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White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed Monday that President Obama is "very interested" in the idea of raising taxes through unitlateral executive action. "The president certainly has not indicated any reticence in using his executive authority to try and advance an agenda that benefits middle class Americans," Earnest said in response to a question about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) calling on Obama to raise more than $100 billion in taxes through IRS executive action. "Now I don't want to leave you with the impression that there is some imminent announcement, there is not, at least that I know...

As with so many other things, when it comes to finding ways to pad the government’s pockets, President Obama prefers to skip over that whole Congress thing. Just ask Josh Earnest! According to him, forcing corporations to pay more in taxes through executive action is an option the president would like to keep on his table:

Suppose there were a banquet for 100 people and at the end of the night it was time to split the bill of $50 per person. If that bill were paid for the way we pay our income taxes, here is how it would work. Those in the top half of income would pay roughly $97 each and those in the bottom half of the income would pay an average of $3 each. Almost 40 people would pay nothing. And the single richest person in the room would cough up $1,750. Liberals would complain that the cheap skate rich guy...

Fast-food giant McDonald’s has avoided paying €1 billion in tax across the EU, and should be included in the EU’s probe on “sweetheart” tax deals, according to a report published Wednesday (25 February). The report, published by the European Federation of Public Service Unions, its US Counterpart and the charity War on Want, accuses McDonald’s of “aggressive and potentially abusive optimization of its structure which has led to the avoidance of significant amounts of tax across the continent”. It concludes that “it is likely that the company reached a secret tax deal with Luxembourg”. In July 2009, the Happy-Meal maker...

**SNIP** The British couple is hoping to launch a protest movement in the aftermath of a recent tax scandal in the UK, during which it was alleged staff at the Swiss arm of the bank HSBC helped clients avoid hefty bills in Britain. Thompson and Wise hope a mass tax boycott will convince bosses at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the government department responsible for collecting the money, to penalise wealthy citizens and companies who avoid paying their fair share. Wise tells London's Evening Standard newspaper, "I want to stop paying tax, until everyone pays tax... I have actively...

"...What was missing from CPAC? Any sign of the intellectual ferment in conservative think tanks about how to address the stagnant incomes of the American middle class. Most speakers stuck to more traditional fare: smaller government, lower taxes, less regulation. There are new ideas in the Republican Party, but this, it seems, was neither the time nor the place..."

Robert De Niro owed $6.4 million to the IRS for his 2013 tax return, but it appears he just learned of it. The Oscar winner's tax debt surfaced in documents first uncovered by the Smoking Gun. Mr. De Niro has an estimated worth of over $200 million, and is reputed to spend $125,000 a month on his rental on Central Park West. In that sense, this tax bill doesn't seem so large. But it was unpaid, as the notice to New York City’s Department of Finance revealed. That is what an IRS lien filing is all about. But right away,...

You may be eligible for a tax credit if you make eligible contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan or to an individual retirement arrangement. Here are six things the IRS wants you to know about the Savers Credit: 1.Income Limits The Savers Credit, formally known as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, applies to individuals with a filing status and income of: • Single, married filing separately, or qualifying widow(er), with income up to $27,750 • Head of Household with income up to $41,625 • Married Filing Jointly, with incomes up to $55,500 2.Eligibility requirements To be eligible for the credit...

The recent state of Nebraska’s tax and fiscal policy climate has been lackluster compared to other states in the region. In the most recent edition of Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index Nebraska ranks 35th (1 being the best, 50 being the worst), which is the poorest economic outlook ranking in the region. Nebraska has been slowly falling behind its neighbors, especially South Dakota and Wyoming—two states without any income taxes—and Kansas improving its economic climate with major recent tax reform. Nebraska has also lost $2.58 billion in adjusted gross income (AGI) to other states from 1992...

South Carolina announced Tuesday, February 25th that the state would be closing a minimum security prison. This will be the second minimum security prison closing in South Carolina within a year, and is the result of declining recidivism rates—the rate at which offenders relapse into criminal behavior. In 2010, South Carolina passed significant criminal justice reforms following the suggestions of the South Carolina Sentencing Reform Commission, established to address the high recidivism rates, large prison populations and growing correctional costs. The South Carolina legislature passed the Omnibus Crime Reduction and Sentencing Reform Act of 2010 to address the identified issues....

On February 20 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the creation of a special enrollment period for taxpayers to avoid penalties for non-compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate. Open enrollment for 2015 officially ended February 15, and prior to the CMS announcement, those who failed to sign up for insurance and weren’t otherwise covered would have been subject to a fine (or “shared responsibility payment”) of the greater of $325 per adult, or two percent of taxable household income when they filed their tax returns in 2016. Because many people may not be aware...

Anyone wondering why ObamaCare requires enrollees to file ridiculously complex tax forms might just have found their answer.

Great news for consumers in Florida: Governor Rick Scott has proposed $470 million in communications services tax relief. Governor Scott’s proposed budget would reduce the communications services tax for mobile, cable services and non-residential landlines by 39 percent. Furthermore, his proposed budget would also reduce the communications services tax for satellite services by 27 percent. Under the governor’s budget proposal, a family spending an average of $100 a month on cell phone, cable and satellite television services could save about $43 a year. Currently, Florida’s state and local communications services tax is one of the highest in the nation, with...

About 50,000 taxpayers who had filed their returns before an error in an Obamacare tax form was discovered will be able to keep the money, the IRS said yesterday. The erroneous forms went out to 800,000 taxpayers. Most of those citizens will have to wait for the IRS to mail them a corrected form before they can file their taxes. Treasury said people who did not pay enough in taxes because of the glitch will be allowed to keep the money. If they paid too much, then they have the option of filing an amended return to get their...

More than 16,900 federal employees took home in excess of $200,000 in base salary in 2014, according to a partial database of federal salary data. The information, compiled by FedSmith.com using data from the Office of Personnel Management and other agencies, shows the annual compensation for every civilian federal worker, save those at the Defense Department. The number of workers earning more than $200,000 represented about 1.6 percent of employees on the list and is up from about 15,000 who cleared that salary in 2013. It also makes up a slightly higher percentage of the employees on this list. Most...

The ballot proposal that goes before Michigan voters on May 5 includes a “double tax” on fuel purchased for uses other than driving on roads, including for boats, snowmobiles, off-road vehicles and possibly agriculture. Some Lansing insiders have known about the problematic wording for weeks, and while few will talk about it on the record, it has attracted much attention among those in the know. “It’s right there; all you have to do is be able to read,” a well-placed source said under the condition of anonymity. Officially dubbed Proposal 2015-1, the ballot measure is the road funding deal Gov....

Approximately two billion dollars. That's how much additional taxes will be collected if voters approve a May 5 ballot proposal, according to a Mackinac Center for Public Policy analysis based on figures projected by Michigan's legislative fiscal agencies. The bottom-line figure has not been widely reported in the media. In fact, most readers would be hard-pressed to find it in newspapers or in press releases put out by politicians who favor the tax hike measure. For example, Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, issued a press release that stated: “Last year, the Legislature approved a bipartisan package projected to generate $1.2 billion...

One of the more memorable moments during the last presidential campaign was a GOP debate in August, 2011. Fox’s Bret Baier asked the eight candidates if they would agree to $1 in new taxes for every $10 in spending cuts. Not one person raised his (or her) hand. Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Richard Nixon—all tax hikers at one point or another during their presidencies—would have raised their hands, and might have been booed off stage. That’s how much the Republican party has changed. Which brings us to Jeb Bush. During his eight years as governor of Florida (1999-2007),...

Egypt said Sunday it will raise the sales tax on both local and imported cigarettes as it confronts a major budget deficit. The decision announced by the presidency increases a flat tax by at least 7 cents for a pack of less expensive cigarettes. More expensive brands will see an increase of at least 20 cents. A similar move last July raised prices 25 to 40 cents per pack. One in four Egyptian adults smoke, according to a 2013 World Health Organization report. …

Long story made short. I mailed my taxes in via USPS Certified Mail last Saturday and when I go to USPS for Tracking it says: "Updated Delivery Day: Thursday, February 19, 2015" with the last status being "Sorting Complete". Obviously that day is past so I am starting to wonder.....were my taxes taken by a postal employee? And it never said "Out For Delivery".....the Sorting Complete message has remained. Checked the weather in Kansas City, MO and it does not look like snow. Anyone ever experience this? I have sent a lot of things Certified Mail and this is the...