Free Republic

A palace source has revealed that the Queen’s fortune has passed directly to King Charles, noting that the inheritance is transferred ‘from monarch to monarch.’ In 1993 a decision was made that removed inheritance taxes on the funds if they were transferred from one sovereign to another, making it the most ‘tax efficient’ way to transfer wealth. Unfortunately, this means that none of the Queen’s other children, including Anne and Edward, have received any of the money. So far, King Charles has failed to share the money with his siblings, and Prince Andrew has said he is ‘bewildered’ and ‘in...

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Wednesday that he plans to give his wealth to his foundation. In a Twitter thread that doesn’t allow replies, Gates announced he was transferring $20 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s endowment this month and will increase spending to $9 billion per year by 2026. “As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation,” Gates wrote. “I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people.” Gates is currently the fourth-richest person on earth and has a net...

During their more than 30 years of marriage, Texas billionaire Ed and Marie Bosarge accumulated an unusual collection of treasures. They owned 12 homes, including five properties in Maine and a private island in the Bahamas. They had a 180-foot sailing yacht with its own grand piano. They bought a $5 million Egyptian mummy. Marie bought some of Marilyn Monroe’s personal effects, including her furniture, dresses and bras. “It was over the top,” Marie said of their lifestyle. Now, instead of living the high life, Marie Bosarge fears going under. When Ed filed for divorce in 2017, Marie discovered that...

A little less than two years ago, Gregory D. Wasson, the chief executive of Walgreen, sought a series of tax breaks from Illinois, where his company is based. “We are proud of our Illinois heritage,” he said at the time. “Just as our stores and pharmacies are health and daily living anchors for the communities we serve, we as a company are now recommitted to serving as an economic anchor for northeastern Illinois.” The state gave Walgreen $46 million in corporate income tax credits over 10 years in exchange for a pledge to create 500 jobs and invest in upgrading...

... These days you can convert everything from real estate to private company stock to hedge fund shares into a charitable kitty. Moreover, depending on what you give, to what kind of charity and how you time your donation, you may get a much more valuable tax break than if you’d just given cash. Example: Billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is funding his $100 million commitment to Newark, N.J. schools by donating stock to a supporting organization (a rich man’s donor-advised fund) at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a public charity. If he’d sold $100 million in Facebook shares and...

Aerial signposts point to Scientology's sacred text storage facility There are symbols in northern New Mexico that mark a Church of Scientology vault built in a mountainside. The facility contains founder L. Ron Hubbard's writings etched into stainless steel tablets that are stored in titanium capsules. The Church of Scientology apparently asked Albuquerque TV station KRQE not to air its report last week about the markings in the desert. From the Washington Post: The church offered a tour of the underground facility if KRQE would kill the piece, the station said in its newscast. Scientology also called KRQE's owner, Emmis...

Ex-president Bill Clinton recently told an American audience that he loves to pay taxes, explaining, "I must be the only person in America that every time I pay the maximum tax rates, every time I sign that tax form, I smile." So why is Mr. Clinton buying a home in the notorious tax haven of Ireland? Ostensibly the former first tax lover purchased his $1.4 million dollar bachelor pad in the Dublin suburbs because he loves to play golf. The property reportedly comes with two lifetime memberships in the adjacent Kildare Hotel and Country Club, said to be the most...

The Bermuda Tax Triangle [S] tanley Works ought to change its name to Stanley Flees. The maker of distinctive black-and-yellow tools that for 159 years has made its home in New Britain, Conn., is planning to reincorporate in Bermuda in order to stiff Uncle Sam. Stanley is only the latest in an alarming exodus of greedy companies, but the prospect of the venerable firm taking off for a tax haven caused one local congressman to note that Benedict Arnold, too, left Connecticut and sailed off to Bermuda. Though perfectly legal, Stanley's move would be an accounting gimmick, aimed solely at...