-Caveat Lector- So if the UN could enforce taxation of the earnings of people who come to this country, would they then be paying taxes both in their country of origin and the US? Double taxation of wages earned in the US would certainly reduce the number of highly-skilled who come to this country to live and work. ~Amelia~ A one-world taxing authority? > Daniel Mitchell > > http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20010821-17096945.htm > > A key United Nations panel has proposed a radical plan to give > international bureaucrats sweeping powers over U.S. tax policy. This > scheme, which will be part of the agenda at the International Conference on > Financing for Development next March, would undermine America's competitive > advantage in the world economy. The president and Congress should reject > this extremist agenda. > > The report from the "High-level Panel on Financing for Development" > contains four major initiatives. Each one of these proposals is bad tax > policy. All the proposals undermine national sovereignty, and most of them > represent an assault on the right to privacy. > > (1) An International Tax Organization: The U.N. report asserts that an > International Tax Organization is needed, particularly to "take a lead role > in restraining tax competition." This is an attack on the world's > taxpayers. Governments should not conspire how to keep taxes high, and they > certainly should not set up a supranational institution to pursue this > big-government agenda. The proposal also is a threat to America's national > interests. By world standards, the U.S. is a low-tax country, and it is > clear that an International Tax Organization would undermine our ability to > use this advantage to create jobs and growth. > > (2) Imposition of global taxes: It is bad news when politicians in > Washington make us pay taxes, but just imagine how high taxes would climb > if unaccountable international bureaucracies had that power. Yet this is a > big part of the U.N.'s agenda. Specifically, the report highlights two > options. > > The first is a tax on all international currency transactions, a proposal > that would throw a monkey wrench in the world trading system and impose a > disproportionate burden on America's efficient financial markets. The > second option is an energy tax. This idea would mean higher gas prices, > higher electricity prices, and higher heating oil prices. And if this > agenda is not sufficiently frightening, the report also talks about global > taxes on seabed mining, ocean fishing, and satellite launches. > > (3) Allowing governments to permanently tax emigrants: This is probably the > most anti-American of all the proposals. Because of our free market > economy, we have lots of job creation and economic opportunity, and this > makes the U.S. a magnet for the world's entrepreneurs and other ambitious > people. From the perspective of other nations, however, this creates a > "brain drain," one that deprives them of people to tax. To fix this > supposed problem, the U.N. wants to give governments the power to tax the > income of emigrants. In other words, if a French businessman became a U.S. > resident, France would have the right to tax his income for the rest of his > life. This scheme could have a profound impact on the American economy > since foreign-born U.S. residents earn about $600 billion of income every > year. > > (4) Worldwide taxation: Not only does the U.N. want to impose taxes on a > global basis, it also want to help individual governments tax income on a > global basis. This is why the report endorses "information exchange," which > means governments would be expected to collect private financial data on > individual taxpayers and then share that information with other governments. > > Politicians from high-tax nations like France get upset when taxpayers > shift their economic activity to jurisdictions with lower tax burdens. > Information exchange would reduce this freedom by allowing France to impose > French tax rates on income earned in other nations. > > While this proposal will probably get the least attention of the report's > four major recommendations, it could be the most dangerous. Information > exchange is a back-door form of tax harmonization since individuals would > be taxed at the same rate regardless of where they earn their income. This > initiative is a dagger aimed at the heart of U.S. financial markets since > people from all around the world invest in the U.S. economy, but many would > withdraw their funds if financial institutions were forced to act as > informers for foreign tax collectors. > > In addition to the specific proposals discussed above, the report calls for > a doubling of foreign aid, more social welfare spending, higher taxes, and > international bureaucracies that would interfere with the ability of > sovereign nations to determine their own labor and environmental policies. > > Combined with the U.N.'s recent pro-gun control meeting, it seems the > organization is still wedded to an anti-American, anti-freedom agenda. > > In the final analysis, motives do not matter. Regardless of whether the > U.N.'s behavior is driven by knee-jerk anti-Americanism or by hard-core > socialist ideology, the organization's tax agenda would cripple the U.S. > economy. > > The good news is that Congress and the President can tell the bureaucrats > at the U.N. to take a long walk off a short pier. The bad news is that the > administration has been disturbingly receptive to "information exchange" > initiatives being advanced by Europe's welfare states. The final decision > on these proposals, including those in the U.N. report, will determine > whether the White House is on the side of American taxpayers or foreign tax > collectors. > > > > Daniel Mitchell is the McKenna senior fellow in political economy at the > Heritage Foundation. > > > > [Forwarded For Information Purposes Only - Not > Necessarily Endorsed By The Sender - A.K. Pritchard] > > ------------------------------ > > A.K. Pritchard > http://members.ll.net/chiliast/ > http://rosie.acmecity.com/songfest/189/ > > > "This transfer of power from Congress to the United Nations has not, > however, been limited to the power to make war. Increasingly, Presidents > are using the U.N. not only to implement foreign policy in pursuit of > international peace, but also domestic policy in pursuit of international, > environmental, economic, education, social welfare and human rights policy, > both in derogation of the legislative prerogatives of Congress and of the > 50 State legislatures, and further in derogation of the rights of the > American people to constitute their own civil order." > > --Rep. Ron Paul's Special Order Speech - 9/18/00 <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
