Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Anthony @ Equity Investigations, Dear Anthony, -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony@Pacific who wrote (61731)	10/30/2000 3:22:10 PM
From: jchaulk	Respond to of 122087

I believe ya Tony it is a ZERO GSTRF

To: Anthony@Pacific who wrote (61731)	10/30/2000 3:34:01 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 122087

IRS Can Access Credit Card Records By CATHERINE WILSON .c The Associated Press MIAMI (AP) - In a sweeping tax-evasion probe, the IRS was granted access Monday to thousands of MasterCard and American Express credit card accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in three offshore banking havens. U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan agreed with the IRS that cardholders may have violated U.S. tax laws and that their identities are not readily available from other sources. The court order allows the IRS to issue summonses for charge, debit and credit cards issued or paid by banks in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the country of Antigua and Barbuda in 1998 and 1999. Investigators want to look at such things as car, boat and airline ticket purchases and hotel and car rentals. The investigation is one of the largest targeting offshore accounts in the history of the Internal Revenue Service. MasterCard International spokeswoman Sharon Gamsin said the company does not maintain information that can personally identify a cardholder. Judy Tenzer, a spokeswoman for American Express Travel Related Services Co., said, ``We are now speaking to the IRS to get a better idea of what they're looking at.'' Offshore accounts are legal for U.S. taxpayers, but they must file forms with the IRS about them and pay taxes on income earned in the United States. The three nations targeted by the IRS have long been known as offshore tax havens and favorite spots for drug money launderers. Promoters of offshore accounts boast that income can be sheltered because the U.S. government cannot penetrate some foreign banking secrecy laws. But the IRS believed it could avoid those laws by getting records through the Miami headquarters of the companies' Caribbean operations. The IRS does not know how many accounts created by U.S. citizens and residents are involved but believes the number to be in the thousands. Banks in the targeted islands require customers to open bank accounts before obtaining credit cards. So obtaining the names of the cardholders produces the names of the bank account holders as well. Fifteen countries and territories have been blacklisted by a 29-nation task force for failing to cooperate in the fight against money laundering. The Bahamas and Cayman Islands are among them, but officials in the Cayman Islands promised in June to end tax-haven practices within five years. Daniel Mitchell, a tax expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation, worried that the IRS's blanket record request would affect financial privacy. ``We should not be trying to enforce a worldwide tax regime,'' he said. ``It tends to lead to cartel-like behavior, OPEC for politicians, for lack of a better phrase.'' On the Net: irs.gov AP-NY-10-30-00 1512EST

To: Anthony@Pacific who wrote (61731)	10/30/2000 3:36:19 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 122087

Judge Backs IRS Access to Amex, MasterCard Accounts Washington, Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service may force two credit card companies to release information on their American customers who have accounts in three Caribbean countries. U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan said the IRS demonstrated a ``reasonable basis'' that Americans with accounts in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Antigua and Barbuda may be skirting U.S. tax laws. The IRS filed a petition Oct. 19 against MasterCard International and American Express Travel Related Services Co. seeking information such as passport and drivers' license numbers and big-ticket purchases by customers with accounts in the three Caribbean countries in 1998 and 1999. The companies can either comply with the IRS summons or file to quash the judge's order, which would prompt a hearing. Spokeswomen for both companies said they would decide what to do when they receive the summons. ``We understand the summons has been granted,'' said Judy Tenzer, spokeswoman for American Express. ``We will be communicating with the government to get a better idea of what they're looking for.'' Sharon Gamsin, MasterCard spokeswoman, said, ``As we have not yet seen any decision from the court or the summons that the IRS intends to issue, we cannot comment on it.'' She suggested, however, that the IRS probe might come up empty. ``We have a long history of cooperating with governmental agencies, recognizing as we process credit card transactions, we do not maintain any information that can personally identify an individual cardholder.'' But Jack Blum, a partner with Lobel, Novis & Lamont in Washington and a consultant to the IRS on the case, said the ruling ``strengthens the position of IRS in the event this thing is challenged. Clearly what the judge is saying is, `I've looked at this carefully and I think it's a reasonable request.''' IRS Cracks Down The IRS suspects that some wealthy people have set up trusts with offshore banks to hide income from the IRS, and they gain access to their money with credit, charge, and debit cards issued by banks in those countries. The IRS considers all income by U.S. citizens to be taxable, and assets in foreign banks must be declared on tax returns. However the three countries have strict bank secrecy laws. The IRS estimates there are thousands of accounts owned by Americans in these countries. Because American Express and MasterCard process all of the card transactions in the U.S., the IRS argued in court that it should have access to those records. The judge agreed. ``A reasonable basis exists for believing that such individuals may fail or may have failed to comply with provisions of the internal revenue laws,'' Jordan wrote. IRS Rationale The IRS chose MasterCard and American Express because it detects a ``high U.S. presence with cards issued in those countries,'' said John Buchanan, the IRS's national trust program manager. The IRS intends to compare the information it obtains from MasterCard and American Express to information reported on individuals' tax returns for 1998 and 1999, the years covered in the summons. If the IRS determines there is missing information on a tax return, or if no return was filed, the credit card holder could face back taxes, penalties, and interest. If the IRS can prove willful intent to defraud the government, criminal tax evasion charges can be filed, Buchanan said. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has identified 25 offshore financial centers as tax havens whose bank practices and rules are harmful to other countries. Among them are the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and Antigua and Barbuda. The Cayman Islands already has pledged to eliminate the practices deemed harmful by the organization rather than face economic sanctions. Oct/30/2000 15:09 ET For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here. (C) Copyright 2000 Bloomberg L.P.

To: Anthony@Pacific who wrote (61731)	10/30/2000 4:02:59 PM
From: CaptainSEC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 122087

Gilder's BEST pick is a -.40% 'gainer' over the last month validea.com George Gilder Top Performing Investment Ideas Symbol Insight Date 1 Month Return QCOM Pick 9/19/2000 -0.40% WFII Pick 9/19/2000 -5.08% AVNX Pick 9/19/2000 -8.81% Bottom Performing Investment Ideas Symbol Insight Date 1 Month Return TERN Pick 9/19/2000 -48.28% XLA Pick 9/19/2000 -38.10% GSTRF Pick 9/19/2000 -35.28% Now where have I seen this list before... And gee, there's even a place to rate the advice. I guess this will have to do until fuckedanalyst.com(tm) goes online :)