Free Republic

Greece has proposed a tax amnesty in an effort to collect revenue on billions of euros that its citizens are believed to have quietly stashed in Swiss bank accounts, the NZZ am Sonntag paper reported. The plan, which still needs Greek parliamentary approval and a final accord with Switzerland, is to levy a flat 21 percent tax on such assets to make them legitimate, raising millions that the government in Athens desperately needs, the Sunday paper said, citing unidentified sources. "We welcome the fact that Greece has presented a proposal to resolve this," it quoted Mario Tuor, communications director at...

All but drowned out by Republicans’ clamorous opposition to President Obama’s executive action on immigration are some leaders who worry that their party could alienate the fastest-growing group of voters, for 2016 and beyond, if its hottest heads become its face. They cite the Republican Party’s official analysis of what went wrong in 2012, the presidential-election year in which nominee Mitt Romney urged Latinos here illegally to “self-deport.” “If Hispanics think that we do not want them here,” the report said, “they will close their ears to our policies.” “Both the president and the Republican Party confront risks here,” said...

Since Washington is in such a forgiving and compassionate mode right now – preparing various pieces of legislation offering forgiveness and amnesty for millions and millions of people who have broken the immigration laws of the country, I have an idea. Today is April 17, the last day Americans can postmark their tax returns for 2005. There's a mad scramble on at post offices all over the country. It's an annual ritual – made more complicated this year by the dates on which Easter and Good Friday fell. But it illustrates the way hard-working, taxpaying American citizens jump through the...

A federal, state and local tax amnesty program would quickly raise lots of money and give the economy a supply-side jump- start, says economist Arthur B. Laffer. Tax amnesties are legislated periods during which the payment of past unpaid tax liabilities is allowed without fear of legal reprisal. It is a fairly common practice for state and local governments. o Over the past 20 years there have been no fewer than 62 separate state tax amnesty programs in 40 different states. o Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York have had three amnesty programs each and Louisiana has had four....

<p>Now that President Bush has pushed his tax-cut proposal through both houses of Congress, it's time to seriously consider a federal, state and local tax amnesty program. The result would be lots of money raised in quick fashion and a supply-side jump-start to the economy.</p>