taxes

[ShiftySheik]

Johnny, I guess you don't play offshore, it's been my experience that less than 5% of incoming Fedex letters from Antigua are opened by Customs. I doubt US Customs would open exported letters. Those would only be opened by foreign customs.

[MAXIMUM VALUE]

Sheik
thanks for the great advice.

Johnny D.

What do you think would be the safest way to send money orders offshore?

MV

[BigMoney]

Shifty, don't you think records of VISA/MC purchases would be stored somewhere in the states, even if it is drawn on an offshore bank? I really don't know the VISA/MC setup, but they apparently do have a central processing system for approvals.

[JohnnyDeMarco]

You have to understand that some offshore sports book operators (no names mentioned) are considered fugitives by the US Government. Any packages (Western Union or Fed Ex) sent to them are added up & counted against them. More than likely the sender would not get in trouble unless some kind of money laundering charge could be made against them. But why give the government your name? I think the best way to protect yourself is to use a credit card as much as possible. It does two things. It somewhat protects you from getting stiffed from a bad operator. (You can always charge back) It also makes the offshore operator treat you right because he knows you can charge back. It also cheaper in most cases than Western Union. Federal Express is out completely. Customs opens everything going out. Be careful.

[ShiftySheik]

Big Money, I wouldn't worry about it. There must be millions of credit card transactions every day. From what I've read about offshore banking, a bank card is the safest way to move money back into the states without raising any red flags.

[sportsbank]

I don't believe I'm agreeing with
Johnny D! Why even give the government
your name when dealing with fedex. It
could raise a red flag oneday. I didn't even think about it, until he mentioned customs opening letters. This happened
to me last summer when I received a
check via FedEx from sportsbook.com
The letter had been opened, then
resealed. Could come back to bite you
one day.

[dylan24]

sportsbank..how did you know they
had opened your fedex package?
was it resealed like new..or it
looked like it had been opened..
i've had over 100 fed ex from
antigua and i haven't had any opened to my
knowledge. does the us govt keep
track of us citizens receiving fed ex
letters from somewhere outside the us?

thanks for the advice everyone..
i guess it is best to keep the checks
under 1k and cash it completely..and
not deposit any part of it. anyone
disagree with this?
thanks.

[JohnnyDeMarco]

When the US Customs opens a package, (Fed Ex or anybody else) if it is a random search, they are required to put a sticker on it saying they opened it. If they have a warrant or have just cause (meaning the sender or the receiver is under investigation) they do not have to tell you they opened it. They simply use a new envelope with the same airbill. The US Government is hell bent on shutting down American owned offshore sports books. There are two reasons for this. First of all it is a clear 1084 violation and second they are afraid of drug people using offshore outlets for money laundering.

[sportsbank]

Dylan,

The package was resealed, and had
a strip going across it stating "this
package was opened by US Customs" or
something to that effect. The letter
which was sent in the fedex envelope
which contained the actual check was
also cut open. Probably was random, but
who knows.

[boris]

Oh, to live in the truly land of the free......

Australia

[fairfax]

correct me if i'm wrong but credit cards won't honor disputes with offshore books?

[bucky]

Really a difficult solution. cashing small checks is pretty good as long as you spend the money without creating a paper trail. It's not foolproof as those checks are drawn on American banks.

Has anybody ever gone offshore and picked up the money in cash? Off course then you have the visa and plane ticket trail.

By the way when does the money offshore become income. The day you win the bet or the day you cash the check?

[thedevil]

It's illegal to transport more than 10 dimes in cash either in or out of the US.
Most of the countries where offshore books operate also question withdrawals of over 10 dimes.

When going or coming from Venezuela US customs sometimes asks if I'm carring more than 10g.

THE DEVIL

[skeptic]

It's not illegal to transport more than 10 dimes, you just have to declare it.

[bucky]

Skeptic,
Once you declare it over 10 dimes do you pay any type of tax to leave the country with it? Do the foreign customs people notify US customs of an individual carrying 20 dimes etc.? Ala Pete Rose.
One probelem that could come up is the IRS asking why a person made 5 trips to the West Indies by themself. So perhaps a family vacation is in order.