TAX POLITIX
The Politics of Taxes
Wealthy Connecticut is Not So Wealthy
Despite Connecticut's status as one of the wealthiest states in the country, its fiscal health is in rapid decline. A hefty debt load has left the state without a budget for two months as lawmakers squabble how to best deal with the reality of "high taxes, outmigration, falling revenues and $50 billion of unfunded pension liabilities." Governor Malloy has an executive order ready to go into effect that will reduce or eliminate funds for localities and schools if the state government cannot...
Quickly Noted: Kamala Harris On the Rise
Kamala Harris, the junior Senator from California, has been fueling speculation that she might be a Democrat contender for President in 2020. For months now, she has been holding fundraisers with high-dollar big-wigs, and now there are indications that she will be "knocking on doors in Iowa" according to former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is running for Governor in California in 2018. Harris first came on my radar in 2015, when she partnered with the Department of Education to...
Record Federal Tax Revenue For July
As always, CNSnews posts the monthly revenue data as it is released from the Treasury. I have reposted it below in its entirety: "The federal government collected record amounts of both individual income taxes and payroll taxes through the first ten months of fiscal 2017 (Oct. 1, 2016 through the end of July), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement. Through July, the federal government collected approximately $1,312,691,000,000 in individual income taxes. At the same time, it collected...
Bloomburg: Most Economist Think Tax Reform Will Happen
According to Bloomberg's monthly economist poll, 78% of respondents think that Congress will be successful with tax cuts prior to mid-term elections next year -- though they may be less ambitious than what has been originally planned. Trump has promised to make this a priority. Whether or not this is a permanent change to the IRC -- much like the reforms of 1986 -- remains to be seen. Bloomberg notes that "White House officials have said they’re still committed to a permanent tax revamp, and...
Anthem Exits Virginia Marketplace
Anthem announced today that it would discontinue individual insurance coverage plans in Virginia in 2018, the third major insurer to do so this year; Aetna and United Health announced their plans earlier in the year. For Anthem, this marks the 4th state change so far in 2017, after Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In their press release, Anthem noted, “Today, planning and pricing for ACA-compliant health plans has become increasingly difficult due to a shrinking and deteriorating...
“Revenue Raising” Soda Tax Fails to Bring in Revenue
A soda tax in Philadelphia, implemented specifically to raise revenue (not to fight obesity) has failed to bring in the projected funds promised by the tax wizards. The tax was supposed to raise some $92 million a year, but people have taken to purchasing their soft drinks outside of the city, because the tax that is levied is a 1.5-cent per ounce tax. The Tax Foundation studied the tax and its effects and found that, "According to some local distributors and retailers, sales have declined by...
DeBlasio to High-Income Earners: Pay For Our Mass Transit Projects
Mayor DeBlasio released a new plan to add a "nearly 14 percent tax increase on high-income Big Apple residents" in order to raise money for various transportation projects. It is projected to raise $800 million/year and would be used to pay for subway repairs, bus system upgrades, and low-income train rides. DeBlasio pitched a city income tax hike that "would raise the rate for individuals making more than $500,000 and married couples earning over $1 million from 3.876 percent to 4.41...
JFK on Capital Gains
Nearly 1400 Counties to Have One or Zero Insurers in 2018
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have published data which projects that 1,332 counties (over 40%) will have only one health insurer on Obamacare in 2018 and 49 will have none. According to CNSNews, "the data comes from the Health Insurance Exchanges Issuer County Map, which shows projected issuer participation on the Health Insurance Exchanges in 2018 based on the issuer public announcements made prior to late July of 2017." Successful healthcare systems do not continuously...
Social Security Expenses to Exceed Income in Five More Years
Last week, the Social Security Board of Trustees released their annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The news does not continue to bode will for the long-term survival of Social Security -- but on the other hand, this is nothing that we haven't heard before. Unfortunately, no one really wants to tackle the problem of reform. Straight from their press release: "The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the...
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Feds Tax Haul Tops $3 Trillion
This Washington Times piece did a nice overview of FY2014: The Treasury Department unveiled its Fiscal Year 2014 numbers, which showed that the government's revenue, for the first time ever, hit the $3 trillion mark. However, the government still...
IRS In Court Two Days This Week
On July 10 and again on July 11, the IRS will be in court for two separate cases related to the IRS scandal, specifically regarding the missing emails. The Weekly Standard notes that on Thursday, July 10th, "IRS lawyers will appear in federal...
Tax Changes to the 2013 IRS 1040, Part IV: Itemized Deduction Phase Out Rules
What is a phase out rule? When a taxpayer nears an income limit to qualify for a tax credit, there is a gradual reduction of that tax credit. This is known as a phase out. Higher income earners need to be aware that phase outs will come into play...
Changes on the IRS 1040 for Tax Year 2013, Part III: The Medicare Surcharge
Do you make above $250,000 (married joint filer) or $200,000 (individual filer)? For 2013 filers, you get to pay an additional tax starting this year. Prior to tax year 2013, the Medicare Payroll tax was 2.9%. Self-employed taxpaxers pay the entire...