Author Topic: Thoughts about the BO attack on offshore investments  (Read 963 times)

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Offline 5412

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Thoughts about the BO attack on offshore investments
« on: May 05, 2009, 10:21:49 PM »
Hi,

I am a member of the Sovereign Society and get a daily newsletter.  While it is primarily an investment type newsletter, they do not mince any words and have been spot-on for the most part for several years.

They really highlighted what should be the biggest concern of all Americans after BO's remarks yesterday.  The IRS will have gestapo like powers, even more than they do now.  If they have no way to find out what is going on they will just charge the taxpayer with a crime, based on no evidence or facts, then the taxpayer has to disclose to them what they could not find out by any other means.  Following is an excerpt from today's newsletter.

regards,
5412

Guilty Until You Prove Your Innocence
But one important point really should upset intelligent citizens – Obama proposes to repeal the traditional, time honored legal presumption of innocence, specifically for those doing business offshore.

Instead, he proposes to make Americans who go offshore prove to the IRS, upon demand, that they are not engaged in tax evasion or any other crime. The White House said, "These presumptions will make it easier for the IRS to demand information and pursue cases against international tax evaders. This shifting of legal presumptions is a key component of the anti-tax haven legislation long championed by Senator Carl Levin."

Indeed, many of Obama's proposals were taken right out of the Levin-Obama Anti-Tax Haven legislation they first introduced in 2005, although Levin’s legislative tax haven black lists mercifully have been dropped.

Coercion & Criminalization
Other provisions in the Obama anti-offshore plans:

* Using the current "Qualified Intermediary" system under which the IRS decides which offshore banks are acceptable to them, foreign banks will be forced to disclose any and all information the IRS demands, under the implied threat of being cut off from the U.S. banking system. In theory, QI's offshore banks would be required to report information on their U.S. customers to the same extent that domestic U.S. financial intermediaries must. All this it seems, without regard to the bank secrecy or other financial privacy laws that apply in the foreign country.

* U.S. investors who fail to report offshore investments now face penalties limited to 20% of the amount of the understatement. The statute of limitations for enforcement is typically three years. The penalty will be upped to 30% and the statute extended to six years. The plan will double certain other penalties when a taxpayer fails to disclose foreign financial accounts.

* The Treasury Department will be given authority to issue expanded regulations on offshore financial institutions under the QI program.

* The IRS will hire 800 new employees devoted specifically to international enforcement, including agents, economists, lawyers and specialists, supposedly increasing the IRS ability to crack down on offshore tax avoidance and evasion, including transfer pricing, financial products such as abusive trusts, and transactions such as purported securities loans.


Offline SSG Snuggle Bunny

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Re: Thoughts about the BO attack on offshore investments
« Reply #1 on: May 07, 2009, 06:09:44 AM »
Apart from the aforementioned constitutional issues (lol-whut?) if you thought the stream of jobs being outsourced was bad wait until it becomes a gushing torrent.
According to the Bible, "know" means "yes."