cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/11683421

The EU has quietly imposed cash limits EU-wide:

  • €3k limit on anonymous payments
  • €10k limit regardless (link which also lists state-by-state limits).

From the jailed¹ article:

An EU-wide maximum limit of €10 000 is set for cash payments, which will make it harder for criminals to launder dirty money.

It will also strip dignity and autonomy from non-criminal adults, you nannying assholes!

In addition, according to the provisional agreement, obliged entities will need to identify and verify the identity of a person who carries out an occasional transaction in cash between €3 000 and €10 000.

The hunt for “money launderers” and “terrorists” is not likely meaningfully facilitated by depriving the privacy of people involved in small €3k transactions. It’s a bogus excuse for empowering a police surveillance state. It’s a shame how quietly this apparently happened. No news or chatter about it.

¹ the EU’s own website is an exclusive privacy-abusing Cloudflare site inaccessible several demographics of people. Sad that we need to rely on the website of a US library to get equitable access to official EU communication.

update

The Pirate party’s reaction is spot on. They also point out that cryptocurrency is affected. Which in the end amounts to forced banking.

#warOnCash

  • misk
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    2 months ago

    Can you rent a flat anonymously? Doesn’t that have to be reported for tax anyway? All of examples I’m seeing here are flat out tax fraud heaven.

    • activistPnk@slrpnk.netOP
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      2 months ago

      Can you rent a flat anonymously?

      I would hope so, as far as the EU goes. If the EU were to force leases to be registered and to name all occupants, it would be absurdly over interventionalist and it would be a blatant privacy abuse. Belgium requires leases to be registered but then the registration process makes email address a required field. So if someone does not have an email address registration is not possible (despite registration being a legal obligation – would be interesting to see what happens in court when someone is prosecuted for not registering due to not having an email address). Apart from that, there is no rule that all occupants must be listed on the lease. And cash rent payments are legal.

      It would also be surprisingly extreme if hotels were forced to collect identities of their guests. They likely do it anyway to know who to go after for damages, but a gov mandate would be excessively interventionalist.

      • misk
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        2 months ago

        Ok, this is pointless, you’re advocating for tax fraud outright.

        • activistPnk@slrpnk.netOP
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          2 months ago

          I’m not sure how you get such a perversely twisted idea from my thesis. Nothing in that comment you replied to advocates tax fraud. People should have the freedom to boycott banks. They should have the right to boycott Google and Microsoft. Participation in the private sector marketplace should be optional. Privacy rights enshrined in human rights law are an important component to my thesis. Your contempt for human rights is shameful. To be clear–

          Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 12:

          No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

          International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 17:

          1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.

          (emphasis mine)

          • misk
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            2 months ago

            Wow, you found a universal tax fraud loophole that nobody did before - taxation is illegal invasion of privacy lol. You should consider career in accounting.

            • activistPnk@slrpnk.netOP
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              2 months ago

              It’s bizarre how you think anonymous leases and hotel stays imply tax fraud. It’s that non-sequitur malfunction of logic that has led to the privacy abuses we face.

              • misk
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                2 months ago

                I have not seen once in my life a hotel that does anonymous leases. Because you could fuck up their shit and run. Where do you come up with those examples?

                • activistPnk@slrpnk.netOP
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                  2 months ago

                  How can I meaningfully answer such a vague question? What example are you referring to? There are no “examples” of anything in the post you replied to.