Asian banks review US ties, August 21, 2012
Cost will rise when tough new rules on derivatives come into force
SINGAPORE: Asian banks are reviewing relationships with their US counterparts to avoid being caught by tough new American rules on derivatives trading that are about to come into force.
From the start of next year, non-US banks that annually deal in at least US$8bil worth of products such as interest rate swaps with American counterparties are expected to be subject to new derivatives rules in the Dodd-Frank Act.
In practice that means they will need to register as swap dealers with US regulators and abide by their rules on capital requirements and risk management, all of which adds to costs.
“If I have the choice, I just don’t want to deal with a US person’,” said a treasury manager at a regional Asian bank.
Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad
Federal Public Minister of Switzerland denies that Swiss banks did anything wrong by giving employees names to the USA authorities
The federal public minister of Switzerland (similar to an attorney general or solicitor general) denies that banks did anything illegal by transmitting the names of 10,000 Swiss bank employees to USA authorities. The lawyer of the plaintiff, a former bank employee, said that the decision signifies that, “No one committed a single illegal act” («aucun acte illicite n’a été commis par personne»). The plaintif will challenge this decision within ten days before the Swiss federal penal Tribunal.
It seems like the Swiss authorities are circling the wagons around the Swiss banks against the rights of individual Swiss citizens.
Plainte d’un ancien de la banque HSBC classée
Hat tip: Jefferson D. Tomas
How normal countries describe the question of dual nationality
Here‘s what Spain has to say:
| Spanish | English translation |
| La concurrencia de dos nacionalidades en una misma persona tiene como consecuencia la existencia de un doble vínculo jurídico. La persona con doble nacionalidad es, a un tiempo, nacional de dos países, gozando de la plena condición jurídica de nacionales de ambos Estados. | The concurrence of two nationalities in one single person has as a consequence the existence of a dual juridical bond. The person with dual nationality is, at one time, a national of two countries, enjoying the full juridical status of nationals of both States. |
Imagine that: speaking of dual nationality in terms of “full status”, rather than of how the citizen must serve the government. Continue reading
Blaming minorities leads to economic growth?
With a weak economy, massive debt and high unemployment, are accusations against a small minority of being financially greedy the best means of improving the economy or even increasing political power? The latest propaganda from the US government seems to lean in that direction:
“I’m a Romney girl, in a Romney world. Life is taxless. It’s fantastic,” sings the fictitious Miss Swiss
The Globe and Mail
Such talk may very well appeal to masses of poor people who are struggling to meet their daily needs in a weak economy. They certainly have much more serious things to worry about than to question the propaganda being fed to them by their government. Thus, they may not realize that “Miss Swiss” isn’t even Swiss, or that the video clip “I’m a Romney Girl” is not real.
Detention of former marine Brandon Raub for “terrorist” comments on Facebook page
This is a developing story that has found its way on to Zero Hedge and Business Insider, two very different sites that I follow for investment news. Hopefully, it is much ado about nothing and that there will a be reasonable explanation–though would you believe the explanation if it came out?
Here is the mother’s side of the story on the Josh Tolley Show:
Kuwait to add to U.S. State Department renunciation backlog?
According to an article in the Arab Times, Kuwait is going through another one of its periodic crackdowns on holders of dual citizenship, forcing them to choose one nationality or the other. Two years ago the focus was on Kuwaitis with inherited nationality of Arab or South Asian countries; this time, however, they seem to be looking to root out Kuwaitis who were born abroad in jus soli countries — including “accidental Americans” born to in the U.S. to international students who later came back to Kuwait. This could mean long lines outside the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City, and even bigger numbers of CLNs piling up on State Department desks in Washington, DC waiting to be approved.
Here we go again: examples of others making comparisons
Our leader of the Canadian Cheekiness Movement (CCM) may be finding himself in some interesting company, namely Carl Watner, an American historian of libertarian studies and Voluntaryist, and Paul LePage, the governor of Maine. With a great deal of aplomb, Watner’s drawn parallels between the actions of the US government and Nazi Germany, Governor LePage in remarks he recently made about the IRS.
In his paper, Watner make references to regulations, including FATCA, that are ‘reminiscent of what Nazi Germany did to its citizens in the years before World War II’.
The Noose Continues to Tighten But No Government Lasts Forever
The Whiskey Rebellion: or How does the United States enforce its tax laws?
At the Daily Reckoning, Byron King has offered a three article history of the Whiskey Rebellion:
The Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion, Part II: Enforcing the Wealth Tax
The Whiskey Rebellion, Part III: Ending the Rebellion
Synopsis
After the Revolutionary War, the United States suffered chronic problems of debt and lack of revenue. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, created a tax imposed upon whiskey at its source. This greatly upset the distillers of Western Pennsylvania who began to abuse the tax collectors. As a result of this, President Washington mustered the army, which was in disarray, and so he supplemented it with the Virginia and New Jersey militias. The Western Pennsylvania militia, on their way to attack Pittsburgh was met by a delegation of Pittsburgh men with wagons full of beer, beef and other food. The Western Pennsylvania militia feasted and disbanded before Washington arrived with the US forces. Washington proclaimed amnesty and the Whiskey Rebellion became a footnote of history.
Taiwan banks order government to sell dignity, sovereignty to Washington
Next Tuesday, two bankers who now work for Taiwan’s executive branch will meet some people from the Bankers Association (yes, that’s their official name, not Bankers’ Association) in order to get recommendations on how to help banks deal with FATCA. Unsurprisingly, the Bankers Association is recommending complete and total surrender, without even asking for anything in return from the IRS. And the worst part is, the media are barely paying any attention to it. The only coverage I’ve seen at all is an article in Taiwan’s Apple Daily earlier this week, which I’ve translated below.
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Grover Norquist and Dan Mitchell argue for territorial taxation – “IRS Discount” associated with U.S. entities or persons
Cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship
Introduction – Territorial vs. Worldwide Taxation or Global Taxation – It’s becoming topical!
July 15, 2012 – the Financial Times ran a front page article called “China eases taxes for foreign companies” The article included the following:
China will cut taxes on the profits that foreign companies take out of the country by up to 50 per cent after rules on withholding taxes were relaxed to encourage more overseas investment.
The move will also apply to dividends paid by Chinese listed companies to foreign shareholders through the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme . In both cases, the lower tax rates will apply only to companies and shareholders based in countries, such as the UK, that have double taxation agreements with China.
The changes could save companies billions of dollars worth of tax payments, which might initially lead them to repatriate more profits, but ultimately should provide incentives for more investments, according to experts at KPMG. US companies, however, cannot benefit as they are taxed on a global basis by US authorities.
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