TAX POLITIX
The Politics of Taxes
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 and unless one renounces citizenship. Being an expat in recent years has become more difficult. In 2010, Congress passed FATCA, which was enacted as a means to find foreign accounts of US taxpayers (such as a Swiss bank account). Overseas banks must...
Offensive Officer Marshall
A recent incident involving a woman and police officer in Indiana is a prime example of law enforcement run amok. The woman was arrested and faces charges of resisting arrest -- a felony in Indiana -- after she failed to immediately pull over her vehicle on a dark country road at night, and instead chose to drive less than a mile down the road to a lit, public parking lot. The woman, acknowledging the police officer with a wave, also put on her hazards as she made her way to a safer area. The...
The Gender Pay Gap is Still a Myth
It’s frustrating when popular TV economists perpetuate economic myths that have been thoroughly debunked. Last week, Becky Quick, host of CNBC’s “On the Money”, interviewed Bethany McLean, Contributing Editor over at Vanity Fair. They discussed the subject of equal pay for women; unfortunately, they both asserted that women only earn 77% of pay that men do, a charge that is simply untrue, but endlessly repeated. Factors such as education paths, child bearing choices, hours worked, and job risk...
Dirty Harry Reid
I’ve been pondering the recent Harry Reid episode, where Harry Reid discussed the incident from 2012 when he openly lied about Mitt Romney not filing tax returns for 10 years. Harry Reid completely justified his behavior by stating to CNN’s Dana Bash, “"I don't regret that at all. Romney didn't win did he?" How utterly different would the story be if a Republican Senator had lied in this fashion? It is absolutely incredible that Harry Reid wasn’t called out for his shameful lies. What’s more,...
The Role of Profit According to Walter Williams
The great Walter Williams released a new video yesterday on the role that profit plays in the free market. Do yourself a favor and take 5 minutes to learn how important profits and losses really are. "Is profit a dirty word? Would the world be better off without them? Or are profits progressive -- the only thing that can move potatoes from Idaho to Manhattan and medicine from America to Africa? Professor and economist Walter Williams explains."
More Economic Ignorance from Bill de Blasio
If NYC ever survives a mayor as economically ignorant as Bill de Blasio, it will be nothing short of a miracle. Not only has he been committed to “combating income inequality” by advocating raising taxes on the wealthy, now he also is pushing for a minimum wage hike to more than $13/hour as a means to bolster the economy. De Blasio recently announced, “It’s time for New York City businesses to take bold action—not only because hardworking New Yorkers deserve a path to the middle class and an...
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 740,000 corrected forms have been mailed out or can be downloaded from the HealthCare.gov site. About 80,000 corrected forms will be mailed and available online next week" However, it is apparent that the IRS still has not fixed those users who remain...
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 actually have to file their taxes? The Weekly Standard points out that a conundrum exists for the poor. Under Obamacare rules, the economically disadvantaged, "can get an income-based exemption if 'you don’t have to file a tax return because your...
Government Transparency Site Now Even LESS Transparent
Last summer, I wrote an article about how an audit performed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the government transparency site -- USASpending.gov -- revealed that more than 90% of the information found on the website was inaccurate. The GAO audited spending data from 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, by comparing government agency records with those found on USASpending.gov. The GAO reported that only 2-7% of the numbers found on the website is ‘fully...
Cranky Ben Bernanke
Ben Bernanke debuted his new gig today, that of a writer on the “Ben Bernanke Blog”. Though he is not in charge of the Fed anymore, nevertheless he proved that he is still trying to stay relevant by continuing to be an old shill for the President. The most ridiculous point Bernanke tried to defend was the strategy of keeping “rates low to encourage borrowing and spending and strengthen their economies.” But as Fed Chairman he knew that companies really weren’t borrowing at all and that banks...
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