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Thursday, June 22, 2017

Where the Rich Are the Richest ... Bad Apples in ...


Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.
- Soren Kierkegaard





Ominous signs for states as revenue targets missed The Hill

Salim Mehajer's businesses placed under voluntary administration



New man (m(i)ensch) in phoenixing saga  - Sydney property developer Michael Teplitsky asked for a 7 per cent fee to "clean" part of $24 million which was the proceeds of blackmail in the Plutus Payroll tax fraud, the Australian Federal Police have claimed in the NSW Supreme Court.
The federal police detailed phone intercepts in which Mr Teplitsky discussed a loan at 21 per cent interest, made to his company from diverted Plutus funds via a Hong Kong company, Moshav Financial Ltd.
"I can take as much as you want up there and clean it up for you through here," Mr Teplitsky said on an April 27 phone call to property consultant Dan Hausman, who is charged with being part of a conspiracy to commit tax fraud through the Plutus Payroll Australia group.
"I know mate, if it was anybody else it would have costed you 15 per cent, I was doing it for seven, but I think I am getting it away for free," Mr Teplitsky told Mr Hausman. "It comes back nice and f--king clean," Mr Hausman told Dan Rostankovski, an alleged co-conspirator in the Plutus fraud, in December about a round-robin series of deals transferring $250,000, that also involved Mr Teplitsky.
How Michael Teplitsky 'cleaned' Plutus Payroll funds








Rio Tinto director John Varley charged with fraud by the UK Serious Fraud Office



The U.S. Is Where the Rich Are the Richest Bloomberg

Kshama Sawant calls out Steve Ballmer over income tax MyNorthwest

ATO tax fraud: Money 'laundered through Lebanon' following alleged extortion ...

Son of former tax boss in court as police freeze $71m in assets

Senate committee calls for review into ATO amid $130 million tax ...


A parliamentary committee has called on the Inspector-General of Taxation, Ali Noroozi, to conduct a review into the Australian Taxation Office ...

Prepared Testimony of Acting Assistant Attorney General to House Judiciary Subcommittee 



I offer the prepared testimony of David A. Hubbert Acting Assistant Attorney General, DOJ Tax, before the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial & Antitrust Law at a Hearing on Oversight of the Tax Division, here.  The video of the hearing is here.  The minute marks for Hubbert's comments are:  1:08:53 - 1:13:21 (reading from opening statement) and 1:27:00 - 1:28:08  (on SIRF), a light day.




Irony runs through all the media dragon stories of our current times. In the current communist buy out of Sydney real estate resulting in so many empty properties in here and elsewhere such as Canada and UK ... I recall the visit of an American capitalist who is given a great tour in Soviet Paradise . At the Kremlin he points to a man gazing out from a tower. ‘What’s he doing?’ The interpreter explains that the man up there has great eyesight and is looking for approach of Communism. ‘I’d like to talk to him,’ says the American. Down the man comes, and the capitalist instantly offers him a much better job, in the US, at the top of his skyscraper, where he will look out for the approach of Democracy. To his surprise, the Russian refuses, and the American bids up, again and again, until he is offering a salary of more than $1 million a year. The Russian steadfastly refuses. ‘OK, ‘ says the American, ‘if you won’t come, at least tell me why.’ The Russian says,’Your offer is very attractive, but if I go to your job, there will be no certainty of employment. Here, I have a job for life!’

During a multi-year wild blueberry glut, government agencies have been using subsidies and grants to encourage Maine farmers to keep growing the crop. Too bad no one seems to want them. Maine has a glut of the berries, and now the governor of Maine hopes to help sell them off by spending $2.5 million on agricultural marketing.
…
A combination of falling prices, increased competition, and advances in production technology should have reduced the number of blueberry farmers. Yet, government intervention has caused a multi-year surplus. According to Bott, berry prices have plummeted: 100 million pounds sold for $1 per pound in 2011 but only 25-27 cents per pound in 2016.
Despite these low prices, Canada and Maine churned out a bumper crop of blueberries in 2016: 400 million pounds, almost double the typical 250 million pounds. Bott explained that much of the wild blueberry surplus comes from improved production technology, pollination, good fertilizer, and favorable weather.
Last year’s berry surplus prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to spend $13 million buying up some of the berries. A $50,000 grant from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry helped fund marketing to public schools—the berries will now be served in 19 states.




Pensions are legal tax havens — use them while they last

Tax transparency and the end of transfer pricing: A few quick thoughts on where things stand in the battle for fair taxation of multinationals – by TJN’s Chief Executive @alexcobham
Transparency on beneficial ownership is essential for good governance and reforms Open Government Partnership
Swiss banks lobby for get-out clause as end of bank secrecy nears Reuters
See our report “The end of bank secrecy”? Bridging the gap to effective automatic information exchange, see also our recent blog: Switzerland and information exchange: tweak, tweak and something will always remain
The Great Tax Robbery: How bankers, consultants, and lawyers have been plundering the German state for decades. And who tracked them down and exposed them. Zeit Online
A fire in the world’s laundromat Open Democracy

Malta / Money Laundering: Fair and thorough investigation urgently needed Sven Giegold
Tax evaders exposed: why the super-rich are even richer than we thought The Guardian
India – First Panama Papers seizure: Top Delhi jeweller’s deposits The Indian Express
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appears before Panama Papers probe panelThe Hindu
Japanese named in Panama Papers owe 1 billion yen in tax on hidden income The Mainichi
Tanzania: Chronicle of Suspected Plunder and Corruption in Energy and Minerals Ministry: An Inside Story Business News
‘Recent press reports said Tanzania lost a staggering Tsh. 7.2trn/- ( about $2.13billion) in 2016 as a result of some extraordinary tax holiday and loopholes in the mining sector.’
Bangladesh: E-commerce would promote illicit flow of information & asset by MNCs from LDCs Newsflash 24bd
Why are Tax Haven Users Getting Govt Contracts? Canadians for Tax Fairness
Canada’s voluntary disclosure programme to be restricted STEP
Hundreds of mining, oil and gas companies reveal payments to governments for the first time, in Canada and around the world Publish What You Pay Canada
Why Kenya’s super-rich stay invisible Business Daily
Foreign investors snapping up London homes suitable for first-time buyers The Guardian
‘… and being held in off-shore tax havens’
U.S. acts to seize stolen assets, Picasso in probe of Malaysian fund Reuters
Former Julius Baer banker pleads guilty in U.S. FIFA corruption probe Reuters


ALP staffer linked to Simon Zhou used shell company to donate ...



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