Free Republic

As Americans file returns this season, some worry about IRS audits amid agency efforts to ramp up service, technology and enforcement. Recent IRS enforcement has targeted high-income individuals, large corporations and complex partnerships. But everyday filers could still face an audit — and certain issues are more prone to IRS scrutiny, experts say. You don’t want to face the “audit lottery,” warned Ryan Losi, a certified public accountant and executive vice president of CPA firm Piascik. Audit rates of individual income tax returns decreased for all income levels from tax years 2010 to 2019, largely due to lower IRS funding,...

The average refund so far this tax season is ringing in at $1,395 compared to $1,963 last year... Tax refunds so far this year are markedly smaller than the same time a year ago, according to the earliest tax season data from the Internal Revenue Service. The average refund amount was $1,395 as of Feb. 2, down 28.9% from $1,963 for the same period last year, the IRS reported. That’s based on nearly 2.6 million refunds disbursed so far versus 7.9 million refunds disbursed by this point last year. The statistics for this year are based on five days of...

Everywhere I go, I hear from people who are struggling to keep up with rising costs. It’s the No. 1 concern on everyone’s minds. Too many families across this country are hurting. They’ve been dealing with high housing costs, high child care costs, and high college costs for too long, and they have been hit hard by global inflation since the pandemic. I know that there is no stress like financial stress on a family, because it never goes away. It eats at your sense of security. It impacts every little decision. I saw it firsthand growing up, as my...

While catching up over the holidays, my father and I began to talk politics, as we often do nowadays. We bemoaned recent government financial blunders such as the Green New Deal, two proxy wars, and welfare for the unprecedented number of illegal migrants pouring across the Southern border. My father concluded our talk by saying, “And our tax dollars are paying for it!” [SNIP] But, in reality, it’s questionable if much of our tax dollars are really being spent on political misadventures. Looking at historical metrics, it’s clear that taxes have been relatively static for almost two decades, which cuts...

Tesla CEO and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk recently reiterated his belief in the need for carbon taxes, backing up the World Economic Forum’s recent call for a “globally coordinated system of carbon taxes.” In a recent tweet, Tesla owner Elon Musk called for the introduction of carbon taxes, reiterating recent calls for a “global coordinated system of carbon taxes” by the WEF. Breitbart News reporter Kurt Zindulka recently reported on the antics of the WEF: During a panel discussion on the “Global Economic Outlook” on Friday during the annual WEF meeting in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos, Al-Jadaan...

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to expand the Child Tax Credit until 2025 despite some opposition from Republican members of Congress. “The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024” is a bipartisan bill negotiated between the Democratic-led Senate Finance Committee and the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee, which would reform and expand the credit until 2025. On Wednesday, the House voted to suspend normal rules and pass the bill by a vote of 357 yeas to 70 nays. “For the last three years, American families, farmers, workers, and small businesses have borne...

Another apparent “sweetheart deal” negotiated by President Biden’s Justice Department in a politically charged case is drawing scrutiny.Former IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn, who stole and helped publicize the confidential tax records of Donald Trump and an estimated 7,500 other wealthy Americans, could face little or no jail time when he’s sentenced later this month, because the DOJ allowed him to plead guilty to a single felony count.In a new court filing, prosecutors acknowledge the plea deal “does not account for the fact that he leaked thousands of individuals’ tax returns. His [sentencing] range would be the same today if...

Florida earned its reputation as the retirement capital of the US.. A fixed income in retirement can go a lot further in some states than others .. ... To make the most of your retirement savings, you should retire in a state where the cost of living and tax rates are friendly to retirees, if you have the resources to. You should also consider factors like the quality of the state's healthcare system and the abundance of activities that you enjoy.' Colorado, which ranked second for the best state to retire in 2024, offers similarly taxpayer-friendly conditions, with no estate...

Oh, the epitome of integrity! Filing lawsuits against Trump while running a ‘virtual tax preparation’ empire. Classic move, Mr. Castro! BREAKING: The man who has been filing lawsuits in every state to get Donald Trump removed from the 2024 election ballot has been arrested & charged with filing 17 sets of false tax documents to the IRS In total, John Anthony Castro has been charged with 33 counts of aiding the preparation of false tax returns. Prosecutors claim he ran a virtual tax preparation business that provided customers with tax returns beyond what they were actually owed, defrauding the government.

The latest Census Bureau data on population changes in America should have been a wake-up call to lawmakers in blue states and cities. The Census data provide even further evidence that “soak the rich” tax policies have incited a blue-state meltdown. California, New York, and Illinois all lost the most population last year. These states have nearly lost a combined 5 million people over the past decade. California and New York could both lose another three congressional seats by the end of the decade, and Illinois another two. Did I mention that these are the three states with the highest...

The struggling German population should be forced to pay a Ukraine tax to continue funding the war against Russia, a top economic advisor to the government has argued. Monika Schnitzer, the chairwoman of the German Council of Economic Experts, an advisory body to the government known locally as the “five sages” of the economy, declared this week that a special tax to send money to Ukraine should be added to the already hefty income tax levied against to population.

US Economist Dr. Arthur B. Laffer has suggested that the UK should implement tax measures first introduced by Former US President Ronald Reagan. Dr. Arthur B. Laffer stated that the UK could benefit from both the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Speaking to GB News, the former member of Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board said that the move by the UK government would make Britain's economy "great again". The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 was a law which enabled the largest tax cut in American history.

Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams has kicked open the door to tax hikes and city layoffs — blaming the Biden administration for the threatened wallops to taxpayer wallets. Adams has said his administration is struggling to close New York City’s expected $7 billion budget gap next year given whopping migrant costs — and added Sunday that the federal government has been AWOL in terms of financially helping with what is a nationally created problem.

The Local Government Revenue Recapture Act, is a law that allows cities, counties, and the state’s hundreds of different taxing bodies to “reacapture” their “lost” revenue [tax appeals] and also to shift the higher tax burden from the disappearing business property taxes to home owners, causing a near 30 percent jump in some cases in the burden on the state’s families. The act allows state taxing bodies to take the amount they “lost” to appeals refunds, total that up, and then just raise taxes that amount, effectively nullifying the appeals decisions and acting as a yearly new stealth, backdoor tax...

Hunter Biden faces 42 years in federal prison for nine tax and three gun charges filed by special counsel David Weiss. Per Weiss’ indictments: Weiss charged Hunter Biden on Thursday, asserting he was “engaged in a four-year scheme” to not pay at least $1.4 million in taxes “he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019 and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns.” “If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison,” the Department of Justice wrote regarding the tax indictment. “Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less...

Stacy Davis Gates owes more than $5,500, but makes more than $289,000 ... The progressive president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) owes thousands in unpaid utility bills despite making an eye-popping salary ... Stacy Davis Gates owes the city of Chicago $5,579 in unpaid water, sewer and trash bills as of Nov. 7, 2023, despite bringing home "at least" $289,000 a year. Documents uncovered by the group show Davis Gates started a payment plan for the amount in July 2023, but quickly defaulted. ... This latest revelation adds to the mounting evidence of her hypocrisy. She spurns responsibility and...

The far-left and the far-right have been on the rise in Europe since the Great Recession of 2008. Much has been blamed for this. Growth has been sluggish in the EU since the crisis. Globalisation and free trade have made life less secure for both the working and middle classes.

Over the last several years, they have worked nonstop to ease the tax burden of their high-income constituents.. In the grand ballroom of American politics, Democrats have long waltzed to the melody of progressivism while ridiculing Republicans' preference for outdated tax cut tunes. Ironically, they don't want to pay for their style of big government with higher taxes on ordinary Americans, which their expansionary ambitions would require. Instead, they loudly proclaim that they want to tax the rich. It remains to be seen how true this is. Indeed, while Democrats profess their devotion to social justice and fight against income...

In addition to the off-year elections to be decided this November in Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi, a number of ballot initiatives will be voted on in other states. Perhaps the most consequential measure appearing on the November 2023 ballot, at least when it comes to fiscal policy, is found in Colorado, where voters will be asked whether they want to weaken the nation’s strongest tax and expenditure limit in exchange for property tax relief. Proposition HH, which was referred to the November ballot by Colorado lawmakers with the support of Governor Jared Polis (D), would weaken the state’s Taxpayer’s...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her lefty Democratic Socialist comrades aren’t just targeting the 1 percenters anymore. The New York City congresswoman and her progressive posse are pushing to slam the “top 5%” of New Yorkers with a massive total $15 billion in state income-tax hikes that would hit households making just over $250,000 a year — well below millionaires’ row, an analysis says. The eye-popping proposed tax increase comes as a new study released Tuesday by Upgraded Points found that New York suffered the largest exodus of wealthy millennials ages 26 to 45 who made more than $200,000 than any...