Tag: tax

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Fiscal fairness, take the money and run

Mark Cathcart

Early this month I posted this entry on “fiscal fairness” about paying taxes. This week two items have come up that show why the tax avoidance situation has become unsustainable here in the US and in the UK. First up in the US in the story that Facebook founding backer Eduardo Saverin’s renunciation of his U.S. citizenship. It really doesn’t matter what he says, Eduardo benefit from the system in place here in the US, and now he is about to get billions of US$ from the Facebook IPO, On advice of counsel, he’s established residency in Singapore, where there is no capital-gains tax. … Continue reading Fiscal fairness, take the money and run

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Tax, Apple, Buffet, and doing the right thing

Mark Cathcart

A number of people on my facebook stream have been posting and commenting on the ruckus over Apples tax avoidance, especially as it relates to iTunes, which even a Luxembourg Government official has jumped in to defend the iTunes tax evasion scheme. The other thread that has been running is commentry on the so called “Buffet Rule”, a proposed tax code change to force millionaires and up, to pay a tax rate that is  comparable to the average middle income family, or some such. I think this is all losing perspective though, although both cases are dissimilar in practice, at their core, the complaints are about the same thing. While Apple … Continue reading Tax, Apple, Buffet, and doing the right thing

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Big Government trust issues

Mark Cathcart

Yesterday I wrote about This American Lifes “What Kind of Country do you want?” at which as was surprised at how much disdain and distrust there was of the US Government. As if by magic, when I got home I had missed a certified mail delivery from the IRS. I collected the letter this morning, it was a demand for $2434.04 with no explanation. After 18-minutes on the phone, I spoke to one operator who could tell me only that it was late fees and interest. I asked for a statement that I could file with my tax attorney ans she said … Continue reading Big Government trust issues