Free Republic

NEPTUNE, N.J. (AP) — Spotty enforcement and an outdated state law allow thousands of landowners to pay pennies on the dollar in property taxes. The Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, intended to preserve agriculture in New Jersey, is being used by millionaires, developers and anyone with at least five acres to slash their farmland tax bills by 98 percent. An Asbury Park Press investigation into farmland assessment records found that landowners deemed "fake farmers" by those calling for reform are producing little more than the bare minimum — $500 — in goods to qualify for the tax breaks. One landowner...

The pot has issued the kettle an ultimatum: tax dodgers beware. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was forced to fork up $34,000 in unpaid back taxes, told the House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday that the Obama administration will be going after people who avoid and evade taxes. In prepared remarks before Congress, he said the president is intent on "tackling tax shelters and other efforts to abuse our tax laws, including international tax evasion efforts." Geithner himself never used a tax haven to avoid payment, but did neglect to pay Medicare and Social Security taxes while he was a...

September 08, 2006 What would Bono do? Probably dodge taxes By RICK de YAMPERT VOX POP Dante, in his 14th-century epic "The Inferno," consigned hypocrites to the eighth circle of hell.I'm wondering if I should pack Bono's suitcase and book him a trip to Dante's eighth circle. Bono, the U2 singer who has railed against governments for not contributing more funds to Third World nations, is a tax dodger.Last month, the media in U2's native Ireland and across Europe were buzzing with the news that U2 had transferred its music publishing business to the Netherlands. The move came after the...

California bans tax dodgers Bermuda: a popular location for a PO Box headquarters California, the most populous and richest state in the US, will no longer do business with or invest in companies that dodge US taxes. In recent months a flood of firms have moved their official address from America to offshore havens including the Cayman Islands and Bermuda to avoid paying tax at home. But in most cases the only sign of their new headquarters is a postbox and perhaps a lawyer, while everything else stays exactly where it was in the US. Now the California state treasurer's...