Taxation

Great Start in Germany: Three Days After Election Victory, Merkel’s Party Breaks Campaign Promise Of “No Tax Hikes”

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Great Start in Germany: Three Days After Election Victory, Merkel’s Party Breaks Campaign Promise Of “No Tax Hikes”

Germans pay a lot of taxes. The value added tax was raised to 19%. The state grabs 42% of any income above €52,882 and 45% above €250,731. There’s the church tax, solidarity tax, gasoline tax…. Not much is left over when a German is done paying taxes. So, during the campaign, Chancellor Merkel’s party pledged categorically not to raise taxes.

Beware, the Borderless Tax Man Cometh

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Beware, the Borderless Tax Man Cometh

Contributed by Don Quijones: The first four items the G-8 dealt with was the need for governments to share information to “fight the scourge of tax evasion.” If only their primary targets were multinationals, banks, and hedge funds that pay a pitiful fraction of the taxes they owe in the countries they operate. But they’re going after the little guy.

Fed’s Fisher Hilariously Slams Fiscal-Policy Chaos, Slugs QE, And Throws In Funny Video Spoof of Congress

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Fed’s Fisher Hilariously Slams Fiscal-Policy Chaos, Slugs QE, And Throws In Funny Video Spoof of Congress

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher is one of the funniest – and most disturbing – voices out there in the sea of equivocating central bankers. But this time, he outdid himself in the dreadfulness of his warning and the humor of his presentation.

Black Market or Bust: The Stark Choice Facing Many of Spain’s Self-Employed

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Black Market or Bust: The Stark Choice Facing Many of Spain’s Self-Employed

Contributed by Don Quijones: As bank lending has dried up, Spain’s government has barely lifted a finger to help struggling self-employed workers or small enterprises. Instead, it apparently made it its mission to make their working lives as difficult as possible by ramping up their tax burden to historic highs.

Revealed: Apple’s “Offshore” Cash Isn’t Even Offshore

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Revealed: Apple’s “Offshore” Cash Isn’t Even Offshore

No one accused Apple of having violated US tax laws. The Senate hearings merely exposed how Apple is dodging income taxes by doing what multinationals do: taking advantage of handouts and loopholes that Congress hands them. Now it turns out that much of the discussion was based on a fairytale.

Wall-Street Engineering Hones In On Apple’s “Offshore” Cash

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Wall-Street Engineering Hones In On Apple’s “Offshore” Cash

On paper, Apple has no reason to borrow. Last time it issued bonds was in 1996 when it flirted with bankruptcy and absolutely had to get its hands on some moolah. After Steve Jobs returned in 1997, Apple wisely stayed away from Wall Street and did its own thing. But that era is over. And a new era is dawning upon the icon: Wall-Street engineering.

Luxembourg Is Not The Next Cyprus, Not Yet, But….

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Luxembourg Is Not The Next Cyprus, Not Yet, But….

Luxembourg, with a population of just over half a million, smaller even than the other speck in the Eurozone, Cyprus, ranks in the top three worldwide in per-capita GDP. In a Eurozone wealth survey, it had the highest average household wealth. Only Cyprus, a former off-shore banking center in the Eurozone, came close. Yet Luxembourg is threatened with ruin.

Austria’s Last Stand Against EU Assault On Bank Secrecy

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Austria’s Last Stand Against EU Assault On Bank Secrecy

Austria would fight to maintain bank secrecy, declared uppity Finance Minster Maria Fekter. She is worried. After squashing Cyprus, gutting its offshore financial and money laundering center, and destroying its main resource, the EU has now trained its big guns on Austria and Luxembourg.

From Tax Hell to Tax Haven

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on From Tax Hell to Tax Haven

Eurozone countries are falling like dominos. Next: Slovenia. But bailouts – by taxpayers in other countries – keep banks from collapsing, governments from defaulting, and investors from incurring well-deserved losses. In the US, President Obama’s budget, with its new taxes, is causing heart palpitations left and right. But how do countries really stack up?

Intuit’s Long Hard Fight To Stick It To The Taxpayer

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Intuit’s Long Hard Fight To Stick It To The Taxpayer

“The government imposed the income tax burden in the first place,” said former California Republican legislator Tom Campbell about the process of filing tax returns. “So if it wants to make it easier, for heaven’s sake, why not?” But two companies that sell tax preparation software and services have been lobbying tooth and nail against making it easier—and won.