Posted on 04/03/2010 6:00:07 AM PDT by Candor7
It couldn't have happened to a nicer country. On March 18, with very little pomp and circumstance, president Obama passed the most recent stimulus act, the $17.5 billion Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (H.R. 2487), brilliantly goalseeked by the administration's millionaire cronies to abbreviate as HIRE. As it was merely the latest in an endless stream of acts destined to expand the government payroll to infinity, nobody cared about it, or actually read it. Because if anyone had read it, the act would have been known as the Capital Controls Act, as one of the lesser, but infinitely more important provisions on page 27, known as Offset Provisions - Subtitle A—Foreign Account Tax Compliance, institutes just that. In brief, the Provision requires that foreign banks not only withhold 30% of all outgoing capital flows (likely remitting the collection promptly back to the US Treasury) but also disclose the full details of non-exempt account-holders to the US and the IRS. And should this provision be deemed illegal by a given foreign nation's domestic laws (think Switzerland), well the foreign financial institution is required to close the account. It's the law. If you thought you could move your capital to the non-sequestration safety of non-US financial institutions, sorry you lose - the law now says so. Capital Controls are now here and are now fully enforced by the law.
Let's parse through the just passed law, which has been mentioned by exactly zero mainstream media outlets.
Here is the default new state of capital outflows:
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after chapter 3 the following new chapter:
‘‘CHAPTER 4—TAXES TO ENFORCE REPORTING ON CERTAIN FOREIGN ACCOUNTS ‘‘Sec. 1471. Withholdable payments to foreign financial institutions. ‘‘Sec. 1472. Withholdable payments to other foreign entities. ‘‘Sec. 1473. Definitions. ‘‘Sec. 1474. Special rules. ‘‘SEC. 1471. WITHHOLDABLE PAYMENTS TO FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any withholdable payment to a foreign financial institution which does not meet the requirements of subsection (b), the withholding agent with respect to such payment shall deduct and withhold from such payment a tax equal to 30 percent of the amount of such payment.
Clarifying who this law applies to:
‘‘(C) in the case of any United States account maintained by such institution, to report on an annual basis the information described in subsection (c) with respect to such account, ‘‘(D) to deduct and withhold a tax equal to 30 percent of—
‘‘(i) any passthru payment which is made by such institution to a recalcitrant account holder or another foreign financial institution which does not meet the requirements of this subsection, and
‘‘(ii) in the case of any passthru payment which is made by such institution to a foreign financial institution which has in effect an election under paragraph (3) with respect to such payment, so much of such payment as is allocable to accounts held by recalcitrant account holders or foreign financial institutions which do not meet the requirements of this subsection.
What happens if this brand new law impinges and/or is in blatant contradiction with existing foreign laws?
‘‘(F) in any case in which any foreign law would (but for a waiver described in clause (i)) prevent the reporting of any information referred to in this subsection or subsection (c) with respect to any United States account maintained by such institution—
‘‘(i) to attempt to obtain a valid and effective waiver of such law from each holder of such account, and ‘‘(ii) if a waiver described in clause (i) is not obtained from each such holder within a reasonable period of time, to close such account.
Not only are capital flows now to be overseen and controlled by the government and the IRS, but holders of foreign accounts can kiss any semblance of privacy goodbye:
‘‘(c) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED ON UNITED STATES ACCOUNTS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The agreement described in subsection (b) shall require the foreign financial institution to report the following with respect to each United States account maintained by such institution: ‘‘(A) The name, address, and TIN of each account holder which is a specified United States person and, in the case of any account holder which is a United States owned foreign entity, the name, address, and TIN of each substantial United States owner of such entity. ‘‘(B) The account number. ‘‘(C) The account balance or value (determined at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may provide). ‘‘(D) Except to the extent provided by the Secretary, the gross receipts and gross withdrawals or payments from the account (determined for such period and in such manner as the Secretary may provide).
The only exemption to the rule? If you hold the meager sum of $50,000 or less in foreign accounts.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ACCOUNTS HELD BY INDIVIDUALS.—Unless the foreign financial institution elects to not have this subparagraph apply, such term shall not include any depository account maintained by such financial institution if— ‘‘(i) each holder of such account is a natural person,and ‘‘(ii) with respect to each holder of such account, the aggregate value of all depository accounts held (in whole or in part) by such holder and maintained by the same financial institution which maintains such account does not exceed $50,000.
And, while we are on the topic of definitions, here is how "financial account" is defined by the US:
‘‘(2) FINANCIAL ACCOUNT.—Except as otherwise provided by the Secretary, the term ‘financial account’ means, with respect to any financial institution— ‘‘(A) any depository account maintained by such financial institution, ‘‘(B) any custodial account maintained by such financial institution, and ‘‘(C) any equity or debt interest in such financial institution (other than interests which are regularly traded on an established securities market). Any equity or debt interest which constitutes a financial account under subparagraph (C) with respect to any financial institution shall be treated for purposes of this section as maintained by such financial institution.
In case you find you do not like to be subject to capital controls, you are now deemed a "Recalcitrant Account Holder."
‘‘(6) RECALCITRANT ACCOUNT HOLDER.—The term ‘recalcitrant account holder’ means any account holder which— ‘‘(A) fails to comply with reasonable requests for the information referred to in subsection (b)(1)(A) or (c)(1)(A), or ‘‘(B) fails to provide a waiver described in subsection (b)(1)(F) upon request.
But guess what - if you are a foreign Central Bank, or if the Secretary determined that you are "a low risk for tax evasion" (unlike the Secretary himself) you still can do whatever the hell you want:
‘‘(f) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to any payment to the extent that the beneficial owner of such payment is— ‘‘(1) any foreign government, any political subdivision of a foreign government, or any wholly owned agency or instrumentality of any one or more of the foregoing, ‘‘(2) any international organization or any wholly owned agency or instrumentality thereof, ‘‘(3) any foreign central bank of issue, or ‘‘(4) any other class of persons identified by the Secretary for purposes of this subsection as posing a low risk of tax evasion.
One thing we are confused about is whether this law is a preamble, or already incorporates, the flow of non-cash assets, such as commodities, and, thus, gold. If an account transfers, via physical or paper delivery, gold from a domestic account to a foreign one, we are not sure if the language deems this a 30% taxable transaction, although preliminary discussions with lawyers indicates this is likely the case.
And so the noose on capital mobility tightens, as very soon the only option US citizens have when it comes to investing their money, will be in government mandated retirement annuities, which will likely be the next step in the capital control escalation, which will culminate with every single free dollar required to be reinvested into the US, likely in the form of purchasing US Treasury emissions such as Treasuries, TIPS and other worthless pieces of paper.
Congratulations bankrupt America - you are now one step closer to a thoroughly non-free market.
Full HIRE Act text: ( at link)
A Republican Congress (especially if the Senate also makes it over the hump) can withhold funds for enforcing certain laws. The USSC has declared this OK.
And the folks who complain about it can’t all be hauled by Waxman into a Congressional inquisition. There will just be too many.
The trick: HAVE IT. Don’t “virtually” have it where a third party can (read: bank, in all variations) be coerced into “compliance” with confiscation. Physical possession will become paramount.
>Also... Time to remember Winston Churchill...
“Tomorrow I will be sober, but you will still be ugly.” — Churchhill
The commie hits just keep on comin’!
But I’m sure there’s someone out there who can help us in our denial by telling us “it’s happened before”, “it’s no big deal”, “we’re already doing something similar”, “we’ve faced worse”, yada, yada, yada.
This country is falling down the commie sh*thole and Americans are busy trying to act like nothing is happening.
Pathetic slaves in the making.
Wake up ya bunch of dumb-*sses—the commies are at the door.
“If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” ~The German People, 1933
>it is designed to stop tax cheats like mafia bosses, gamblers, drug dealers and other money launderers.
That is exactly the claim put forth for making it illegal for a felon to possess a firearm. {Or even ammunition.}
It flies in the face of all prior [American] jurisprudence, wherein if one has served their sentence they are free and have all rights & privileges restored.
>If you have properly paid your taxes, the government shouldn’t be able to stop you from investing abroad.
Oy vey! The tax code is at LEAST 40,000 PAGES long; and then there’s modifiers like this law laying around. If they want to find that you haven’t “properly paid” your taxes then they will.
I got Hoppes No. 9. Gallons of it.
That is my conclusion as well.Buy land or effing bullionize it.
“January 20, 2013. That’s when Sarah Palin will take the Oath of Office.”
I hope the hell not.
Another GOP cult member hell-bent on kissing the *sses of the left and playing nice with the “other side.”
Oh, Lord give us someone who will face these bastards and fight them like they are fighting us.
Save us from the GOP.
Yes, the IRS got shot canned on that one!
Maybe that is the ticket!
>The only conclusion i come up with is [snip] that our government’s finances are far worse off than we know. Far worse than the rating agencies, our trade partners and those supporting us by buying our debt know as well.
I’m willing o bet real money... wait, let’s make that viable Quinoa seed, that such is the case.
Given that the screwy ‘math’ [well accounting & definitions] they use to ‘budget’ is STILL not enough to paint over the true picture any longer, I’d say it’s a pretty solid ‘bet’.
crony socialist... The laws don’t apply if you grease the right palms...After all last week was Palm Sunday.
Fortunately, I saved it and can post it here (the poster's screen name was something like three card sloth):
"I don't expect things to change for the better anymore. There is a reason behind the larger events and trends in today's world, and those who understand and follow that reason will not let things go in any other direction.
Do you think that the West's leaders suddenly became stupid, corrupt and/or venal in the last 50 years? No, there have always been good and bad in our capitals; today is no different.
Do you think that Japan suddenly forgot everything that built them before 1990, and just can't get it together nowadays? Doubtful.
So then, what's going on? Why are all of the advanced nations declining while jobs and wealth are funneled into the third world?
The answer begins July 16th, 1945. The Trinity test in New Mexico.
With the development of the a-bomb, and later the far more powerful h-bomb, the best and brightest who advise presidents and prime ministers came to a rather logical conclusion: In a world where a single device can destroy a city, we can't live in a world of "haves" and "have nots".
Knowledge and technology will not stay contained. The bright boys figured out that eventually, the ability to make these bombs would end up in the hands of the undeterable among us... those with nothing to lose. And then the world would start losing cities.
So they decided that the world would have to be re-engineered. We couldn't have anybody with nothing to lose anymore. At first, they tried bringing the bottom up. For two or three decades up until the 70's they tried to spread knowledge and skills to the third world, but this effort was largely futile, most of the lessons didn't take.
That left them with one choice -- bring the top down and the bottom up by directly transferring whole industries overseas. Hollow out the West (and the East if they grew too big like Japan) for the sake of humanity.
They obviously couldn't announce this agenda, the masses might object. But they sure got really good at selling the idea in Washington, London, Brussels, et al... 'cause every leader of every party starts following their plan as soon as they get any real power.
Why do you think that every Western nation keeps on exporting their jobs? Blind belief in free trade? Nah... insurance payment that (hopefully) will deter a future madman with a bomb.
Why do you think that every Western nation refuses to deal with their economic problems and growing deficits? Political logjams? A little, but mostly in the name of managed decline.
Why do you think that the leaders of every Western nation jumped onto the AGW bandwagon? A growing green awareness? Nah... wealth transfer and goodwill payments to the third world.
Why do you think that every Western nation suddenly decided to import millions from the third world? More labor? Nah... they are unwitting future human shields against aggression from their old countries.
I think this is the reason that the great global forced leveling is ongoing, and the reason no one seems to want to stop it: Fear.
Nothing but the potential death of millions can explain why leaders of every stripe abandon their beliefs, left, right, and center, as soon as they reach the top. None of them behave any different from the other, and convergences like this don't occur by accident. There is a goal, there is a plan, and it is seen by them as more important than your hopes, dreams, or living standards.
Nuclear blackmail and the deaths of millions is the only agenda I can see that's big enough, universal enough, to command such allegiance from our leaders."
This comment caught my eye because throughout this whole BO nightmare starting with all DC pols, SCOTUS, SOS in all the states, etc. ignored Obama's lack of bona fides, his czars and on and on and I have wondered what in the hell could have scared or corrupted all of them who, by ignoring it, have dumped us in the sh#t.
Luckily there is another reference to the above post on another web site forum; a "MRBIGMUTTS" who is commenting on this same article you posted and is urging everyone to read the guy's comments so he saw it, too.
VERY ODD that it is gone. What's your take on this?
P.S. Husband and I (I am American) are not in US and are getting contacted by wealthy Americans about buying real estate in our area so the word is getting around now.
Specifically, the 0bamanation is a fascist; a National Socialist , but with different racial and ethnic manias..
Do you actually believe that there will be voting in November? The local cops are on the Feds side. We are Effed.
Yes! But you will never get the unwashed-masses to understand what you are saying. They have been brained-washed by propaganda from the "conservative" media and have hedged all of their bets on the idea that Obama is a socialist/Marxist.
After I had my revelation - when I realized that Obama was not a socialist, I tried to convey the point to people that Obama is a puppet of political Opportunist, who practice Opportunism. Opportunist will allow the peasants to label them any, and all "isms" because it only helps their cause to Confuse, Divide, and Conquer the masses in order to reach their goal of a complete takeover of America, her people, and her resources.
Sadly, Ma and Pa Kettle still scream "Obama is a socialist" because they believe they are trying to save their country; when in actuality, they are playing into the hands of the crony capitalist.
At first the Tea Party was a show of force; but now they have been given just enough rope to hang themselves and America.
You are assuming that electing different people will change anything. The reason we have the Dems in office now is because the Republicans screwed up so badly when they were in charge.
Maybe the Republicans have learned their lesson, but I doubt it. Most politicians are only concerned about their own power, wealth, and privileges. Why we continue to believe their phony promises is beyond me.
Because "we have the people" have been conditioned through education and propaganda to BELIEVE in them.
It is NOT beyond you to break free from the conditioning and look for the truth because from your comment you already understand that politicians are only concerned about their own power, wealth, and privileges.
I keep an open mind. And I am beginning to have my doubts as well.
What do you want to bet that not one illegal will be affected by this, only Americans.
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