"We'll take care of it"  - Paul Volcker

Gee... THAT was encouraging!     

@ SB: The ONLY reason I don't care to take the path you're proposing, renunciation, is because one day I'd like to collect something from the pot that I was forced to contribute to during all my wage-earning years working on Tio Sam's fazenda.  Yet it's becoming apparent, that the time might come (probably sooner than later) that those SS payments I'm hoping to one day receive might only equal (or possibly even be less than) my tax liability on my world-wide income, payable to Potus Caesar.  So then, what would be the sense, the use, the logic, in remaining a 'Roman Citizen'?!?  The EUA passport used to be a valuable commodity!  Yet GB, Jr (Duh-bah-Dum-Sh*t) sank that boat with his GWOT.  Okay, maybe let's give Georgie boy some slack... he was only following orders of the Dick, Cheney.

Maybe, for those in Brasi interested in this radical, yet day by day, more appealing option, we should organize an enmasse Gringos Renunciation Day?  Kinda like in the days of old, when draft dodgers of the Vietnam War burned their draft cards (those who didn't care to take daily showers of Agent Orange, participate in napalm bombing innocent women and children, or return to the US in the prime of their lives with missing limbs).  We could all burn our passports at the consulate, pay our $450 'exit tax', then afterwards, go hit a chopperia and celebrate 'Operation Freedom'....

Ex-chairman of the US FederalReserve, Paul Volcker, shares his thoughts about the necessity to change the UStax system. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9696268.stm

Again these ‘products’ will beleaving their respective trails of tempting peanuts and bananas to the votingbooths.

Guess what, Romney is both cleverand rich and the embodiment of the American Dream. He has everything his egoneeds with exception to a climactically glorious achievement in a life’s work:the Presidency. Should he win the election, he may well sit back in glory andpreen, or set his sights on a higher goal in order to burn his name into thehistory books – who knows what a [crazy by definition] Mormon could do!  

It remains the eternal fascinationhow America picks its candidates from a pool of three-hundred million or so.Surely the incumbent, Obama, and Romney are not the best that can be offered bysuch a great nation? Perhaps they are in the context of media scrutiny thatpicks through everything in a person’s life including trashcans and gusset sniffing.What normal, sane and capable person would submit their lives to a confessionalbox with microphone broadcasting to the world; let he who is without sin offerhimself. Show me someone who hasn’t sinned and I’ll show you a liar or a freak.

Romney’s business endeavours havereaped financial rewards beyond the common man’s aspirations and he, Romney, incommon with the rest of us doesn’t want to pay any more tax than he needs. We,on the other hand, need to expand our narrow depth of field focus far beyond thatplace where the corrupt media agenda does our thinking for us. Of course thatwon’t happen so let the band play as countless millions of dollars pay for thegrand illusion to entertain the delusional collective idiot – would you likefries with that?           

Originally posted by spongebob Espirit.... are you Scottish? If not.... Irish? Those accents always get me! ErrrrHeemmm.. I pay a lot of taxes in Brasil. The LAST place I want to pay a lot of taxes is to another country. The "unfortunate" part is that the US sets the standard and the other countries sit back, watch, and adopt parts of US legislation that helps them. When I saw the infromation from the Brazilian Central Bank, I can CLEARLY see their quarterly filing requirements are not made for me, but rather for large companies that can make the Real go to 1:1 with the dollar and break Brazil. So I'm 100% (no exaggeration) in support of the BCB.

Originally posted by Gringo.Floripa Originally posted by Esprit However it should be borne in mind that not all of us organize our financial affairs in a naïve manner by keeping our wealth on a pedestal in full view. Me thinks Esprit sleeps on a mattress stuffed with notas cem!

Me thinks Esprit sleeps on a mattress stuffed with notas cem! 

Originally posted by Gringo.Floripa ...BTW, Euros, Brits, and other non-US Gringos… your peanut gallery comments about this subject have already been duly noted in earlier posts.  I think it's just a matter of time before your own 'homeland' governments begin to do similar, especially considering the insolvency of several EU member nations.  When, not if that happens, let's see if your attitudes are as cavalier as now....

Of course you have a legitimate point and those of us in the peanut gallery, whose home country’s outreach is not yet as nasty as that of the US, continue to enjoy our own hard earned money. However it should be borne in mind that not all of us organize our financial affairs in a naïve manner by keeping our wealth on a pedestal in full view; honest men are always the first to fall victim. The old adage informs us that we must set a thief to catch a thief. We are therefore forced to think like thieves if we are to avoid this ‘legal’ theft. “Out of my dead hand…”    

CBE - Capitais brasileiros no exterior

I'm not a Brazilian citizen yet. I'll talk to my accountant about this because I read that you have to file quarterly. What a PITA....

Although the article mentions Brazilians [nationals] without specifically mentioning foreign residents but, while avoiding the appearance of being pedantic, I imagine that the law also refers to such foreign residents. I believe this disclosure requirement of offshore assets came into being last year and should have been submitted by now. Therefore any US citizens that haven’t already disclosed their US or other offshore assets are similarly guilty and subject to the full force of Brazilian law and its penalties; the double edged sword of Damocles hovers overhead!

Last year discrete inquiries were made in Brasilia about the nature of the disclosure of offshore assets when the assurance was given that such information was “of an academic nature”, not taxation in a direct sense, yet would possibly affect the importation of ‘new’ money in the future. Any monies not declared or money in excess of the declaration would be viewed in a different light??? Call me cynical, yet I can’t envisage any taxman wasting time on academic information; they have a thirst for blood.

In the ever changing world, the loop holes are being legislated out of existence year on year such that new breeds of specialists are scouring for new holes and are charging yet more for their research. We fly in ever diminishing circles until we’ll finally disappear up our own holes.           

Precisely.  And Lord Caesar requests his subjects to file an FBAR, if their situation merits doing so.

I guess one could always lie and say "The Devil made me do it".

Speaking of Beelzebub, someone just sent this to me, and it's too good not to share.  Don't freak out and bail out if horror flicks scare you!  Ya gotta watch this to the very end!

You know when it's the Devil!   

Please don’t get the impression that I view honesty with any degree of distain; however I view with a certain amount of amusement the rational that one would be imprisoned for five years and suffer quarter of a million dollar fine for such an infringement that is hardly likely to be discovered. Such punitive measures would be reserved for the more serious infractions. Render unto Cesar what is Cesar’s.   

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Fear of the lash keeps the peons in slavery. Hitler didn’t break any of the prevailing laws; he was the law maker; so what is law?

Having nothing to hide means that everything you have is in plain sight. My, you are a trusting soul.

Dunga is of course right. A large influx of offshore account holders filing is the best thing for those who have the stomach to continue to fly under the radar. The IRS may take the law of diminishing returns into consideration and not bother to scour the planet in an abortive attempt to rectify America’s disastrous deficit. Such petty cash gleaned from hardworking honest folk just might placate IRS frustration and turn opinion, through awareness, to focus on the real villains in this farce; the spendthrift Congress and their cronies.    

Truthfulness. President Clinton springs to mind. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman...” The pedantic Mr. Clinton feigned disagreement that it is fallacious to consider fellatio a sexual activity. Okay, so he lied. Hell, his wife was listening!

Sometimes the truth can hurt when its consequences have an unjust result. Admittedly he didn’t break any laws. And even if there was a law against this rather pleasurable activity it would be an unjust law as is the law under discussion. Rules are made for the strict adherence by fools and the guidance of wise men. What should a person of a certain faith answer when asked by the Gestapo, “Are you Jewish?” Truth can be flexible.                   

The smug looking Mr. Wood has a vested interest in all of this and is probably a cocktail crony plea bargainer with the suits at the IRS in this game of hide & seek the errant tax dodging millionaire. While I’m certain that he’s factually correct, I’m equally certain that he would be an excellent bedtime ghost story teller with the ability frighten the living daylights out of his little grandchildren. “Oh please Mr. Wood...please take on my case in one of your nationwide practices...I’ll be glad to pay you 30%...for God’s sake just keep me out of prison!”

GF you’ve managed to trawl up a magnificent list of propaganda links that suggests the IRS have limited resources and access to banking information thereby resorting to quite frightening bullyboy threats. We should know what is right from wrong through our innate senses which include fairness and justice. Laws come and go, yet fairness and justice remain steadfast in all things. The accidental location of one’s birth should not bring about a lifelong obligation to file full disclosure and tax returns to a country wherein one doesn’t reside; this is neither fair nor just least reasonable. A jury trial would clear this nonsense up in an instant; all of which is neither here nor there because the law is the law and its eager proponents are as blind as Justice herself.

Ten Things To Know About Offshore Bank Accounts

I can assure you, given the fact that when the indigenous North Americans were hunting buffalo and painting their asses blue, the English had a taxation system in being. Today’s Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise would be the envy of the Gestapo in other times; draconian. Run by hoards of the otherwise unemployable, they feed off everything, including dandruff flakes and anything else they can get their hands on. Left wing and underpaid to a man, they regard themselves as the down trodden poor entitled to the ‘rights.’ They are the ‘us’ in the ‘them & us’ scenario. Trust me, I know the breed.

The unpaid taxes you mention are not part of this discussion. Unpaid taxes are something that the authorities have already levied based upon their information submitted by either the tax payer or by an assessment they have made based on assumption formed by other information. It’s game over when they know everything about you. The more they know, the more they will follow the scent of blood. They are an insatiable blood sucking sub-human species best avoided.                               

I remember, when a boy, the wonderful feeling of relief when leaving the Catholic confessional; my soul was free of sin and guilt. Now that I am a man I have put these childish things behind me. Indoctrination has been replaced by rational thought.

It is said that the perfect man falls seven times daily; the perfect man being Jesus. The saying refers to sins of thought, word and deed. In addition, and in these enlightened times, apparently there is now another and additional sin; the sin of omission. Omission to tell the IRS about taxed income earned beyond US shores by people living permanently offshore who, whilst enjoying the theoretical privileges and protection afforded every US citizen, must pay tax because of their birthright.

Such privileges were no doubt handy during the final evacuation from Saigon and other debacles throughout US history of intervention and escapades on foreign shores. It could be argued that somebody must pay for the helicopter gasoline. Yet not to be frivolous, it should be recognised that US citizenship is a privilege and as such this may be regarded as a form of representation that justifies taxation; however unfair that may seem.

In common with what was once a naive young boy, the motive to confess sins where spurred by the fear of the wrath of God and a eternity of fire and brimstone and I can’t help making the comparison between God’s threat of punishment with that of the IRS; heavy fines and imprisonment – the same fear factor that drives the Church’s phenomenal financial success and the IRS collection agency that attempts to feed the irresponsible excesses of government spending.

Maybe I’ll spend eternity in the agonies of fire and maybe the taxman will eventually grab my coattails. I know the relief of confession and I know the benefits of spending my own hard earned money as I think fit: I’ve made that choice. The only downside to nonconformity is the occasional cold sweat when my head hits the pillow and I think, what if... Dirty Harry’s words echo, “Do you feel lucky? Well do ya...punk?”                             

Well that’s great news – pity though that He’s so selective.

Professional politicians need no introduction as their universal ways are well known. If a two party system is dangerously close to a one party system, certainly a multi party system has shown itself to be a recipe for the chaos of coalition compromise governance. Such management in a restaurant kitchen would result in a single plate comprising, stew and ice-cream tossed in a salad. Another current example of such chaos is the appalling turmoil in Portugal and Greece and, of course, the corruption in Brazil. In the final analysis we, as individuals, have to learn to manipulate the world as it presents itself; if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. The alternative is to fill in those tax forms diligently, convince yourself that the husbandry of your tax money is for the greater good and that Jesus loves you.     

Originally posted by Steven Originally posted by Esprit Originally posted by Steven Originally posted by ganeshrkara Originally posted by Esprit Originally posted by ganeshrkara ...Obama is trying to get money from whatever source available to help ease struggling US economy... I read he raised this issue on his recent visit to brasil...     and when he focuss on something he has a way of getting it done.         All those empty cells at Guantanamo...      I was saying the same....news is that Guantanamo lead him to Abottabad....   Yes, but with 59% of Americans disapproving of his handling of the economy he might very well find himself in one of those empty cells in Guantanamo.   I found it quite amusing when, during a TV interview by a sympathising chat show host, Obama was asked to comment about his achievements, and in particular his Presidential election campaign slogans: ‘Hope & change and Yes we can!’ Obama blathered on about his hope for the future and what change he has made [unaffordable health reform]. When pressed about ‘yes we can’ he replied, “Yes we can but...” During the short pause in his reply the audience erupted in laughter and I suspect that the use of little word, but, cost him dearly. He went on to suggest that not everything can be done during one period in office. Guess what – you can only have two terms followed by an autobiography entitled, “I tried to change it but...”  This is what happens when a President is elected by lobbyist funding and brilliant oratory.       Through the years I have evolved from my left-wing anti-Viet Nam War student activist days to my current baby boomer worked-hard-all-my-life-ready-to-retire Republican mentality.  I suspect that I'm not alone in this transition.  So, of course, I am most assuredly biased in my politics and find remarkable comparisons between President Obama and President Clinton in their single-minded attention to public opinion polls.    Say what you want about George Bush but he did what he thought was right.    I'm sorry but I need a leader who leads.  Not a guy who gallops after Gallup.  I think that the applause Mr. Obama receives on his global sojurns is reflective of the benefits that his audience perceives they will receive based on his pursuit of the carrot of public opinion.  I'm ready for some "Hope and Change and Yes We Can!"  Time for a new guy.

I wouldn’t hold out any hope for change in the absence of something extraordinary and traumatic happening on the global stage: the second coming or perhaps captain Kirk revisiting earth via a time warp. The political machinery in entrenched in a club comprising the oligarchy represented by the lobbyists aided by the rabid media and the collective idiot, the electorate. This is evidenced by the people offered up for election; squeaky clean money-wise and bedroom-wise, good looking, never inhaled, well spoken, believes in God, has never masturbated and politically correct in all things. Is it possible that there is such a person with the necessary leadership skills?