TAX POLITIX
The Politics of Taxes
Veronique de Rugy on State Bailouts
Veronique de Rugy (one of my all time favorite people) and Tad DeHaven of the of the Mercatus Center have written a wonderful article about why there should not be state bailouts (pandemically-induced or otherwise) It is a great read here: A key thing to note is about Veronique’s observation of why New York’s perennial claim that it sends more money to Washington than it gets back. The situation occurs because 1) the federal tax code is very progressive (thanks to NY and the other liberal...
New York’s Budget Solution
For years, I’ve been pounding the table about how public sector wages and compensations have steadily outpaced those found in the private sector. This is no more readily apparent than in New York where runaway budgets and deficits continuously fleece the taxpayer. The private sector has several factors in place that help control runaway costs, chief among them being competition. The profit motive in the private sector keeps compensation at levels where economic factors limit them to...
New York’s Indefensible Bailout
New York’s state budget director, Robert F. Mujica, Jr., wrote an anemic, laughable Letter to the Editor (printed in the Wall Street Journal) trying to defend New York’s fiscal record in an effort to get a federal bailout. Those of us who live in New York couldn’t help but notice it was full of half-truths. For instance, Mr. Mujica boasted lowering income-tax rates, but neglected to include the fact that Florida doesn’t even have an income tax yet still manages to operate on a budget of $93...
CON Laws are Unconstitutionals
Certificate of Need laws, otherwise known as CON laws, are laws required in many states and some federal jurisdictions before proposed acquisitions, expansions, or creations of healthcare facilities are allowed. They are also absolutely ridiculous and entirely based entirely on cronyism. CON laws are irresponsible, damaging to the economy, and a prime example of an assault on economic liberty. We have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and we are entitled to their...
Atlas Society: An Interview with Alan Dlugash
Alan Dlugash is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPAs) serving on the Individual Tax Committee (and a previous chair), and is currently also a member of the IRS Relations Committee. He has also served on the Society’s Task Force on Tax Simplification as well as on the Special Committee for Reform of the Tax System whose report had been widely circulated. Additionally, he is a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and its Tax Division. Mr. Dlugash has over 40...
WSJ: NYC Business Proposals Are Unreasonable
Charles Passy’s article in the WSJ was a veiled plea to save the culinary scene of New York City. With two specific outrageous proposals, Passy’s economic bias here is unbearable. First, he describes how “bar and restaurant owners throughout the city say such claims are being denied at the present time because of policy exclusions, despite the businesses having paid thousands of dollars for their property and casualty insurance over the years.” As a result, Passy argues that insurance...
The NYT is Ridiculous (Again)
The New York Times continued its ludicrous partisan writing in its coverage of the Flynn affair, calling his position a “reckless gamble.” At the same time, note that the reason why Flynn was recently exonerated is not even mentioned! Of course, it was clear that there was no basis to start the questioning in the first place, which as a matter of law makes the “lie” irrelevant. Also, since at the time the prosecuting parties had all testified that there was no Flynn or Trump wrongdoing about...
What’s Missing in the Unemployment Insurance Discussion
One of the burgeoning problems of opening the country back up is that many employers are struggling to properly restaff their businesses. It appears that many employees are refusing to go back to work because they prefer unemployment benefits. But workers are only entitled to these benefits if they cannot find work. They should legally lose the unemployment benefits if they refuse going back to work. Yet reporters covering this emerging situation seem ignorant of the concept. I have been...
Club For Growth and Liberty Candidates
For years I have been following the candidates that have been supported by the Club for Growth, contributing to both their campaigns and to the Club. Although overall they do a decent job finding and supporting candidates , there are two areas in which they are weak. The Club For Growth has always been an advocate of the free market, limited government, and low taxes -- the same thing that the Tea Party originally intended to be. However, within this realm, there are four things that the Club...
WSJ: Do Quick Shutdowns Work to Fight the Spread of COVID?
The WSJ had a thoughtful opinion piece a couple of days ago. The author wanted to "quantify how many deaths were caused by delayed shutdown orders on a state-by-state basis"as a means to examine the efficacy of quick shutdown. Below are some key takeaways, and you can read the piece in full here. "To normalize for an unambiguous comparison of deaths between states at the midpoint of an epidemic, we counted deaths per million population for a fixed 21-day period, measured from when the death...
TAX
Tips
How Much Each Taxpayer Owes Toward the Federal Debt
Forbes recently had a very good article which explores the US Federal Debt and how it affects economic growth. It also reviews government debt for the future, and its affect on the private sector and the debt-to-GDP ratio. Unfortunately, it doesn't...
More Burdensome Tax Compliance For Expats
If you are an American living abroad -- dubbed an “expat” -- you are still expected to pay income taxes and file income tax reports to the IRS. The United States is the only country in the world that has this requirement and it is mandatory until...
Some Incorrect Obamacare Forms are Still Incorrect
Roughly 2 weeks ago, I wrote about the IRS sending out corrected tax forms for the 820,000 Obamacare users who received incorrect 1095As in late January. On March 22, it was reported that, “Federal officials said on a Friday press call that about...
Obamacare Tax Compliance May Be An Issue For the Poorest
This year is the first year for which proof of health insurance, or payment of the "shared responsibility" tax/fee/penalty, is required to be accounted for on one's tax return. But what happens when a person does not meet the income threshold to...