The Long Arm Of The American Tax System
This story from the BBC entitled Goodbye, US Passport, caught my eye, as it was top of the BBC’s most read list this morning. It’s about US citizens living abroad, giving up their citizenship.
The number of Americans giving up their citizenship has rocketed this year – partly, it’s thought, because of a new tax law that is frustrating many expats.
Some examples are given, where Americans living in countries like Germany and Scandinavia are having to spend several thousand dollars with professional advisors just to fill in the complicated tax form required. And then they are not actually paying any tax!
Would you give up your British citizenship, if say you wanted to live in Italy and the British government wanted you to fill in a complicated tax form, so you could be taxed on things that are nothing to do with the UK at all?
Years ago, I was in Denver at a conference and about seven of us of different nationalities, all sat down and discussed the tax we paid. It was strange some of the taxes that in those days Americans paid. One guy who lived in Virginia, always ran an old car, as he had to pay a yearly property tax on his vehicle to the state.
In the end we came to the conclusion, that if you added up the cost of national and local taxes, property taxes and the cost of healthcare, schooling and universities, there wasn’t great differences between anywhere in the developed world.
I suspect it’s not much different now, if you take one of your average 2.4 families, where the parents do normal jobs.
An American Import We Don’t Want
This story, entitled US shops and restaurants fight patent trolls, caught my eye. Here’s an extract.
Patent trolls take out generalised patents, often on widely available technology, and then demand money from companies who use or offer it.
Shops and restaurants have been targeted for displaying QR codes and online store-locators, say the groups.
The real trouble is that the US has too many lawyers, who think that everybody else owes them a living. I’ll update an old joke.
What do you call a million American lawyers at the bottom of the sea?
A good start!
German Pipe Fittings
On my trip back from Stockholm, between Osnabruck and Cologne, I sat next to a German electrical engineer.
He astounded me at one point, by saying that German pipe fittings on industrial plants were in Imperial units.
I have been unable to check on the Internet, but I assume it is true and is probably down to American influence.
Where Do New Buses for London Go On Holiday?
According to this story, LT1 seems to be having a good time in the United States.
Surprisingly, it seems to have lost the green hybrid logos!
Missing White Woman Syndrome
This article on the BBC web site is an interesting observation on the dreadful cases of abduction in Cleveland.
The trouble is that the media knows what stories are popular and will generate more advertising.
Although, the article is mainly about the United States, could we say honestly hand-on-heart, that the media would have taken the same interest in the Madeleine McCann case, if she had not been white?
Justice Gets Attacked In Marion, Indiana
This is a rather funny story, about a drone that went AWOL.
Mark Steel On The US Gun Lobby
I found this thoughtful article by Mark Steel in the Independent.
His logic may be faultless, but he comes to a series of hilarious conclusions. This paragraph is typical.
Or it could be that there’s a rule that the capture of a dangerous criminal is only a victory for America if the criminal can be portrayed as not American. Because if you’re going to go on a killing spree in America, you should at least have the decency to be American. There must be some people saying: “It’s a disgrace. These Chechen lunatics are coming over here taking our lunatics’ jobs.”
On the other hand most people, who’ve read what he says agree with him.
It Looks Like Crunchies May Now Have Added Gluten
I never trust American food companies not to add gluten to products.
When Cadbury was British, you could trust that Crunchies were gluten-free and I’ve ate many without any reaction.
However, this message has just turned up on the UK-Coeliac Yahoo group.
I just had one of those Cadbury Crunchies from a pack of three, and am now in pain and looking 9 months pregnant.
I checked the ingredients first, and it just said “Contains Milk”… Lying Kraft/Mondelez/Cadbury B^&/4£ds!…
I went to Cadbury.com and it went to “Mondelez” which is apparently the new name that Kraft are hiding behind.
It is very telling that the text on the very top of the page is the current Nasdaq share price, and when I searched for “gluten” on their website it came back with “no results found”.
Cadbury used to be very good about gluten, but it is clear that these evil devils couldn’t give a toss about the poisons they put in their products or the people eating them.
Avoid…
I will do what the lady says at the bottom and won’t touch any more Cadbury products again.
So the Americans have ruined a classic British brand.
A Judge Holds Himself In Contempt
I like this story from the Wall Street Journal.
it’s about a judge, who held himself in contempt of court, when his mobile phone rang.
A Memorial At Southwark Cathedral
I’ve been to Southwark Cathedral many times, but I’ve never seen this memorial.
It is to a Native American chief called Mahomet Weyonomon.
The whole story is a very sad and sorry tale.
The Anonymous Widower 