The Punishment for Ignoring Obamacare Penalty Might Surprise You

Joshua Krause

Now that April 15th is on the horizon, many taxpayers are bracing themselves for the inevitable penalty that will hit them if they don’t sign up for Obamacare. It’s estimated that at least 3 million households may have to pony up 1% of their income, or $95 per adult, if they don’t have insurance; a number which is poised to expand to 2.5% for the 2016 tax year.

However, for all its bluster and intimidating language, the Affordable Care Act might not have any teeth. Recently, a tax expert writing for Forbes noticed that Obamacare, while far-reaching and burdensome in terms of what it demands from the American people, offers little to no repercussions for anyone who would be tempted to avoid it.

Good News! Tax Audits Will Dwindle to Record Low Levels This Year

Joshua Krause

Well, tax season is officially here, as Americans of all walks of life scramble to get their extortion papers tax returns in order before April 15th. Although, I’m not really sure why they call it “tax season.” That makes it sound like you could draw a comparison to something like the “holiday season.” I guess there are some similarities. You will spend months stressing over your finances, as you struggle to figure out how you’re going spend all your money on stuff you don’t need, but I digress.

There is some great news on the tax front. Apparently, this year the IRS will issue the lowest number of audits since 2005.

Corporations Join Droves Renouncing US Citizenship

And now those "droves" are going to be paying an extra 422% to break free by renouncing citizenship, according to Forbes. - Ed.)

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Nick Giambruno, International Man
Casey Research

Don’t be surprised to lose if you don’t make an effort at being competitive.

And if you go out of your way to make yourself less competitive, expect to lose.

If that sounds like simple common sense, that’s because it is.

But it’s also exactly what the US has been doing for years—enacting tax policies that sabotage its global economic competitiveness.

It’s like trying to get in shape for a marathon by going on an all-McDonald’s diet. (Speaking of McDonalds, check out this funny video spoof of what their commercials should really look like.)

Here are two major reasons why the US is lagging in the global economic marathon:

Internet Sales Tax Quietly Moving Through Congress

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Eric Blair
Activist Post

Big retailers, including Amazon, have been lobbying long and hard for it, and now the Internet sales tax is back after being quietly reintroduced in the US Senate last week. 

The Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act would force customers to pay sales taxes for online purchases from out-of-state online merchants, and it forces online retailers to collect and remit separately sales taxes to all US territories.

Washington Post says "Currently, officials can only levy sales taxes on retailers who have a physical presence, be it a store or warehouse, in their states." Because of that, big box stores complain that Internet retailers have an unfair advantage. Congruently, local officials seem to be salivating at the potential for more revenue.

IRS to Jail Woman Who Owes $0 in Taxes, Seeks Jury Nullification

Dees Illustration

Sally Oh


Doreen Hendrickson is spending what might be the last weekend she has with her family for a few years. On Monday, her jury is expected to return with a verdict on her contempt charge. If she’s found guilty, she will go to jail.

The IRS put her husband Pete in jail for 3 years; it is anxious to do the same to Doreen.

Doreen’s charge? Not signing a Form 1040. That’s it.Talk about a non-crime.

A 1040 is a legal document that you sign under penalty of perjury:

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, they are true, correct, and complete.

It is signed under penalties of perjury because a Form 1040 is your sworn legal testimony regarding your income taxes. If you lie on a form 1040, you will go to jail. How ironic.

Man Pays Parking Fines in Coins

Youtube

"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels…upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!" -- Mario Savio.


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A Tight Tax Leash Constrains Americans

Nick Giambruno, International Man
Casey Research

Many readers are already well aware that the US government is essentially unique—and not in a good way—in how it treats its citizens living and working in foreign countries. No other country in the developed world imposes and effectively enforces as many burdens on its citizens abroad (and those who would do business with them) as does the US government.

Whether it is filing and paying taxes to both a foreign government and the US government, the reporting of foreign financial assets (FBAR and Form 8938), or saddling foreign financial institutions with extra compliance costs for dealing with US citizens (FATCA), among others, the root cause of these burdens is a system of citizenship-based taxation (CBT).

The US is the only developed country in the world that enforces CBT.The rest of the developed world uses residence-based taxation (RBT), which means filing and paying taxes only in the country in which you reside, as opposed to the country of which you are a citizen.

It is critical for Americans considering internationalization to understand the difference between CBT and RBT. This two-and-a-half-minute video does a good job of spelling it out.

Dealing with the burdens associated with CBT is an unfortunate fact of life for Americans.

It is not likely to change in the foreseeable future. In fact, I would bet that the burdens will actuallyincrease as the US government becomes more financially desperate. That is a significant incentive to act sooner than later… or before it is too late altogether.

However unpleasant this reality is, it does not negate the need to internationalize.

Quite the contrary.

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As spending on welfare/warfare related programs continues to rise, it is clear that US government will sink deeper into fiscal and moral bankruptcy, with political risk increasing in tandem.

It is far better to deal with the burdens associated with internationalization than to leave your savings, your income, and yourself in range of a desperate government's wrecking ball.

Taken together, being compliant with all the requirements can feel like navigating a confusing hedge maze with draconian consequences.

We live in a time of great uncertainty. Any number of black-swan events (economic or otherwise) are not just plausible but likely; the feeling that we are on the precipice of a new, large, and global war; and the likelihood that the US will become a full-blown police state after the next large attack are all good reasons to have an insurance policy.

Being internationalized gives you the peace of mind of knowing that you have options at your disposal if you should ever need them.

While Americans may need to internationalize more than citizens of other countries, everyone with assets to protect may benefit from moving some of them outside one's home country. Questions of "how" and "to where" are natural, as scams abound.

The comprehensive special report titled Going Global 2013 can help investors steer clear of them, as well as other mistakes a well-meaning person might fall into. The report addresses: what countries are best for you and your money (they are often not one and the same); the best ways for Americans to keep their hard-earned money from the IRS; stock markets and currencies around the world that are good investment bets; setting up an international trust; and much more.

With specific, actionable advice, Going Global 2013 can provide your money with "diplomatic immunity"... and your life with a fresh start. Get all the details and get started now.

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The Waste List: 66 Crazy Ways That The U.S. Government Is Wasting Your Hard-Earned Money

Michael Snyder

Why did the U.S. government spend 2.6 million dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly? Why did the U.S. government spend $175,587 "to determine if cocaine makes Japanese quail engage in sexually risky behavior"?  Why did the U.S. government spend nearly a million dollars on a new soccer field for detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay?

This week when I saw that the IRS was about to pay out 70 million dollars in bonuses to their employees and that the U.S. government was going to be leaving 7 billion dollars worth of military equipment behind in Afghanistan, it caused me to reflect on all of the other crazy ways that the government has been wasting our money in recent years. So I decided to go back through my previous articles and put together a list. I call it "The Waste List".

Even though our politicians insist that there is very little that can still be cut out of the budget, the truth is that the federal budget is absolutely drowning in pork.  The following are 66 crazy ways that the U.S. government is wasting your hard-earned money...

In America, taxes are voluntary but if you choose to not pay, you’ll be forced to ‘voluntarily’ comply

Dees Illustration

Madison Ruppert

Hidden amongst the reams of reports about the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scandal is one little gem: the outgoing IRS Commissioner Steve Miller said that America’s tax system is “voluntary” in his testimony.

Now, whatever you do, don’t take that to mean that it is actually voluntary in the way that the word voluntary is normally used.

While you might think that voluntary means something which is “done without compulsion or obligation” or “done, made, brought about, undertaken, etc., of one’s own accord or by free choice,” when it comes to America’s “voluntary” tax system, it’s quite the opposite.

Obamacare: A Deception

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Paul Craig Roberts, Contributor

Introduction by Paul Craig Roberts 

The article below is the most comprehensive analysis available of “Obamacare” – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The author, a knowledgeable person who wishes to remain anonymous, explains how Obamacare works for the insurance companies but not for you. 

Obamacare was formulated on the concept of health care as a commercial commodity and was cloaked in ideological slogans such as “shared responsibility,” “no free riders” and “ownership society.” These slogans dress the insurance industry’s raid on public resources in the cloak of a “free market” health care system. 

You will learn how to purchase a subsidized plan at the Exchange, what will happen when income and family circumstances change during the year or from one year to the next, and other perils brought to you by Obamacare. It is one of the most important articles that will be posted on my website this year. Americans will be shocked to learn the extent to which they have been deceived. The legislation neither protects the patient nor are the plans affordable. 

Top 10 Most Influential Whistleblowers

image source

Activist Post

The subject of insiders -- or "whistleblowers" -- is somewhat tricky; anyone on the inside is often presumed to be compromised by their former allegiance. Nonetheless, the nature of government work is rooted in compartmentalization. So, perhaps the best indication as to whether whistleblowers have something valid to say is the level of persecution they have endured.

The following whistleblowers have endured a varying degree of pushback from the system, but are still around to reveal key points of information that make us all question what we are being told by our government and the corporate media.

Please listen to the video presentations of the following insiders who have used their positions to educate those on the outside about the machinations of people far more devious than ourselves. These whistleblowers are not the criminals that the U.S. government increasingly charges them as. Rather, these whistleblowers represent the highest level of activism and courage. 

Big Sis buys yon bonny bagpipes and gets overcharged in the process

McLellan Pipes

James Smith, Contributor

Just when you thought the madness at the Department Of Homeland Security could not get any worse, DHS, on behalf of Customs and Border Protection agency, requests the purchase of, and awards the purchase of 12 MacLellan Bagpipes made from African Blackwood.

Surely, these pipes will be used to sing Amazing Grace at the funerals of fallen agents. An appropriate use, no doubt.

But they were overcharged! Ya gotta love the Scots. They know a sucker when they see one, and Big Sis is . . . well, that can’t be confirmed.

As the Scottish proverb goes, “Never marry for money, ye can borrow it for cheaper”

Folks, you’ll love this.

I'm Allowed to Rob You!

LarkenRose.com

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Destroying Internet Freedom by Taxation

James Hall, Contributor

Government taxation is as old as the first brute using force to steal from those intimidated by threats. So why should it be any different for the Internet? In today’s political environment of choosing winners and losers, the rush to tax online sales is gathering steam. Everyone feels the presence of the Amazon behemoth. Retail outlets like Best Buy are rethinking their business model in order to compete. States are eager to tap the flow of transactions with a sales tax that would cost consumers dearly. The issue of "so called" fairness is the argument that bureaucrats love to hang their hats on. So who makes the valid case for exemption or inclusion?

Senator Jim DeMint made quite a stir in his article, No Internet Taxation Without Representation...

A Nation at War Can't Afford Domestic Improvements

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Breaking: Audio From Elaine Brown’s “Life Sentence” Appeal

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Jack Blood, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Both Elaine Brown and supporter Danny Riley are appealing the unfair, massive sentences given to them by the U.S. Injustice System.

Riley had at least one witness (a US Marshal allegedly) recant his testimony, which was used by the state to convict him (this is on tape).

Elaine Brown’s attorneys are arguing that she did not take up arms against the government, on her property, while being threatened by local, state, and federal authorities. I never once witnessed Elaine carrying any weapon while visiting their home in NH. They are also arguing bias, and improper procedure by the prosecution.

Elaine Brown, and her husband Ed Brown were under siege by authorities in 2007 in New Hampshire, after failing to attend a kangaroo court hearing pertaining to non payment of taxes. Those taxes it should be noted ended up in the pockets of Wall St in 2008 via the Bush / Obama bailouts!

Public schools' 'pay to play' fees: By the numbers

In the face of budget cuts and rising costs, public schools across the country are making ends meet by nickel-and-diming students

Wiki Image

The Week

In some financially struggling school districts, students have to pay fees to participate in extracurricular activities... or not participate at all.

Public schools are supposed to be free. But faced with budget cuts, rising staff costs, and declining tax revenues, many are instituting "pay to play" fees, charging students extra for everything from electives to after-school sports — and even some required classes, like French and basic sciences. Here, a brief guide, by the numbers, to these "controversial" fees:

$18

Course supplies fee for students taking English 9 at Dakota Ridge High School in Littleton, Colo.

The Love Police: Report on Banking and Tax (Video)

YouTube -- LovePoliceCornwall




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Tax cheats among recipients of stimulus money

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Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of companies that cashed in on President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package owed the government millions in unpaid taxes, congressional investigators have found.

The Government Accountability Office, in a report being released Tuesday, said at least 3,700 government contractors and nonprofit organizations that received more than $24 billion from the stimulus effort owed $757 million in back taxes as of Sept. 30, 2009, the end of the budget year.

The report said the tax delinquents accounted for nearly 6 percent of the 63,000 contractors and grantees examined and cautioned that the real number might be higher because the known tax debt does not measure such factors as income underreporting.

Among the examples was an engineering firm that received a $100,000 stimulus act contract but owed $6 million in taxes. The IRS called it "an extreme case of noncompliance." A social services nonprofit that received more than $1 million in stimulus funds owed taxes of $2 million.

The GAO referred those two cases and 13 others to the IRS for further investigation.

On Tuesday, a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee will hold a hearing on the report.

Federal law does not prohibit tax delinquents from getting government contracts or grants, though there are provisions that enable the government to withhold payments in some cases.

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