How Empires End

“Histories are generally written by academics. They, quite naturally, tend to focus on the main events: the wars and the struggles between leaders and their opponents (both external and internal). Whilst these are interesting stories to read, academics, by their very nature, often overlook the underlying causes for an empire’s decline.  When the history is written about the era we are passing through, it will reflect, in large measure, a rehash of the news. As the media of the day tend to overlook the fact that present events are merely symptoms of an overall decline, so historians tend to focus on major events, rather than the ‘slow operations’ that have been the underlying causes.”

http://www.internationalman.com/articles/how-empires-end

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Ameri-Canadians point fury at Uncle Sam over U.S. tax laws

“Canada has for centuries provided a haven for millions of Americans and their descendants, including the United Empire Loyalists who fled persecution during the 18th-century American Revolution, blacks escaping from slavery during the 19th century and draft resisters protesting the Vietnam War in the 20th century. Such Ameri-Canadians have tended to blend into this northern country. Now, open displays of American pride in Canada are becoming even less likely as Ameri-Canadians seek shelter from the long reach of FATCA.   Many Canadians don’t realize Americans have made up the fourth to sixth largest immigrant group in Canada for decades.”

http://www.vancouversun.com/Douglas+Todd+Ameri+Canadians+point+fury+Uncle/10178232/story.html

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Travails of an American Tax-Victim Overseas

thelrcblog-5002

“Go ahead and give up your citizenship.  Just beware that I have a new Exit Tax that you might be subject to.  We deem, or pretend,  that you sold all of your assets and charge you the capital gain tax on those pretend asset sales, though there’s a large exemption.   And also [laughing hysterically and slapping his knee with the palm of his hand] when you really do sell the assets some day [falls out of chair laughing] you’ll have to pay the capital gains tax a second time in Canada.  Love,  Your Dear Leader, President Obama.  PS:  I just decided to increase the fee for giving up citizenship from about $400 to about $3,500.  This should ease the burden of carrying around so much money that you earned.”

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/09/andy-sirkis/american-tax-victims-overseas/

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Tax Exiles Flee America

“Traditionally the entrepreneurial and productive wanted to come to America. Many still do. But the choice is no longer so clear-cut. Some lawyers admit that they counsel foreign businessmen to consider carefully before seeking American citizenship. It might not be worth the cost and trouble. International tax attorney Andrew Mitchel said, ‘My advice to, say, a small-businessman abroad would be to think twice about acquiring U.S. citizenship.’ In his view the benefits might not be worth the hassle: ‘Many of these people do not realize what that means for their businesses until they start dealing with the IRS.’ Washington’s behavior appears to be having an impact on possible new citizens.”

http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/tax-exiles-flee-america

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Aggressive US police take hundreds of millions from innocent motorists

“Behind the rise in seizures is a little-known cottage industry of private police-training firms that teach the techniques of ‘highway interdiction’ to departments across the country.  A private intelligence network known as Black Asphalt Electronic Networking & Notification System enabled police nationwide to share detailed reports about American motorists — criminals and the innocent alike — including their Social Security numbers, addresses and identifying tattoos, as well as hunches about which drivers to stop.  Many of the reports have been funneled to federal agencies and fusion centers as part of the government’s burgeoning law enforcement intelligence systems.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/09/06/stop-and-seize/

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How municipalities in St. Louis County, Mo., profit from poverty

“The chief prosecutor in Florissant Municipal Court makes $56,060 per year. It’s a position that requires him to work 12 court sessions per year, at about three hours per session. The Florissant prosecutor is Ronald Brockmeyer, who also has a criminal defense practice in St. Charles County, and who is also the chief municipal prosecutor for the towns of Vinita Park and Dellwood. He is also the judge – yes, the judge — in both Ferguson and Breckenridge Hills. Brockmeyer isn’t alone: Several other attorneys serve as prosecutor in one town and judge in another. And at least one St. Louis County assistant district attorney is also a municipal court judge.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/09/03/how-st-louis-county-missouri-profits-from-poverty/

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BP found ‘grossly negligent’ in 2010 U.S. spill, facing $18 billion fine

“A U.S. judge has decided that BP Plc was ‘grossly negligent’ and ‘reckless’ in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill four years ago, a ruling that could add nearly $ 18 billion in fines to more than $ 42 billion in charges the company took for the worst offshore environmental disaster in U.S. history. Barbier ruled that BP was mostly at fault and that two other companies in the case, Transocean Ltd and Halliburton, were not as much to blame. The amount is far more than the $ 4.5 billion maximum fine that could have been levied under a simple ‘negligence’ ruling. BP has set aside only $ 3.5 billion for fines under the Clean Water Act.”

http://thebostonjournal.com/2014/09/05/bp-grossly-negligent-in-2010-u-s-spill-fines-could-be-18-billion-2/

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They’re Coming for Your Accounts

“Just a week or two ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a horrifying paper, called The Fund’s Lending Framework and Sovereign Debt. That paper, in turn, was based on one from December 2013, called Financial and Sovereign Debt Crises: Some Lessons Learned and Those Forgotten.  Major media ignored all of this, of course.  The December 2013 document, right at the start, says that ‘financial repression’ is necessary.   That’s not my interpretation; those are their words.  It’s not just the IMF, of course. The US Treasury has had a group working on these ideas since the Bush administration.”

http://www.caseyresearch.com/freeman/they-are-coming-for-your-accounts

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IRS Begins Assessing Back Taxes On Tech Company-Provided Meals

“Staffers at technology companies such as Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc.  long have enjoyed free gourmet meals, courtesy of their employers. The groaning buffets, in-house pizza joints, and kitchens stocked with organic produce are an intrinsic part of the culture in much of Silicon Valley, encouraging both collaboration and longer work hours.  The IRS, arguing that these freebies are a taxable fringe benefit, has given new attention to the issue in recent months, tax lawyers said. When employers haven’t been withholding taxes related to the meals, the IRS increasingly has sought back taxes that can amount to 30% of the meals’ fair-market value, the lawyers said.”

http://online.wsj.com/articles/silicon-valley-cafeterias-whet-appetite-of-irs-1409612488

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New IRS rule could cut into restaurant workers’ tips

“Even as President Obama and progressive activists are trying to sell the nation on hiking the national minimum wage to help restaurant workers and other low-wage employees, the Internal Revenue Service is seemingly determined to make life harder for those same workers.  A change in tax policy implemented Jan. 1 will prevent restaurant workers from collecting automatic gratuities as part of their tips. Instead, that added fee will be included in their payroll, meaning workers have to wait up to two weeks to get that extra cash and must pay additional taxes on it. It means less money in servers’ pockets and more for the federal government.”

http://watchdog.org/122310/new-irs-rule-cut-restaurant-workers-tips/

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