NewsCloud.com Tax News

It's jail time for tax evader Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes gets sent to jail for three years for tax evasion. What signal does that send US taxpayers? And who's going to kill the vampires now?

Samsung chief indicted

Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee is indicted for tax evasion

Fewer big corporations getting tax audits

Fewer big corporations in the US are getting their taxes audited. Instead, the Internal Revenue Service is focusing on smaller companies.

Liechtenstein: the mouse that roared

Liechtenstein is Europe's dirty little secret. It's where dictators, crooks and British tax dodgers hide their billions. Liechtenstein says it wants a compromise with the rest of Europe. Don't hold your breath.

Backdated tax gifts

Donations to charity are tax deductible. But what if they are in the form of backdated stock gifts? A new study suggests chief executives and chairmen of companies couldn't help ripping off the system. It was just well disguised as a gift to charity.

Deutsche Post chief booted out in tax fraud scandal

A huge scandal in Germany which is likely to roll right through the German corporate sector. Deutsche Post chief Klaus Zumwinkel has resigned in a scandal over tax evasion. But this is likely to be the tip of the iceberg with nvestigations involving as many as a thousand people under way.

On Exxon Mobil's Reported

Reuters reported that Exxon Mobil is interested in helping to develop Iraq s huge oil reserves. The Reuters report also says that spokesperson Len D Eramo said in an emailed statement if the Iraqi government decides it wants international oil companies to partner with them in developing their resources, Exxon Mobil would be interested in participating."

Tax or trade: every carbon scheme has a cost sting

Cap-and-trade creates opportunities for cheating. They can lead to unpredictable fluctuations in energy prices and they do nothing to offset high power costs for consumers. Carbon taxes, on the other hand, can be structured to deliver clean-energy incentives. Ultimately, however, the choice boils down to practical and political considerations

Low global grade for US tax system

A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the World Bank assessing which countries have improved their tax systems found that the US tax system is behind the pack.

KPMG case - the Government strikes back

The US Government has been accused of abusing its powers in the prosecution of alleged wrongdoers. Now the prosecutors are getting their own back. They have asked the court to reinstate criminal charges against 13 former KPMG partners who were let off for peddling dubious tax shelters

The Pope and taxes

The blogosphere has come to life with the Vatican announcing that Pope Benedict XVI will issue a doctrinal pronouncement condemning tax evasion as "socially unjust" and denouncing tax havens and offshore bank accounts, claiming this reduces tax revenues for the benefit of society as a whole.

What About Our Infrastructure?

Some might say the President needs to examine his own priorities and perhaps study the nation s infrastructure a little harder, that is if one takes a 2005 Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) seriously. That report found dangerous flaws not only in bridges, but in some of our most basic modern life lines. Those life lines are the backbone of our nation s economy, the very nuts and bolts

KPMG and justice: waiting for the next instalment

A judge has dismissed charges against 13 former partners of accounting giant KPMG. US attorney general Alberto Gonzalez says the US Government will be appeal but as the judge pointed out, there has been a fundamental violation of rights where the Government denied people the right to defend themselves in court.

Big threats from KPMG avoided charges

Documents reveal that KPMG, to get out being prosecuted for selling fraudulent tax shelters, threatened to leave more than 1000 companies without an auditor. The US Justice Department caved in and the firm got away with it.

Tax shelters: first KPMG, now it's Ernst & Young

First it was KPMG, now partners at Ernst & Young have been charged with tax shelter fraud. But like the KPMG case, the administration is going for the individuals, not the firm. They don t want the Big Four to become the Big Three or Two.