TAX POLITIX
The Politics of Taxes
The Internet Tax: What You Need to Know
State and local governments have been forbidden from taxing Internet access -- apparently forever -- according to a bill passed in the House on July 15. This measure was a response to updating the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1996, which had a extension passed in 2007 and was on the verge of expiration. House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte explained that the bill "prevents a surprise tax hike on Americans’ critical services this fall. It also maintains unfettered access to one of the...
Major Contract Reform is Needed in the Philadelphia School System
The Teachers Union in Pennsylvania is putting self-interest ahead of the schools. A recent article in the WSJ highlights the problems of the Philadelphia school system trying to navigate the process of staff reduction. The unions claim that seniority is the only criteria for cuts, while school administration wants other choices. Pennsylvania is one of a few states that grants teachers a right to strike, so this fight is one which is sure to be long-suffering. The schools point out to the...
Government Still Running a Deficit Despite One Month Surplus
Even with record federal revenue, the government has a running deficit of $385 billion though the first nine months of fiscal 2014. According to CNSNews, "The White House Office of Management and Budget has estimated that in the full fiscal 2014, the federal government will collect $3.001721 trillion in taxes and spend $3.650526 trillion, while running a deficit of $648.805 billion. The OMB has also estimated that, while running that deficit, the federal government will collect a record amount...
Governor’s Worker Union Ends Support of United Negro College Fund Over Koch Brother’s Gift
After the United Negro College Fund accepted a $25 million grant from Koch Brothers, Inc and the Charles Koch Foundation, The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) sent a letter to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) yesterday ending their relationship. This includes a paid internship program. In the letter, AFSCME President Lee Saunders condemned the action as "not only deeply hostile to the rights and dignity of public employees, but also a profound betrayal...
The Halbig Obamacare Case
The next big case related to Obamacare, Halbig v. Burwell, is sitting in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The verdict should be announced soon. The crux of the case lies in the wording of the actual bill of Obamacare, which specifically lists state exchanges as a source of subsidies. There is no mention of federal exchanges in Obamacare. This was created merely by an IRS rule authorizing the subsidies in federal exchanges. Regardless of the outcome of the case (for a primer,...
New Lerner Email Hints At Curbing Email Information For Congress
Roughly a month before the IRS scandal "broke" via a planted question, Lois Lerner wrote the following email. On April 9, 2013 “I was cautioning folks about email and how we have had several occasions where Congress ask asked for emails and there has been an electronic search for responsive emails — so we need to be cautious about what we say in emails” About what could Lerner possibly be cautious? To put this into perspective, Lerner crafted her email shortly after (roughly two weeks) the IRS...
EEOC Absurdity Strikes Again
In another laughable, irresponsible, and certainly illegal move (far overreaching any possible regulatory claim), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against a private company that fired employees who could not effectively communicate in English. The EEOC lawsuit alleges that this violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans discrimination based on “national origin”. The EEOC’s logic argues that this includes “the “linguistic characteristics...
A Renewed Appeal For The Keystone Pipeline Project
What's going on with oil and energy these days? Last week, SNL Financial noted that, "Canada's crude oil producers are looking to markets other than the U.S. to sell increased output amid delays in pipeline expansions, according to the president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. "In terms of growth potential, Keystone is obviously bogged down and everything behind Keystone in the queue is bogged down because the regulatory process won't engage on those other projects until...
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 district court to explain why they never reported the emails missing in the context of a lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch". The following day, July 11th, "the IRS legal team is expected to try to block outside access to the evidence that Lois Lerner's...
July 4: The Declaration of Independence is Adopted and Announced
I could post something from the eloquent Thomas Jefferson, but I've always loved this quote from Winston Churchill: "We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, habeas corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence" -- Winston Churchill in...
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