QUESTION: Dear Marty, I understand your general message and totally agree with it. I now see the big picture in a systematic trend and everything moving in the direction Socrates has forecast. I do have a few questions though. Can we call the trend: the public sectors trend to swallow the private sector? In other words, […]
Did $78 billion in gold exports from South Africa really go missing? Nope. As taxes rise, so does trade misinvoicing. This confusing term is actually a method for moving money across borders, primarily to avoid taxes. The Global Financial Integrity Group claims that $465.3 billion was underreported in 2004. They argue that this figure rose to just over $1,090.1 […]
Have you ever wondered why you have to show your boarding pass to purchase something in the duty-free shops, after passing security, when in fact nobody can be there without a boarding pass? The answer is starting to surface. It turns out the government is tracking the destination of travelers who buy anything in the […]
A reader from Austria sent this photo from Paznauner Taja Ischgl. It was snowing there on July 14. Unfortunately, we are heading into a global cooling period.
QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; The taxation of the internet seems to be rising. At the same time it appears as though this could really harm the economy by reducing competitiveness of small companies trying to comply with collecting taxes of so many different states. Have you looked at this as a possible factor in creating the […]
Hollande is a socialist to the core; he claimed to hate the rich, yet spends taxpayers’ money like nobody else. He spends $14,500 per month for haircuts. Sorry, but they charge me $15 for a haircut and I give a $5 tip twice a month. I cannot imagine anyone ever spending that much to have their […]
What are US multi-nationals doing with the $2 trillion they keep offshore? Looking at the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosures shows that Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Cisco Systems hold about 10% of their offshore cash in US government debt, which earns these companies substantial sums in interest. So they are earning interest in dollars while parking money […]
The politicians in Australia know how to shove a tax through that they can flip on anyone who opposes it. Australia is now implementing a “domestic violence tax” whereby they will charge every household $30 annually to create a fund to help victims of domestic violence. There were about 124.6 million households in the United […]
When it comes to taxes, just shut up and pay. It does not matter what the “intent” is — just pay. The German High Court upheld a broadcasting tax that requires everyone to pay for TV and radio. It seemed logical to question why someone should pay the tax if they do not own a TV or […]
Since the publication of the Panama Papers, the assets of the wealthy from around the world have been flowing into United States at a sharply increased pace. Tracking capital flows has revealed that capital outflows of liquidity from the EU have distinctly accelerated. The United States is definitively becoming the replacement for Switzerland. The IRS has even […]
