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(ABC News) Interesting Sen. Carl Levin wants to shut down some giant Swiss bank; makes no attempt to do anything about Mentos commercials   (abcnews.go.com) divider line 113
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smitty1276 2008-07-17 03:09:26 PM  
It's a good thing that the Democrats are working to fix our image problem as a world bully.

/Why not eliminate the motivation to hide money in other places in the first place?

 
AliasUndercover 2008-07-17 03:09:35 PM  
I guess Carl's money is in bonds?

 
Rascal King 2008-07-17 03:09:38 PM  
Mmmmm mentos

 
vinnydoz007 2008-07-17 03:10:47 PM  
Yea you would think the government would be pissed about all these people keeping money from the US government. Oh wait half the people in the US government are doing it too. Doh.

/corrupt

 
Shostie [TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:11:18 PM  
Sure. Why not? It's not like the enterprising billionaire won't find another place to hide money.

 
diesel3 2008-07-17 03:11:44 PM  
Waaaaah. Some folks have money and I want more of it to buy votes. Waaaaaah.

 
The_Sponge [TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:12:11 PM  
smitty1276: /Why not eliminate the motivation to hide money in other places in the first place?


Seconded.

 
Antimatter 2008-07-17 03:12:17 PM  
smitty1276: It's a good thing that the Democrats are working to fix our image problem as a world bully.

/Why not eliminate the motivation to hide money in other places in the first place?


Because there are laws against Genocide, and the nation can't exist without taxes.

 
ImpendingCynic 2008-07-17 03:13:05 PM  
What does the headline even mean? Mentos are Dutch.

 
Johnny Savage 2008-07-17 03:13:44 PM  
This is what happens when you try to take more money from the rich by raising taxes.

Rich people didn't get rich by being stupid. And they aren't going to stay rich by having their money confiscated by the government and given to worthless people who don't earn it.

 
Antimatter 2008-07-17 03:13:44 PM  
diesel3: Waaaaah. Some folks have money and I want more of it to buy votes. Waaaaaah.

Not to buy votes, because it's basically lost tax money. This costs us roads, teachers pay, etc. All so a rich dude can earn more interest and pay less taxes.

 
IdeasGuy 2008-07-17 03:13:49 PM  
smitty1276: I
/Why not eliminate the motivation to hide money in other places in the first place?


Exactly (new window)

 
Ace Attorney 2008-07-17 03:13:57 PM  
I'm sorry, that headline totally flew over my head. Anyone mind explaining?

 
Texas with a Dollarsign 2008-07-17 03:14:08 PM  
smitty1276: It's a good thing that the Democrats are working to fix our image problem as a world military bully by turning us into a world corporate bully.

FTFY

I'd prefer for us to be the latter over the former, personally. Tax evasion is a crime, not an attempt at revolution.

 
EdVenture 2008-07-17 03:14:20 PM  
smitty1276: It's a good thing that the Democrats are working to fix our image problem as a world bully.

/Why not eliminate the motivation to hide money in other places in the first place?


I think the headline is misleading. It sounds like he just wants to remove their ability to do business in the U.S. not shut them down completely.

If you want to do business here, play by our rules or GTFO.

 
thomps [TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:14:29 PM  
fark.com: where companies that help people evade American law are the heroes.

 
seventypercent [TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:17:22 PM  
smitty1276: Why not eliminate the motivation to hide money in other places in the first place?

The problem with that is that you could have a federal income tax rate of 0.01% and you'd still have America-haters actively avoiding it.

 
stazz 2008-07-17 03:18:06 PM  
The_Sponge: smitty1276: /Why not eliminate the motivation to hide money in other places in the first place?


Seconded.


While you're at it - Why not eliminate the motivation to bribe Senators?

/ Oh wait ... that would be the same thing!

 
GoldSpider 2008-07-17 03:18:15 PM  
thomps: fark.com: where companies that help people evade American law are the heroes.

Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!

therevolutionofamerica.com

 
theorellior 2008-07-17 03:19:49 PM  
GoldSpider: Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!

Rich people can't complain about taxation without representation. Their money buys the best congresspeople available.

 
thomps [TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:20:16 PM  
GoldSpider: Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!

Yeah, Mortimer T. Moneybags is totally trying to start a revolution by moving his money to a non-reporting swiss bank account! sic semper tyrannis!

 
que.guero 2008-07-17 03:20:28 PM  
I'm just curious why "the list" hasn't been published in the US like it has been in Europe. Sort of like the DC Madam scandal, I suspect there are more than a few people who we may, or may not be surprised to find on there...

 
reelpirate [recently expired TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:21:05 PM  
Antimatter: diesel3: Waaaaah. Some folks have money and I want more of it to buy votes. Waaaaaah.

Not to buy votes, because it's basically lost tax money. This costs us roads, teachers pay, etc. All so a rich dude can earn more interest and pay less taxes.


Yeah god forbid he be able to keep what he earned. Dumb ass

 
Johnny Savage 2008-07-17 03:22:10 PM  
theorellior: GoldSpider: Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!

Rich people can't complain about taxation without representation. Their money buys the best congresspeople available.


Their money also pays for the police state that takes their property if they choose not to give it so much money.

 
stazz 2008-07-17 03:22:38 PM  
theorellior: GoldSpider: Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!

Rich people can't complain about taxation without representation. Their money buys the best congresspeople available.


Now that's just stupid! If wealthy people owned those legislators the laws would be written to FAVOR the wealthy (lower tax rates). The people who OWN legislators are the ones taht get them elected. I.e., ADM, AARP, NEA etc.

 
captain_heroic44 2008-07-17 03:24:14 PM  
smitty1276: It's a good thing that the Democrats are working to fix our image problem as a world bully.

/Why not eliminate the motivation to hide money in other places in the first place?


You could actually, I dunno, read the farking article. See, he just wants to revoke their US banking licenses; which is a reasonable response to obnoxious banking practices designed to permit criminal evasion of US tax laws.

 
thomps [TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:24:18 PM  
reelpirate: Yeah god forbid he be able to keep what he earned. Dumb ass

did he earn all that wealth without ever relying on government infrastructure and code of law? if so, then by all means. otherwise, think good and hard about who is the dumbass.

/hint: there is a cost for a free and unencumbered society

 
stazz 2008-07-17 03:27:12 PM  
thomps:

/hint: there is a cost for a free and unencumbered society


Well now, THAT'S an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

 
Antimatter 2008-07-17 03:27:47 PM  
reelpirate: Antimatter: diesel3: Waaaaah. Some folks have money and I want more of it to buy votes. Waaaaaah.

Not to buy votes, because it's basically lost tax money. This costs us roads, teachers pay, etc. All so a rich dude can earn more interest and pay less taxes.

Yeah god forbid he be able to keep what he earned. Dumb ass



Right! Because it's tottally fair that he can use government supplied and maintained infastructure, american workers, and so forth, and not pay a dime, while the rest of us all have to.

 
captain_heroic44 2008-07-17 03:28:07 PM  
GoldSpider: thomps: fark.com: where companies that help people evade American law are the heroes.

Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!


See, the Boston Tea Party, which your image references, was in response to taxation without representation. In the US, the rich not only have the rights to vote, and to speak freely, but they have the right to contribute large sums of money to Congressional campaigns. They're well represented, and taxing them is therefore not unfair in the way it was unfair to tax English colonials.

 
theorellior 2008-07-17 03:28:34 PM  
LOL. Lawdy be, those po' rich folk! They hassta hide they money away so the revenuers cain't find it! Lawdamercy! Won't someone think of the po' rich folk!

 
thomps [TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:28:51 PM  
stazz: Well now, THAT'S an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

only if you refuse to use alternate meanings of words. you see a "free" or "open" economy requires a protective laws and a physical infrastructure that promotes trade - a "cost" if you will.

/let's play with semantics instead of issues - hurray!

 
xuanzhiyouxuan 2008-07-17 03:29:59 PM  
A senator. Complaining about another group's attempt to help "wealthy American evade taxes." Aren't there any number of bills every year targeted at saving a single individual or company a load of dough?

 
Tenebreux 2008-07-17 03:30:02 PM  
Cui Bono.

 
theorellior 2008-07-17 03:30:51 PM  
I wish this was some country like Zimbabwe where the rich folks could just hire thugs to spread their words of economic freedom to the peasants. In a free market, everything goes, and nothing goes together like plutocracy and heavy-handed strong-arming!

 
captain_heroic44 2008-07-17 03:31:36 PM  
stazz: theorellior: GoldSpider: Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!

Rich people can't complain about taxation without representation. Their money buys the best congresspeople available.

Now that's just stupid! If wealthy people owned those legislators the laws would be written to FAVOR the wealthy (lower tax rates). The people who OWN legislators are the ones taht get them elected. I.e., ADM, AARP, NEA etc.


Billionaire Warren Buffet pays a lower percentage of his income in taxes each year than does his secretary.

It would appear that the tax laws are written to favor the wealthy.

Interesting.

But don't let the facts get in the way of your ideological preconceptions.

 
WaltzingMathilda [TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:33:00 PM  
captain_heroic44: GoldSpider: thomps: fark.com: where companies that help people evade American law are the heroes.

Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!

See, the Boston Tea Party, which your image references, was in response to taxation without representation. In the US, the rich not only have the rights to vote, and to speak freely, but they have the right to contribute large sums of money to Congressional campaigns. They're well represented, and taxing them is therefore not unfair in the way it was unfair to tax English colonials.


Everyone knows facts have no place at Fark.com. Instead, we want to use passing, albeit irrelevant, references to heroic historic events to support our view that taxes are bad, shooting unarmed criminals is good, marriage needs to be protected no matter how often it fails, and cats with bad grammar are the cutest god damned things on Earth.

Fall in line!

/hereby declaring thomps and captain_heroic winners
//from my pulpit as self-appointed thread judge

 
Observatory 2008-07-17 03:34:07 PM  
UBS, Enron, and Former Senator Phil Gramm

While former US Senator Phil Gramm's wife, Wendy Gramm was a member of Enron's audit committee, and also serving on the company's of the Board of Directors, UBS was a consultant for the State of California in 2002 to help fix the State's energy crisis.

Shortly after, Enron went bankrupt, and Gramm resigned taking a job with UBS Warburg as a Vice President.

After Enron went bankrupt, UBS Warburg bought Enron's energy trading operations. UBS PaineWebber which is a subsidiary of UBS Warburg, was in charge of Enron's employee stock option program.

There's more. Much more.


Senator Phil "the US is a nation of whiners" Gramm

 
captain_heroic44 2008-07-17 03:34:17 PM  
WaltzingMathilda: captain_heroic44: GoldSpider: thomps: fark.com: where companies that help people evade American law are the heroes.

Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!

See, the Boston Tea Party, which your image references, was in response to taxation without representation. In the US, the rich not only have the rights to vote, and to speak freely, but they have the right to contribute large sums of money to Congressional campaigns. They're well represented, and taxing them is therefore not unfair in the way it was unfair to tax English colonials.

Everyone knows facts have no place at Fark.com. Instead, we want to use passing, albeit irrelevant, references to heroic historic events to support our view that taxes are bad, shooting unarmed criminals is good, marriage needs to be protected no matter how often it fails, and cats with bad grammar are the cutest god damned things on Earth.

Fall in line!

/hereby declaring thomps and captain_heroic winners
//from my pulpit as self-appointed thread judge


Cats with bad grammar are pretty damn cute. : )

 
xuanzhiyouxuan 2008-07-17 03:34:38 PM  
theorellior: I wish this was some country like Zimbabwe where the rich folks could just hire thugs to spread their words of economic freedom to the peasants. In a free market, everything goes, and nothing goes together like plutocracy and heavy-handed strong-arming!

Wish granted. And look to China for the freakiest modern combination of plutocracy and strong-arming.

 
giantsquidmarks 2008-07-17 03:36:11 PM  
WAR ON BANKS!

/This is my government, there are many governments like it but this one is mine.

 
RamboFrog 2008-07-17 03:40:56 PM  
Note to Carl:

There's a reason people keep their money overseas. It's the same reason Anheuser (sp?) Busch sold to a Dutch company. The issue isn't the tax rates in this country. It's the cost of complying with the Charlie Foxtrot you call a tax code.

Wake up and smell the coffee Carl. We're not the only game in town anymore. Other countries are simplifying their tax codes - and other laws - to attact businesses. And guess what? They're doing just that. Meanwhile, you and your buddies keep adding regulation after regulation to businesses. Then you've got the gall to cry like babies when people and companies say "Fark you, I'm going somewhere else."

Grow up, Carl.

 
thomps [TotalFark] 2008-07-17 03:43:20 PM  
RamboFrog: It's the same reason Anheuser (sp?) Busch sold to a Dutch company.

they keep their money overseas in order to utilize a global distribution infrastructure and economies of scale? well i'll be goddammed.

 
Cubicle Jockey 2008-07-17 03:52:35 PM  
Other countries are simplifying their tax codes - and other laws - to attact businesses.

We still appear to be quite well posistioned, thank you.

Link (new window)

See page 7.

 
Cubicle Jockey 2008-07-17 03:53:15 PM  
Positioned, even.

 
Funnelwars 2008-07-17 03:53:17 PM  
Carl your carl carl carl carl.

Carl.

 
Vkingbanna 2008-07-17 03:54:43 PM  
ImpendingCynic: What does the headline even mean? Mentos are Dutch.

I'm glad I'm not the only one confused. You, me, and Subby. Oh and RamboFrog, too, evidently, since InBev is a Belgian Company.

 
ScottMpls 2008-07-17 03:56:08 PM  
Good luck with that Carl. I'm sure they'll spend a few bucks on some re-election campaign or two, and you'll feel better.

 
henryhill 2008-07-17 03:56:39 PM  
RamboFrog:It's the same reason Anheuser (sp?) Busch sold to a Dutch company.

InBev is Belgian/Brazilian

 
Chainsaw Messiah 2008-07-17 03:57:20 PM  
captain_heroic44: stazz: theorellior: GoldSpider: Yeah, to Hell with people think they are being taxed unfairly!

Rich people can't complain about taxation without representation. Their money buys the best congresspeople available.

Now that's just stupid! If wealthy people owned those legislators the laws would be written to FAVOR the wealthy (lower tax rates). The people who OWN legislators are the ones taht get them elected. I.e., ADM, AARP, NEA etc.

Billionaire Warren Buffet pays a lower percentage of his income in taxes each year than does his secretary.

It would appear that the tax laws are written to favor the wealthy.

Interesting.


Billionaire Warren Buffet chooses to pay a lower percentage of his income in taxes each year than does his secretary by accepting his salary as stock thereby paying the capital gains rate instead of the income tax rate. He also chooses to place his wealth in a trust thereby avoiding the inheritence tax that he says the rest of us should be paying.

But don't let the facts get in the way of your ideological preconceptions.

Yeah, that's working out real well for you.

 
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