Salient to Investors: Fareed Zakaria said: Kenneth Pollock says Iran’s foreign policy has been rational and prudent over the years. China has less than 5% of the vote in the World Bank and less than 4% of the vote at the IMF. Larry Summers said: The US has lost its role
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Matthew Ledvina at Anaford said Fatca and the Swiss bank disclosure program has intensified the search for US nationals beyond all measure. The US is the only OECD country that taxes its citizens abroad. Almost 9,000 Americans living overseas have surrendered their passports over the past 5
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The IRS said conversions from regular IRAs to Roth retirement accounts increased more than nine times in 2010, rising to $64.8 billion from $6.8 billion in 2009, and the first time Roth conversions were greater than contributions. More than 10 percent of IRA holders with annual incomes
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Lawrence Summers estimated in December that estate and gift taxes raised only $14 billion in 2102, or 1 percent of the $1.2 trillion passed down in America each year, mostly by the very rich, suggesting our estate tax system is broken. Jerome Hesch at Berger Singerman said
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Kathryn Keneally at the Justice Department said taxpayers who still believe they can hide secret Swiss bank accounts from the IRS are beyond foolish, and Switzerland is no longer a good place to hide assets for tax reasons. Fourteen firms, including Credit Suisse, HSBC, and are under criminal investigation. A
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The tax code option for married couples joint filing is both a social and economic anachronism. Anne L. Alstott at Yale Law School said joint filing is really outdated and does not reflect the new normal. Edward McCaffery at Gould School of Law said in a nutshell,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Calpers is 26 percent short of meeting its long-term commitments. The state and cities contributed $7.8 billion in the last fiscal year, almost 4 times more than a decade earlier. California taxpayers may see their municipal pension contributions rise as much as 50 percent under a plan
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Congress is debating the biggest rewrite of US partnership rules in 60 years, which may increase taxes for real estate and finance businesses or prompt them to restructure operations to avoid new costs. The Camp proposal would change the rules for businesses such as partnerships that don’t
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