cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/11683880
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
Never underestimate the power of multiple legal anonymous cash payment spread out over time.
Actually cash payment in Europe is not a new problem. The problem is to obtain the cash in the first place. Try to walk into your bank and ask, say 20k€ in cash: you will be subjected to what amounts to a strict interrogation in which you’ll be asked why you need it, who will receive it, etc. Nevermind withdrawing it from an ATM of course…
That and the Gestapo-esque KYC rules banks have to implement, and forced banking has effectively been a thing in Europe for a couple decades now.
Me, I withdraw the weekly limit from my ATM, week in and week out. Been doing it for years. When I need to pay for something I don’t want banks or the state to know about, I have a big buffer of cash in my safe to draw from.
This is what you have to do in free countries now. It don’t feel too free when you actually try to exercise you freedom to do whatever you please with your own fucking money…
I bought a car for 30k cash in Europe very recently and received mone of these heartaches.
It was really easy, I withdrew my money, drove to te dealership. Handed him a bag of money, which he counted. He then gave me a receipt for €25,350 and my car.
Yes, and all they had to do to make it legal is to verify your identity, which they did.
Maybe, I dont recall but it definitely wasnt a hardship.
What country was that? I heard about a Belgian who tried to withdraw €10k from her bank account. They refused and also called the police who interrogated her and made a report. Belgian banks have cash withdrawal limits written in the contract. Even pulling out €3k raises eyebrows in Belgium. So withdrawing €30k trouble-free would probably require withdrawing €2.5k once per week over the span of 12 weeks. Is the car seller willing to hold the car for a buyer that long?
Im in the eu and I did it one transaction. I was asked into a room for privacy due to the amount so I could put it away.
For the record I ws dodging taxes and was not inconvenienced.
I knew a guy who didn’t even have a bank account. He only accepted cash.
Good luck finding a job where your employer accepts to pay you in cash or check in Europe.
This depends on the industry. Domestic workers and builders are often paid in cash in Europe. Belgium even writes it in law that cash wages are prohibited if you work in an industry where that is uncommon. Strange (and discriminatory) law, but indeed white collar workers are legally blocked from cash payment while other industries are grandfathered.
He had a shop and taught workshops in his studio.
I’ve also heard a claim of someone going full bitcoin, back in ~2013
That is not a typical form of employment. I’m sure there are edge cases where that sort of thing is workable. But for most people who work for an employer, that’s not an option.
Besides, I’m almost certain people who have cash-only or Bitcoin-only forms of income will be repeatedly audited like nobody’s ever been audited. The taxman doesn’t like cash transactions. I know that because I have a few friend who run cafes and bars in France and Belgium, and they’re audited ALL.THE.FUCKING.TIME for one reason and one reason only: most bar patrons in those countries pay in cash, and it’s super-easy for bar owners to whisk some of that money away from the cash register.
That’s not because of the cash. Even white collar workers getting paid electronically get audited because Belgium has a very high audit rate. I heard the probability of getting audited in Belgium is around 50%. Belgian auditors are extremely ambitious and highly motivated. They are employed in high numbers. The only way to avoid being audited in Belgium is to not work in Belgium.
Well, I must also say that I realize that a lot of these places hide revenue.
But it course that is necessary if you want to compete with larger companies that evade taxes.