Free Republic

President Trump is raising tariffs 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, claiming that cheap steel from other countries has hurt the American steel industry.  His claim, that steel imported at lower prices hurts our steel industry, is certainly true. But talk show host Mark Levin says Trump's tariffs are crony capitalist gifts for wealthy steel-owners that are bad for the economy as a whole.  On his talk show last night, he listed a number of reasons why: 1. Industries that depend heavily on steel, such as auto and airplane manufacturers, will take a big hit.  With the increase in the price...

How out of touch is the Democratic Party? This out of touch: The Washington Post reports that Democrats expected the Trump tax cut to be unpopular and are surprised to find that voters like seeing more money in their pay checks. Post reporter Erica Warner writes: Democrats predicted a political backlash for ­Republicans in December when the GOP pushed through a deeply unpopular tax cut that added more than $1 trillion to the federal deficit and disproportionately helped the wealthy. But at the outset of the 2018 campaign season, Democrats’ early optimism appears less well founded here [in Indiana], where...

Los Angeles County's homeless population is increasing faster than the supply of new housing, even with the addition of thousands of beds in the last two years and millions of dollars beginning to flow in from two ballot measures targeting the crisis, according to a long-awaited report by the region's homelessness agency. The report showed that officials two years ago far underestimated how much new housing would be needed when they asked city and county voters to approve the tax measures. ... Peter Lynn, executive director of the homeless authority, said Friday that new cost figures had not been calculated,...

If you were worried that the wealthiest California taxpayers were paying too much in Federal taxes, the Democratic dominated California State Senate apparently has been equally concerned and has proposed a "tax" law change that would allow California taxpayers to deduct 85% of their California state taxes as "contributions" in their federal income tax returns. In short form, the proposal is for California taxpayers to pay an amount equal to their California taxes to a non-profit "charity" that will in turn donate the money to the state. Of course, the California Senate has found a couple of tax professors to...

I just got my first paycheck since the tax cut went into effect, my take home pay is increasing by $170 per month. Thank you, President Trump! How about you all? Are you starting to get paychecks with the new tax rates? Winning!!!!

While the rest of us were popping champagne to celebrate the arrival of 2018, Seattle greeted the New Year with a 1.75 cent per ounce tax on sweetened beverages. It was needed, former Mayor Ed Murray once said, for a host of noble reasons: to reduce sugar consumption; to raise revenue for important projects like a year of “free” community college for all graduating public high school students; and, to subsidize purchases of healthy foods by low-income families.Before he resigned in disgrace over multiple allegations of personal misconduct, Murray considered the soda tax one of his greatest accomplishments, a “cutting...

California lawmakers are targeting the expected windfall that companies in the state would see under the federal tax overhaul with a bill that would require businesses to turn over half to the state. A proposed Assembly Constitutional Amendment by Assemblymen Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, and Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, would create a tax surcharge on California companies making more than $1 million so that half of their federal tax cut would instead go to programs that benefit low-income and middle-class families. “Trump’s tax reform plan was nothing more than a middle-class tax increase,” Ting said in a statement. “It is unconscionable...

The Supreme Court on Friday said it would consider whether states can broadly require online retailers to collect sales taxes even if they lack a physical presence in the state, taking a case that could have a major impact on online commerce. The justices on Friday took up that call, explicitly agreeing to consider whether the earlier high-court precedent should be overruled. “My bet is that they are looking at it to overturn,” said Edward Zelinsky, a tax-law professor at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law. The alternative, he said, would be to point to this issue as an example...

Further to my post earlier today about how the corporate tax cut is extending benefits immediately to workers and consumers, Yahoo finance has put together a rundown of the 81 companies that have announced bonuses or new employee benefits because of the tax change:

Democrats in high-tax blue states are already plotting ways to avoid the new tax law, hoping to seize on gimmicks that will allow their residents to cut their federal tax burden without costing the states themselves any money. The Democrats are trying to get around a new $10,000 cap on how much of their state and local taxes residents can write off on their federal forms. High-tax states fear their residents will quickly top the $10,000 limit, leaving them grumbling over their higher tax bills. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has suggested switching some of his state’s tax collections from...

The latest notion by the Trump Resistance: Turn state tax bill into a charitable contribution to get around Republican tax law. Sacramento I’ve routinely slammed California’s Democratic leaders for their plodding lack of creativity in dealing with the state’s many crises. Pick a problem (infrastructure, poverty, housing, etc.) and they have the same basic solution: Raise taxes, expand a bureaucracy, and give the government more power and money to “do something.” It would never dawn on them that the biggest problems are in the areas where they’ve intervened the most. But it’s time to give credit where it’s due. Their...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Democratic California lawmakers are exploring ways to blunt the impact of the new federal tax law on the state’s taxpayers. Federal law has long allowed people to deduct their state and local taxes from their federal tax bill, but the tax overhaul signed last month by President Donald Trump caps that deduction at $10,000.

Sen. Marco Rubio says the GOP "probably went too far" in slashing the tax burden on corporations. The Florida Republican told the News-Press of Fort Myers that corporations will largely use their major tax cut to buy back shares or increase dividends to shareholders — which "isn't going to create dramatic economic growth." "If I were king for a day, this tax bill would have looked different. I thought we probably went too far on (helping) corporations," Rubio told the newspaper in the interview published Friday. "By and large, you're going to see a lot of these multinationals buy back...

For any divorce or separation agreement executed after Dec. 31, 2018, the act provides that alimony and separate maintenance payments are not deductible by the payer spouse. It repealed the provisions that provided that those payments were includible in income by the payee spouse. This will diminish the income benefits of increasing alimony and decreasing property settlement to take advantage of the differences in tax rates and deductions between the former spouses.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, likely to be majority leader next year if Democrats take back the Senate, told CNBC Tuesday that one of his top two 2017 priorities would be an enormous corporate tax cut. Speaking of himself in the third person, Schumer said that “we’ve got to get things done. … The two things that come, that pop to mind — because Schumer, Clinton, and Ryan have all said they support these — are immigration and some kind of international tax reform tied to a large infrastructure program.” American multinational corporations are now holding a staggering $2.5 trillion...

Now that the GOP has announced their tax reform bill success, Liberals across America are freaking out. For whatever reason, Liberals hate the idea of Americans having more money in their pockets. The best part of these meltdowns? The worst ones come from Hollywood elites who have money up the ying yang. see link for Conan tweet Like you're not bathing in your own money, Conan? Come talk to me about being an average, everyday person once you're no longer rich (assuming that will ever happen). see link for M\aAher tweet Oh, Bill. Must you forget that corporations provide jobs...

Friday, December 22, 2017: Watch as President Donald Trump signs the biggest ever tax cut and reform bill into law. He will also sign a missile defense bill. The ceremony will take place in the Oval Office at the White House.

As Guy wrote, this tax reform bill, the most extensive in 30 years, is a tax cut for the middle class. It will create a better job creating and investing climate. Even The Washington Post noted that for 80 percent of Americans, they’re getting a tax cut, contrary to the Democratic warnings that this is Armageddon. Right now, they’re confident that this bill will sink Republicans in the midterms. They see the polling. Yeah, it’s bad, but it can only get better—and we’re still many, many months away from the midterm elections. A lot can happen in the interim. So,...

Nancy Pelosi called it the "worst bill in the history of Congress"  She said the bill will hurt little children like Tiny Tim. Chuck Schumer was so pissed off that Republicans wouldn't stop talking and listen to him insult them about it. He also suggested people will die as a result of its passage. Do they really believe that? No. Then what is the real fright? Well, the tax reform bill passed and if this is any indication, it will be interesting. AT&T announced that because of tax reform they will be giving a $1,000 bonus to 200,000 employees. And...

For those who missed it. GOP Tax Bill celebration victory.