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"Hey, let's give wide, blunt political power to a bunch of un-elected functionaries, then we can start automating whatever their desires are! What could go wron
by DanielBMarkham 13y ago
"Hey, let's give wide, blunt political power to a bunch of un-elected functionaries, then we can start automating whatever their desires are! What could go wrong?"
And so we're going to end up with a government like Google, where people come to HN to beg for attention just so they can be treated like a human being.
I think it's time we just all acknowledge that the U.S. has the most onerous and insane financial laws in the world. The only reason other countries put up with them is because the U.S. is the sole remaining superpower.
There really needs to be some kind of correction here, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
EDIT: Just to be clear, I am specifically referring to the Treasury Department handling of overseas payments and expats living abroad, not internal tax or financial regulations. There's a lot out there Google if you want to go look for it, including how various countries have protested being forced to comply with U.S. law, expats giving up citizenship at record rates (though still small in the grand scheme of things), and so on.
- anildash 13y ago"I think it's time we just all acknowledge that the U.S. has the most onerous and insane financial laws in the world. The only reason other countries put up with them is because the U.S. is the sole remaining superpower." I'm gonna guess you don't have a whole lot of stamps on your passport.
- alexeisadeski3 13y agoIt's almost certainly true. Examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes%E2%80%93Oxley_Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes%E2%80%93Oxley_Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_taxation#Taxation_systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_taxation#Taxation...
- Sambdala 13y agoI'm an expat with a relatively large number of stamps on my passport, and I have loads of trouble anytime I try to open a new bank account or do anything remotely 'weird' with international banking.
- trumbitta2 13y ago"I think it's time we just all acknowledge that the U.S. has the most onerous and insane financial laws in the world." You should really repeat this to an italian (italian born in Italy, speaking italian as his first language, not italian born in New York) entrepreneur. But please record a video then share it. I'd really like to see their face :D
- camillomiller 13y agoExactly. "Please, visit our country..."
- alexeisadeski3 13y agoThis is of course anecdotal: I just so happen to have spoken with a practicing Italian banker (in English), practicing financial professionals from several other Anglophone nations, and from Germany as well. (these conversations were friendly and not professional in nature - I was not seeking their services, should any future Treasury/IRS folks be reading this!) Never have I once - ever - heard a single one of them suggest even for a second that there is any financial/economic system as heavily regulated, asinine, filled through with bizarre rules, and just overall insane as that found in the US.
- PeterisP 13y agoItaly (and other EU) payment regulations are actually quite reasonable compared to USA. Now, Russia - that's a different ballpark; companies transferring significant money to/from abroad there involves not only tricky bureaucracy, but a bunch of hidden-gotcha-landmines as well; no wonder their companies tend to open a subsidiary in Switzerland or Crete or even Italy just to handle their money flow.
- trumbitta2 13y agoEvery single medium-sized company is fleeing from Italy towards East Europe because of: - taxes - mafia - masonry (the italian one, Grande Oriente d'Italia, is not as good as others) - taxes - less-than-robust legal system - taxes And, of course, also for the taxes.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]