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Taxes Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 16, 2010 15 Comments

Breaking news that Harry Reid is pulling the Omnibus spending bill in the face of the loss of possible Republican votes: The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said Thursday night that he was abandoning efforts to pass a $1.2 trillion spending measure to finance...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 16, 2010 14 Comments

I'm not sure what Republicans in the Senate can do to stop the Ominibus Monstrosity since there appear to be several Republicans likely to vote for the bill (Collins, Bond, Bennett, Voinivich).  Regardless, the Republican leadership and membership should do anything and everything to stop...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 16, 2010 13 Comments

If I were a completely cynical political type, I'd say to hell with the merits of the "tax deal," because we just found the best reason to vote No.  As reported by The Hill (h/t HotAir), Obama tells lawmakers not passing tax deal could end...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 16, 2010 1 Comment

As reported by TaxProf, Professor Richard Schmalbeck at Duke is worried that high net worth individuals nearing death -- or their relatives -- will accelerate the end due to the looming increase in the estate tax:Unless Congress acts very quickly, there will be blood as...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 15, 2010 4 Comments

I told you the liberal Democrats who were protesting the "tax deal" would not buck Obama, and would fall in line.So no surprise to see this headline at The Hill, Liberals giving up tax fight:A House liberal who has led the effort to stop President...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 15, 2010 6 Comments

Harry Reid lowered the boom yesterday, rolling out a $1.1 trillion, 1,924-page Omnibus Budget bill, which was sure to infuriate Republicans in the Senate.To roll out such a provocative bill at a time when Reid has an extraordinarily tight calendar on a variety of social and...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 14, 2010 8 Comments

I've written before about Barack Obama's penchant for creating strawman arguments, in which Obama presents an exaggerated and misleading characterization of Republican proposals in order to make Obama's own policy seem like the only reasonable choice.Most typically, Obama will frame the sentence beginning with words similar...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 13, 2010 15 Comments

As I write, the "tax deal" worked out between Obama and Republicans in Congress has passed its first procedural hurdle, with more than 60 Senators voting to open debate on the legislation.As I have pointed out before, a marginally acceptable bill as originally announced has become an...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 11, 2010 17 Comments

The original compromise tax bill was a mixed bag, at best.  I understood the benefits, as well as the conservative arguments against.  At least we were arguing over the merits of the bill.Now the tax deal is becoming an insult to the Republican and independent voters who...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 10, 2010 33 Comments

When the "framework" of the tax deal was announced, I wrote that Obama "had a pretty good day."As the details of the actual bill are coming out, it looks like Obama had a great day, Senate tax bill lures Democrats with sweeteners:But in the face...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 09, 2010 7 Comments

News crossing the wires is that the Democrats in the House have rejected Obama's tax deal with Republicans in a non-binding vote:The House Democratic Caucus on Thursday rejected the tax deal negotiated between the White House and Senate Republicans. The non-binding vote of the caucus...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 08, 2010 4 Comments

The tax framework is falling apart, as a substantial number of Democrats and a few Republicans start taking shots at various provisions unrelated to marginal tax rates.Once again, Obama has chosen complexity for the sake of complexity, a lot of moving parts and social engineering.There...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 08, 2010 17 Comments

One of the interesting aspects of the "framework" announced by Obama to prevent marginal income tax increases on anyone is that part of the quid pro quo demanded by Obama was a one-year 2% drop in the portion of social security (FICA) taxes paid by...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 07, 2010 11 Comments

If Barack Obama had his way, taxes would be up across the board.  Most obviously for the job creators in the form of higher marginal income tax rates, but also for everyone in the form of a health care mandate, energy taxes, increases in capital gains...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 19, 2010 11 Comments

What a whack job.  What kind of idiot would use Grey Poupon to prove a point?  Are you suggesting that only fancy, foreign, John Kerryish types use it?  No real American would use that stuff, right Alan?Sure, sure, you were just joking around to make a...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 12, 2010 8 Comments

Democratic Party leaders didn't get the message of Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts.There is no sign they received the message of November 2, either.Nancy Pelosi, fresh off her victory celebration, is in no mood to compromise on keeping tax rates from going up:House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 07, 2010 4 Comments

This will serve as an update to my post last May about the construction of the Big, Unfair House, and the hope that it would be redistributed to me.The construction looks just about completed, at least on the outside.  Mighty fine looking home.Mighty fine, mighty big,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 08, 2010 9 Comments

Obama can't let go of his war on the "rich."  It was an integral part of his campaign, and an even more integral part of his presidency.Obama's obsession with playing class warfare politics is his undoing, not because it necessarily loses him support in isolation, but because...

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