TAX POLITIX
The Politics of Taxes
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, “Ponzi Mom”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s website proudly proclaims “as the mother of two young children, Senator Gillibrand knows that working families are struggling in this difficult economy." But Sen. Gillibrand's positions regarding the economy don’t support such a statement. When Gillibrand appeared on Meet The Press on April 21, she stated that she refuses to support even the trivial chain "CPI" adjustment of Social Security benefits "because it is not significantly affecting the current deficit"....
The Proposed Internet Tax is Merely A Revenue Grabber
The Senate passed the online sales tax bill, formally known as the “Marketplace Fairness Act”. There is nothing fair about this act. It is a back-door way for states to add additional levies on their citizens under the guise of leveling the playing field . From an accountant's perspective, here’s how: Most proponents of the bill suggest that there is somehow a dearth of tax revenue from which states are suffering. This sentiment was echoed in the pages of the
NYC is Running Out of Other People’s Money
Obamacare Taxes on Their Way!
A couple of weeks ago, I spoke at a gathering of higher-income earners. The bulk of the discussion was a comparison of what this bracket of folks just paid in 2012 vs what they will pay in higher taxes in 2013. Some of those taxes had to do with the implementation of Obamacare and the new taxes associated with it. However, many do not realize that Obamacare taxes, (levies created to help pay for the legislation) do not only affect high income earners. With the report out yesterday that 42% of...
April 29: 4 Years, 1461 Days Without A Budget
April 29, 2013 marks four years without a true operating budget for our country. 1461 days and running. In the realm of budget history, April 29 is an historic day. First, an interesting juxtaposition exists between April 29, 1909 and April 29, 2009. On April 29, 1909, the world’s biggest Superpower -- Great Britain -- introduced the “People’s Budget”, which is famously noted for being the first budget in the history of Britain with the “expressed intent of redistributing wealth” among the...
Carried Interest is Not A Problem
John Steele Gordon’s recent Op-Ed in the WSJ opened with following observation: “The question of how to fairly and equitably tax capital gains has been a political problem since the modern personal-income tax was adopted in 1913”. Being a business/financial historian, he gives an adequate overview of the history of capital gains and how it has reached its present state. But because he is not an economist or CPA, he disingenously presents a one-sided treatment of the issue of capital gains and...
Ferrara on Obama’s Budget: A Must Read
Peter Ferrara pens a fantastic Op-Ed in Forbes this morning. He documents the myriad inaccuracies claimed by the Obama Administration regarding his new budget, the staggering amount of spending contained therein, and the additional taxes to be levied. He also does some cost comparison to Ryan's budget and dispels the myth of the tax cut vs tax credit, (a point I have made many, many times as a CPA), and discusses the problems with Obama's treatment of entitlement reform. Some of the...
April 18, 1775: The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Paul Revere's Ride Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Listen my children and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five; Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year. He said to his friend, "If the British march By land or sea from the town to-night, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch Of the North Church tower as a signal light,-- One if by land, and two if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and...
Obama Asked For A Gun Vote in his SOTU Address. He Got It.
Obama asked for a gun vote during his State of the Union Address. He got it. Not much more to say about that. The "Manchin-Toomey" amendment failed in the Senate today on a 54-46 vote. It aimed expand background checks gun shows and to Internet sales. Republicans who voted "yes" (alphabetically): Maine Sen. Susan Collins Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Arizona Sen. John McCain Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey Democrats who voted "no" (alphabetically): Montana Sen. Max Baucus Alaska Sen. Mark Begich North...
President Obama’s “Little Bit More”
In preparation for a talk to a group of financial people, I had to put together some numbers regarding President Obama’s “little bit more” that he has asked “the wealthiest among us” to pay. So I calculated the additional federal income taxes a high earner will pay in 2013 vs what one would have paid on the same income for 2012, The increases are caused by 1) the increase in rates from the expiration of Bush era tax rates, and 2) the new 3.8% Obamacare tax on investment income of high income...
TAX
Tips
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.