TAX POLITIX
The Politics of Taxes
High Corporate Tax Rates and Inversions
Dustin Howard over at Americans for Limited Government tackles one of the key factors contributing to the rise of corporate inversions: high corporate taxes. I would also argue that another mitigating factor is foreign-earned income, which the United States government lays claim to — and is the only major country to do so. Under U.S. tax law, U.S. companies are forced to pay both foreign- and domestic-earned income, putting them at a global disadvantage. At any rate, Howard's piece is a...
IRS Tax Tip 2016-44: Tax Refund Offsets Pay Unpaid Debts
Tax Refund Offsets Pay Unpaid Debts If you can’t pay your taxes in full, the IRS will work with you. Past due debts like taxes owed, however, can reduce your federal tax refund. The Treasury Offset Program can use all or part of your federal refund to settle certain unpaid federal or state debts, to include unpaid individual shared responsibility payments. Here are five facts to know about tax refund offsets. 1. Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The Department of Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal...
Minimum Wage vs Minimum Hour
The following is a short version of a recent talk by Ben Eisen regarding the minimum wage issue as a poverty-fighting tool. It is undeniable that the percentage of full-time workers in poverty is much less than part-time workers. "He explained – using sound economic theory and admirable coverage of empirical findings – that the minimum wage is as effective a tool for fighting poverty as is gasoline as a tool for fighting fires. One of the stats that Ben cited is that only three percent of...
IRS Tax Tip 2106-43: Military Members Get Free Tax Help
Military Members: Get Free Tax Help The IRS offers free tax help to members of the military and their families through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. VITA is available both on and off base including sites for military members overseas. Here are five tips to know about free tax help for the military: 1. Armed Forces Tax Council. The Armed Forces Tax Council oversees the military tax programs offered worldwide. 2. Certified Staff. Military VITA certified employees staff their...
CBO Examines Taxing Drivers By the Mile As a Revenue Raiser
According to an economist at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the federal government should examine the question of taxing drivers by the mile as a means of raising higher revenue for highway programs. According to the Washington Examiner, "Chad Shirley, CBO's deputy assistant director for microeconomic studies, gave a presentation that says federal gas tax revenues are falling short of federal spending on highway programs. But to resolve that problem, Shirley didn't propose less federal...
IRS Tax Tip 2016-41: Interest Rates
Interest Rates Remain the Same for the Second Quarter of 2016 WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 2016. The rates will be: three (3) percent for overpayments [two (2) percent in the case of a corporation]; one-half (0.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000. three (3) percent for underpayments; and five (5) percent for large corporate underpayments. Under...
Trump’s Economic Ignorance
The great Don Boudreaux a friend of mine, made mention of this picture last week over on his superb blog, Cafe Hayek. The picture is apparently a favorite among Trump supporters. "What to say? Perry Potts Eidelbus, a Facebook friend, describes it as “a distillation of economic ignorance into pure form.” Indeed. It’s much like Trump himself: the very image of economic ignorance. Trump is doing now from the political right what Paul Krugman has done so successfully over the past decade and a...
Obama Wants Your Phone Access To “Prevent Terrorism” and “Enforce Tax Laws”
Obama weighed in on the current Apple-government dispute, saying that access should be made necessary. From Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday made a passionate case for mobile devices to be built in such a way as to allow government to gain access to personal data if needed to prevent a terrorist attack or enforce tax laws. Speaking at the South by Southwest festival in Texas, Obama said he could not comment on the legal case in which the FBI is trying to force Apple Inc. to allow...
Record Tax Revenue, Again
CNSNews remains a go-to source for analyzing information on the U.S. Treasury, tax revenue, and such. Here they are again, scrutinizing tax receipts for FY2016 through the end of February. In a nutshell, the U.S. government continues to run a deficit, and the amount of taxpayer responsibility continues to increase. From CNSNEWS: The U.S. Treasury hauled in a record of approximately $1,248,371,000,000 in tax revenues in the first five months of fiscal 2016 (Oct. 1, 2015 through Feb. 29, 2016),...
Obamacare Tax Penalty Increases
Based on data from H&R Block as we are halfway through filing season, it is apparent that compliance with the Obamacare penalty is still a difficult task. This is the second year that the penalty has been levied; for 2014 taxes, the fee was $95 or 1 percent of qualified income — whichever was greater — and for 2015 taxes it is $325 or 2 percent of income, whichever is greater. The average penalty is $383, while last year it was $172, which corresponds roughly to the rise in penalty costs....
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