http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/taxation/ en-us Fri, 3 Oct 2008 15:43:46 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2096680/posts Frederic Bastiat Perverted Law Causes Conflict As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose — that it may violate property instead of protecting it — then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious. To know this, it is hardly necessary to examine what transpires in the French and English... Bastiat, org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2096680/posts#comment Fri, 3 Oct 2008 15:43:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093193/posts Taxes could get sky-high with aerial technology By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer, 609-463-6711 Published: Monday, September 29, 2008 Images like this from a new high-tech aerial photography system can reveal an illegal porch from 5,000 feet and give tax assessors a way to grow revenue. A new high-tech aerial photography system that can spot an illegal porch from 5,000 feet is being marketed to tax assessors as a way to grow revenue. Pictometry International Corp. says it offers tax assessors 12 different views of every square foot of building or land in a jurisdiction that buys their system. They call... The Press of Atlantic City http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093193/posts#comment Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:03:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2090532/posts Dear Congress: I am writing in response to your request for additional money via the "WTF!? Re-Financing America Extortion Act of 2008." I put "Poor Planning" as the cause of my overnight insolvency. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient. I am a taxpayer by trade. During the last year of the recent mortgage "accident," I was working alone on the roof of a broken-down six-storey building in West LA, laying down slate shingles and edging it with solid copper gutters, hoping to flip it to "Flip This House" at the Steal... American Digest http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2090532/posts#comment Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:36:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2089055/posts In this climatic of times when fingers are pointing in every which way and the ability to know whom is trustworthy and whom is not is not easily attainable, words such as the "rich people don't 'deserve' their money" may sound tantalizingly good, but it is wrought with dangerous ramifications. When politicians say that the rich don't need the extra money, the response ought to be, "government doesn't need it either." Placing taxes on the uber-rich and the corporations will just transfer their wealth to the coffers of others in Washington D.C. The promise may be that the taxed amount... DuncanNews Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2089055/posts#comment Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:06:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067534/posts It took seven years, but Charles Ulrich did something many people dream about, but few succeed at: He beat the IRS in a tax dispute. Not only that, but tax experts say potentially millions of other taxpayers could benefit from his victory. The accountant from Baxter, Minn., challenged the method the IRS has used for more than 20 years to tax shares and cash distributed by mutual life insurance firms to their policyholders when they reorganize as public companies. A federal court recently agreed with his interpretation. "There's a tremendous amount of money at stake," said Robert Willens, a New... Minneapolis StarTribune (aka The Red Star) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067534/posts#comment Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:51:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064247/posts [snip] Mr. Obama...suggest[ed] that if you make $150,000 or less you may be poor or middle class. A family with an income above $250,000, he went on to say, is "doing well." And if you find yourself in that category, he's going to target you for a tax hike -- all in the name of creating "a sense of balance, and fairness in our tax code." In fact, the idea of fairness is at the heart of his whole economic argument. And he goes back to it in almost every public appearance. He talks about it as a general theme:... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064247/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:08:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062945/posts Why Taxation Isn't (Necessarily) Theft by Eric Pavlat 8/14/08 I still remember the pain when my best friend and I stopped attending the same school after first grade. His parents decided he would be better off in a private school. I asked my mom how he could do that, and she explained that his parents were spending a little extra money to send him there. So, was my mom spending money to send me to school? She told me that she already paid taxes, and that's how the school building was constructed and the teachers were paid. As full of... InsideCatholic.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062945/posts#comment Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:27:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048584/posts Floating Around Europe New & Old... Old Europe tends to tell the U.S. what to do (about taxation, welfarism, Islamofascist terror, and foreign policy). New Europe -- perhaps more appreciative of America's role in its own de-satellization -- tends to want to learn from us, to take our lead, or even (on, e.g., taxation) to show us the way... Floating around for two weeks in Europe old and new, it certainly seems so -- not least in a service level, a desire to please visitors and customers, rarely seen in the U.S. That hospitality, even with the dollar plunged to... inrich http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048584/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:35:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046280/posts The citizens of Pittsburgh are getting an unpleasant lesson in the consequences of punitive taxation, courtesy of their beloved NFL franchise. Inside the Pittsburgh Steeler boardroom, a fraternal squabble is under way over future ownership—thanks in part to a sacking from the realities of estate and capital gains taxes. One of the league's iconic teams, the Steelers have been owned by the Rooney family since 1933. The five sons of the original owner, Art Rooney, control 80%—and they are getting into their 70s. With the team's value estimated at $700 million or more, the 45% federal death tax rate could... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046280/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:31:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041043/posts If you've seen HBO's "The Wire," you know why those of us who live in Baltimore are often asked whether our city really is the hellhole it is portrayed to be on TV. Our answer is, well, yes. Baltimore deserves the Third-World profile it has developed because it has expanses of crumbling, crime-riddled neighborhoods populated by low-income renters, an absent middle class, and just a few enclaves of high-income gentry near the Inner Harbor or in suburbs. This wasn't what Baltimore looked like in the 1950s. Then it was a prosperous, blue-collar city. [Snip] Today, the city has a population... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041043/posts#comment Sat, 5 Jul 2008 11:59:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040748/posts It all boils down to one simple question: will cows be taxed for burping and farting?The complex debate about the introduction of an emissions trading scheme to tackle climate change is causing panic among farmers. The release of the Garnaut report yesterday only served to increase their fears. Ross Garnaut's report acknowledges the initial difficulties of measuring gas emissions on Australia's 155,000 farms, but says a broad-based scheme should include agriculture at some stage. The only question now is whether it will be included in the initial 2010 version of the scheme or introduced at a later date. Every major... The Australian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040748/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 15:34:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036539/posts Liberals dismiss studies that show a link between abortion and breast cancer, claiming they are biased because the people promoting the studies are "anti-choice." For the same reason, no one should believe the Democrats' "energy" policies. Democrats couldn't care less about high gas prices. The consistent policy of the Democratic Party, going back at least to Jimmy Carter, has been to jack up gas prices so we can all start pedaling around on tricycles. Environmentalists are constantly clamoring for higher gas taxes as the cure-all to their insane global warming theory. Clinton proposed a 26-cent tax on gas. John Kerry... Human Events http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036539/posts#comment Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:16:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031350/posts In 2007 this subsidy cost the American taxpayer $300 million, and it’s projected to cost the American taxpayers $600 million next year,” said Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz. The scam — as Shadegg and others call it — is known as “splash and dash.” It stems from an existing $1 subsidy for every gallon of biodiesel fuel blended with regular diesel in the United States. Here’s how it works: Biodiesel is produced abroad using South American sugar cane or Asian palm oil and shipped to the United States, where it’s blended with just a “splash” of regular diesel. A typical tanker-load... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031350/posts#comment Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:31:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2030692/posts American History Recovered by: Malcolm A. Kline, June 13, 2008 Because of the game of teapot that American academic historians have been playing for decades, vital portions of U. S. history are in danger of becoming lost to future generations. Fortunately, scholars just outside the academy, who do tend to be more scholarly, are doing archeological digs, metaphorically speaking, to unearth this country’s past. What the former usually do is quote each other. The latter actually dig up the primary documents that tell the actual story. Hoover Institution scholar Alvin Rabushka has done just that in his epic study of... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2030692/posts#comment Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:21:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028142/posts ATLANTA - All of the talk among political candidates about a federal gas tax holiday to offset soaring prices at the pump misses a critical fact: state taxes are, for the most part, even more costly for drivers. And in some states, gas taxes are rising even higher, with a handful set to jump at the height of the summer driving season. The average state sales tax on gasoline is 28.6 cents a gallon, according to the American Petroleum Institute. That's a dime more than the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents a gallon. (snip) The national average price rose... Yahoo / AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028142/posts#comment Mon, 9 Jun 2008 02:12:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021483/posts Impatient with the glacial pace of federal regulators on greenhouse gas emissions, the Bay Area air quality district voted last week to assess fees on about 2,500 polluting businesses that they regulate. The fees aren't large - the majority of businesses will pay less than a dollar - and they will mostly fund the district's administrative costs related to climate change, such as doing an emissions inventory for the Bay Area. But the precedent is significant: The district is the first in the nation to impose fees. Its success or failure will be a model for both the state and... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021483/posts#comment Mon, 26 May 2008 16:24:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019389/posts WASHINGTON - President Bush vetoed the $300 billion farm bill on Wednesday, calling it a tax increase on regular Americans at a time of high food prices in the face of a near-certain override by Congress. It was the 10th veto of Bush's presidency. But since it passed both houses of Congress with veto-proof majorities, his action will likely be overridden. The president calls the legislation fiscally irresponsible and says it gives away too much money to wealthy farmers, yet his criticism didn't faze lawmakers from both parties who voted for increased crop subsidies, food stamps for the poor and... Yahoo / AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019389/posts#comment Wed, 21 May 2008 22:41:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016186/posts To close California’s huge budget gap, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a plan: get a Wall Street investment firm to lend the state $15 billion against future proceeds from its rather unsuccessful lottery program, with the lending firm taking large risks for a low-yield return. And if that fails, the state’s sales tax will go up a penny over the next few years. The lottery idea with a tax increase only as a backup reflects the severity of California’s $17.2 billion budget gap and Mr. Schwarzenegger’s unwillingness to reverse course on a longstanding pledge not to raise taxes and to continue... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016186/posts#comment Thu, 15 May 2008 04:46:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015798/posts Los Angeles Democrat Karen Bass was sworn in Tuesday as speaker of the California Assembly, the first black woman to lead either house of the state Legislature. Bass told her fellow lawmakers and the California political and cultural figures who attended the ceremony that she feels the weight of history on her shoulders. "If we could only harness the power of our common humanity, I don't think there's anything we couldn't do for the people of this state," she said. The 54-year-old becomes the 67th speaker, succeeding fellow Los Angeles Democrat Fabian Nunez. He is relinquishing the post because he... Fresno Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015798/posts#comment Wed, 14 May 2008 14:48:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013502/posts This is the latest tax reform poll that I have seen. This is from an interesting website in which members develop their own polls. Vizu.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013502/posts#comment Fri, 9 May 2008 10:55:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010150/posts As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pick through this state's primary results come Tuesday, the last person on their minds will be Bart Peterson. Yet the Peterson ghost may well come looking for the eventual Democratic nominee. Mr. Peterson was, until recently, the popular Democratic mayor of this fine city. Then voters went to the polls in November and threw him out in favor of an unknown and underfunded Republican. It was among last year's biggest political upsets, and marked the first time in 40 years Indianapolis voters had canned a sitting mayor. The source of their anger? Taxes. In... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010150/posts#comment Fri, 2 May 2008 12:01:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2005010/posts Taxes were on the forefront of many Americans’ minds this week as they scrambled to meet the April 15th deadline to file their returns. Tax policy in this country hurts taxpayers twice – once when they pay taxes, and then when the government spends the money. Americans are sick and tired of the financial burden and the endless forms to fill out. To add insult to injury, after collecting this money the government does some very detrimental things to the economy. The burden of complying with the income tax is tremendous. Since its inception in 1913, the tax code has... House.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2005010/posts#comment Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:04:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001901/posts Some guests are included in today's quotes - not all are founding fathers... “The war against illegal plunder has been fought since the beginning of the world. But how is... legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime. Then abolish this law without delay... If such a law is not abolished immediately it... The Patriot Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001901/posts#comment Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:09:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000577/posts SACRAMENTO - Joe Six-pack will have to pay a lot more to get his buzz on if Assemblyman Jim Beall has his way. The San Jose Democrat on Thursday proposed raising the beer tax by $1.80 per six-pack, or 30 cents per can or bottle. The current tax is 2 cents per can. That's an increase of about 1,500 percent. Beall said the tax would generate $2 billion a year to fund health care services, crime prevention and programs to prevent underage drinking and addiction. "The people who use alcohol should pay for part of the cost to society, just... The San Jose Mercury Nes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000577/posts#comment Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:55:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2000479/posts Here's a modest suggestion for improving the roads in and around the Hampton Roads area. And it's an idea that I'm sure will appeal to the cracked staff at the local papers who are constantly advocating one tax after another to pay for our road construction program. My brilliant idea: A sales tax on the Virginian Pilot. Ta...daaaaa! Now before you click away from this page let's run the numbers. The Virginian Pilot has a paid daily circulation of about 200,000. Let's say that a sales tax of 50 cents per paper is imposed. That would bring in over $36... The Virginian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2000479/posts#comment Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:09:14 GMT