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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhoa Nellie !.. Caymans will now report to IRS on accounts owned by Americans
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/cayman-islands-us-conclude-talks-on-pacts-aimed-at-uncovering-americans-overseas-assets/2013/08/15/82e898dc-05d5-11e3-bfc5-406b928603b2_story.htmlCayman Islands, US reach agreement on reporting Americans assets in Caribbean territory
By Associated Press, Published: August 15
KINGSTON, Jamaica The Cayman Islands says it has reached agreement with the United States to provide information on accounts held by American citizens to comply with a sweeping U.S. law designed to combat tax evasion. The British Caribbean territory, considered the worlds sixth largest financial center and a major haven for mutual funds and private equity, said the texts of the new pacts will be made public once an official signing ceremony is held.
Steven Pearlstein 8:56 AM ET
The Cayman government said the pacts are tied to a U.S. law called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which was enacted in 2010 and expected to take effect next year. The law targets non-tax compliance by U.S. citizens with foreign accounts around the globe, and Washington is pressing nations to provide client data.
Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton said in a Tuesday statement that the agreements illustrate the tiny three-island territorys commitment to engage in globally accepted tax and transparency initiatives. The islands plan further talks with Britains government to finalize terms of a similar information-sharing arrangement for British citizens. There is nothing illegal about U.S. citizens opening bank accounts and trusts in places like the Cayman Islands or Switzerland, but some people illegally use them to hide money and avoid taxes at home.
Such overseas accounts have come under a crush of scrutiny in recent years, and offshore financial centers like the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands have scrambled to sign new international tax treaties and defend their financial sectors. Zero direct taxation and friendly regulations have helped the Cayman Islands lure global money in recent decades and dramatically transform its economy from one based on seafaring, fishing and rope making to one built on financial services and tourism.
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kentuck
(111,110 posts)MineralMan
(146,325 posts)Wire transfer orders are on their way as I write, no doubt.
msongs
(67,433 posts)ecstatic
(32,727 posts)Finally, a slap in the face to the 1%. It's about time.
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)The real question is, what will the IRS do with the information?
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)Isoldeblue
(1,135 posts)would want that information, so that they could stop these crooks from not paying their just due on taxes. Otherwise, why bother?
valerief
(53,235 posts)JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)lastlib
(23,271 posts)A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Interesting topic.
Seems to me that any company buying ad time to place an ad related to American political decisions or issues or campaigns should be an American citizen. Otherwise, we are encouraging foreigners who are not allowed to donate directly to candidates (or at least weren't in the past) to donate indirectly.
That is an interesting topic. I'd like to see what people say.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)to another location where that gawd damn IRS can't touchy feely their hard earned money!
Divernan
(15,480 posts)Strongly predict the changes will NOT be retroactive, and/or there will be a window of time to allow transfers - either out of the Cayman banks or to dummy foreign corporations to hide true ownership.
Full disclosure: I have no $$$ squirreled away on Grand Cayman, but had a wonderful scuba diving trip there a few years back, and recommend:
a great place to stay - Cobalt Coast resort. It's on the far end of the island, away from the Miami Beach high rise hotels/crowds on 7 mile beach, and the thousands of day trippers from the monster cruise ships. My favorite thing was late night relaxing in the hot tub with the sound of the surf & a magnificent view of the ocean and stars and not a single electric light in sight.
http://www.cobaltcoast.com/;
to eat, the Lighthouse Restaurant. Again WAY out of capitol city of Georgetown (need a rental car to get there), but the most beautiful ocean front restaurant I've been to in all my diving adventures. Great Italian menu, with a dining pier extending way out into the ocean. Get there about an hour before sunset and r-e-l-a-x.
http://www.caymanonline.com/lighthouse/index.shtml;
and to visit,
(1)Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park.
24 hectares/59 acres of rugged woodland, with a walking path winding through wetland, swamp, dry thicket, mahogany-tree stands, and patches of orchids and bromeliads. There's also recreated traditional Cayman home, garden and farm; a floral garden with flowering plants, and a lake with three islands, home to many native birds.
http://www.botanic-park.ky/.
and (2) Pedro St. James National Historic Site. Really gives you the history of the island/that part of the Caribbean with a "multi-sensory" 3D theatre (indoor rain storm, lightning and thunder) and a restored Great House dating back to 1780.
http://www.pedrostjames.ky/
I had a wonderful time there, back before 2008, when my retirement savings largely vanished (thanks W!), and scuba diving became a luxury I could no longer afford.
FSogol
(45,524 posts)http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023053377#post11
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1472818
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1472818
http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1905879&mesg_id=1905888
pampango
(24,692 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)Frustratedlady
(16,254 posts)Or does this include exposure to previous and present accounts? It seems the culprits always have fair warning so they can avoid prosecution and/or IRS scrutiny.
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)4/5 year window to get their money to some other more obscure tax free haven.
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)up.
Half-Century Man
(5,279 posts)Look I see the sun. I think it's turning into a wonderful day.
adieu
(1,009 posts)will fall in line before there's no place to hide your stash of money?
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)Iggo
(47,564 posts)Or will there be a grace period so the rich fucks can hide their money somewhere else?
Chemisse
(30,816 posts)That is going to hurt if I ever get filthy rich and want to hide all my money.
juxtaposed
(2,778 posts)As everyone knows on island I knew everyone. I worked for Barkley, and every other hell hole.
Life was good, I every week got payed in cash! The Caymans have a lot of Americans that are hiding from the irs!!!!!!!!!
This is a hole that all else is allowed.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)in each mansion then shit he and the other 1%ers can secretively install their own gawd damn vaults.
mick063
(2,424 posts)Honestly, I'm grinning right now.
This goes.a long way toward restoring my faith.
bhikkhu
(10,722 posts)not that the worst of those guys won't be able to shuffle their money itno some other dark corner, but the harder we can make it the better. Closing down tax evasion is one essential way to close the income inequality gap.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)The wealthy powerful will never allow this because they are, well, er, wealthy and powerful.
Are_grits_groceries
(17,111 posts)magical thyme
(14,881 posts)And don't think Mittens will be impacted. His money is hidden in shell corporations.
This will only get the small fry too stoopid to come up with quasi-legal hiding of money.
BumRushDaShow
(129,375 posts)other than Asia due to Europe's crackdown. Singapore is probably going to be the hotbed of financial largess.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)mnhtnbb
(31,401 posts)Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans (who were speakers for our event) organized
an action in protest of all the offshored money on the day the ship was docked in Grand Cayman.
Check it out:
and a youtube video of the event:
http://codepink.org/blog/2012/12/americans-on-cayman-islands-protest-us-corporate-tax-evaders/