TAX POLITIX
The Politics of Taxes
What Information Is On the Obamacare Tax Form 1095a?
Since there seems to be increased interest, and confusion, regarding tax filing and Obamacare this year, it is worth it add some more information to help navigate the process. The IRS Tax Form 1095a is officially known as the "Health Insurance Marketplace Statement". If a household member or members enrolled in a healthcare plan through a state or federal exchange, you will receive a 1095a in the mail by early February. You cannot file your taxes without it. It contains information regarding...
JFK on Capital Gains
Since we've been discussing it recently.
Anti-business Policies and the Liberty of Risk
Ben Casselman penned a piece a year ago in the Wall Street Journal, which documented the decline of risk-taking in business ventures. Hard data showed that both the number of new companies and the use of venture capital is waning. He rightfully suggested that this downward trend is a major contributor to the fact that the recovery from the recent recession is so painfully slow and anemic. Casselman went on to explain that economists aren’t entirely sure what is behind the decline and gave some...
Obamacare Forms: 1095A, 8962, and Deadlines
This year, taxes will get extra tricky, because filers will be required to account for their health insurance on their forms. There are four ways to do so: 1) For taxpayers who do not have Obamacare, the process is simple: check a box indicating you have insurance. This is U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for 2014, line 61 2) If a person opted not to have any insurance, he or she needs to pay the fine/tax, which has been named the “shared responsibility payment”. This is on U.S. Individual...
Obama’s Policy Proposals Are the Opposite of “Tax Reform”
Obama has consistently talked about how he is for “tax reform” all during his presidency. But clearly, he has no idea what that even means. True tax reform is a mechanism that produces a cleaner and clearer tax code. A great example of this was the 1986 IRC reform, where Reagan set the highest rate at 28% in exchange for eliminating massive amounts of tax shelters and gimmicks. Obama’s cluelessness on the topic was evident during the State of the Union, where, instead of the simplification...
Obamanomics: Capital Gains Hikes and the Economy
President Obama just told the country during his State of the Union address that he is going to increase the capital gains rate again in order to raise revenue for new spending programs. Given that Obama already knows that raising the capital gains rate actually REDUCES revenue, we are left with a President who believes that we can pay for increased spending by reducing revenue. He acknowledged this in 2008 during a televised debate against Hillary Clinton, but went on to state that rates...
Capital Gains Increases Means Revenue Decreases
Back in 2008 when Obama was debating Hillary Clinton on national TV, Obama discussed with the moderator how raising the capital gains rate would likely reduce federal revenue collections, but he insisted it was good policy anyway — because it was a policy of “fairness”. Why would raising the capital gains tax be a revenue loss? The effect of higher taxes slows the economy because those paying the higher capital gains have less money to invest. Unfortunately, such a policy was implemented in...
Arguing the Merits of the Minimum Wage Question Better
The question of raising the minimum wage keeps getting pushed at the federal level, as well as across many states. If we are to educate the populace on the pitfalls of arbitrary "minimum wage" hikes, we must be sure to argue the inherent flaws of suggestion that minimum wage hikes help some people and therefore are good for everyone. This was illustrated recently on an episode of CNBC's "On the Money" with Becky Quick. On one side was Dan Mitchell of CATO, who has done admirable work on fiscal...
Obama Omits “God Bless the United States of America” At End of SOTU
President Obama ended the State of the Union address in a new way. He didn't say, as tradition, "God bless you, and God bless these United States of America" He said, "Thank you, God bless you, and God bless this country we love." A quick check on his prior SOTU speeches reveals he used the customary phrasing in past years: 2014: God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. 2013: "Thank you. God bless you, and God bless these United States of America" 2012: "Thank you. God bless...
Open Thread — State of the Union
If you plan to tune in tonight to the State of the Union, I'll be running an Open Thread over at Bearing Drift, Virginia's premier conservative media group. Join me over there at 8:45 to discuss Obama's proposals. The main theme of the evening is "middle class economics". These include: --raising "$320 billion over the next 10 years in new taxes targeting wealthy individuals and big financial institutions to pay for new programs designed to help lower- and middle-income families". --raising...
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