How stupid can it get? There's no upper limit, apparently. For whatever reason the govenment feels it needs to track your money back
more than 50 years (!!!) to make sure it isn't terrorist money. Brilliant work, guys, keep it up.
From http://www.interesting-people.org/
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[pre style="margin: 0em;"]From: Arthur Evans Jr <
[email protected]>
Date: August 8, 2006 5:56:51 PM EDT
To:
[email protected]Subject: tracking old money[/pre]
[pre style="margin: 0em;"]Dave: For IP if you want.[/pre]
My wife is beneficiary of a trust administered by a reputable bank in New York. Today someone from the bank called seeking information that (she said) was required by the Patriot Act. Well... [pre style="margin: 0em;"]Where, I was asked, did the money in the trust come from?[/pre]
As the bank knows, I said, the trust was established by my wife's mother, Mrs G.Where did Mrs G get that money? I explained that she inherited it from her mother, Mrs B.[pre style="margin: 0em;"]Where did Mrs B get money? From her husband, who pre-deceased her.[/pre]
Where did Mr B get the money? I said I thought he was a stock broker but wasn't sure. Should I ask my wife? No, that's good enough information, thanks very much. And my caller went away, satisfied.I can understand that the government could be interested if someone now shows up with a large sum of money. Did that money come from some sort of illegal enterprise. However, Mr B. my wife's grandfather, died in 1953, 53 years ago. Of what possible use could it be to the government to know how he made his money, particularly if (apparently) it's not important if I answered correctly?[pre style="margin: 0em;"]Moreover, how much taxpayer money is spent gathering such information?[/pre]
[pre style="margin: 0em;"]Sigh...[/pre]
(BTW -- I obtained enough information from the caller to satisfy myself that she was in fact calling from the bank in question.) [pre style="margin: 0em;"]Art Evans / retired
Arthur Evans Jr 412-963-XXXX
461 Fairview Road
Pittsburgh PA 15238-1933
[email protected][/pre]
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