Money "laundering" is a silly term. It's the effort to keep income and payments from governments who want to tax it. Diamonds, gold and some crypto facilitate this. But its more than that. What if the government is the crook? economist.com/finance-and-ec…
There are estimates that 22% of the world's income is "black market". That's a complete WAG. But the poorer the country the more likely that people avoid government scrutiny in their transactions. From 2012: freakonomics.com/2012/06/25/how…
Other sources insist that the black market is as big or bigger than the known or legal market. Insisting that it is a natural libertarian desire to keep the fruits of one's labor...or crimes. libertarianism.org/topics/black-m…
Europe and the UK (You know the royals who created colonial era offshore tax havens) humorously finger shitholes as the main culprits for black money and dodgy transactions. That's not really true. eubusiness.com/topics/finance…
The top funky money spots to the Swiss are: Afghanistan (8.16), Haiti (8.15), Myanmar (7.86), Laos (7.82), Mozambique (7.82), Cayman Islands (7.64), Sierra Leone (7.51), Senegal (7.30), Kenya (7.18), Yemen (7.12). Not all rich guy investment hotspots. blueazurite.com/2020/10/27/maj…
People also think crypto is where you can launder your money. Nope. Some like Monero are designed for anonymous users but most crypto is tracked. news.iobanker.com/2020/07/29/com…
Where can dictators, drug barons, politicians, pimps and gangsters park their money as it cleans itself in the sun? The UAE of course. Pretty much anywhere you see a lot of new condos with the lights off at night. And high living. Here is one report. carnegieendowment.org/files/PageVitt…
What about those supposedly high net worth individuals that sell high ticket condos and own upside down real estate. Yep money laundering. washingtonpress.com/2021/01/31/don…
So what if you were to combine the UAE and another country known for residents who don't trust governments with their money? And then sprinkle in investments that go down into Africa and "strong man countries"? forward.com/opinion/150571…
But lets pause, governments, even those that don't collect taxes are cracking down on stopping illicit funds mostly due to investigations and high profile criminal cases but leaks mean money movers just restructure and create new corporations within hours. icij.org/investigations/
The largest amount of money laundering comes from states, not individuals. Why? Sanctions force them into the dark market. The typical stereotype for this is the African dictator who sees state funds as their own. But that is too simplistic. howafrica.com/discover-how-b…
Leaders of China, Russia, Gulf countries and others use a medieval system of oligarchs or family to decide who will be rich and protect their assets through designated wealth. Something we don't pay much attention to until it bumps into our own President. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Its a symbiotic relationship. The wealthy elite deciding who rules or the ruler deciding who will be wealthy. But this is the real source of money laundering a system designed to allow certain families to stay wealthy while taxing the general population. inequality.org/great-divide/t…
Should the ultra-rich pay any taxes? They are free to live anywhere on earth, keep their funds in any form of wealth, have private security ,pay taxes via sales and real estate taxes and don't really give a shit about potholes, crime or public schools. forbes.com/sites/howardgl…
Yes, the 1% should pay more. "The poorest 20% of Americans paid an average of 10.9 % of their income in state and local taxes and the middle 20% of Americans paid 9.4%. The top 1%, meanwhile, pay only 5.4% of their income to state and local taxes." cnbc.com/2015/01/15/do-…
Surprisingly only a third of Forbe's Richest 400 inherited their wealth. The rest earned it in their lifetime. So the American dream is alive. For some. Do taxes stop accumulation of wealth? Does money laundering protect the wealthy or the state? cnbc.com/id/49167533
All we know is the last President spent over 9 trillion we didn't have and the current President is poised to spend more trillions we don't have. Trillions that come from taxes. Far more than the entire estimated amount of dark money on the planet. thebalance.com/us-deficit-by-…
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