| Switzerland promoted to tax haven 'white list' |
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--(www.FinancialNewsUSA.com)-- 09/28/2009 - Taxes industry news provided by Financial News USA. BERN, Switzerland (AP) -- Switzerland was promoted Friday to a 'white list' of countries that have signed up to international tax information exchange rules, taking a further step toward shedding its stigma as an uncooperative tax haven. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development welcomed Switzerland's signing of a tax information sharing treaty with Qatar, the Alpine nation's 12th since agreeing earlier this year to soften its stance on banking secrecy for foreigners. Switzerland will now be removed from the OECD's 'gray list,' the Paris-based watchdog group said. Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz signed the deal with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York late Thursday. Switzerland previously reached agreements with the United States, Denmark, Luxembourg, France, Norway, Austria, Britain, Mexico, Finland, Faeroe Islands and Spain. [Read the full article] OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An electric vehicle dealer has asked a Garfield County judge to prevent the Oklahoma Tax Commission from enforcing an emergency rule the dealer claims prohibits buyers of his vehicles from claiming a state tax credit for electric cars. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in state district court in Enid by Ada Electric Cars names the Tax Commission and its three commissioners -- Thomas Kemp Jr., Jerry Johnson and Constance Irby -- as defendants, said Roger Gaddis, owner of the dealership. The tax credit totals 50 percent of the purchase price of an electric vehicle and can be spread over five years. But an emergency rule passed Sept. 17 excludes electric vehicles whose bodies are similar to a golf cart or go-cart instead of a traditional passenger automobile from eligibility for an existing tax credit as well as vehicles that are principally designed and manufactured for sporting or recreational purposes. [Read the full article] Wind power has its fans, but the turbines that turn breezes into energy are also generating concerns: Some worry that the huge contraptions might put wildlife at risk. AP - FILE - In this April 2, 2009 file photo, wind mills work atop the mesa near Sterling City, ... So has anyone considered illuminating them with floodlights or painting them hot pink, so animals know to stay away? Curiosity about more wildlife-friendly wind farms inspired one of the questions in this edition of "Ask AP," a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers' questions about the news. If you have your own news-related question that you'd like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions(at)ap.org, with "Ask AP" in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question. Unemployment insurance is funded by a combination of state and federal taxes levied on employers. [Read the full article] SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- A San Mateo, Calif., mortgage executive is being held without bail over a tax refund of more than $5 million that federal authorities say he received after filing a fraudulent tax return. Prosecutors say Seth Sundberg was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on mail fraud and tax charges. The 34-year-old Sundberg, who also goes by the name Franco Metcalf, allegedly filed a 2008 tax return claiming that he paid more than $6 million in taxes on income from a debt instrument known as an Original Issue Discount. As a result of the alleged bogus claim, prosecutors and IRS officials say that Sundberg received a refund check of $5,083,609. Prosecutors say before his arrest earlier this month, Sundberg had worked as a branch manager for a San Mateo mortgage firm. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. [Read the full article] About Financial News USA Financial News USA is a Next Generation Financial Communications firm focused on the distribution of market moving news. Financial News USA has developed leading edge e-publishing tools including programming proprietary RSS feeds and enabling open source press release publishing across its network. Financial News USA has been aggressively expanding its news distribution network by targeting direct feeds to financial news and data providers such as FinancialContent, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), among others. Financial News USA offers a free news feed available online (www.financialnewsusa.com) to websites and financial services looking for content and for individual investors looking to stay informed on the financial markets. Financial News USA and its affiliates charge each client cash for news distribution and may take an equity position in the companies mentioned herein, please visit the disclaimer at www.financialnewsusa.com. 
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