InvestED: The Rule #1 Investing Podcast · Phil Town & Danielle Town

Tax Dodgers

·41 min·2 clips

Tether is backed by U.S. Treasuries, and that makes sanctions, freezes, and seizure rules the real story.

1. InvestED: The Rule #1 Investing Podcast uses “Tax Dodgers” to connect Tether, taxes, and antitrust fights. 2. Phil Towne and Danielle Towne host the episode as co-hosts of InvestED, and their investor-operator perspective drives every example they choose. 3. The episode asks whether a private dollar like Tether can protect wealth better than governments can tax or regulate it. 4. Phil starts with his morning reading of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Barron’s. 5. He says Barron’s rarely gives direct stock ideas, but headlines about BP, Chipotle, and CF Industries led him into deeper research. 6. Tether becomes the central example because the Journal describes it as an unregulated currency tied to the U.S. dollar. 7. Danielle presses on whether Tether is actually backed by anything, and Phil answers that each $10 deposit leads Tether to buy $10 of U.S. Treasuries. 8. The hosts say Tether’s use has expanded with U.S. sanctions on Russia, Venezuela, and Iran. 9. They mention Venezuelan state oil trading, Russian rubles, and people in Argentina and Turkey moving money into Tether to escape inflation. 10. They compare that to Zimbabwe, where people once used gasoline chits as a currency during hyperinflation. 11. Phil says Tether’s promise depends on trust that the backing stays intact. 12. He raises the risk that the U.S. government could block Tether from buying Treasuries and leave holders with something that “means nothing.” 13. Danielle asks why Tether uses dollars instead of gold, and Phil says gold is less practical for active trading than bonds. 14. The company says it tracks transactions on public blockchain ledgers and can destroy Tether in any wallet. 15. Phil cites the claim that Tether blacklisted 2,700 wallets tied to $153 billion and managed to freeze only $1.4 billion. 16. The tax discussion shifts to a rumored Kamala Harris proposal for a 25% tax on people worth more than $100 billion. 17. Phil argues that wealthy people would leave, and Danielle says the issue is how to protect wealth from confiscation. 18. The episode then turns to Apple, Ireland, and the EU case that forced a $13.8 billion tax payment after years of favorable treatment. 19. The tone is conversational and argumentative, with Danielle often challenging Phil’s claims and Phil answering with examples from investing and regulation. 20. Listeners who follow tax policy, antitrust, or investing debates will get the most from it, while people wanting a tight stock-pick episode may skip it.

As heard by us

A tax and reading-habits conversation that ties Tether and Apple in Ireland to changing rules.

"Tax Dodgers" opens on reading habits before moving into tax dodging, Tether, and the idea that governments or regulators can change the rules mid-game.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a tax argument that moves from Tether to Apple without pretending the rules stay fixed.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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