Panama Papers: German paper publishes ‘biggest leak in history’ on corruption

[euphemia]

As long as it's their own money I really dont care.

Technically, it might be their money, but only technically. Actually, a lot of that belongs to you and me because it is due to the US government. When someone underpays a bazillion dollars, it means we regular folks are forced to pay more, and Congress has to borrow more. As long as this keeps happening, we will never have an upwardly mobile middle class, and we will continue to be politically disenfranchised.

I get that taxes are immoral beyond a point, but it is the system we have. You and I are penalized because George Soros hides so much of his money. And because he is one of the most immoral people, ever, the system that favors him becomes more immoral.

 

[euphemia]

Just to give an example, how would it make you feel for Al Sharpton to be assessed back taxes plus interest?

 

[timosman]

What I Learned From the Panama Papers

 

[Suzanimal]

Another Day, Another Leak. Oh, What Fun!

Just as leaked records from Ashley Madison exposed a great many libidinous secrets, so those from a Panamanian legal firm are revealing the financial ones of many dictators (whether recognized as such or not) worldwide and their corporate cronies. Surprise, surprise: these greed-balls are protecting their wealth from taxation while emptying our pitiful pockets.

Grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the fireworks! So far, the “Panamanian Papers” have named no American tyrants, but that will change as journalists digest more of the Papers’ contents.

Of course, a good tax-“cheat” (do we call a guy who prudently avoids an alley with a reputation for sheltering muggers a “robber-cheat”?) is one of our greatest benefactors. Every dollar he keeps out of some government’s hands is one less bullet aimed at us, one less corporatist paid for technology to spy on, arrest, cage or otherwise abuse us. So the only objection we can raise when we learn that politicians, bureaucrats, and their best buds are protecting their own assets while stealing ours is the utter hypocrisy.

Surveying the fall-out from the Panama Papers, Boobus will clamor for “reform” instead of anarcho-capitalism. When will he learn that corruption is government’s nature? And no reform on earth will ever prevent it, any more than we can reform the wetness from water.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/another-day-another-leak-oh-fun/

 

[Working Poor]

How is this a scandal?

Ironic no American politicians are on the list and timing of the list is rather questionable.

Yea I am suspicious of that as well. Also I want to add I feel very bad about what the USA did to Gaddifi and his son.

 

[angelatc]

You and I are penalized because George Soros hides so much of his money. .

I think that most of his money is taxed at least twice before it lands in the bank. He pays more taxes in a year than I will pay in a lifetime. It isn't his fault that the USA has a spending problem.

 

[presence]

 

[presence]

screen shot from front page cbsnews.com




down with this sort of thing
downwiththissortofthing

the future will find use for this


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-panama-papers-six-key-takeaways/

 

[AngryCanadian]

So far April 5 is almost here still no Americans on the Panama papers have being released. I wont be holding my breath. Its rather ironic for Sen John McCain to be taking cheap shots at Putin whose not even mentioned on the joke Panama papers.

Does the little Arab Spring creator feel so safe? i am getting tired of that old hag McCain and Hillary

 

[Suzanimal]

Thousands Demand Iceland PM Quit Over Panama Papers

(NEWSER) – If the Panama Papers leak is going to bring down a big name, it's looking more and more like it will be Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson. About 10,000 protesters gathered outside parliament in Reykjavik on Monday evening, and opposition parties are pushing for a no-confidence vote, reports the Guardian. Gunnlaugsson insists he won't resign in the wake of reports that he and his wife set up a secretive offshore company based in the Virgin Islands in which to invest money. That company, Wintris, lost millions in the crash, and the company wants to recoup some of that from the government. As the New York Times reports, Gunnlaugsson is accused of a conflict of interest because, as prime minister in 2013, he helped negotiate on behalf of those looking to reclaim money from collapsed banks.

"He’s just lost all credibility," a financial services consultant tells the Guardian. "Our prime minister, hiding assets in offshore accounts. … After all this country has been through, how can he possibly pretend to lead Iceland’s resurrection from the financial crisis?" Gunnlaugsson sold his half of the company to his wife for a token $1 in 2009 just before a rule took effect that would have required him, as a member of parliament, to declare his ownership. He insists everything has been above-board. "I have not considered quitting because of this matter nor am I going to quit because of this matter," he told Icelandic television Channel 2, per Australia's ABC. For an explainer on the overall scandal, Vox points to this graphic and its clever use of a piggy bank.

http://www.newser.com/story/223081/thousands-demand-iceland-pm-quit-over-panama-papers.html

 

[Suzanimal]

Head Of "Transparency International" In Chile Resigns After "Panama Papers" Revelations

Define irony.

While the global media has been almost entirely focused on the "circle of close Putin friends" who have emerged as some of Mossack Fonseca's clients, and moments ago the Panama Papers even had their first official casualty when the Iceland prime minister resigned, far more amusing examples of "shell firm" perpetrators have emerged, if deep under the radar.

As Reuters reports with barely a trace of humor, the president of the Chilean branch of Transparency International resigned on Monday after documents from a Panamanian law firm showed he was linked to at least five offshore companies.

For those who are unfamiliar, Transparency International is a German-based organization that seeks to monitor and root out corporate and political corruption worldwide.

Awkward.

...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-...chile-resigns-after-panama-papers-revelations

 

[dannno]

As long as it's their own money I really dont care.

It isn't..

 

[undergroundrr]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-...chile-resigns-after-panama-papers-revelations

Yeah, a government-linked organization with the purported mission of reducing corruption is kind of a non-starter.

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

Goons gonna profit from their gooning...

 

[Suzanimal]

Panama Papers Scandal Brings Down Iceland’s Prime Minister

LONDON — The prime minister of Iceland submitted his resignation on Tuesday, according to his deputy, succumbing to political pressure two days after an enormous leak of documents from a secretive Panamanian law firm about offshore shell companies and tax shelters.

The resignation of the prime minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, was the first prominent political fallout from the document leaks known as the Panama Papers, which have shed a harsh light on the private financial activities of many rich and powerful people.

Officials around the world, from Europe to Asia to the Americas, were scrambling on Tuesday to contain the fallout — particularly in Britain, where Prime Minister David Cameron, who has portrayed himself as a champion of financial transparency, was battling revelations in the leaks that British-governed territories are vast havens of hidden wealth, including for members of his own family.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/world/europe/panama-papers-iceland.html?_r=0

 

[luctor-et-emergo]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/world/europe/panama-papers-iceland.html?_r=0

Ooops and that with the BREXIT vote upcoming. *popcorn*

Not that I'm in favor of high taxes but I'm not shedding a tear.

 

[Suzanimal]

FB comments

D - Innit kinda funny that virtually all of the politicians exposed in the Panama Papers are "democratic socialists"?
Like · Reply · 12 · 33 mins
J - They're very generous....with other people's money. See how that works?

 

[Suzanimal]

...

China, on the other hand, dismissed as "groundless" reports that the Panamanian law firm had arranged offshore companies for relatives of at least eight present or past members of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of power in China.

Among those named in the leaked documents was the brother-in-law of President Xi Jinping. State media have ignored the reports and searches of websites and social media for the words "Panama documents" were blocked.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said he would not discuss the reports further and declined to say whether the individuals named would be investigated.
"For these groundless accusations, I have no comment," Hong told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's president was accused of abusing his office and of tax evasion by moving his candy business offshore, possibly depriving the country of millions of dollars in taxes.

...

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/nations-scramble-to-contain-panama-papers-fallout-1.2845670

 

[Suzanimal]

Surveying the fall-out from the Panama Papers, Boobus will clamor for “reform” instead of anarcho-capitalism. When will he learn that corruption is government’s nature? And no reform on earth will ever prevent it, any more than we can reform the wetness from water.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog...r-leak-oh-fun/

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday championed federal steps to deter a corporate financial practice known as "tax inversions" and called on Congress to close the loophole "for good."

Obama called it "one of the most insidious tax loopholes out there" because it shortchanges the country. He said less tax revenue means the government can't fully spend on schools, transportation networks and other things to keep the economy strong. He said the practice also hurts middle-class Americans because "that lost revenue has to be made up somewhere."

He commented one day after the Treasury Department announced a series of steps to make inversions less financially appealing.

Inversions happen when U.S. companies relocate their business interests on paper to take advantage of lower tax rates. Their use has sparked a political outcry.

"When companies exploit loopholes like this it makes it harder to invest in the things that are going to keep America's economy going strong for future generations," Obama said at the White House. "It sticks the rest of us with the tab and it makes hard-working Americans feel like the deck is stacked against them."

He said steps the Treasury Department announced late Monday build on what the administration has already done to make the tax system fairer. The new regulations, the third round from Treasury on the issue of inversions, seek to limit internal corporate borrowing that shifts profits out of the United States.

Obama said the regulations will make it more difficult and less lucrative for companies to exploit the tax code in this manner. But the regulations also would not make the practice illegal, something Obama has advocated for some time. Only Congress can outlaw the practice. Obama called on its Republican leaders to "end this kind of irresponsible behavior" by enacting comprehensive tax reform.

..

Obama said a massive leak of 11.5 million documents from a Panama-based law firm that shed light on a world in which wealthy individuals can shelter their wealth from tax authorities are another reminder that "tax avoidance is a big global problem."

He said the so-called Panama Papers demonstrate that leaders should do more to tighten tax laws and crack down on individuals and companies that use tax shelters. He said the U.S. and other countries should "lead by example" in closing loopholes and provisions.

"A lot of its legal, but that's exactly the problem," he said.

http://bigstory.ap.org/d73da872d798413585a98b38c9d50858

 

[Pauls' Revere]

https://news.yahoo.com/arrest-warrants-issued-founders-panama-052343724.html

Germany has issued international arrest warrants for the two founders of the firm at the centre of the tax haven scandal exposed by the Panama Papers data leak, German media reported.

Mossack Fonseca founders Juergen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, suspected of tax evasion and associating with criminals, will be arrested if they enter the European Union, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported late Monday.

A spokesman for the Cologne public prosecutor's office confirmed that two international arrest warrants had been issued in connection with ongoing investigations, but did not identify those involved.

Mossack and Fonesca hold Panamanian passports and are currently in the Caribbean archipelago, which does not have any extradition treaties, the newspaper said.