A measure in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill that’s meant to penalize foreign investors may also raise interest costs for some US borrowers.
The so-called Section 899 provision takes aim at nations such as Canada, the UK and France that have digital services taxes or other corporate tax rules the US deems unfair. Investors and companies from those countries may see gradually higher tax rates on income they earn from US assets — which some analysts have called a “revenge tax.”
But Section 899 would affect loan interest payments in a way that would hurt some US companies, according to legal experts. Many lending agreements require borrowers to cover such tax hikes if they’re enacted after the deal is signed.
These requirements are known as withholding tax gross-up obligations. Borrowers remit the withholding tax to the US government, but they must “gross up” their payment to ensure the lender still receives the full amount of interest owed.
Tag Archives: France
Wired: The Trump Administration Wants to Create an ‘Office of Remigration’
“Remigration”—a far-right European plan to expel minorities and immigrants from Western nations—may soon have a dedicated office following a Trump administration reorganization of the State Department.
As part of a sweeping reorganization of the State Department, the Trump administration is creating an Office of Remigration. Remigration is an immigration policy embraced by extremists that calls for the removal of all migrants—including “non-assimilated” citizens—with the goal of creating white ethnostates in Western countries.
The details of the plan are contained in a 136-page notification document sent by the State Department to six Congressional commitees—including the House Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committees and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—for approval by July 1, according to a copy reviewed by WIRED.
“The Office of Remigration will serve as the [Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration]’s hub for immigration issues and repatriation tracking,” the document reads. “It will provide a policy platform for interagency coordination with DHS and other agencies on removals/repatriations, and “for intra-agency policy work to advance the President’s immigration agenda.”
The notification says that the Office of Remigration “will also actively facilitate the voluntary return of migrants to their country of origin or legal status,” which is a key aim of remigration ideology.
There are three phases to “remigration”:
On [Martin Sellner’s] site, he lays out a three-phase plan to implement remigration. The first phase, dubbed the “Immediate Stabilization of Asylum Chaos,” has striking similarities to Trump’s current immigration policies.
…
The second phase of Sellner’s plan, following the initial removal of undocumented immigrants, includes the removal of “migrants who entered the country legally and have a residence/work permit, or temporary visa, but are an economical, criminal or cultural burden.”
The final phase targets citizens who are seen as “non assimilated,”and it involves passing laws to “target parallel societies with economic and cultural pressure” and entice citizens to migrate abroad with the use of loans, payments, and other assistance. The plan, Sellner claims, will allow “the wounds of multiculturalism to heal.”
This is like Hitler’s Mein Kampf, all laid out in writing and scarcely anybody is paying attention.

https://www.wired.com/story/trump-office-remigration-state-department-europe-far-right
News Nation: Judge: Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos was unlawfully detained by ICE
A federal judge in Vermont on Wednesday released a Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher from immigration custody as she deals with a criminal charge of smuggling frog embryos into the United States.
…
Petrova, 30, is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Louisiana. She is expected to be brought to Massachusetts as early as Friday in preparation for a bail hearing next week on the smuggling charge, lawyers said in court.
Another loss for King Donald & his bully boys!
https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/ap-us-news/ap-judge-harvard-researcher-charged-with-smuggling-frog-embryos-was-unlawfully-detained-by-ice
Travel Bucketlist: Multiple Countries Issue Travel Warnings for USA After Immigration Crackdowns Target Foreign Visitors
- Germany Warns Citizens After Border Detentions
- United Kingdom Issues Stern Entry Warnings
- Ireland Updates Guidance on Gender Requirements
- Netherlands and Belgium Join the Warning Wave
- Denmark and Finland Issue Gender-Specific Warnings
- Norway Overhauls Travel Advisory System
- France and Spain Join European Response
Thank you, King Donald. Under your divine leadership, we’ve gone from being the leader of the free world to a pariah.
Alternet: Alarm raised over Trump admin corruption following Trump media move
Monday reporting from the Financial Times that U.S. President Donald Trump’s family media company “plans to raise $3 billion to buy cryptocurrencies” sparked a fresh wave of alarm over his administration’s policies and potential corruption.
After winning a second term last year, the Republican president transferred his stake in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG)—which is behind the Truth Social platform—to a revocable trust overseen by his son Donald Trump Jr.
Citing six unnamed sources, FT reported that TMTG “aims to raise $2 billion in fresh equity and another $1 billion via a convertible bond,” and “also plans to launch an exchange-traded fund focused on cryptocurrency.”
CBS News: RFK Jr. releases report on childhood chronic disease. Here’s what to know.
The White House’s “Make America Healthy Again” or “MAHA” commission, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has published its first report on what it says are four leading drivers of childhood chronic disease.
“The report is the product of a consensual process, and it represents a collaborative effort of all the agencies and the White House. And it represents a consensus that is probably the strongest and most radical consensus by a government agency in history about the state of America’s health,” Kennedy told reporters in a call ahead of its release.
Who’s going to take advice on our children’s health from a moron who takes his grandchildren swimming in a sewage-contaminated creek where swimming is banned for public health reasons? A moron who’s had brain worms likely because he eats bush meat and road kill?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-maha-report-childhood-chronic-disease
MSNBC: Following vote from Senate Republicans, another ex-con joins Team Trump
It’s not common for people to transition from prison to a diplomatic position in Paris, but in Trump world, strange things happen.
Two weeks after Election Day 2024, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama assured the public that Donald Trump wouldn’t choose “a criminal” for a governmental position. About a week later, the then-president-elect tapped Peter Navarro, who completed a prison sentence earlier this year after being convicted for contempt of Congress, for an advisory post at the White House.
Trump also announced his intention to nominate Charles Kushner — despite his own criminal past — to serve as the U.S. ambassador to France. As NBC News reported, the Senate has now confirmed Kushner to the post.
Seriously, folks, who’s the biggest crook here?
- Peter Navarro, convicted of 2 counts of contempt of Congress.
- Charles Kushner, pleaded guilty 18 counts of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering
- King Donald, convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
King Donald is the hands down winner!
Navarro & Kushner are petty crooks compared to the King!!!
Daily Express: Qatar prime minister insists $400m gifts are ‘normal’ between friends – like he and Trump
Qatar’s Prime Minister has claimed the country’s $400 million “gift” to President Trump comes with no strings attached.
The Prime Minister of Qatar has defended the country’s $400 million gift to President Donald Trump, saying that such exchanges between friendly countries are “normal”.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani commented on the accusations that Qatar was gifting the jet to Trump just to get on the President’s good side, saying that the gift is simply a donation to another world leader.
Baloney!
We’ll find out eventually when they call in the favor.
Newsweek: Why do MAGA Republicans hate Europe?
In May 1988, Republican President Ronald Reagan spoke from the Oval Office in an address not targeted at the American people, but the citizens of Western Europe. The president was planning a trip to meet with Soviet Union General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and wanted to make his commitment to Europe clear.
Staring directly at the camera, Reagan said: “Shared [moral] standards and beliefs tie us to Europe today. They are the essence of the community of free nations to which we belong.”
Thirty years later, in July 2018, while sitting for an interview with CBS at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, Republican President Donald Trump was asked to name America’s top global foe. “Well, I think we have a lot of foes,” Trump said. “I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe.”

https://www.newsweek.com/maga-republicans-donald-trump-jd-vance-europe-2071814
Defense News: What’s wrong with Trump accepting a 747 from Qatar? Everything
As secretary of the Air Force, I was frustrated by Boeing’s failure to deliver the new Air Force One aircraft on time.
I can understand that President Trump would like a new aircraft, painted as he desires and available for use during his term in office. I cannot understand his willingness to accept the “gift” of a luxuriously appointed, used Boeing 747 from Qatar.
It is wrong to accept this gift from any perspective.