On Friday, March 29, 2002, at 07:35 AM, Steve Schear wrote: > At 07:17 PM 3/28/2002 -0500, Declan McCullagh wrote: >> DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE >> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE >> THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2002 >> TAX >> (202) 514-2007 >> TDD (202) 514-1888 >> WWW.USDOJ.GOV >> >> COURT APPROVES IRS SUMMONS FOR OFFSHORE CREDIT CARD RECORDS Records >> from VISA International Will Identify People Who Use Offshore Credit >> Cards to Evade Federal Income Taxes WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal >> court in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday issued an order >> authorizing the IRS to serve a summons on VISA International for >> offshore credit card records. The court acted just two days after the >> Justice Department filed a petition for approval of a "John Doe" >> summons, which permits the IRS to obtain information about possible >> tax fraud by people whose identities are unknown. > > I wonder how this will impact those using e-gold funded debt cards, > which appear to be often traded after purchase to subsequent users?
So long as they reported all income from offshore sources, and all offshore accounts, and paid all taxes, it shouldn't affect them. If they failed to report, blah blah, then they may face the usual criminal tax evasion charges. Probably most of them will be offered the usual opportunity to pay back taxes, penalties, interest, and to narc out those they did business with. Personally, I believe the blanket order to sift through millions of records is precisely what the Fourth Amendment was designed to _BLOCK_. Remember that in the days of King George (the Good, by modern standards), it was common for the king's men to sift through the records and writings of people and businesses more or less at random. That is, without any clear evidence of wrongdoing. Regrettably, these kinds of inspections are now part and parcel of the War on Some Drugs, the War on Terror, the War on Indecency, and the War on Money Launderers. The Four Horsemen, in other words. Examining the records of millions of customers of VISA and Mastercard is not different from ordering that Borders turn over complete data bases of books purchased so that "patterns of thoughtcrime" might be uncovered. Of course, relying on VISA or Mastercard to protect privacy has always been "laws of men" nonsense. If not even Swiss banks are now doing right by their customers, why would San Mateo-based VISA do so? The laws of mathematics are the only hope. This episode, and the likely fizzling of the silly "E-Gold" scheme, is a useful object lesson. --Tim May "To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists." --John Ashcroft, U.S. Attorney Generalim M
