Tuesday 20 May 2014

US uses muscle to shakedown the world

The US has fined Credit Suisse for helping clients to avoid US taxes. I find the US approach to tax raising very scary and I am very glad I am not a US citizen.

The new(ish) FATCA regulations make all US citizens pay US taxes anywhere in the world, regardless of whether or not money is earned in the US. As a result, thousands of US citizens are giving up their citizenship per year, as compared to a trickle of a few just before the new rules came out.

What is bad is where the US go, others will follow with extra-territoriality rules - chasing you wherever you go. Sadly, a downside to the rise of technology is the increasing capability of Governments to monitor every move of its populace.

The US Government under Obama has gone to a whole new level though, Credit Suisse is not the first bank to be shaken down, HSBC and JP Morgan have been here before as have many others. There was no legal backing for the demands of $20 billion from BP - except threats of losing all US licences to operate. The same threat made to Credit Suisse (which we should not forget, is really 50% a US bank, First Boston). BNP Pariabs is under threat for breaking sanctions by lending to Iran even though there are no France/Iran financial sanctions in place.

Basically, the US Government feels able to threaten any MNC it likes with threats of closing the US market and increasingly is targeting its own citizens via this route and its own empowered IRS.

It is a sad state of affairs that the Country has fallen into, reduced to bullying and stick-up's to find money for the Government.

Don't forget, this is the real story behind Pfizer and others looking to leave US domicile when they can - the laws of America mean little to its President or Executive.

5 comments:

john miller said...

Ironic that at one time they sought to purge the Mafia and their protection rackets.

Obama's increasingly making it look like they were just removing the competition.

Funny - no, bloody hilarious - money said...

Obama would make far more progress in rescuing America from itself if he simply shut down all the Federal Reserve banks in the country. I am sure I don't need to explain why.

Nick Drew said...

They are all at it, though, aren't they? Not much respect for due process here in the UK, either

some argue the EU is the last bastion of rule-of-law and soon we may need to take this seriously...

john miller said...

Do what, Nick?

Mandlebum sits on a yacht with a Russion steel oligarch (well, you know what I mean) and shortly after the EU changes its rules on stell imports. That sort of rule of law?

Puhleeeze...

Electro-Kevin said...

When Obama first came to power I hoped that he might take on the persona of a global pirate. His vast naval supremacy, re-establishing the US after the crash and all that.

(Idiotic I know)

Are you telling us he's looking more like a street mugger ?