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President Obama released his FY 2013 budget [Monday] morning. By his own numbers, his budget raises net taxes over the next decade by $1.56 trillion (Table S-9, page 225). As a percentage of the economy, tax revenues would rise all the way to 20.1% of GDP in 2022, far higher than the historical tax revenue average of 18.3% of GDP (Table S-1, page 205). Here are some of the tax lowlights: All 20 of the new or higher taxes in Obamacare are assumed to take place. That means that there will be a 3.8 percentage point surtax on investment income....

President Obama's proposed 2013 budget contains a decade-long surge of tax hikes that, if approved, would affect everything from income to investment to inheritance. The budget blueprint contains roughly $2 trillion in new taxes and fees. When other tax cuts and credits are counted, the net impact from the proposals is still about $1.5 trillion. Though Republicans already are mounting a vigorous campaign against the proposal, many of the tax provisions still could become law unless Congress takes action to stop them. ,,,, But the budget also imposes various fees, such as a hike in the airline "security fee," as...

(Reuters) - Airlines and their passengers would pay up to $32 billion in new air traffic and security fees over 10 years, and grants to big airports would fall sharply under White House budget proposals on Monday aimed at deficit reduction. The Obama administration wants major carriers, their passengers, business jets and airports to pick up more of the costs of air travel and airport improvements that for years have been borne by taxpayers. New fees are sure to trigger strong opposition from airlines and other aviation groups who argue that the industry is already over-taxed and over-regulated. Ideas quietly...

Union leaders are asking Democratic candidates for governor to veto the next state budget if it doesn't restore collective bargaining for public workers and at least one leading candidate - Kathleen Falk - has agreed, participants in the private meetings say.

Pelosi: 'I Don't Want To Pay For It...Surcharge' The Rich For Doctors Visits and Unemployment Benefits http://www.breitbart.tv/pelosi-on-unemployment-benefits-extension-id-rather-not-pay-for-it/

Obama: Jesus would tax the rich By: Jennifer Epstein February 2, 2012 10:12 AM EST President Barack Obama tied his proposal to raise taxes on wealthy Americans to his faith on Thursday, telling leaders gathered for the National Prayer Breakfast that Jesus’ teachings have led him to that conclusion. The rich pay more not only because “I actually think that is going to make economic sense, but for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.’” Obama said at the Washington Hilton, delivering remarks at an annual...

President Obama and Congressional Democrats have called for hundreds of billions of dollars in higher taxes on American families and small employers. Yet, there are thousands of federal bureaucrats who owe billions of dollars in taxes. Here are some of the most notable agencies:   Bureaucrat Tax Cheats Amount Owed to IRS Delinquency Rate   Executive Office of the President     36   $833,970   2.01% U.S. Senate   217 $2.1 million 3.08% U.S. House   467 $8.5 million 4.24% Postal Service   25,640 $269.6 million 3.84% Homeland Security/TSA     4,647   $36.9 million   2.46% Treasury Department/IRS...

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...

People earning over $1 million per year should pay an effective tax rate of no less than 30 percent, President Obama said in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. The president laid down one of his most political markers of the annual policy speech by crafting what he called the "Buffett Rule," named after the famous billionaire investor. "Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes," Obama said.

President Obama will use his election-year State of the Union address on Tuesday to define an activist role for government in promoting a prosperous and equitable society, hoping to draw a stark contrast between the parties in a time of deep economic uncertainty. ...Mr. Obama will call for changing the corporate and individual income-tax codes so the wealthy pay more, both to finance government investments and to alleviate the rise in income inequality in recent years. Republican presidential candidates have countered that government should get out of the way.

Dems propose 'Reasonable Profits Board' to regulate oil company profits By Pete Kasperowicz - 01/19/12 10:20 AM ET Six House Democrats, led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), want to set up a "Reasonable Profits Board" to control gas profits. The Democrats, worried about higher gas prices, want to set up a board that would apply a "windfall profit tax" as high as 100 percent on the sale of oil and gas, according to their legislation. The bill provides no specific guidance for how the board would determine what constitutes a reasonable profit. The Gas Price Spike Act, H.R. 3784, would...

Sharon Block and Richard Griffin - President Obama's Democratic likely illegal recess appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) - may not have paid their federal taxes in recent years. Either one or both of them may be subjects of criminal investigations. There is even the possibility that one or both of them have substantial conflicts of interest that will prevent them from serving honestly.

“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes,” President Obama, September 12, 2008 Beginning January 1, 2013, ObamaCare imposes a 3.8% Medicare tax on unearned income of “high-income” taxpayers which could apply to proceeds from the sale of single family homes, townhouses, co-ops, condominiums, and even rental income, depending on your individual circumstances and any capital gains tax exclusions. Importantly, the “high income” thresholds are not...

Americans for Tax Reform took action today to educate residents of Elgin, Illinois about a city council vote this week to increase their taxes. The proposed 3-percent tax on alcohol sales in Elgin would hurt area small businesses and leave Elgin families with less money in their pocket just in time for the holiday season. Bah Humbug. Elgin residents who live in Cook County would be hit with the second tax hike on alcohol in as many months, as Cook County recently approved a tax increase on alcohol despite bipartisan opposition from taxpayers and small businesses alike. 2011 has been...

(CNSNews.com) - In a speech delivered at Osawatomie High School in Osawatomie, Kansas, on Tuesday, President Barack Obama argued that while a limited government that preserves free markets "speaks to our rugged individualism" as Americans, such a system "doesn't work" and "has never worked" and that Americans must look to a more activist government that taxes more, spends more and regulates more if they want to preserve the middle class. "'[T]here is a certain crowd in Washington who, for the last few decades, have said, let’s respond to this economic challenge with the same old tune. 'The market will take...

Last year, a medical-technology firm called Numira Biosciences, founded in 2005 in Irvine, California, packed its bags and moved to Salt Lake City. The relocation, CEO Michael Beeuwsaert told the Orange County Register, was partly about the Utah destination’s pleasant quality of life and talented workforce. But there was a big “push factor,” too: California’s steepening taxes and ever-thickening snarl of government regulations. “The tipping point was when someone from the Orange County tax [assessor] wanted to see our facility to tax every piece of equipment I had,” Beeuwsaert said. “In Salt Lake City at my first networking event...

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Thursday he doesn't think taxpayers will recover much of their $528 million loan to bankrupt solar firm Solyndra, calling the situation "extremely unfortunate" while continuing to defend his actions to prop up the company before its failure. Chu testified Thursday for the first time before the House committee investigating the Solyndra loan. He insisted that the decision in late 2009 to approve the loan guarantee was his own and "absolutely was made only on the merits." He said it was not influenced by political considerations. But he acknowledged that chances are dim for taxpayers to...

President John F. Kennedy’s nephew, Robert Kennedy, Jr., netted a $1.4 billion bailout for his company, BrightSource, through a loan guarantee issued by a former employee-turned Department of Energy official. It’s just one more in a string of eye-opening revelations by investigative journalist and Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer in his explosive new book, Throw Them All Out. The details of how BrightSource managed to land its ten-figure taxpayer bailout have yet to emerge fully. However, one clue might be found in the person of Sanjay Wagle. Wagle was one of the principals in Kennedy’s firm who raised money for Barack...

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has sold a private plane she co-owns with her husband, months after her use of it for official business and failure to pay back taxes created a political headache... First she repaid the government $88,000 after she was criticized for reimbursing herself for use of the plane on official and political travel. Then she paid $287,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest to St. Louis County. ... McCaskill, seeking re-election in 2012, faces a tough race in a state she narrowly won in 2006. Republicans have pounded McCaskill on the plane, dubbing it "Air Claire" .

White House: Millionaire tax isn’t enough Neil Munro -- The Daily Caller 39 mins ago President Obama wants tax increases on the wealthy, regardless of whether the Democrats’ proposed millionaire tax becomes law, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday. “The president’s position has not changed” since he called for increased tax rates on individuals earning more than $250,000 per year, and for adoption of the “Buffett Rule,” Carney said during his midday press conference. Under the still-vague “Buffett Rule,” named for multi-billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the government would ensure wealthy people could not use current features of the tax...

President Barack Obama's latest economic plan could save or create up to 400,000 education jobs, the White House said on Tuesday as Obama pushed his $447 billion plan to revive the economy. Obama's proposed American Jobs Act would provide $30 billion for state and local efforts to retain, rehire and hire educators, supporting 392,400 jobs, according to projections released by the Education Department and White House Council of Economic Advisers. That money would last one to two years and states would have to sign agreements they would not use the funding for other purposes. "We know that putting hundreds of...

A key unanswered question in the Solyndra loan investigation concerns the role George Kaiser, the Oklahoma billionaire and major Obama fundraiser whose Family Foundation owned a large stake in the failed solar-panel company. Kaiser made multiple visits to the White House in the week before the Department of Energy approved a $535 billion guaranteed loan to Solyndra on March 20, 2009, and helped arrange 16 separate meetings between top White House officials and Solyndra executives around that time. Yet Kaiser maintains that he “did not participate in any discussions with the U.S. government regarding the loan.” But as the following...

Schakowsky said that Americans don’t deserve to keep all of their money because we need taxes to support our society. “I’ll put it this way. You don’t deserve to keep all of it and it’s not a question of deserving because what government is, is those things that we decide to do together. And there are many things that we decide to do together like have our national security. Like have police and fire. What about the people that work at the National Institute of Health who are looking for a cure for cancer,” Schakowsky said. Schakowsky also says one...

"To me this ‘raise my taxes!” nonsense coming from wealthy hypocrites is exactly like this Global Warming nonsense coming from wealthy hypocrites. How’s this for a compromise: when you start living like the planet’s in peril only then will I stop laughing in your lying hypocritical face every time you open your lying hypocritical mouth.

Imagine this scenario: The IRS may soon just do your taxes for you — and send you the bill.If this sounds farfetched, it’s not.With a new congressional “super committee” tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in cuts by November, creative ways to find additional revenue are in high demand. And allowing the IRS to prepare you taxes could be one solution.The idea has been around for a while, but has been picking up steam in recent years. In 2006, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) argued it would close a $345 billion annual difference between what the government believes taxpayers...

C’mon, IRS. “Stop coddling the super rich.� Contrive to successfully extract the taxes they already owe.Mr. Buffett, I barely want to waste my breath on your blatant hypocrisy.And, Mainstream Media (by which I mean the NYT, which ran Buffett’s obnoxious op-ed in the first place), WHERE ARE YOU?From NewsMax: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett triggered a major debate over taxes recently when he wrote in The New York Times that he should be paying more to the federal government. He called on Washington lawmakers to up tax rates on the rich.But it turns out that Buffett’s own company, Berkshire Hathaway, has...

A solar energy company that intends to file bankruptcy received $535 million in backing from the federal government and has a cozy history with Democrats and the Obama administration, campaign finance records show. Shareholders and executives of Solyndra, a green energy company producing solar panels, fundraised for and donated to the Obama administration to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, a key Obama backer who raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for the president’s election campaign, is one of Solyndra’s primary investors. Kaiser himself donated $53,500 to Obama’s 2008 election campaign, split between the DSCC...

President Obama’s new “We The People” initiative smells exactly like a political campaign move and is unethical, says one large grassroots conservative group spokesman. “It sure looks suspicious,” FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe told The Daily Caller. “It looks like lobbying and it looks utterly inappropriate.” Because they’re not lawyers, though, Kibbe and FreedomWorks spokesman Adam Brandon won’t comment on whether the Obama White House’s new campaign is legal or illegal. Brandon said it appears the White House is using taxpayer-funded government resources to play political games. Brandon told The Daily Caller that FreedomWorks is looking into the legality of the...

With states facing nearly $100 billion in combined budget deficits this year, we're seeing more governors than ever proposing the Barack Obama solution to balancing the budget: Soak the rich. Lawmakers in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Oregon want to raise income tax rates on the top 1% or 2% or 5% of their citizens. New Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn wants a 50% increase in the income tax rate on the wealthy because this is the "fair" way to close his state's gaping deficit. Mr. Quinn and other tax-raising governors have been emboldened by recent...

Thanks to Illinois governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois legislature Illinois Loses Most Jobs in the Nation. In a trend that continues to worsen, more Illinoisans found themselves unemployed in the month of July. Illinois lost more jobs during the month of July than any other state in the nation. ... When it comes to putting people back to work, Illinois is going backwards. Since January, Illinois has dropped 89,000 people from its employment rolls. A combination of high taxes, overspending and red tape do nothing but chase away job creators and leave too many citizens without jobs. Springfield needs...

Thanks to Illinois governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois legislature Illinois Loses Most Jobs in the NationIn a trend that continues to worsen, more Illinoisans found themselves unemployed in the month of July.  Illinois lost more jobs during the month of July than any other state in the nation, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report. After losing 7,200 jobs in June, Illinois lost an additional 24,900 non-farm payroll jobs in July. The report also said Illinois’s unemployment rate climbed to 9.5 percent. This marks the third consecutive month of increases in the unemployment rate.  Illinois started to...

Americans for Tax Reform is active in all 50 state capitals and from this perspective one thing is clear, when it comes to legislative creativity, lawmakers in Sacramento have every other state easily beat – no contest. Unfortunately for those currently contending with the state’s nearly 12% unemployment rate, California legislators only seem to use their creativity for the purpose of enacting job-killing tax increases and other measures that only serve to further depress the Golden State’s already flagging economy. The latest exhibit of this unfortunate fact is Assembly Bill 155, legislation that, if Democrat lawmakers have their way, would...

Kasich's Olive Branch Governor John Kasich reached out to Ohio public employee unions to renegotiate collective bargaining policy in which Ohio Senate Bill 5, passed by the Ohio legislature, would give the Governor more leverage than the public unions in deciding how much the state can afford to pay state workers in terms of benefits like pensions and health care. The unions will have none of it, and are going for an "all or nothing" approach to defeat Senate Bill 5. My comment to the local lib newspaper, which is heavily in favor of higher taxation and the pacifying of...

IT HAS BEEN a little over a week since billionaire Warren Buffett called for higher taxes on the richest Americans, and now comes the reaction. Harvey Golub, a former chairman and chief executive of American Express, writes in the Wall Street Journal that he “resents” Mr. Buffett’s suggestion. I already pay plenty of taxes, Mr. Golub asserts, adding: “Before you ‘ask’ for more tax money from me and others, raise the $2.2 trillion you already collect each year more fairly and spend it more wisely.” Who’s right? Mr. Golub points out that almost half of the population pays no income...

The Obamas' summer break in Martha's Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets. But according to new reports, this is the least of their extravagances. White House sources today claimed that the First Lady has spent $10million of U.S. taxpayers' money on vacations alone in the past year. Branding her 'disgusting' and 'a vacation junkie', they say the 47-year-old mother-of-two has been indulging in five-star hotels, where she splashes out on expensive massages and alcohol. The 'top source' told the National Enquirer: 'It's disgusting. Michelle is taking advantage...

There are fewer millionaires in America today – can you hear the celebration at the Blue Heron farm on Martha’s Vineyard where the Obama family is spending someone’s millions? Obama at Blue Heron Farm - 2009 Pullout quote: For the past three decades, the political left has obsessed about income inequality. As the economy experienced one of the largest and lengthiest economic booms in history from 1982-2007, the left moaned that the gains went to yacht club members. Well, if equality of income is the priority, liberals should be thrilled with the last four years. Wall Street Journal (great article...

Income for the Obama household continued to slip in 2010, tax returns show, as proceeds from President Obama’s best-selling books tapered off. But just as he has said, his income is easily high enough to make the family eligible for a tax increase under his own deficit-reduction proposals. The president and his wife, Michelle Obama, on Monday reported an adjusted gross income of $1,728,096 for 2010, down from $5.5 million in 2009. Most of their income came from sales of his books “Dreams From My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope.” The Obamas paid $453,770 in federal taxes, for an...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie scored a big win for his agenda in June when he persuaded the state legislature to pass a public employee pension and benefits overhaul. The bill, which the governor’s office said would save New Jersey taxpayers $120 billion over 30 years, was the product of a yearlong negotiation between Christie and the Democratic leaders of the state senate and assembly, though it did not receive the backing of most Democrats in either chamber. Those that did support the bill are now paying a political price, with the state’s most powerful union, the New Jersey Education...

By Josh Gerstein, Politico The Secret Service has revealed to Talking Points Memo that the government has purchased two armored buses for use by President Barack Obama and Republican candidates in the 2012 presidential campaign and beyond.

The "buffer zone" parcel at the Obama family mansion in Chicago's upscale Kenwood neighborhood purchased by the wife of convicted felon Tony Rezko was transferred to Barack and Michelle Obama without ever being assessed or taxed, in apparent violation of Illinois law, according to a debt-collection expert. "The Cook County assessor's office told me that there is no record of any tax assessment having been done on this transfer of the buffer zone property into a Northern Trust Co. Deed in Trust," Albert Hendershot told WND. Hendershot, president and owner of Innovative Portfolio Recovery Inc, a debt collection and skip...

Further: 'I will work hard to protect entitlements... the only problem with the Reid Senate is that we didn't keep a fillibuster-proof majority... " Yeah. The Super Committee is gonna work. /S

All 6 Democrats on Deficit-Reduction Panel Earned 'F's From Taxpayers’ Union Thursday, August 11, 2011 By Terence P. Jeffrey (CNSNews.com) - All six Democrats that have been assigned to the special joint congressional committee that will recommend means for cutting the nation’s anticipated spending by $1.5 trillion over the next ten years compiled voting records last year that earned them grades of “F” from the National Taxpayers Union (NTU). House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) announced today that she has assigned Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn (S.C.), Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra (Calif.) and Budget Committee Ranking Member...

July income was $539 million lower than expected, leading many to doubt the state budget's assumption of economic recovery and a $4-billion windfall. If revenues remain low, drastic education cuts will kick in. California's tax revenue plummeted in July, missing expectations by nearly $539 million and raising fears that deep education cuts will be needed to keep the state budget balanced. The plunge occurred before the recent Wall Street gyrations that wiped away many of the year's stock-market gains. If the economy remains sluggish and the $4 billion does not materialize, cuts in public schools, universities, libraries, child care, and...

Liberals outline stimulus agenda in 'Contract for the American Dream' By Erik Wasson - 08/09/11 10:57 AM ET Liberal organizations and unions are frustrated that President Obama has not aggressively pushed a new jobs stimulus agenda and they are offering up a consolidated fall agenda for Democrats to embrace as an alternative to austerity. Representatives of MoveOn, Rebuild the Dream and the Center for Economic Policy and Research will join Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) on Tuesday to launch a progressive “Contract for the American Dream” to urge the administration and Congress to turn away from budget cutting and focus on...

.....Yet, as S&P has explained, unlike the administration and the CBO, it focuses on a three-to-five year window. S&P finds that this timeframe, which is more in the control of the current Congress and president, is a more reliable predictor of financial health than illusory ten-year forecasts....

Finally, some promising economic news in what has been a steady recent stream of dismal data and developments: Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner has agreed to stay in the Obama administration.The master of finance who has so successfully assisted President Obama in boosting the national debt by more than $3 trillion, driving unemployment back north of 9% by spending only $787 billion in stimulus funds, corroding consumer confidence and presiding over the first federal credit downgrading in history has agreed to stick around to continue his impressive work for this Democratic administration.Geithner is the sole survivor of President Obama's...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the emergency bill Congress passed to prevent a government default is just the first step to ensuring the country lives within its means. Speaking in the Rose Garden, Obama says lawmakers still need to find a balanced approach to reducing the deficit that includes some adjustments to Medicare and reforming the tax code so the wealthy pay more.

"We've had too much talk the last few days of Republicans as early as this morning, Republican leaders in the Senate saying there will be no revenue. That's not going to happen. Otherwise, the trigger is going to kick in. The only way we can arrive at a fair arrangement for the American people with this joint committee is to have equal sharing. It's going to be painful. Each party if they do the right thing, it's going to be painful for them because to be fair, we have to move forward. There has to be equal spending cuts, there...

<p>Just reported that in this debt deal is indeed a BIG TAX HIKE!</p>

Three Democrats have introduced a federal bill that would require online retailers such as Amazon.com to collect states' sales taxes. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and Representatives John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) call their proposal that was introduced July 29 the Main Street Fairness Act. Amazon.com, which has been fighting individual states – including California – over efforts to require online retailers to collect state and local sales tax, is supporting the bill, according to a letter to Durbin from Amazon.com Vice President for Global Public Policy Paul Misener.