UN Violates US Law; Pushes Global Tax Schemes

On the eve of the U.N.'s second "Earth Summit," the world body has been caught systematically violating a U.S. law that prohibits the world body from advocating or imposing a global tax on American citizens. One of the proposed international taxes, known as the Tobin Tax, could generate trillions of dollars for the U.N. out of the savings, pensions and retirement funds of the American people.

The second Earth Summit, known as the "World Summit on Sustainable Development," is being held August 26-September 4 in South Africa.

U.N. advocacy of global taxes violates U.S. Public Law 106-113, which includes U.N. reform legislation passed in the 106th Congress.

Cliff Kincaid, president of America';s Survival, Inc. during a fact-finding mission to United Nations headquarters in New York. confronted several U.N. officials about these blatant violations of U.S. law and has brought them to the attention of U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and Ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte.

One U.N. official, Dr. Inge Kaul of the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), didn't want to talk about the U.N. campaign to impose a global tax on America. "If your interview is on this topic, then I will have to decline," she said when asked about her involvement in pushing global tax schemes. "I'm not talking about that topic. I'm not working on it."

Yet one of Kaul's assistants provided a copy of an official UNDP report, "Global Public Goods Financing: New Tools for New Challenges," which includes a Harvard professor's call for an international tax to finance U.N. environmental programs, "peacekeeping" operations, and to "provide transfers to poor countries" from the U.S. The same report includes another article calling for the creation of "international tax systems" with an "international authority" that amounts to a global IRS.

Equally alarming, Cliff Kincaid obtained an official document from the U.N. Division for Sustainable Development, "Finance for Sustainable Development: The Road Ahead," which calmly discussed a "form of international taxation" consisting of "a tax imposed by a sovereign international government under sovereignty surrendered or relinquished to it by national governments."

The document goes on to say that a "world government" might co-exist alongside national governments and be able to tax their citizens on its own.

THE FOLLOWING LETTER HAS BEEN SENT TO SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL, OTHER TOP STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. JOHN NEGROPONTE, AND OTHER OFFICIALS AT THE U.S. MISSION TO THE U.N.

Under the law, you are required to certify that the United Nations stands in compliance with conditions on U.S. financial payments to the U.N. These conditions include prohibitions on U.N. taxation schemes and creation of a U.N. standing army. We are writing to inform you of direct irrefutable evidence that the U.N. has been systematically violating those conditions.

We have uncovered evidence that these U.N. activities, which are clearly illegal, involve attempts by the world body to evolve into a world government with the independent power of taxation and a world army.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan himself commissioned a 2001 report that called for "new sources of multilateral finance" - global taxes. The report was produced by a panel that included Bill Clinton's Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin.

In a March 2002 report entitled "Global Taxes for Global Priorities," a powerful U.N.-backed non-governmental organization (NGO), the Global Policy Forum, declared:

The time for concerted action has come…Like-minded governments and citizen groups must advance together towards the goal of global taxes. The U.N. has the authority and capacity to address this agenda, and so to pave the way for a just and sustainable global future. In addition to the Tobin Tax on financial transactions, the Global Policy Forum suggested global taxes on fossil fuels, aviation fuel, emails and the Internet, world trade, the arms trade, deep-sea fishing and "parking" satellites in space.

What's more, also in violation of U.S. law, the U.N. is pursuing development of a standing world army. This emerging U.N.-sponsored international military force, drawn from the armies of various U.N. members, is designed to counter and eclipse the power and influence of the U.S. military. In effect, the U.N. is trying to emerge as a superpower rival to America.

These unprecedented developments were discovered and documented during our recent fact-finding mission to United Nations headquarters in New York. We confronted several U.N. officials about these blatant violations of U.S. law and now want to bring them to your attention.

The same report includes another article calling for the creation of "international tax systems" with an "international authority" that amounts to a global IRS.

Equally alarming, we obtained an official document from the U.N. Division for Sustainable Development, "Finance for Sustainable Development: The Road Ahead," which calmly discussed a "form of international taxation" consisting of "a tax imposed by a sovereign international government under sovereignty surrendered or relinquished to it by national governments."

The document goes on to say that a "world government" might co-exist alongside national governments and be able to tax their citizens on its own.

Kaul, a 20-year veteran of the U.N., was an editor of an official 1999 U.N. book, Global Public Goods: International Cooperation in the 21st Century, which says that "a world tax organization [must be] contemplated" and that, "with respect to tax policy, perhaps the most prominent idea is that of economist James Tobin for a tax on all cross-border financial transactions, in the hope of decreasing such flows and making them more manageable."

Kaul, a German, was the same U.N. official who presided over a 1994 edition of the U.N.'s Human Development Report that featured an article endorsing world government. She was an editor of a 318-page book, The Tobin Tax, published in 1996, completely devoted to this particular global tax scheme.

Yet when we interviewed her, she didn't want to talk about it. Instead, she wanted to talk about "global public goods," such as clean air, and how the world will agree to keep it clean. She now insists that global taxes are not necessary and far off into the future.

But if this is the case, then why is Kaul's UNDP still pushing the global tax proposals in official U.N. publications and reports? Rep. John E. Sweeney, an opponent of U.N. global tax schemes, points out that, "The United Nations and its organizations are replete with mismanagement, waste, corruption, and inefficiency which cost American taxpayers millions of dollars each year.The power to tax is an attribute of sovereignty, the United Nations does not have the attributes of sovereignty and is not a sovereign power, and the United Nations has no legal authority to impose taxes on United States citizens."

Yet the world body is now using American tax dollars to lobby for and advocate a global tax that would cost Americans billions or trillions of additional dollars.

All of this U.N. activity is illegal under a Congressional law promoted by Senator Jesse Helms that provided payments of U.S. funds to the world organization only under certain circumstances.

Under the category of "NO UNITED NATIONS SOVEREIGNTY," the bill declares that, "Neither the United Nations nor any of its specialized or affiliated agencies-- (A) has exercised sovereignty over the United States; or (B) has taken any steps that require the United States to cede sovereignty."

Under the category of "NO UNITED NATIONS TAXATION," it says that "neither the United Nations nor any of its specialized or affiliated agencies has the authority under United States law to impose taxes or fees on United States nationals" and that "neither the United Nations nor any of its specialized or affiliated agencies has, on or after October 1, 1996, officially approved any formal effort to develop, advocate, or promote any proposal concerning the imposition of a tax or fee on any United States national in order to raise revenue for the United Nations or any such agency."

There is no question that U.S. law forbids such activities. One left-wing activist admitted:

Until recently, substantial efforts were being made to move the debate on global taxation forward. However, the United States government has blocked a dialogue from taking place within United Nations fora. Led by Senator Helms, US payments to the United Nations are now conditional upon the UN abandoning efforts that "develop or promote proposals" which imposes taxes or fees on US citizens.

The Global Policy Forum admits that the Helms legislation "was signed into law" and that

In a period of financial crisis for the United Nations, this threat immediately stifled discussion in UN forums. UNDP quietly ended its research into the issue. But as we have seen, this is NOT true. U.N. efforts to promote global taxes are going forward anyway. The U.N. campaign for global taxes is alive and well.

In a confrontation with U.N. official Lowell L. Flanders, the Assistant Director in the Division for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, I asked how he could justify U.N. promotion of such schemes. The following exchange occurred:

Kincaid: We fought a revolution to get rid of King George and his global taxes. We don't want any more…

Flanders: The discussion of the Tobin Tax and those international taxes, including a tax on airline travel, has been discussed for some time. It really hasn't gone very far. But I think American readers have to understand that this is something that just doesn't affect Americans but citizens throughout the rest of the world….

Kincaid: Congress has expressed strong opposition to a global tax. Senator Helms fought it and put into law - I have a copy here -a condition on payments to the U.N. - no global taxes. In fact, it says the U.S. should not promote, develop or advocate any proposal for global taxes on U.S. citizens. So how can the U.N. proceed and advocate and promote a global tax idea?

Flanders: The U.N. isn't. These ideas for global taxes have been presented either by other countries or by individuals who think these are good ideas. Sometimes we have expert meetings and that sort of thing - experts promote this as a way to solve the international financial [situation]. The U.N. is not out there advocating a particular approach to financing. We what do - what we did in Monterrey [at the Financing for Development conference] is promote an avenue for governments to get together and discuss what they want to do about it.

Kincaid: So you don't think it crosses the line when the U.N. publishes a report or a book containing these global tax ideas?

In fact, the U.N. facilitates the discussion and carries it forward. Flanders' U.N. division published "Finance for Sustainable Development: The Road Ahead," containing the proceedings of the Fourth Expert Group Meeting on Financial Issues of Agenda 21, which met in Santiago, Chile, back in January 1997. One section of the book, "Innovative financial mechanisms for sustainable development," emphasizes how "political obstacles to international taxation" can be overcome. This book laid the groundwork for the U.N.'s World Summit on Sustainable Development, which was a follow-up to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

In the same interview, Flanders, an American, offered his "personal opinion" that the Bush Administration was wrong to reject the global warming treaty or Kyoto Protocol. This pact was rejected because it restricts industrial activity in the U.S. but not Communist China and other "developing" countries.

The plan to tax Americans on a global basis was actively discussed at the U.N.'s 1997 meeting in Chile. An official account reveals that the U.N. has long intended to pursue adoption of the "Tobin Tax" on financial transactions which could rob the American people of billions or even trillions of dollars.

In this regard, various individuals and organizations have recently proposed implementing some limited form of international taxation as a means of ensuring significant and automatic financing of international transfers from developed to developing countries to support sustainable development. The international taxes receiving the greatest attention have been a tax on foreign exchange transactions (the "Tobin tax"), a tax on international air transport, and a tax on carbon. Each tax has several variants, representing varying degrees of full-cost pricing and having varying implications for economic efficiency. Each one also raises difficult political issues, the most obvious and most serious of which is national governments' reluctance to delegate the sovereign right of taxation. (emphasis added)
Not only has the U.N. been caught blatantly violating the Helms law on global tax schemes, the world body has been constructing a world army in violation of legal prohibitions.

In regard to the U.N., the Helms legislation declares there should be "NO STANDING ARMY." It declares, "The United Nations has not, on or after October 1, 1996, budgeted any funds for, nor taken any official steps to develop, create, or establish any special agreement under Article 43 of the United Nations Charter to make available to the United Nations, on its call, the armed forces of any member of the United Nations."

In circumventing this provision, the U.N. has created what it calls a Standby High Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG). A report says, "SHIRBRIG was launched in 1994 following discussions between Danish authorities and the then Head of the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Kofi Annan."

The first deployment of SHIRBRIG took place in June 2000, when a U.N. force was used to secure and monitor a disputed border area between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Secretary-General Annan, who says SHIRBRIG represents the need for the U.N. to "respond quickly and effectively," wants to solidify its "working level links" with the world body and to engage "other groups of nations" in its military operations. This U.N. military force could be used to wage war or seize resources. It could also seize American citizens targeted by the International Criminal Court.

We urge you to hold the U.N. responsible for violating U.S. law for promoting global taxes on Americans and a world army.

United Nations Violates U.S. Law Prohibiting U.N. Campaigns for Global Taxes and a Standing Army

"…to authorize appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal years 2000 and 2001; to provide for enhanced security at United States diplomatic facilities; to provide for certain arms control, nonproliferation, and other national security measures; to provide for reform of the United Nations, and for other purposes

(a) CONTENTS OF CERTIFICATION- A certification described in this section is a certification by the Secretary of State that the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) SUPREMACY OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION- No action has been taken by the United Nations or any of its specialized or affiliated agencies that requires the United States to violate the United States Constitution or any law of the United States. (2) NO UNITED NATIONS SOVEREIGNTY- Neither the United Nations nor any of its specialized or affiliated agencies--
(A) has exercised sovereignty over the United States; or
(B) has taken any steps that require the United States to cede sovereignty.
(3) NO UNITED NATIONS TAXATION…
…neither the United Nations nor any of its specialized or affiliated agencies has, on or after October 1, 1996, officially approved any formal effort to develop, advocate, or promote any proposal concerning the imposition of a tax or fee on any United States national in order to raise revenue for the United Nations or any such agency.
(4) NO STANDING ARMY- The United Nations has not, on or after October 1, 1996, budgeted any funds for, nor taken any official steps to develop, create, or establish any special agreement under Article 43 of the United Nations Charter to make available to the United Nations, on its call, the armed forces of any member of the United Nations."

2002 copyright America Survival, Inc. This information was printed from the America's Survival web site located at http://www.USASurvival.org

Just what we need ANOTHER level of taxation, and what's worse this is one that we don't even have the right to vote in representatives who oppose it!
Wake up folks, US sovereignty is being eaten away rapidly!

The only real solution is to get the US out of the UN and the UN out of the US. Let them move the hideously socialist organization to France.
Another thing needed immediately is a ban on sending US funds to ANY organization until a complete audit is done on where past funds went. I'm tired of elitist leaders living off the aid and charity of the US citizens and still critizing us. If 90% of the money isn't going to those in need, then cut off the funding. That's what I did with the United Way. When the leaders are making close to $1M a year, they don't need money from me. I suggest this plan would work with sending aid to countries and the UN.

Exactly!
It's amazing how the UN bureaucrats live like kings and queens in NYC on the UN budget--the majority of which comes from US taxpayers.
On a more practical note, the 9/11 disasters changed the dynamics of the NYC/UN/US relationship completely.
My idea?
Move the UN headquarters OUT of NYC. Then enterprising developers and construction folks could remodel the old UN offices completely---this would create jobs and much needed office space in downtown NYC.
The UN could then relocate to downtown Kabul to help rebuild it.
OR, the UN bureaucrats could pick ANY 3rd world urban area, say N'Djamena, Chad or any other city of their choosing. This would put them in touch with the poverty stricken and help in third world development.

downtown Kabul to help rebuild it
Whooo there. First off, I don't think we want to have to have another war in Afghanistan 20-30 years down the road. Anyway, the least safe place for the U.N. to be is in the United States. If they try anything funny, it will be easier to FREEP them.

There outght to be an overall predation index percentage for each country, measuring as a percentage of income the level of taxes: income, excise, sales, VAT, sumptuary, unemployment, and the hidden excise taxes stemming from over-ligation, to which any successful UN tax would be added. And remember to use 15% for FICA, including both the employee and employer portions.

The predation index percentage would ideally have rival metrics (PIP-2, PIP-3) which would attempt to normalize data by factors such as non-representation and subjective application.

Anyway, a UN-tax would have a very high multiplier. Their piling on would be the last straw.

" Anyway, a UN-tax would have a very high multiplier. Their piling on would be the last straw."

You got that right!!! The minute something like that would ever be implemented would be the day I quit filing. That is an obsceinity beyond belief.

The document goes on to say that a "world government" might co-exist alongside national governments and be able to tax their citizens on its own..."He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended legislation" - from the list of grievances against King George as set forth in the Declaration of Independence.....the more things change......

All of this U.N. activity is illegal under a Congressional law promoted by Senator Jesse Helms that provided payments of U.S. funds to the world organization only under certain circumstances.

I didn't know about that law. Thank you Jesse!

At this point in my life, I have to congratulate the late, great democratic who made all of this possible. I thought his 'nukes-for-peace' program was kool, proliferating nukes at a rate that is probably worse than even Clinton. At the same time, the UN. What an amazing achievement.

They even have the wisdom to say that Mother's Day is a crime against humanity, that guns shouldn't be in the hands of the masses, and that only infants deserve the death penalty. Such outstanding work!

Let them move the hideously socialist organization to France.

How about their new champion of human rights, Sudan? That is where we should send them one-way tickets.

The document goes on to say that a "world government" might co-exist alongside national governments and be able to tax their citizens on its own.

I rarely call for violence. However, this is a foreign threat. I need not hear what any liberal-brainwashed beaurocrat has to say.

I hereby vow to kill any UN tax collector or UN police officer who seeks to tax or arrest any US. citizen if I ever have the opportunity. This I swear. LEAVE THE US ALONE. GO PICK ON TOTALITARIAN REGIMES! It will not be worth your while to mess with US. citizens.

Nice find, BW!

"Under the law, you are required to certify that the United Nations stands in compliance with conditions on U.S. financial payments to the U.N. These conditions include prohibitions on U.N. taxation schemes and creation of a U.N. standing army."

I'm so glad to hear this. Hopefully, we will have more citizens like Cliff Kincaid and his group, America's Survival, Inc., to keep the goons at the UN out of our pockets!

"Get US out of the UN before they impose global taxes on us!"

Agreed, knighthawk! Thanks for the ping!

Even if they impose the tax, how would they propose to collect it? They might try, but they'll get nothing out of my cold dead hands, one that holds my Ruger and the other my rifle, except all the rounds they carry.

"Get US out of the UN before they impose global taxes on us!"

And get the UN outta the US...or at least charge 'em Market Rents fer the office space in Manhattan!!

FReegards...MUD

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