TENS of TRILLIONS stashed ILLEGALLY in tax havens

[Viva_Daddy]

Yes, I know I've posted about this before but I'm doing it again because IT'S IMPORTANT!

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/07/2012722145418435676.html

-snip-
"What's shocking is that some of the world's biggest banks are up to their eyeballs in helping their clients evade taxes and shift their wealth offshore," said Christensen.

"We're talking about very big, well-known brands - HSBC, Citigroup, Bank of America, UBS, Credit Suisse - some of the world's biggest banks are involved... and they do it knowing fully well that their clients, more often than not, are evading and avoiding taxes."

Much of this activity, Christensen added, was illegal.

He used data from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations and central banks. The report also highlights the impact on the balance sheets of 139 developing countries of money held in tax havens by private elites, putting wealth beyond the reach of local tax authorities.

The research estimates that since the 1970s, the richest citizens of these 139 countries had amassed $7.3 to $9.3 trillion of "unrecorded offshore wealth" by 2010.

Private wealth held offshore represents "a huge black hole in the world economy," Henry said in a statement.

-snip-

If you Google "rich - trillions - offshore" you'll find several print sources of this information. Note that you've heard nothing about it on Faux News or the MSM.

Trickle down, my ass. It can't trickle down because it's been hoarded away.

My take? These people have lost their souls (Mark 8:36). They want to force "austerity" and "vouchers" and benefit cuts on everyone else while they hide their pots of gold in tax havens.

Is this class warfare? You bet it is and the war is being waged against WE THE PEOPLE!

[Initech]

1. And we wonder why our government is in so much debt.

These thieves and liars are hoarding cash by the trillions, paying zero taxes on it and we're the ones stuck with the bill.

And Mitt Romney has the balls to call us 47% freeloaders.

[meow2u3]

2. Here's one solution the tax dodgers won't like in the least

The Feds should make them an offer they can't refuse. Either their money comes back to the States or they forfeit every penny. I don't care whether it's a matter of civil or criminal forfeiture.

[annabanana]

5. What YOU said!. . . n/t

[hifiguy]

7. rAmen to that! nt

[BlueStreak]

3. And please note that when you see the statistics that the 1% are paying a reasonable share

of taxes, that never includes all the money they have been able to shelter. In addition to all these illegal offshore tax havens, there are also plenty of perfectly legal shelters. The simplest one is to create corporations to hold the money and never realize that income personally -- but still have full control over the money.

And it is only the 1% who can afford the accountants and lawyers to pull off these schemes while staying out of jail.

So when statistics show that the 1% pay their "fair share", realize that we are probably looking at only 1/4 of their actual income. That is the real problem with tax equity in our nation today. Other than the lowest income 20%, all the other income slices of the population appear to be paying about the same proportionate share -- not a progressive tax, but at least a flat scale. But that obscures the real game which is that the 1-percenters are able to shelter most of their income.

The 1% are the ultimate freeloaders in our society.

[Egalitarian Thug]

8. We also get too wrapped up/distracted by income taxes. Wealth taxes is where the money is

and has always been.

Consider this; Bill Gates III has $66B ($66,000,000,000) almost none of which is taxed at all because it is held in M$ stocks on which he only pays a maximum of 15%, and only then when/if he sells those stocks and realizes the profits. This of course is only the very beginning of the ways in which people like this game the system and pay virtually nothing toward the nation that made it possible for them to become this rich.

So let's say he drops dead this afternoon. If we had a 99.9% tax on all inheritance above $5M, his heirs would still inherit $71,000,000. Does anyone imagine that anyone that inherits $71M is ever going to be anything but rich and will, in their lifetime, make that fortune grow into an even greater fortune?

Is it really OK with a majority of people that a fortune made once becomes perpetual? This is how a ruling class comes to be and to rule.

Another example; Assuming the ridiculously low guesstimate of $250,000,000 and in the same scenario, Rmoney's family would get $7,450,000. Anybody out there think it would be hard to live on only seven and a half million dollars?

[BlueStreak]

9. Or to put it another way, does the world really need any more Paris Hiltons?

We really need to go back and look at what the founders thought about that. Most of them were very much against to propagation of an "old money" aristocracy. What we have today would be abhorrent to most of the founders.

[Egalitarian Thug]

10. Mostly just to kick this. It was only about half of the founders, at best.

John Hancock was almost certainly the richest man in the colonies, and the entire delegations from the southern states were adamantly opposed to everything that would interfere with their royally decreed fortunes and their peculiar institution.

[annabanana]

4. Kicking because you're RIGHT.. It's IMPORTANT

The real freeloaders, the ones sucking America dry are NOT the welfare recipients, those on food stamps or SSI. The people on Medicare have PAID for the "privilege".

The takers are the tax dodgers, the asset hiders, all the Mitts.. every last damn one of them.

[el_bryanto]

6. In this area both parties are prtty much the same

Neither one wants to go after this issue. Obviously there are lots of other issues where they differ substantially.

Bryant