Free Republic

President Joe Biden said in an interview broadcast Wednesday that he plans to raise taxes on Americans making more than $400,000 a year as his post-stimulus legislative plans come into focus."Anybody making more than $400,000 will see a small to a significant tax increase," he told ABC News. "If you make less than $400,000, you won't see one single penny in additional federal tax."Speaking with NBC News, two administration officials earlier confirmed that Biden and his top aides are discussing the framework to increase taxes on Americans making more than $400,000 and on large corporations.The officials stressed that the full...

You can’t spend $1.9 trillion you do not have. So, now the administration is apparently giving weight to the likes of populist socialists like Senator Elizabeth Warren, and considering a wealth tax. When asked about the idea on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted that, “that is something we haven’t decided yet and we can look at.” She did note that President Biden campaigned on his intention to raise taxes for individuals and corporations as well as capital gains and dividend taxes. A group of progressive lawmakers led by Senator Warren recently introduced legislation that...

Joe Biden is planning to propose the first substantial federal tax hike since 1993 for Americans to help pay for his long-term economic program after he signed the largest stimulus package in U.S. history with a price tag of $1.9 trillion. Now the White House is preparing to roll out another sweeping plan to tackle infrastructure and the economic crisis, which some say could fall somewhere between the $2-$4 trillion mark. Biden plans to kick off his cross-country tour this week promoting and seeking to bolster enthusiasm for the coronavirus relief package, where the White House will also ensure he...

The ABC, CBS and NBC evening news shows were so caught up in the euphoria of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that they ignored Democrats had snuck tax hikes into the legislation. Politico released an eye-opening story March 10 headlined, “A $60 billion surprise in the Covid relief bill: Tax hikes.” The Politico story was released the same day that Congress passed the $1.9 trillion bill before sending it to Biden’s desk. “[Democrats] tucked a trio of little-noticed tax hikes on the wealthy and big corporations into their coronavirus relief package that together are worth $60 billion,” Politico...

Despite having a majority in both houses of Congress, Joe Biden’s plan to raise taxes on the rich will still have a rough go of it in the nation’s legislature.For some Democrats, no tax bill will go far enough in stripping the rich of their wealth. For others, it will go too far. And with a solid phalanx of Republicans adamantly opposed to any tax hikes — which they rightly point out would be suicidal in a pandemic with the economy tipping into recession — Biden’s path to success is narrow and strewn with rocks.The Hill:Biden’s campaign tax proposals included...

Joe Biden would force semiautomatic rifle owners to either participate in a gun buyback program, or register their firearm under the National Firearms Act, which requires the payment of a $200 tax. This would extend to AR-15s and other common household rifles. Those who do not comply would face up to 10 years in federal prison, and a potential $10,000 fine. This is yet another violation of Joe Biden's pledge against any tax increase on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. In fact, it would hit working class Americans the hardest.As detailed on Biden’s campaign website, this proposal would...

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo walked back threats from last week that he would raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest should Washington fail to grant additional federal aid to state and local governments hit hard by COVID-19. “If Washington does not step up to the plate here and get us financial aid, we are going to be in a whole world of hurt for a long time. This state, between the state and the local governments we need about $50 billion,” the governor said Tuesday during an interview with Long Island Radio. New York budget officials have estimated a high...

Homeowners, beware. State and local governments scrambling to raise money during the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic are looking to increased property taxes -- as well as wealth taxes and more -- to fill budget holes. The proposals come as officials are trying to strike a balance. Historic job losses caused by lockdowns fueled the downturn that's put the squeeze on city and state budgets. Washington sought to offset this with stimulus payments, additional unemployment benefits, business grants and more. Any push to raise taxes too dramatically could hurt the economy even more.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she couldn't keep raising property taxes "off the table" as the city faces a budget shortfall and Chicago businesses struggle to recover from both looting and the coronavirus shutdown. "I can't take it off the table, but it is truly the last thing I want to do," Lightfoot said at a press conference this week. Laying off city employees could be on the table too as the city faces an estimated budget shortfall of $700 million.

The Old Dominion is trending in an ominous direction, and it’s a problem for the whole country. On Monday, the Virginia General Assembly ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. Advocates of the ERA have argued that Virginia is the 38th and final state needed to add it to the Constitution, though the legal argument for that is dubious. Nevertheless, if the ERA were to become law, it would almost certainly provide the legal basis to enshrine left-wing social dogmas nationwide, among other negative consequences. Other states should take note: No matter how conservative your state has been in the past, you’re...

Some politicians running for federal office make it sound as if the biggest problem facing our country is that we don’t send enough of our paychecks to Washington, D.C. They propose increasing or creating new federal taxes on income, payrolls, business profits, carbon emissions, financial transactions, wealth, and more. Before they start trying to spend more and more of our money, they would do well to consider just how much they’re already spending. Looking back over the last decade, it’s clear they’ve already entered the “drunken sailor” stage. From 2010 through 2019, U.S. households sent an average of $228,000 to...

America needs a bold agenda to solidify the current economic expansion and return hard-earned money to taxpayers. That runs counter to the consensus of those on the left, who want large increases in federal spending and dramatic tax increases to pay for them. Their plans are so expansive that it will require both middle-class payroll tax hikes and broad new taxes on American savers, investors, and employers. Opposing that growth-killing agenda isn’t enough. Conservatives need to draw a stark contrast and push for a second round of tax relief that will let workers keep more of their money, make it...

With few exceptions, states are losing the battle with aging bridges in need of repair or replacement. Even states with low percentages of bridges rated poor are finding it difficult to keep up with bridge and road systems that in many cases are 50 years old or older. Utah, which ranks fourth for the lowest percentage of poor bridges, programs a bridge for repair or replacement in the year after it drops to a poor rating, completing the project within four or five years. The Utah Department of Transportation notes, though, that the number of bridges falling from good to...

LAS VEGAS (AP) — MGM Resorts International announced the sale Tuesday of two casinos that will significantly alter its portfolio of Las Vegas Strip properties and offer up cash. The Las Vegas-based company said it is selling the Circus Circus hotel-casino for $825 million to Treasure Island casino owner Phil Ruffin. The company also sold the Bellagio for $4.25 billion.

This November, Proposition CC will ask Colorado voters to permanently lift the spending limits in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, but the political stakes embedded in the question are even more consequential. The ballot question represents the most significant overhaul to TABOR since voters approved the constitutional provision in 1992, and serves as a test case for a broader Democratic effort to overhaul how the state levies taxes and spends money. If voters approve Prop. CC, Democratic leaders and their allies believe it would give them momentum for a broader agenda to revamp property tax rates, increase taxes for key...

Rahm Emanuel raised taxes to get city worker pension funds on a ‘path to solvency.’ The shortfall still ballooned by $7 billion. ... A record-high property tax increase. A new tax on water and sewer service. A higher 911 emergency fee on telephone lines... Emanuel’s series of tax hikes was painful, but he promised the extra money was part of a plan to get the woefully underfunded city worker pension funds on a “path to solvency.”.. in the four years since .. The pension funds are actually worse off. When Emanuel pushed through the tax hikes, the city worker retirement...

Without pension reform, progressive income tax amendment guarantees tax hikes on Illinois’ middle class. ( Full title). The current progressive income tax proposal would fail to pay down the state's unfunded liability while damaging Illinois' economy. On May 20, Democrats in the Illinois House Revenue & Finance Committee approved Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s prized progressive tax constitutional amendment. While the Senate had previously passed a new income tax structure – already different from the governor’s original proposal – the House Committee also passed the amendment without putting in income tax rates. ... progressive tax proponents need to face that without pension...

Insurgent Democrat presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg acknowledged at the Fox News town hall in Claremont, New Hampshire Sunday evening that he needs to do more to appeal to "black and brown" voters, even as he confidently parried a series of policy questions -- and, on several occasions, went directly after President Trump. Buttigieg argued that minority voters are "skeptical of people who seem to come out of nowhere," after moderator Chris Wallace noted that he was polling at one-percent support among nonwhite primary voters according to a recent Fox News poll. On fiscal policy, Buttigieg pushed for four distinct tax...

More than 100 House Democrats -- nearly half of the new majority -- have signed on to a new single-payer healthcare bill that supporters describe as "battle ready." If by "battle ready," they mean, "extremely controversial, deeply politically risky, and totally bereft of any acknowledgement of the proposal's eye-poppingly exorbitant costs," they're undoubtedly correct. Politico's story on the legislation is full of extraordinary tidbits and quotes. Here are some of the most important facts we've learned: (1) The bill "doesn’t include a price tag or specific proposals for financing the new system, which analysts estimate would cost tens of trillions...

For decades, conservatives have not been welcomed in the Democratic Party. Today, neither moderates nor mainstream liberals have a home in the party. It has been captured by an extreme band of far-left activists who espouse very progressive as well as dangerous socialist policies. This sprint to the left has intensified in recent months on a range of issues of critical importance to the American people. In Congress, the main spokespeople for the Democratic Party are progressive superstars like 29-year-old U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who espouses a “Green New Deal” and a 70% income tax rate. Not to be...