Good morning,
The Rich
ProPublica says it has seen the tax returns of some of the world's richest people, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett. The website alleges Amazon's Mr Bezos paid no tax in 2007 and 2011, while Tesla's Mr Musk paid nothing in 2018.
A White House spokeswoman called the leak "illegal", and the FBI and tax authorities are investigating. But it’s further proof the tax system favour the rich and their ability to dodge paying taxes. ProPublica will publish more information including the fact the richest 25 Americans pay less in tax than most mainstream US workers.
President Biden has rightly vowed to increase the taxes on the rich to help the massive infrastructure investment program.
And expect more from the G7 Summit to be held here in Britain in two days time when discussions will focus on an agreement to back the creation of a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15%, aiming to squeeze more money out of multinationals such as Amazon and Google and reduce their incentive to shift profits to low-tax offshore havens.
Hacked Criminal Gangs
An FBI run messaging app criminals thought was super safe for them to carry on their illicit business has led to arrests around the World. Law enforcement said they had used hacked devices to intercept over 20 million messages from crime syndicates, revealing activities such as a plan to ship cocaine from Ecuador to Belgium in cans of tuna. At least 800 people were arrested in more than a dozen countries.
The F.B.I. worked with police agencies in countries like Sweden and the Netherlands to sell more than 12,000 of the hacked devices to gangs in more than 100 countries. The phones had a hidden function that sent encrypted messages and photos, directly to police. Users trusted the devices’ security so much that they often laid out their plans in plain language, not in code. Even the bad guys get hacked.
Covid Europe
Much of Europe is now reopening after severe restrictions to stem a Covid wave of infections. In Paris curfews have been rolled back from 9pm to 11pm. Indoor dining has resumed. And a health pass will allow access to gatherings of more than 1,000 people, including indoor and outdoor sporting events, cultural venues, casinos, festivals, trade shows and funfairs.
France's fourth and final phase of easing restrictions is slated to begin June 30. Most European Countries will allow summer vacation travel between EU Nations, with a vaccine travel pass.
Hate Crime Canada
It is rightly being labelled an act of terror in London Ontario, where a muslim family of four was killed in a hit and run accident that has shocked Canadians. 14 year old Yumna along with her parents Salman Afzaal, 46 and Madiha Salman, 44, and her 74-year-old grandmother . The couple’s nine-year-old boy, Fayez, remained in hospital with serious injuries. Prime Minister Trudeau attended a vigil in the City 2 hours West of Toronto.
"This was an act of evil. But the light of the people here today, the light of the lives of the Afzaal family, that will always outweigh the dark," Mr Trudeau said.
Nathaniel Veltman, 20, was charged with driving a pickup truck onto a curb and hitting the family.
Hate crimes are rare in Canada but there has been a growth of extremism including white supremacist organizations.
Israel and Netanyahu
Although it appears that a peaceful democratic transition will take place in Israel, nothing is certain — especially as Netanyahu accuses his rival of a “deep state” conspiracy. Netanyahu has learned well from Donald Trump, in his endless pursuit of power at the cost of Israels democracy, clutching at the reins of power up until the last minute.
The last minute for Netanyahu will be Sunday when the new Government is to be sworn in. While Trump’s efforts to cancel the election results by recounting millions of votes in multiple states were hopeless from the start, Netanyahu only needs to persuade one MK out of 61 in the incoming coalition to abandon the new coalition.
The director of Israel’s domestic security service, the Shin Bet, warned on Saturday of growing incitement that could lead to politically motivated violence. Nadav Argaman's rare public statement raised concerns about the threat of a Jan. 6-style attack in Israel to prevent a peaceful transition of power if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ousted after 12 years in office.
Have a good morning. I will write more on the G7 meeting here over the weekend.
Dana
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20210608-covid-19-france-resumes-indoor-dining-launches-health-pass-as-next-phase-of-easing-lockdown-begins
https://nationalpost.com/news/london-incident-that-killed-four-muslim-family-members-a-terrorist-attack-trudeau
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/netanyahu-out-of-options-but-not-out-of-his-mind-analysis-670470
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anom-app-messaging-fbi-criminals-trojan-shield/