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Taxes Tag

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 02, 2015 20 Comments
Obama sure does like to spend money. Back in 2009, his Stimulus bill managed to use up almost a trillion dollars. The budget he's going to release this time around will request just under half a trillion dollars for American roads and bridges. Juliet Eilperin and Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post:
Obama budget: Tax on overseas profits to pay for U.S. roads and bridges President Obama's budget request set for release Monday includes plans for a six-year, $478 billion public works program that would be paid for with a one-time 14 percent tax on overseas corporate profits. Details of Obama's budget plan released in recent days have been widely rejected by congressional Republicans. But finding a way to enact a new federal infrastructure spending plan has been an unattainable goal on Capitol Hill for several years. Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) hoped to pass a new highway bill shortly after the GOP took control of the House in 2011 but has struggled to build support among skeptical conservatives. According to a document shared by administration officials on Sunday, Obama's plan to rebuild the nation's airports, bridges, highways and railroads would be paid for by imposing a 14 percent tax on up to $2 trillion in profits that companies have accumulated overseas over a number of years to avoid paying corporate income taxes. That's far lower than the current top corporate tax rate of 35 percent. The one-time tax on the repatriation of foreign profits differs from other proposals to offer a "tax holiday" for companies that would pay a much lower tax rate voluntarily to help fund new road construction projects. Obama opposes such tax holidays.
One has to wonder if there are more "shovel ready" jobs available this time.

Posted by Amy Miller on January 27, 2015 19 Comments
He announced. America retaliated. He ran screaming from his toxic tax proposal. Today, the White House threw its own plan under the bus by announcing that it would no longer pursue its proposed tax hike on "529" college savings account. From the Wall Street Journal:
The move followed a public call by House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) on Tuesday for the White House to withdraw its plan. Calls also were coming privately from leaders of the president’s own party. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) pressed the case for dropping the plan in conversations with senior administration officials aboard Air Force One, as she flew with the president from India to Saudi Arabia, according to a person familiar with the matter. A White House official said late Tuesday: “Given it has become such a distraction, we’re not going to ask Congress to pass the 529 provision.”
A "distraction?" I think the word you're looking for is "complete PR cluster." It could also translate to, "the Party's most effective bundlers called and threatened to sit 2016 out if we asked Congress to pass this thing, so we chickened out." Whatever it takes to get you through the press cycle.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 27, 2015 32 Comments
The economy of Greece has been a disaster for years due to massive entitlement and pension programs. Decades of overspending finally caught up with the Greek government in 2010, when their financial system nearly collapsed. Other countries in the European Union, notably Germany, loaned Greece billions on the condition that Greece would impose austerity measures; those measures eventually produced small results at a slower rate than expected. Frustrated with austerity and cuts to benefits, the people of Greece recently elected a new prime minister from the far left Syriza party named Alexis Tsipras. Tsipras won by promising to end the pain of austerity and to renegotiate Greece's debt, which means that the people of Greece have forgotten what caused their problem in the first place. Nicholas Paphitis of the Associated Press via ABC News writes:
Greece's First Radical Left Prime Minister Sworn In Tieless and eschewing the traditional religious swearing-in ceremony, but with a surprise coalition deal in the bag and a sanguine international reception, radical left leader Alexis Tsipras took over Monday as austerity-wracked Greece's new prime minister. Hours earlier, the 40-year-old's Syriza party trounced the outgoing, conservative government in Sunday's national elections, on a platform of easing social pain and securing massive debt forgiveness. Although Syriza fell tantalizingly short of a governing majority in the 300-seat parliament, Tsipras moved quickly Monday to secure the support of 13 lawmakers from the small, right-wing populist Independent Greeks party, raising his total to 162. "''We have the required majority," Tsipras told Greek President Karolos Papoulias, shortly before being sworn in as prime minister, the youngest Greece has seen in 150 years and the first incumbent to take a secular oath rather than the religious one customarily administered by a Greek Orthodox official.
Fans of Tsipras are celebrating, but his victory presents a whole new set of problems.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 20, 2015 29 Comments
Last night on Special Report with Bret Baier, Bret asked Charles Krauthammer for his thoughts on Obama's proposal to raise the capital gains tax. Krauthammer pointed out that like all things Obama says and does, this is about left wing political ideology. Via National Review:
Krauthammer’s Take: Obama ‘Wants to Punish the Rich Regardless of Effect on Economy’ The president’s proposal to raise the capital gains tax has nothing to do with America’s economic vitality, and everything to do with ideology, says Charles Krauthammer. “Obama was asked about whether raising the capital gains tax is something he would support even — this was a famous question asked by Charlie Gibson in the run-up to the 2008 campaign — even if it lowered revenues, which it does, which is of course totally illogical; you raise taxes to bring in revenue. Obama’s answer, a famous answer, was, yes, in the name of ‘fairness.’”​ “This is a man who wants to punish the rich regardless of its effect on the economy,” said Krauthammer.
Watch the exchange: Obama seems set on denying the reality of the new Republican-controlled Senate.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 16, 2015 8 Comments
This day in 1919 was irrefutably one of the darkest days in American history -- the day the 18th amendment to the Constitution was ratified, making Prohibition the law of the land. Forever the hallmark of nanny-statism run amok, Prohibition was a progressive dream come true -- an amendment to the Constitution that limited freedoms rather than securing them. Interestingly enough, the 16th amendment paved the way for the 18th amendment. With the income tax in place, the federal government was no longer reliant upon taxes from alcohol producers. In his documentary Prohibition (which I highly recommend), Ken Burns explains:

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 04, 2015 13 Comments
Tax season is right around the corner and this year brings another consequence of the Affordable Care Act. Many Americans are going to discover that instead of getting a tax refund, they will owe money to the IRS. Tami Luhby of CNN Money reports:
Obamacare tax surprise looming Obamacare enrollees who received subsidies to help pay for coverage will soon have to reconcile how much they actually earned in 2014 with how much they estimated when they applied many, many months ago. This will likely lead to some very unhappy Americans. Those who underestimated their income either will receive smaller tax refunds or will owe the IRS money. That's because subsidies are actually tax credits and are based on annual income, but folks got their 2014 subsidy before knowing exactly what they'd make in 2014. So you'll have to reconcile the two with the IRS during the upcoming tax filing season. It won't be surprising if many enrollees guessed wrong. The sign up period began in October 2013 and many people did not know what they'd earn in 2014. Some went off what they earned in 2012... Those who underestimated their earnings could owe thousands of dollars, though there is a $2,500 cap for those who remain eligible for subsidies. The threshold for eligibility is based on income - $45,900 for an individual and $94,200 for a family in 2014.
Isn't it great how Democrats have tied our healthcare system to our tax system?

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 02, 2015 24 Comments
My family was set to see the snow in the local mountains today, until we discovered thousands of fellow Californians decided they were going to check out this novelty as well.
Interstate 8 east ground to a halt, the mountain town of Julian became completely gridlocked in traffic -- and access to several mountain recreation areas was closed off at mid-afternoon Thursday -- as thousands of San Diegans went to play in the snow. The quaint town of Julian was packed Thursday as residents tried to park to find snow, hot pie or other attractions. "It's busy, but not too crazy," said Pistols & Petticoats owner Debbie Mushet. "It's mainly the restaurants and pie shops that are busy." That was confirmed by employee Monique Quijano at Julian Pie Company. "The line is all the way down the street and probably 45 minutes to an hour," Quijano said.
It may be hard for some of you to believe, but the amount of snow was such a rarity that today's traffic to see it backed up for miles:

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 16, 2014 20 Comments
Obama's immigration plan has been criticized by many conservatives as nothing more than a plan to create new voters for the Democratic Party. If that's true, which is likely, what could be worse? How about using taxpayer funds to do it? Daniel Wiser of the Washington Free Beacon reports:
Taxpayer-Funded Immigrant Advocacy Group Blasts Republicans An immigrant advocacy group that receives taxpayer funding condemned Republicans on Sunday and encouraged undocumented residents seeking deportation relief to solicit political support from young voters. The New York Times reported that groups including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) hosted an information session for about 5,000 unauthorized immigrants at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Immigrants received assessments about whether they would be among the millions who could qualify for three-year deportation deferrals and work permits under President Obama’s executive order. The event was also explicitly political in nature. CHIRLA executive director Angelica Salas reportedly blasted Republicans for “getting in the way of immigration reform.” A slide show presented during orientation for the session featured unflattering pictures of House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.).
Isn't it a bit unethical to use tax dollars provided by some Americans who are presumably Republicans to advance the cause of the Democratic Party?

Posted by Amy Miller on December 04, 2014 5 Comments
U.K Treasury Treasury Chief George Osborne is looking at his budget for the next year, and he doesn't like what he sees; namely, that overseas corporations are making a killing in his country. He's proposed a new tax in an effort to make sure “big multinational businesses pay their fair share" in exchange for access to a budding tech market. Some tech companies like Google and Facebook have been using creative procedures to lower their tax bills on operations based in the U.K., which means that without a new regulatory structure, U.K. officials will essentially be leaving millions of dollars on the table. The Wall Street Journal explains why European officials like Osborne want this tax to happen:
“Some of the largest companies in the world, including those in the tech sector, use elaborate structures to avoid paying taxes,” he said. “That’s not fair to other British firms. It’s not fair to British people either. Today we’re putting a stop to it. My message is consistent and clear: low taxes, but low taxes that will be paid.” The tax, dubbed a “Google tax” by the British press, is expected to raise more than £1 billion ($1.56 billion) over five years, Mr. Osborne said. It’s still unclear exactly what will constitute taxable activity in the U.K. and how it might change the tax bill of companies like Google GOOGL +1.05% and Facebook FB +0.40%. Representatives from several tech companies weren’t immediately available to comment. Google and other companies have been targeted by France and other European governments for not paying enough taxes. The issue is complicated by the companies’ setup: They can have sales representatives in one country selling online services, like ads, that appear in others, while the company’s residence for taxation purposes might be elsewhere still.
Meanwhile, the Eurozone at large is in an all-out war over who should have the authority to regulate these tech giants. What's making the decision so difficult to hammer out? They simply have too many agencies to choose from:

Posted by Amy Miller on November 26, 2014 9 Comments
Chuck Schumer (D-NY) might just be the worst Democratic Policy and Communications Center head of all time. Or, the best, depending on how invested you are to Congressional Dems' current messaging strategy. Yesterday, Schumer stood up at the National Press Club and unequivocally threw President Obama and his coalition under the bus for pressing forward with health care reform at the expense of more "middle class"-oriented programs. Fusion has his remarks:
The “mandate” voters had provided Democrats with their 2008 victories, Schumer said, was put on the wrong problem. “After passing the stimulus, Democrats should have continued to propose middle class-oriented programs and built on the partial success of the stimulus, but unfortunately Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem – health care reform,” Schumer said. “The plight of uninsured Americans and the hardships caused by unfair insurance company practices certainly needed to be addressed,” he added. “But it wasn’t the change we were hired to make. Americans were crying out for an end to the recession, for better wages and more jobs — not for changes in their health care.”
Sure, Schumer was one of Obamacare's biggest cheerleaders, but that was then and this is now, people!

Posted by David Gerstman on November 03, 2014 11 Comments
As the election comes down to the wire in Maryland in two days, I spent some time driving around my neighborhood looking for campaign signs. My neighborhood isn't the best bellwether for Maryland election results. If my neighborhood were representative, Bob Ehrlich would have won a second term in 2006  ... with about 80% of the vote. Instead he lost to current governor, Martin O'Malley, despite Ehrlich's maintaining an approval rating that exceeded 50%. In any case lately these "Vote for the Democrats" (see the featured image above) signs have been popping up. I guess in Maryland you vote for Democrats as a matter of faith. After all Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown wouldn't have a chance if the election turned on his competence. But Maryland Republicans have an effective comeback. One sign right next a Larry Hogan (for governor)  asks if you've had enough tax increases under the O'Malley-Brown administration. 20141102_141129_Republicans_No_Taxes O'Malley intent on being the Democratic nominee in 2016, used his two terms in office to turn Maryland into a Democratic paradise. In 2007 and 2012, O'Malley convened special sessions of the Democratic controlled legislature to raise taxes. (In 2007, the special session was called to address a $1.9 billion "structural deficit" out of a total budget of some $37.3 billion of spending, which amounted to roughly 5% of the budget.) Perhaps the Democrats' tendency to hike taxes as a first resort turned off a lot of unaffiliated voters. I'm guessing that the Republican message is gaining some traction. But the other thing that I thought was remarkable was the relative lack of Brown signs. Even many homes and businesses, which had signs promoting local Democratic candidates didn't have Brown signs. Like at the house below.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 17, 2014 46 Comments
For the last few years, liberals have been trying to re-brand the War on Poverty as a fight against income inequality, but that effort may have come too late. According to a new report from Robert Rector at the Daily Signal, the writing is on the wall:
The War on Poverty Has Been a Colossal Flop Today, the U.S. Census Bureau will release its annual report on poverty. This report is noteworthy because this year marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s launch of the War on Poverty. Liberals claim that the War on Poverty has failed because we didn’t spend enough money. Their answer is just to spend more. But the facts show otherwise. Since its beginning, U.S. taxpayers have spent $22 trillion on Johnson’s War on Poverty (in constant 2012 dollars). Adjusting for inflation, that’s three times more than was spent on all military wars since the American Revolution. The federal government currently runs more than 80 means-tested welfare programs. These programs provide cash, food, housing and medical care to low-income Americans. Federal and state spending on these programs last year was $943 billion. (These figures do not include Social Security, Medicare, or Unemployment Insurance.)
Michael D. Tanner of the Cato Institute made a similar point in January of this year:
War on Poverty at 50 — Despite Trillions Spent, Poverty Won Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson delivered his first State of the Union address, promising an “unconditional war on poverty in America.” Looking at the wreckage since, it’s not hard to conclude that poverty won.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 27, 2014 30 Comments
The world's third-largest fast food chain is just a signature away from reality. Burger King Worldwide, Inc. announced on Tuesday that it has made a deal to buy popular Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons for a cool $11 billion. The decision to move the combined corporate headquarters to Canada, however, has left some questioning whether or not this is simply a tax-dodge masquerading as a corporate merger. Predictably, the left is having a complete meltdown over the move, forcing Burger King to go on offense to defend their business decisions. Via USA Today:
Burger King CEO Daniel Schwartz, who will become group CEO of the new company and handle day-to-day management, said that "the company is going to continue to be managed out of our Miami office." "We are going to continue to pay U.S. taxes as we have been doing," he said in a conference call with media after the deal's announcement. The deal was not about taxes, Schwartz said, noting that the corporate tax rate paid by Tim Hortons in Canada is in the mid-20s percentage-wise and Burger King's "blended" tax rate it pays globally, including U.S. taxes, is also in the mid-20s. "So when we look at the combined company we don't expect there to be meaningful lower or higher tax rates than we had before," he said. Instead, he said, "What is going to add value and drive growth for the long run is ... more restaurants around the world and growing sales and profits."
Twitter exploded this week with a resurgence of the "#BoycottBurgerKing" hashtag, prompting some scathing (and in some cases downright amusing) posts from the left:
Good to know.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 08, 2014 15 Comments
Voter advocacy organization True the Vote hit a roadblock Thursday when a federal judge denied its request to have an independent forensic expert search for Lois Lerner's "missing" e-mails. Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court in Washington ruled that True the Vote's attorneys failed to provide evidence showing that the IRS had either already intentionally destroyed e-mails, or would do so in the future. Judge Walton also cited privacy concerns, saying that taxpayer data, as well as the ongoing investigation by an inspector general, could be compromised. Judge Walton also denied True the Vote's request for an injunction forcing the IRS to preserve all documents related to the lawsuit. He said that True the Vote failed to show “irreparable harm” in its request, and that “the public interest weighs strongly against the type of injunctive relief the plaintiff seeks.” From the court memorandum:
Accordingly, despite the general distrust of the defendants expressed by the plaintiff, the Court has no factual basis to concur with that distrust, not only as to the defendants but seemingly every component of the Department of the Treasury (and presumably of every component of the Executive Branch of the federal government), and therefore concludes that the issuance of an injunction will not further aid in the recovery of the emails, if such recovery is possible, but will rather only duplicate and potentially interfere with ongoing investigative activities.
True the Vote attorney Cleta Mitchell has downplayed the ruling, saying that the judge merely denied their request for expedited assistance. True the Vote filed suit against the IRS last year after the agency denied True the Vote's application for tax-exempt status. True the Vote is seeking immediate recognition as a 501(c)(3), and more than $85,000 in damages; they claim that they IRS targeted their organization because of their openly conservative agenda:

Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 16, 2014 23 Comments
First it was Vice President Joe Biden who said paying higher taxes was "patriotic." Now, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has resurrected the taxes-as-patriotism meme for the Obama White House. Secretary Lew used the phrase "economic patriotism" this morning on his interview on CNBC to discuss the Administration's new plans to regulate the corporate marketplace.
"Congress should enact legislation immediately," Lew told a business conference in New York hosted by cable television channel CNBC. "We should have some economic patriotism here." Lew's remarks came amid a wave of corporate deals known as inversions, in which a U.S. company shifts its tax home base to a lower-tax country by combining with a company based in that country. Popular destinations are Ireland, Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The deals are still rare, but a flurry of them in recent months has prompted concern in Washington. Medical technology group Medtronic Inc plans to buy Dublin-based rival Covidien Plc and shift its tax home base to Ireland. Drugstore chain Walgreen Co is weighing a possible inversion. Drugmaker Pfizer Inc's bid in April to buy UK rival AstraZeneca Plc was structured as an inversion. That deal fell through, but it drew attention to inversions.
According to the letter Secretary Lew sent to Congress today, he urged them to pass legislation to "prevent companies from effectively renouncing their citizenship to get out of paying taxes."

Posted by RedDawn on June 24, 2014 17 Comments
Yesterday, President Obama announced America should aspire to be more like France when supplying employee benefits. The Washington Examiner reports:
“Other countries know how to do this,” Obama said. “If France can figure this out, we can figure it out.” “Many women can't even get a paid day off to give birth,” Obama said. “There is only one developed country in the world that does not offer paid maternity leave, and that is us. And that is not a list you want to be on, by your lonesome.”
On the surface, this sounds like a fair enough argument, but then so does raising the minimum wage... until you consider the numeric reality. Unlike the United States, France's unemployment rate clocks in at a steady 10% for workers over 25. Under 25, the rate is closer to 25% unemployed. For perspective, the US and the UK both hover around a 6% unemployment rate. But that's not the only factor worth considering. Remember the infamous 75% tax? That was France, all France. Take a look at where France ranks in taxation comparable to the United States: [caption id="attachment_90228" align="aligncenter" width="639"]Source: Tax Policy Center Source: Tax Policy Center[/caption] Tax conditions in France are so horrid, that entrepreneurs are fleeing to countries with more agreeable taxation rates. The New York Times discussed this phenomenon. This aspiring entrepreneur left for the UK:
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