Daily Archives: 2 July 2008
Heroes Act of 2008, Citizenship and Taxes
“Congress just passed a new law that will stop your capital — or at least a good portion of it — at the border, should you decide not to be a U.S. citizen anymore. Is it, perhaps, in preparation for the possibility that Americans might rebel at the debt and taxes incurred by their government by leaving for lower-tax locales?
You probably didn’t notice this little provision inserted into the Heroes Act of 2008, passed by Congress on June 17. The headlines in the press release about the law were about the increased benefits for veterans and families of deceased military.
But Richard Kohan of Price WaterhouseCoopers drew my attention to one section of the act, which states that anyone voluntarily giving up his or her citizenship will be taxed on all of his assets as if he or she had sold them — paying capital gains on assets that have increased in value, even though they have not been sold.
That’s right. While everyone in the media is focused on keeping aliens out of America, Congress has voted to lock its citizens – or at least a good portion of their assets — into America! Maybe they’re thinking that patriotism won’t be enough to keep the smart money from recognizing the coming increases in the tax burden.”
I think they’re bracing for the bad times on the horizon. Locking us in, so we tax-payers can continue to pay the government’s debt.
–Worst June Dow Jones performance since Great Depression
-Intimations of a July banking collapse rumbled though the Internet this weekend while mainstream news orgs like The New York Times and CNN pulled their puds over swift boats and Amy Winehouse’s performance technique. Something is happening, and you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Jones…? to quote the master. Read more from jameshowardhunstler.typepad.com
Afghanistan Violence
“Militants killed more U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan in June than in Iraq for the second straight month, a grim milestone capping a run of headline-grabbing insurgent attacks that analysts say underscore the Taliban’s growing strength.” Read more from dailytexanonline.com
Whitehouse: “It’s evidence that things are going swimmingly in Iraq.”
Dick Cheyney: “The insurgency is in its death throes.”
Bush: *blink,blink* (waiting for teleprompter)
Rice: “You must take into account recent troop-increases in Afghanistan.”
Pentagon: “It’s because we’re pushing into their traditional strongholds.”
CNN: “Should Obama wear a flag lapel pin?”
MSNBCBSABC: “Authorities save the day by catching serial child molester.”
MSNBCBSABC: “Angelina Jolie heads to French hospital where she expects to give birth to twins”
MSNBCBSABC: “Search for missing girls leads to charges for stepfather.”
FoxNews: “MUSLIM TERRORISTS!!!!”