allowed to maintain their wealth through the good graces of the governments that created the environment to produce wealth in the first place.
I know that this appears to be a chicken or the egg kind of argument, but it really isn't. Without the basic infrastructure needed to maintain a successful business (including a well trained work force) and the other side is the support of a progressive tax system to maintain that infrastructure, there wouldn't be any wealth at all.
Too often the very wealthy seem to think that the system is beholden to them as the generators of wealth. But history has shown that once that attitude has been adopted, the universe works very hard at proving otherwise.;)
On the face of it, I whole hardheartedly agree with your statement.
The question comes to, what do those taxes really pay for? The new stadium some rich tycoon with a team blackmails the local government to pay for? Subsidies to corporations? Big time payouts to execs of banks that are effectively bankrupt? Bridges to no where? Support for the Saudi royal family who subjugates their XX chromosome citizens?
The list goes on and on. We cannot afford this stuff as it is. I mean, it goes far beyond the "Welfare Queen" of the 80's (twenty years ago now!)
Am I saying the rich are refusing to pay because of these things? Probably fewer than I would like to think. But the middle class is certainly paying for it too, and that ain't right.
Just a little something to chew on in all this debate. It is far more complex than "eat the rich" or "beat the poor."
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
In Switzerland tax fraud is a crime but tax evasion is not. However, the Swiss have agreed to comply with various International banking and money laundering treaties and have agreed to disclose the identities of bank depositors to the IRS and Britain's Inland Revenue.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Just heard that the government is building cases against 150 people and just received information on over 5,000 more.
Perhaps the plan is to imprison the rich and seize their assets. That should last for about 90 days of federal spending. LOL
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
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Just heard that the government is building cases against 150 people and just received information on over 5,000 more.
To be totally accurate, the gov't is building CRIMINAL cases against 150 Americans whose UBS accounts were disclosed to the IRS under the recent settlement.
(snip)"In the court filing, prosecutors said evidence provided by Birkenfeld had been critical in obtaining information from UBS that directly led to the investigations into the more than 150 Americans "who are believed to have concealed income and assets at UBS" from U.S. tax authorities.
Citing the settlement, due to be finalized on Wednesday, the filing said: "It is expected that ... UBS will produce the identities and account information of additional UBS customers who are believed to have violated United States law."
A U.S. legal source told Reuters on Monday that UBS was expected to give U.S. authorities the names of about 5,000 more Americans suspected of using the Swiss bank to evade taxes."(snip)
The presumably obvious purpose of these supposed criminal charges is to 'scare' a certain number of 'rich' Americans into voluntarily disclosing the existance of their offshore accounts, and voluntarily paying back taxes plus penalties and interest, in order to avoid the possibility that THEY will wind up being 'ratted out' by their offshore bank and prosecuted next !
But again, this does not affect the 'uber-rich' Americans who have squirreled away their billions in impregnable bank secrecy countries like Monaco and Dubai. It only affects the merely 'rich' who opened offshore accounts in Switzerland, caribbean islands, UK channel islands etc. 'on the cheap'. So yes the millionaires will wind up having to pay some taxes. But the billionaires will escape as usual !
I would also reiterate that these IRS actions against US millionaires will undoubtedly prompt a change in investment strategy for other US millionaires. Instead of investing in things which produce large amounts of ordinary income ( which can no longer be hidden offshore ) i.e. stock shares, small businesses etc. the US millionaires will move their investment strategy towards tax avoidance. This will mean the purchase of more high yield municipal bonds from states like California and New York ( giving state politicians yet more money to spend ), more tax favored alternative energy investments ( for the production tax credits ) etc. But it will also mean less 'capital' for mainstream US businesses large and small, as well as fewer new jobs, as well as lower business profits (as mainstream US businesses will face higher interest rates to borrow and higher dividend rates to attract stock investors).
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
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Originally Posted by
Melonie
To be totally accurate, the gov't is building CRIMINAL cases against 150 Americans whose UBS accounts were disclosed to the IRS under the recent settlement.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNe...rpc=22&sp=true
(snip)"In the court filing, prosecutors said evidence provided by Birkenfeld had been critical in obtaining information from UBS that directly led to the investigations into the more than 150 Americans "who are believed to have concealed income and assets at UBS" from U.S. tax authorities.
Citing the settlement, due to be finalized on Wednesday, the filing said: "It is expected that ... UBS will produce the identities and account information of additional UBS customers who are believed to have violated United States law."
A U.S. legal source told Reuters on Monday that UBS was expected to give U.S. authorities the names of about 5,000 more Americans suspected of using the Swiss bank to evade taxes."(snip)
The presumably obvious purpose of these supposed criminal charges is to 'scare' a certain number of 'rich' Americans into voluntarily disclosing the existance of their offshore accounts, and voluntarily paying back taxes plus penalties and interest, in order to avoid the possibility that THEY will wind up being 'ratted out' by their offshore bank and prosecuted next !
But again, this does not affect the 'uber-rich' Americans who have squirreled away their billions in impregnable bank secrecy countries like Monaco and Dubai. It only affects the merely 'rich' who opened offshore accounts in Switzerland, caribbean islands, UK channel islands etc. 'on the cheap'. So yes the millionaires will wind up having to pay some taxes. But the billionaires will escape as usual !
I would also reiterate that these IRS actions against US millionaires will undoubtedly prompt a change in investment strategy for other US millionaires. Instead of investing in things which produce large amounts of ordinary income ( which can no longer be hidden offshore ) i.e. stock shares, small businesses etc. the US millionaires will move their investment strategy towards tax avoidance. This will mean the purchase of more high yield municipal bonds from states like California and New York ( giving state politicians yet more money to spend ), more tax favored alternative energy investments ( for the production tax credits ) etc. But it will also mean less 'capital' for mainstream US businesses large and small, as well as fewer new jobs, as well as lower business profits (as mainstream US businesses will face higher interest rates to borrow and higher dividend rates to attract stock investors).
It's been reported that the IRS is dangling the carrot of reduced penalties and no criminal prosecution for any American who voluntarily comes forward and pays their back taxes. Part of that MIGHT have to do with Swiss law which still offers some protections and due process to account holders.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
^^^ yes this is exactly what's happening ... the IRS has created an 'amnesty' period ( which ends in the middle of September, if I remember the Bloomberg TV interview correctly ) during which Americans who voluntarily file the necessary 'offshore account' disclosure forms with the US State Dep't and who voluntarily agree to pay back taxes to the IRS (with 'standard' IRS penalties and interest) on their 'offshore account' earnings are guaranteed protection against future civil and criminal prosecution / punitive fines / potential jail time. The tax attorney who was interviewed by Bloomberg indicated that about 60% of his 'mere millionaire' clients with undeclared offshore accounts / earnings were likely to opt for the voluntary disclosure and voluntary payment of back taxes on their 'offshore' income to limit their future risk. However, the tax attorney also indicated that about 40% of his clients would elect to 'take their chances' on future IRS success with offshore investigations in order to avoid having to cut a HUGE check to the IRS right now.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
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Originally Posted by
stressed
Yeah by god why should they keep the money they busted their ass to earn. Fuk em i say take it all. Why dont we just make the direct deposit straight into the goverment that gives it to people that do chit for themselves. Jesus i am so sick of people wanting more of what you got....
Get a god damn job and leave people alone
Maybe if we were a little more fair this wouldnt happen
As far as I know, your tax regime there in the U.S. is fair and progressive. These people just don't want to pay. It should make you angry that they leave honest people like you holding the bag. Don't make weak excuses for the bastards.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stressed
Yeah by god why should they keep the money they busted their ass to earn. Fuk em i say take it all. Why dont we just make the direct deposit straight into the goverment that gives it to people that do chit for themselves. Jesus i am so sick of people wanting more of what you got....
So if I were to chisel you out of money over some finance deal and hide it from the government and you, or if I were to take money "off the top" (squirrrel away) from my business income income to hide it from being taxed so that you and other tacxpayers would have to chip in for my tax share, which I did not pay, this would be an OK position for you? Because that's what they're trying to fix.
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Originally Posted by
stressed
Get a god damn job and leave people alone
It has nothing to do with poverty. In fact the peple doing this investigative project do have jobs. Government does things for us all and we all ought to chip in and pay for it under laws we all have to obey. In fact those who dnt obey the laws are lkely to be rich enough to have accts and lawyers advising them how to launder/hide it.
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Originally Posted by
stressed
Maybe if we were a little more fair this wouldnt happen
The fairness is we live under the same tax laws, except for those who work at concealing taxable income.
Now do you get it?
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
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Originally Posted by
Melonie
...The tax attorney who was interviewed by Bloomberg indicated that about 60% of his 'mere millionaire' clients with undeclared offshore accounts / earnings were likely to opt for the voluntary disclosure and voluntary payment of back taxes on their 'offshore' income to limit their future risk. However, the tax attorney also indicated that about 40% of his clients would elect to 'take their chances' on future IRS success with offshore investigations in order to avoid having to cut a HUGE check to the IRS right now.
I'm voting for the 60% who propose to come clean. The others can go to Hell, and good chances they will too.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
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So if I were to chisel you out of money over some finance deal and hide it from the government and you, or if I were to take money "off the top" (squirrrel away) from my business income income to hide it from being taxed so that you and other tacxpayers would have to chip in for my tax share, which I did not pay, this would be an OK position for you?
This is a 'straw man' argument. Many would tell you that the REAL problem is that aggregate taxes + regulatory compliance costs + mandated benefit costs on small business are already so high that their ability to remain profitable / remain in business / keep writing employee paychecks is already in question ... and that their use of 'offshore' and other tax shelters as standard operating procedure was already 'baked into the cake'. Thus real enforcement of published tax rates on small business owners is likely to push many small businesses into the abyss. This is not a good situation in an American economy which is heavily driven by service industries and where the majority of ( non-government related ) new job creation is the result of small business activities.
In the final analysis, enforced high US tax rates on the 'ordinary' income of small business owners favors large public corporations, favors unionized workers of large public companies, etc. Enforced high US tax rates on 'offshore' earnings will result in a one time windfall in tax revenues ... followed by a permanent decline in tax revenues. As has historically been the case, the 'rich' people will respond to enforced high US tax rates on 'ordinary income' by shifting to sources of tax free income and tax favored investments instead of busting their asses and taking personal risk of bankruptcy with small businesses etc.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
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Originally Posted by
Melonie
This is a 'straw man' argument. Many would tell you that the REAL problem is that aggregate taxes + regulatory compliance costs + mandated benefit costs on small business are already so high that their ability to remain profitable / remain in business / keep writing employee paychecks is already in question ... and that their use of 'offshore' and other tax shelters as standard operating procedure was already 'baked into the cake'. Thus real enforcement of published tax rates on small business owners is likely to push many small businesses into the abyss. This is not a good situation in an American economy which is heavily driven by service industries and where the majority of ( non-government related ) new job creation is the result of small business activities.
In the final analysis, enforced high US tax rates on the 'ordinary' income of small business owners favors large public corporations, favors unionized workers of large public companies, etc. Enforced high US tax rates on 'offshore' earnings will result in a one time windfall in tax revenues ... followed by a permanent decline in tax revenues. As has historically been the case, the 'rich' people will respond to enforced high US tax rates on 'ordinary income' by shifting to sources of tax free income and tax favored investments instead of busting their asses and taking personal risk of bankruptcy with small businesses etc.
Wait a minute. I'm sorry Melonie but afaic these off-shore accounts are driven by nothing more than irresponsible greed; not confiscatory tax rates. I have a small business and I pay ALL my taxes- Federal, State and City. It's no fun. I don't enjoy it, but after taxes I am still able to live well. Not lavishly, but a lot more comfortably than most Americans.
What the FUTURE holds is the REAL question afaic.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Melonie
This is a 'straw man' argument. Many would tell you that the REAL problem is that aggregate taxes + regulatory compliance costs + mandated benefit costs on small business are already so high that their ability to remain profitable / remain in business / keep writing employee paychecks is already in question ... and that their use of 'offshore' and other tax shelters as standard operating procedure was already 'baked into the cake'. Thus real enforcement of published tax rates on small business owners is likely to push many small businesses into the abyss. This is not a good situation in an American economy which is heavily driven by service industries and where the majority of ( non-government related ) new job creation is the result of small business activities.
So they should tell the IRS that high tax rates made them do it? And they didn't really mean to cheat the rest of us who did pay our taxes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Melonie
In the final analysis, enforced high US tax rates on the 'ordinary' income of small business owners favors large public corporations, favors unionized workers of large public companies, etc. Enforced high US tax rates on 'offshore' earnings will result in a one time windfall in tax revenues ... followed by a permanent decline in tax revenues. As has historically been the case, the 'rich' people will respond to enforced high US tax rates on 'ordinary income' by shifting to sources of tax free income and tax favored investments instead of busting their asses and taking personal risk of bankruptcy with small businesses etc.
Tax policy has long been built with tax preferences deductions, etc to favor certain practices. Of course with any regulated system, the laws are imperfect, leaving many legal ways around it, because people having monetary incentives become very inovative at finding loopholes. Tax evasion activities are myriad and are certainly not built into the system. I certainly dislike very many tax provisions (personal and corporate), but I dislike much more those who grossly evade taxes and leave the rest of us to fill in their gaps. That is just WRONG.
Odd, though, that you have denigrated the corporate tax rates for large corporations, and now you're complaining about rates for smaller corporations, when they are subject to the same tax laws. Maybe I am missing something here.
I know people who say that taxes ought to be borne by the public and corporations ought to pay NO taxes -- let their owners and employees pay the taxes -- I suppose because it promotes businesses (and personal income) and the corporation is not a living being but only a legal entity anyway. However, that idea fails to recognize the principle of letting the entities pay for services the draw from the common pool.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Melonie
...Many would tell you that the REAL problem is that aggregate taxes + regulatory compliance costs + mandated benefit costs on small business are already so high that their ability to remain profitable / remain in business / keep writing employee paychecks is already in question....
Businesses have little more problem with those laws than do individuals; it's just that the scale is much larger for businesses. It's just the burden we all bear for being in a complex and interdependent society and consequently having social responsibilities. You don't like having those responsibilities to society? Find a small island that no one else knows/cares about and have your own secluded life there.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Does anyone know if the 4,450 names of alleged tax evading Americans with accounts at UBS will be made public ?
My understanding is that all the account holders can go to Swiss authorities first and argue against release of their information. There has to be Swiss government approval for any release.
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Eric Stoner
Wait a minute. I'm sorry Melonie but afaic these off-shore accounts are driven by nothing more than irresponsible greed; not confiscatory tax rates. I have a small business and I pay ALL my taxes- Federal, State and City. It's no fun. I don't enjoy it, but after taxes I am still able to live well. Not lavishly, but a lot more comfortably than most Americans.
What the FUTURE holds is the REAL question afaic.
Shit, after my company is done paying all the costs with having employees we don't have any money to squirrel away!
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
I believe everyone should pay the same percentage with no loopholes. will that ever happen i doubt it. But i pay too much and do not understand why i should be penalized for being successful.
Coming from someone that i promise does not have the knowledge you all have on this subject it boils down to this.
Everyone should pay the exact same percentage
No one deserves special treatment
WE ARE ALL CREATED EQUAL
If i did more with my life than someone else did----dont take it from me
If indeed this country does go Socialist---i promise you a lot more laws will be broken.
I am still waiting for texas to secede and once they do i will go with them.
Of course these are my opinions and it may be selfish but i do not ask anything from other people and i shouldnt be forced to give more than others just because i have it. Just so you all know i not a complete bastard i do give appox 12-15% of my income to charity and if you add in strippers---welll damn:O
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Re: noose grows tighter for US 'offshore' tax evaders
The government is your partner. You make big bucks and your partner wants a share of it. Your partner is in charge of the country and you are in charge of your life. What kind of life would you have without your partner?
Loopholes are your partner's way of enticing you to do certain things with your money; you get rewards (deductions) if you do those things.
WE are a long way from being socialist. Most of Europe is closer. I'mn sure we'd have another revolution if we got as close as many European countries. But pure capitalism is just exploitative, as we were close to that in the late 1800s; some regulation is vital. TR showed us the way.