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British Prime Minister Theresa May and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are among the world leaders who've expressed alarm at the rise of virtual cash to move money offshore. The U.S. Congress held hearings this month, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called on the world's 20 biggest economies to work together to make sure cryptocurrencies don't "become the next Swiss bank account." The concern comes after a successful international crackdown on tax havens in traditional banking.
"Every country is scrambling to come up with an answer," said Drake, who serves on the boards of 25 public and private companies. "There needs to be a regulated structure that won't kill the industry."
The earliest adopters of the practice were criminals, and their involvement has risen steadily, according to a three-year study by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-partisan Washington think tank. Next came users like Drake, who said he follows U.S. law by reporting his companies' holdings. Drake said better oversight would help legitimize the industry.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday January 31 2018, @11:04PM (1 child)
Yes, and that is just crazy. If a graduated tax is justified, at all, why not graduate it from top to bottom, in a uniform manner? The rich can get away with paying nothing, or very nearly nothing. The poor pay nothing, and usually get free money back. The working people near the middle get the shaft. And, double shafted if they dare to work overtime! My first year out of high school, I learned that working any more than 53 hours actually meant taking home LESS MONEY. I can't remember the numbers now, but I got diminishing returns between 45 and 50 hours - from 50 to 53 I took home the same money that I would have taken home at 48 or 49. At 53 hours, my net take home paycheck got SMALLER!
That cutoff has moved a little over the years, but it's still there. Work too many hours, and you actually paying the government for the privilege of working. Unless, maybe, at the end of the year, you have dependents to claim that help to get it all back.
(Score: 1) by bobthecimmerian on Thursday February 01 2018, @12:16PM
The 2018 tax changes in the US double the standard deduction but eliminate deductions for dependents. That's why my taxes are going up, I have four kids.
To be fair, our household income is somewhat north of 100k. If it was 100k we would be getting a small tax cut and if it was 50k we would be getting a significant one. But if my wife and I were doctors the tax break is enormous.