DOJ freezes $500M in tax shelters run by San Diego company News
DOJ freezes $500M in tax shelters run by San Diego company

[JURIST] The Department of Justice has announced that a federal judge has ordered a freeze of $500 million in assets held by San Diego tax-planning company Xelan and its subsidiaries. The company has sold tax-reduction plans to about 4000 doctors and dentists worth at least $420 million in the past several years, prompting the DOJ to clamp down. The IRS and FBI searched Xelan's San Diego offices Thursday and audited returns from those purchasing tax reductions from the company. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan of the US District Court for the Southern District of California issued the order Tuesday. Read the DOJ press release announcing the action. The New York Times has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.