We like to complain (and for good reason) about the litany of taxes imposed on us by various levels of government, but this post on Neatorama details some bizarre taxes through history that make current ones seem tame. Peter the Great, czar of Russia, imposed a tax on souls in 1718…meaning everybody had to pay it […]

More →

At least one person is defending Putin’s actions against Yukos and its former president, Mikhail Khodor­kovsky, but it was this that caught my eye (emphasis mine): Russian oligarchs were taking control of the entire Russian economy. These people had a strangle hold on every aspect of Russia and were basically out of reach of the […]

More →

The Russian tax authority has accused Price­wa­ter­house­C­oopers of providing “false audits” to the former oil giant Yukos. I’m sure we’ll find out sooner or later whether these accusa­tions have any merit, but for the time being any government insti­tution in Russia is most definitely not getting the benefit of my doubt. Putin and his regime are […]

More →