Anyone know about Money Matters? Interesting Obama story.

[robertpaulsen]

Wealth Protections Continue To Collapse

March 5, 2008

Elaine Meinel Supkis


As all the biggest power houses on earth work day and night to move around their wealth, trying to protect it all from the collapse they, themselves caused, things continue to fall apart. More hedge funds are collapsing. The wealthy are trying to form a new association of pirates to protect themselves by bribing even more politicians. Obama is now going down in flames because of his talk about ending the Cayman Islands tax haven. And the grim game goes onwards. The NYT suggests we can weaken the dollar and increase exports and this will fix everything. Right. And the moon is green cheese.


Businesses plot strategy to protect wealth funds

Sovereign wealth funds are teaming up with the private equity industry, business trade associations and major financial institutions to strategize a defense against the growing political scrutiny of the $3 trillion funds.

Last week, about 30 lawyers and lobbyists — organized, according to one attendee, by a representative from private equity firm The Carlyle Group — conferred at JPMorgan’s New York offices to discuss their role in the growing political issue.
*snip*
According to an attendee of last week’s New York meeting, most in the group rejected the idea of starting a trade association. Many in the group worried that a formalized association would project the wrong image.


Obama's campaign took a sudden and 'unexpected' turn for the worse with the media hell hounds going after him when the news broke...IN EUROPE...that he was going after the Hell Hounds and Pirates of the Caribbean. When he denounced the 12,000 companies in one small building in the Cayman Islands, I knew he would be doomed to defeat as the media would suddenly find a thousand flaws in his character and past. What is very darkly amusing in a nightmarish way is how they found out he has had associations with corrupt business people in the past! This, in an election with the Keating 5 McCain and Cow Futures Hillary? HAHAHA. Right.


This secretive meeting of the lobbyists and lawyers is typical. They are setting up their systems to keep this mess going for as long as possible. They are drawing up battle plans to protect the rich and powerful. They are priming their cannons and unfurling their sails and raising the Jolly Roger.

more...

http://elainemeinelsupkis.typepad.com/money_matters/2008/03/march-5-2008-el.html

Anyone familiar with this?

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. You'd have to go to a prison or listen to late night AM to hear conspiracy babble like this

[robertpaulsen]

2. (All Three)?

:)

[Emit]

3. Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act sponsored by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI), Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Barack

robertpaulsen, this is the first I've heard but it is interesting. Wonder what effects we'll see of Obama's support for this bill.


Here's info on the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act that the piece you linked to sited. Interesting that Norm Coleman is one of the three sponsors along with Levin and Obama. Not the kind of bill I thought he'd be interested in sponsoring:

http://www.taxjustice-usa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=113&Itemid=79

Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act PDF Print E-mail
A wide-ranging bill to combat tax havens has been introduced in the Senate and the House.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)

The Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, S-681 is sponsored by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI), Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Barack Obama (D-IL).

A companion bill in the House, HR-2136, was introduced by Reps Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Sander Levin (D-MI) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). It now has 61 cosponsors. On June 4, 2007, it was referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.

S-681 would:

* presume that non-publicly traded offshore corporations and trusts are controlled by the U.S. taxpayers who formed them or sent them assets, unless the taxpayer proves otherwise;

* impose tougher requirements on U.S. taxpayers using offshore secrecy jurisdictions;

* give Treasury authority to take special measures against foreign jurisdictions and financial institutions that impede U.S. tax enforcement and

* Require U.S. financial institutions that open accounts or entities in offshore secrecy jurisdictions for U.S. clients to report such actions to the IRS;

* Tax offshore trust income used to buy real estate, artwork and jewelry for U.S. persons, and treat as trust beneficiaries those persons who actually receive offshore trust assets;

* Increase the maximum fines on tax shelter promoters to 150 percent of their ill-gotten gains, and on corporate insiders who hide offshore stock holdings to $1 million per violation of U.S. securities laws;

* Prohibit U.S. patents for “inventions designed to minimize, avoid, defer, or otherwise affect liability for federal, state, local or foreign tax”; and

* Require hedge funds and company formation agents to establish know your customer and anti-money laundering programs like other U.S. financial institutions.

[robertpaulsen]

4. Thanks Emit!

Here's the link to The Independent article:

Europe vs the super-rich

By Sean O'Grady, Economics Editor
Tuesday, 4 March 2008

The European Union will declare war today on Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland. Weary of losing billions of tax euros, the EU's 27-strong high command of economics and finance ministers, Ecofin, is meeting in Brussels to agree a strategy aimed at bringing the continent's tax havens under control.

snip

Crime has pushed many governments against tax havens. In 2000, for example the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development published its blacklist of 35 "uncooperative" tax regimes; action was taken.

Now the blacklist is down to three; Monaco. Liechtenstein and Andorra. The US, normally in favour of "tax competition" and home to its own mini tax haven of Delaware, has also seen a shift in mood since 9/11. Barack Obama has co-sponsored a "Tax Haven Abuse Act" in Congress, a sure sign of changing times.

"What are they going to do – send the tanks in?" asked one tax expert yesterday responding to the EU's plans. The answer to that, hopefully, is no; but official sanctions, levies and a general will to make life difficult for tax havens is defiantly there. Hostilities have begun.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/europe-vs-the-superrich-790863.html