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Guidelines | 10 Index | 11 Mystery links | 12 Stickers & 13 pins & 14 stuff | Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure! It sounds more like the USSR than the USA, to punish people for asking a forbidden question, or for not immediately reporting to the government that someone else asked a forbidden question. The question that's punished by law is: Are any of these products made in Israel, or made of Israeli materials? They also require that receipt of boycott requests be reported to the Bureau of Industry and Security, formerly known as the Bureau of Export Administration. It sounds more like the USSR than the USA, to punish people for asking a forbidden question, or for not immediately reporting to the government that someone else asked a forbidden question. Only a few years ago, during South Africa's apartheid era, it was considered the height of good moral backbone to ask whether a product came from that country. Must the store promptly file a form with the Bureau of Industry and Security reporting that we asked? Well, we'll be asking the forbidden question in every store we enter. In a free society, the government doesn't tell people what questions they can ask, and what questions they can't, and what questions must be promptly reported to the authorities. We had heard of this law before -- banning people from even asking about boycotting Israeli products -- but we had foolishly assumed it wasn't often enforced. According to the article, though, "more than $26 million in fines" have been levied for violations of this law, suggesting that enforcement of the Forbidden Question Law is not at all uncommon. The fine in this case was $6,000, so assuming that's average and doing the math, more than 4,000 Americans or American companies have been fined -- for asking the forbidden question, or failure to report that someone else asked the forbidden question. The department's Bureau of Industry and Security had charged that, in response to a request from a customer in Bahrain, Cook had furnished information stating that the goods being shipped were not of Israeli origin and did not contain Israeli materials. The bureau also charged that Cook had failed to report its receipt of the request. Cook, of North Kansas City, neither admitted nor denied the allegations, but agreed to pay the $6,000 civil penalty. They also require that receipt of boycott requests be reported to the Bureau of Industry and Security, formerly known as the Bureau of Export Administration. Cook's chief executive, Charles Bennett, was in Paris this week and unavailable for comment. A spokeswoman for the company, Rita Durocher, said the fine marked the first time Cook has had a run-in with a federal agency. The warning followed a call by the 22-member Arab League to reactivate its decades-long boycott of Israel. The Bureau of Industry and Security says it has imposed more than $26 million in fines for violations of the provisions. More than a decade ago, the Commerce Department sent compliance officers to Kansas City to check out tips that Marion Merrell Dow Inc. Nothing came of the investigation, and no penalties were imposed. In Cook's case, the Bureau of Industry and Security charged that Cook failed to report a letter of credit it received on Dec. The letter asked it to confirm that the goods being shipped "are not of Israeli origin nor do they contain any Israeli"material. Cook, with 558 employees overall and 120 employees locally, is one of North Kansas City's biggest employers. Since 1990, Cook has had a joint venture relationship with the chemicals division of TotalFinaElf, a multibillion-dollar petrochemicals giant based in Paris. These "antiboycott" laws are the 1977 amendments to the Export Administration Act (EAA) and the Ribicoff Amendment to the 1976 Tax Reform Act (TRA). The antiboycott laws, however, apply to all boycotts imposed by foreign countries that are unsanctioned by the United States. The TRA's reporting requirements apply to taxpayers' "operations" in, with, or related to boycotting countries or their nationals. Its penalties apply to those taxpayers with foreign tax credit, foreign subsidiary deferral, FSC (Foreign Sales Corporation), and IC-DISC (Interest Charge-Domestic International Sales Corporation) benefits. Conduct that may be penalized under the TRA and/or prohibited under the EAR includes: * Agreements to refuse or actual refusal to do business with or in Israel or with blacklisted companies. Implementing letters of credit containing prohibited boycott terms or conditions. The TRA does not "prohibit" conduct, but denies tax benefits ("penalizes") for certain types of boycott-related agreements. The TRA requires taxpayers to report "operations" in, with, or related to a boycotting country or its nationals and requests received to participate in or cooperate with an international boycott. To obtain these forms, telephone OACs Reports Processing Unit at (202) 482-2448. TRA reports are filed with tax returns on IRS Form 5713. Penalties: The EAR prescribe the penalties for violations of the Antiboycott Regulations as well as export control violations. These can include: Criminal: The penalties imposed for each "knowing" violation can be a fine of up to $50,000 or five times the value of the exports involved, whichever is greater, and imprisonment of up to five years. During periods when the EAR are continued in effect by an Executive Order issued pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the criminal penalties for each "willful" violation can be a fine of up to $50,000 and imprisonment for up to ten years. Administrative: For each violation of the EAR any or all of the following may be imposed: * General denial of export privileges; Boycott agreements under the TRA involve the denial of all or part of the foreign tax benefits discussed above. The $10,000 maximum per violation specified in the EAA is adjusted periodically pursuant to law for inflation. The maximum civil penalty for any violation committed from October 23, 1996 through November 1, 2000 is $11,000 per violation. The maximum civil penalty for any violation committed after November 1, 2000 is $12,000 per violation. Return to 24 today's Unknown News This material is copyrighted by its original publisher. You can help We try not to whine too much or too loudly, but we are poor and this site eats a lot of money and time. And for those who can't afford the time, giving just a buck or two can make all the difference and keep Unknown News alive.
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