Free Republic

President Obama’s budget speech on Monday expanded on the theme of economic “fairness,” like his State of the Union speech in January. He lectured Americans that if critical steps are not taken, the rise of the middle class will be threatened and disparities between the rich and the rest will continue to grow. A general theme was that taxing the rich would get us a long way towards reducing income inequality. This may be why President Obama failed to extend the promise he made last year to fight for corporate tax reform. Why lower tax rates on “rich” corporations if...

On January 18th, Representative Denis Kucinich (D-Ohio), along with five liberal Democrats in the House of Representatives, introduced a bill that displays not only a lack of understanding about the basics of business, but also champions some of the most failed government economic policies of the past 40 years. The bill, H.R. 3784, otherwise known as the "Gas Price Spike Act of 2012," would, as its preamble sets forth: "…amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a windfall profit tax on oil and natural gas (and products thereof) and to allow an income tax credit for purchases of...

Most of you who read this site are well aware of my political leanings - I happen to believe that the current administration is perhaps the most inept, reckless and endangering to liberty in the history of this nation and needs to be replaced at the ballot box this coming November. Those of you who own mining company stocks should take note that as part of the budget submitted by the Obama administration, all hard-rock mining companies would be required to pay annual rents and royalty fees of no less than 5% of gross proceeds. Currently a law that is...

Once thing's for sure. Mitt Romney didn't send his money down to the Cayman Islands to work on its tan. The former Massachusetts governor has been criticized by some for having some of his vast fortune in the Caribbean offshore banking center. Yes, it was politically clumsy. But it was not uncommon, and -- assuming he has filed all the right disclosures -- it was perfectly legal. But if you're not running for president, and don't have to worry about public relations, what are the legitimate reasons for moving money offshore? I spoke to Jim Duggan, a partner at Chicago...

Switzerland is in the unfortunate position of being bullied and harassed by the U.S. government. The crux of the problem is that the United States arguably has the world's worst tax system for international activity, and this creates conflict with other nations, particularly ones that have good tax laws that attract investment. This has resulted in a number of different attacks against Swiss sovereignty. On the multilateral front, the Obama Administration is actively supporting the anti-tax competition project of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. On the unilateral front, the United States is imposing onerous laws on the entire...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Shoppers in San Francisco will have to pay 10 cents per bag and more retailers are now banned from handing out plastic bags under a proposal approved Tuesday by the city's Board of Supervisors. San Francisco already bans large grocery stores and chain pharmacies from using plastic bags, which are blamed for clogging landfills and waterways. The proposal extends that ban to restaurants and to gift shops, hardware stores, boutiques and other retailers.

WHEN Facebook goes public later this year, Mark Zuckerberg plans to exercise stock options worth $5 billion of the $28 billion that his ownership stake will be worth. The $5 billion he will receive upon exercising those options will be treated as salary, and Mr. Zuckerberg will have a tax bill of more than $2 billion, quite possibly making him the largest taxpayer in history. He is expected to sell enough stock to pay his tax. ..................................................... For individuals and married couples who earn, say, more than $2.2 million in income, or own $5.7 million or more in publicly traded...

Michigan could potentially have the nation’s highest gas tax if Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposal to replace the state motor fuel tax with a higher wholesale tax becomes law. As of Jan. 1, motorists here pay 57.8 cents per gallon worth of state and federal taxes, according to the American Petroleum Institute. This includes the 6 percent Michigan sales tax imposed on fuel sales, from which not a dime goes to roads (a small amount goes to subsidize public transportation). Michigan is one of only eight states that impose sales tax on fuel. The new tax would replace the current 19-cent...

President Obama has frequently justified his policies—and judged their outcomes—in terms of equity, justice and fairness. That raises an obvious question: How does our existing system—and his own policy record—stack up according to those criteria? Is it fair that the richest 1% of Americans pay nearly 40% of all federal income taxes, and the richest 10% pay two-thirds of the tax? Is it fair that the richest 10% of Americans shoulder a higher share of their country's income-tax burden than do the richest 10% in every other industrialized nation, including socialist Sweden? Is it fair that American corporations pay the...

The entire New York State Inspector General's Office has now been granted the authority to snoop into the tax returns of not only the state employee workforce, but anyone they deem to be relevant to an investigation. This level of investigative power is unprecedented, and is something even the State Attorney General has not been granted. Let me reiterate... The entire staff of the IG's Office can now look into your taxes in New York State. If you're a state employee, look around your office right now. Now imagine, there are similar levels of riffraff in the IG office that...

At 102%, His Tax Rate Takes the Cake Published: Saturday, 4 Feb 2012 | 9:09 AM ET By: James B. Stewart Meet Mr. 102%. James Ross, 58, is a founder and managing member of Rossrock, a Manhattan-based private investment firm that focuses on commercial real estate and distressed commercial mortgages. “I realize I am very fortunate, and in fact I am a member of the 1 percent,” Mr. Ross wrote in an email. His résumé is studded with elite institutions: Yale, Columbia Law School and stints at the law firms Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, and Holland &...

Participants in a recent shale gas energy conference held in Hobbs, New Mexico, referred to a whirlwind trip to Lea County, NM, as “exhausting” but “enlightening.” Bradford County Commissioners Doug McLinko, Mark Smith, and Daryl Miller, Susquehanna County Commissioner Mary Ann Warren and Pennsylvania state Rep. Tina Pickett were among local elected officials to partake in discussions and serve as guests on informative panels.

Meet Mr. 102%. James Ross, 58, is a founder and managing member of Rossrock, a Manhattan-based private investment firm that focuses on commercial real estate and distressed commercial mortgages. Mike Kemp | Getty Images -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “I realize I am very fortunate, and in fact I am a member of the 1 percent,” Mr. Ross wrote in an email. His résumé is studded with elite institutions: Yale, Columbia Law School and stints at the law firms Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, and Holland & Hart in Denver. Since his company fits the category of private equity, he even has...

Obama, The Bible, and Taxes Feb 2, 2012 Obama offended many people yesterday with his abuse of our Heavenly Father, and His Son's teachings. First, let's go to USA TODAY's article Obama: 'We can't leave our moral values at the door' and read the article at the link. Next, let's go to the Bible and get the full contest of the verse Luke 12:48 KJV. To do that we have to start at Luke verse 1 and read. ... he began to say unto his disciples first of all,Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.For...

Is sugar as dangerous as alcohol and tobacco? One group of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, says so. And they are urging a tax on sugary treats and some action by the government to get Americans to cut back on sugar. In an editorial published today in the journal Nature, the UCSF doctors, Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis, said the ballooning rates — and costs — of obesity, diabetes and other diseases, mean it’s time for regulators to lump sugar into the same category as booze and cigarettes and put similar restrictions on its sale...

The first time he was asked about a proposed increase in the severance tax on natural gas, Gov. Mike Beebe was lukewarm in his support. Last October, he said he probably would vote for it, but not campaign for it. His temperature on the idea is cooling — with good reason. The governor sees potential new natural gas exploration in southern Arkansas on the horizon and doesn't want to scare away investments that just as easily could go to other states. Arkansas' best interest is always on Beebe's mind. That has made him an even better governor than most people...

President Barack Obama is making his reelection about raising the taxes of an Omaha billionaire who is volunteering for the honor. The so-called Buffett Rule to make millionaires and billionaires pay at least 30 percent in taxes is such an obvious exercise in poll-driven populism, it should come with cross-tabs attached. It shows that as an economist, David Axelrod is a hell of a political consultant. It is a non-solution to a non-problem, the intellectual basis of which is a badly distorted anecdote repeated over and over. By now, if you haven’t heard that Warren Buffett pays a lower tax...

If we judge both leading contenders in the Republican primary, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, by what they've done in life and by what they propose to do if elected, either one could be an excellent president. But when it comes to the election's core issue—restoring a healthy economy—the key is a good tax plan and the ability to implement it. Mr. Gingrich has a significantly better plan than does Mr. Romney, and he has twice before been instrumental in implementing a successful tax plan on a national level—once when he served in Congress as a Reagan supporter in the...

Dear Greta, I remember you from your CNN days. I am also aware that your husband Mr. Coale is a dedicated Demcrat liberal and you have been a loyal wife in co-hosting Democratic fund raisers with him. I do admire your ethics in not having posed as a conservative in your Fox News show. In fact I actually have scrutinized your interviews and would be hard-put to point out any unfairness on your part. Having said the above; I feel certain that your email basket is loaded on a daily basis and it is nearly impossible to even browse the...

Time to pay up, rich people. “If you make more than $1 million a year,” President Obama said during his State of the Union address the other night, “you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes.” And why should that be the case, exactly? Is it because the secretary of billionaire investor Warren Buffett — who attended the speech — apparently pays a higher tax rate than her boss, a relatively rare situation that strikes the president as unfair? Well, it’s a reason, and perhaps a politically persuasive one when the issue of income inequality has re-entered the...

When Ron Paul talks about repealing the income tax and replacing it with nothing, most people think it can’t be done. But at least on the state level, it can. In fact, there are nine states, including Paul’s home state of Texas, that don’t levy income taxes. Those states have far outperformed high-income-tax states on every measure of economic success. Now Oklahoma is poised to fully repeal its income tax and join the ranks of non-income-tax states. While Oklahoma is already a relatively business-friendly, low-tax state, income-tax repeal would launch it into the top tier of the most economically competitive...

Whatever else they are, the super-rich have now become political props. We can thank President Obama and Mitt Romney for this. Obama thinks he can ride resentment against the rich into the White House for a second term; and Republican Romney's fortune, estimated at $190 million or more, qualifies him as super-rich. By all means, Congress should pass the "Buffett Tax," named after billionaire Warren Buffett, who noted that his 2010 tax rate (17.4 percent) was about half his secretary's. The explanation is that Buffett's income comes mostly from dividends and capital gains - profits on sales of stocks and...

Obama and other Democrats are constantly harping on taxing the "rich" or the "wealthy," but their proposals are all about taxing income. Well, income is not wealth, and the wealthy often have little income. The reality is that all income taxes do is punish the productive and job creators. Income taxes also are very useful for the wealthy and powerful to keep their club exclusive by making it nearly impossible for most people to become wealthy.In other words, income taxes are class warfare by the mega-wealthy against the middle and upper middle class. They want to keep their club exclusive.As...

How embarrassing this must be for President Obama, whose major speech theme so far this campaign season has been that every single American, no matter how rich, should pay their "fair share" of taxes. Because how unfair -- indeed, un-American -- it is for an office worker like, say, Warren Buffet's secretary to dutifully pay her taxes, while some well-to-do people with better educations and higher incomes end up paying a much smaller tax rate. Or, worse, skipping their taxes altogether. A new report just out from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama's executive office staff...

Spirit Airlines Warns Consumers of USDOT's New Mandate to HIDE Taxes in Airfares: MIRAMAR, Fla., Jan 24, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Spirit Airlines has a launched a campaign to warn consumers about the U.S. Department of Transportation's latest fare rules that go into effect this week. Spirit and other airlines are now mandated to HIDE the government's taxes and fees in fares. "We believe that the better form of transparency is to break out costs so customers know exactly what they are buying," says Spirit's President and CEO Ben Baldanza. "Spirit believes customers have a right to know how...

by James Crugnale | 7:22 pm, January 25th, 2012 » 52 comments On the heels of President Obama‘s State of the Union address, where he called for the “Buffett Rule�: a requirement that millionaires pay at least 30% of their income in taxes, the richest man in America, Bill Gates, weighed in on solutions to the country’s economic problems. “The United States has a huge budget deficit, so taxes are going to have to go up,� Gates told the BBC. “And I certainly agree that they should go up more on the rich than everyone else. That’s just justice.�RELATED: Buffett...

We heard a lot on Tuesday night from President Obama about the wealthy paying their “fair share� in his State of the Union speech. (Well, you heard it a lot; I read the speech and then commenced to have a life on Tuesday night.) Obama made half a dozen references to fairness in relation to taxes in the address, including taking a shot at Congress: But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Just like with charity, perhaps fairness...

Remember the moment in 2008 when Charlie Gibson of ABC News asked Senator Barack Obama why he would support raising the capital gains tax even though "revenues from the tax increased" when the rate fell? Mr. Obama's famous reply: "I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness." Well, we were warned. Here we are four years later, and President Obama on Tuesday night linked the term "fair" to U.S. tax and economic policy seven times. The U.S. economy is still hobbling out of recession, real family incomes are falling and 14 million Americans are unemployed,...

RICHMOND The nation’s largest cigarette maker today secured a key victory when a Senate panel voted to classify as manufacturers Virginia retailers with machines that let customers roll their own cigarettes. Backed by several powerful lobbying allies, Philip Morris USA persuaded the Senate Finance Committee to approve a bill supporters claim will require shops with roll-your-own machines to pay some federal and state tobacco taxes they’re now avoiding. Imposing such standards will create a level playing field, industry officials have said. Opponents argue the measure, SB 74 [1] from Powhatan County Republican Sen. John Watkins, actually is an attempt by...

Forget Mitt Romney and Bain Capital. If you want to find the real greedy one percent, you need look no further than Barack Obama. According to tax returns released yesterday, Barack and Michelle Obama earned $1.2 million from 2000 through 2004 yet managed no more than $10,772 in charitable donations. This amounts to less than one percent of their income. Upon becoming public figures, there was hope and some (spare) change, as they did a lot better in earning and a little better in giving. In 2005 and 2006, they donated $137,622, which was just over 5 percent of the...

If Mitt Romney's 2010 tax bill were merely his pretax income, he'd still be a member of the 1%—in other words, the government takes more of his wealth every year than 99% of Americans earn. But what the world really learned from the tax returns the GOP candidate released yesterday is that he is a walking argument for pro-growth tax reform. The details of Mr. Romney's six IRS schedules, eight forms and 69 income statements—totaling some 547 pages—are by now familiar. The Bain Capitalist made $21.7 million in 2010 and an estimated $20.9 million last year. He doesn't merely belong...

Mitt Romney pays a lot more than most Americans in tax, but he also pays proportionally a lot less. He paid more than $6m (£3.8m) over two years at a rate of just under 14%. The average American pays around 11% tax, but the top rate is 35%. What all this underlines is that Mitt Romney is very, very rich, earning more than $45m dollars in the last two years. I suspect how people will see the bald facts will divide fairly neatly along party lines, at least at first. But it underlines a damaging perception that could hurt him...

"Barack Obama is expected to pounce on Mitt Romney's 14% tax rate during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night... Romney supporters have nothing to worry about because this expected attack by Obama is exactly what Romney -WANTS. We are in the midst of a GOP PRIMARY. If this were a general election, Mitt perhaps wouldn't want this attack -BUT- right now it is a welcomed diversion. A direct attack in a State of the Union speech would be an honor for Romney. It would give him special..." (continued)

So Mitt Romney thinks his effective tax rate is about 15%. That prompts many people to express disbelief: "What?! Most people pay a higher rate than that, don't they?" ,,,, But assuming he's correct, here's why his effective rate is probably higher than most people's: The effective tax rate is always going to be lower than one's top income tax rate. And the top rate for roughly four-fifths of Americans is 15% or less, said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. In other words, 80% of Americans have an effective rate below 15%.

Newt Gingrich avoided tens of thousands of dollars in Medicare payroll taxes in 2010 by using a technique the Internal Revenue Service has consistently and successfully attacked. Republican Presidential candidate Gingrich and his wife, Callista, treated only $444,327 of what they got from Gingrich Holdings. Inc. and Gingrich Productions as compensation to them, while reporting a whopping $2.4 million of their earnings from these corporations as profits or dividends. Medicare taxes are levied at a rate of 2.9% on an unlimited amount of compensation and self-employment income (say, from a consulting contract, speeches or a book) but not on profits...

Sam’s a profligate spender. No matter how much he earns, it’s never enough, and his mounting credit card debt is proof. Ironically, Sam is concerned about his retirement, so he takes a second, part-time job and deposits all those earnings into an IRA. While Sam’s personal finances are teetering on the edge, his retirement account is firmly planted on solid ground. Sam repeatedly raises the limit on his credit cards, but it doesn’t keep up with his lifestyle. His accountant is always on Sam’s case to follow a budget, but Sam hasn’t even prepared one. To ease some of the...

We now have to pay a 5-cent tax for each paper or plastic shopping bag we get at stores in Montgomery County, Maryland. And I've already gotten suckered into it twice on opening day. (This new tax went into effect Jan. 1 -- kind of like my free Wendy's Frosties, only it doesn't require me to bring my own cups!) I remember when the bag trend hit Washington, D.C., a couple years back, where everyone was charged 5 cents every time they needed a bag for purchases of food and alcohol (including, as luck would have it for me, Subway)....

A proposal in Virginia to charge shoppers a 20-cent per bag fee on all plastic bags used by grocery shoppers to carry purchased goods has sparked intense debate, WTOP reported. The fee would not apply to durable, reusable bags, or bags used for ice cream, meat, fish or poultry. Sponsors of the measure say it is not meant to raise money, but to cut down on litter and pollution. They expect it will likely be cut down to 5 cents once a review begins in committee, according to WTOP.

Like many Americans, Mitt Romney has an individual retirement account. Unlike most Americans, Mr. Romney has between $20.7 million and $101.6 million in it, a big chunk of his fortune. Experts on estate planning said it is highly unusual to accumulate such a considerable sum in an IRA, an investment vehicle restricted by annual contribution limits. It appears that Mr. Romney's grew so large mostly because it holds investments in Bain Capital, the private-equity firm he helped start. Under federal law, Mr. Romney isn't required to pay annual taxes on the account's investment gains, and the bulk of his contributions...

Taxes: Mitt Romney's admission that his effective tax rate is around 15% prompted the usual class warfare rage from the left. But it also prompted news reports to repeat several myths about the country's income tax code. As CNN put it in the first paragraph of its story, Romney's 15% tax rate means "the multimillionaire pays a smaller percentage of taxes on his income than many middle-income Americans." This is a favorite canard of the left these days - that the super-rich often pay taxes at lower rates than do struggling middle-class families. It was propelled by Warren Buffett, who...

Warren Buffett has written his first check to the U.S. Treasury since announcing his pledge to match Republican donations to pay down the national debt a week ago. Carol Loomis, Fortune's senior editor-at-large and long-time friend of Buffett's, reports that the Omaha investor received a letter from Congressman Scott Rigell of Virginia (pictured below). In it, Rigell details the $49,000 he had donated to Treasury in total in 2011 and 2012 and asks Buffett to match both (full letter is below). Buffett agreed (full letter below). Lest we raise your hopes that the national debt is over as an issue,...

Wall Street Journal editorial board director Stephen Moore explains why Rep. Ron Paul’s ideas on economics are correct and must be accepted in the mainstream GOP platform.

So I live overseas, and due to the vagaries of my employer, I wasn't able to file my taxes until late last year. I filed the 1040A, and due to a brief period of work in the US before moving here, I did have some taxes withheld. I completed my form, ignoring the "other credits", including the so-called "Making Work Pay" credit (which I figured I didn't qualify for, and didn't really want anyway), and mailed it in. I was expecting a refund of about $1400 for the taxes I had had withheld, since I was withholding for a high...

North Slope oil producers have laid out their vision of what’s possible with new oil development if the state Legislature makes changes in the state’s oil production tax. They’ve also highlighted the problems they face under the status quo. BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. President John Minge said he believes there is about $5 billion in projects the producers could tackle if lawmakers pass Gov. Sean Parnell’s House Bill 110 or something like it this year. Many of the projects are within the existing producing fields. Minge also outlined one new project BP is testing this year, in a layer of...

While pundits, lawmakers and anonymous blog opiners are building a cottage industry out of criticizing Alaska's oil and gas industry, they should take a glance at history and then take a long look in the mirror. As long as oil has been flowing through the trans-Alaska pipeline, there has been a growing list of perceived injustices against an industry that built this state. Before oil, our great state was flat broke, and Alaskans like my parents who owned small family businesses wondered if the state would survive after the 1964 earthquake. But then came oil which helped fulfill the promise...

Gov. Mark Dayton and top DFL lawmakers proposed a jobs plan Wednesday that they contend would put thousands of unemployed Minnesotans back to work. The DFL's prescription includes the $775 million bonding bill, which would include money to help businesses expand. But it also would give Minnesota businesses a $3,000 tax credit for each unemployed person, veteran or recent college graduate they hire over the next year and a $1,500 credit for each new hire through June 2013. Leaders said the $35 million program would create 10,000 private-sector jobs this year and would be paid for by closing corporate tax...

Warren Buffett is ready to call Republicans’ tax bluff. Last fall, Senator Mitch McConnell said that if Buffett were feeling “guilty” about paying too little in taxes, he should “send in a check.” The jab was in response to Buffett’s August 2011 New York Times op-ed, which made hay of the fact that our tax system is so unbalanced, Buffett (worth about $45 billion) pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. Senator John Thune promptly introduced the “Buffett Rule Act,” an option on tax forms that would allow the rich to donate more in taxes to help pay down...

Gov. Jerry Brown says his proposal to raise taxes will net the state $6.9 billion. The Legislative Analyst doesn’t agree. In an analysis of the governor’s proposed ballot measure, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst concludes the governor’s tax plan would raise only $4.8 billion during the first budget cycle.

Four South Georgia men plead guilty in Albany Federal Court to stealing close to $400,000 from the Federal Government through an IRS tax refund scheme. Federal prosecutors say inmates in a Georgia prison helped run the thefts. The IRS told Congress last year that Georgia ranked second nationwide in inmates filing fraudulent tax returns, and these cases show the Feds are cracking down on the schemes. Federal prosecutors say in 2006 the three Sumter County men and one from Loganville helped prison inmates fill out phony W-2 tax forms in the library of the prison, and submit more than 150...

The Chevy Volt, much like former East Germany’s Trabant, is a centralized government planner’s idea of what an automobile should be. The Trabant, incidentally, was dubbed one of the worst cars produced -- ever. But what government bureaucrats believe is “good” for us generally has little to do with what consumers are looking for. The two concepts are as different as Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan.