From the category archives:

international

Tax By the Kilometer: A New Meaning to “Going Dutch”

16 November 2009

The Dutch are well known for Delft pottery, wooden shoes, legalized prostitution and windmills. Perhaps not surprisingly, many of those things haven’t caught on in all areas of the world (oh c’mon, tell me that you have a pair of wooden shoes in your closet).
I have a feeling that list of things that aren’t [...]

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Singapore, Liechtenstein No Longer Gray

16 November 2009

Who says that a little pressure doesn’t work these day? Singapore and Liechtenstein have both apparently decided that they wanted to be one of the cool kids after all. This week, both countries received word that they are slated to be removed from the dreaded gray list of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation [...]

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Tax Havens Suddenly Not All the Rage

11 November 2009

Suddenly, it’s not so fashionable to have your money in Swiss banks. That’s sooo February 2009. This season, all of the trendy tax evaders are heading somewhere else.
In the wake of increased activity by IRS to track down previously undisclosed assets (joined by the taxing authorities in countries like the UK and Germany), [...]

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US Clashes With UK Over New Tax Proposal

8 November 2009

When it comes to economics, the US and UK tend to find themselves on the same page. A recent example is their consolidated front over the need for banking transparency – both countries took a tough approach with respect to the banking secrecy laws of in Switzerland and Luxembourg.
But this weekend, the US and the [...]

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I’m on the Radio!

6 November 2009

I’m going all Clairee from Steel Magnolias on you. I’m on the radio!
You can check out my interview with Jeff Horwich on Minnesota Public Radio about “sneaky rich people” here (I’m right after the vaccine report):

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And The Most Secretive Financial Jurisdiction in the World Is…? (Hint: there’s no cheese involved)

2 November 2009

The Tax Justice Network has recently released its list of the most secretive financial jurisdictions in the world. And who topped the list? Luxembourg? Switzerland? Hong Kong? Caymans?
Nope, it’s the United States. Yeah, of America.
But don’t get too excited with your finger pointing. It has little to do [...]

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UBS Client Prosecutions Continue

31 October 2009

Jeffrey Chernick, a toy salesman out of New York, was sentenced on Friday to three months in prison for hiding millions of dollars from the IRS. Upon his release, Chernick will serve six months’ house arrest and six months’ probation. The judge did not impose an additional fine as Chernick is already subject to [...]

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Numbers Rolling in for Offshore Amnesty

17 October 2009

The IRS amnesty program for taxpayers who had previously failed to disclose income from offshore accounts ended last week on October 15. By all accounts, it was wildly successful.
According to IRS Commish Doug Shulman, nearly 7,500 taxpayers came forward to make voluntarily disclosures in hopes of avoiding criminal prosecutions. Dollar [...]

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Voluntary Disclosure Program Ends Thursday

13 October 2009

The voluntary disclosure program which allows US taxpayers to avoid criminal prosecution for not reporting foreign accounts ends on Thursday. No, you’re not reading an old post. The amnesty deadline was extended last month from September 23 to Thursday, October 15.
How successful is the program? It’s estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 [...]

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Merkel Wins 2nd Term in Germany, Touts Tax Cuts

28 September 2009

“Lesen Sie es von meinen Lippen ab, keine neuen Steuern.”
(translation: Read my lips, no new taxes.)
Okay, maybe German Chancellor Angela Merkel didn’t actually say that – but that was the gist of her message when she made a play for a second term. And it worked.
With Germany suffering through its own economic woes, [...]

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