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MOUNTAIN VIEW — Plans for a “Google headcount tax” moved ahead Wednesday in Mountain View after a municipal panel recommended that the full city council approve the proposal. A three-member subcommittee of the Mountain View City Council endorsed the concept on Wednesday of a tax on the number of workers a company employs within the city limits, although government officials refer to it formally as a “restructuring” of the business license tax. The Mountain View City Council is scheduled to meet June 5 to make a final decision on whether it will order the city staff to prepare a ballot...

EATTLE -- People who own a home in King County are paying about 17% more in property taxes this year than last year to help pay for the state’s funding of public education. But come November, Seattle leaders will be asking voters to approve a bit more of an increase for city dwellers. City Council members say while the state funding property tax hike pays for basic education, the levy they want to be renewed will be an extra investment to ensure that kids from preschool to high school will have what it takes to succeed.

Bruce Kendall said Monday his phone at the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County has been ringing steadily since last week's vote by the Seattle City Council to tax big businesses $275 per employee. "I've received inquiries over the last week from companies that have indicated they are exploring options for locations in Pierce County," Kendall said. "And they are telling me that's why they are calling me, because the head tax passed. Now companies have another reason to call: A $275 tax credit per employee for new, family-wage jobs. "Note the value, it's not random," tweeted state Rep. J.T....

In a shortsighted effort to fight homelessness, Seattle’s city council has approved a new employee “head tax” on companies based in the city. The policy pits growth and progress against each other in a zero-sum game that will do far more harm than good. The head tax is exactly what it sounds like: a straight levy of $0.14 per hour per employee—about $275 a year for a full-time worker—targeting every business in Seattle with revenues of $20 million or more. The proposal’s backers aim to raise around $48 million per year to fund various affordable housing initiatives in order to...

Hours after the Seattle City Council passed a head tax on the city’s largest businesses Monday, Amazon issued a statement in response. The online shopping giant is grateful that the city amended its head tax proposal to a lesser amount, but notes that it is wary of city leaders’ attitudes toward business. Amazon’s statement is attributed to Vice President Drew Herdener: "We are disappointed by today’s city council decision to introduce a tax on jobs. While we have resumed construction planning for Block 18, we remain very apprehensive about the future created by the council’s hostile approach and rhetoric toward...

The council approved a tax of $275 per employee, per year on for-profit companies that gross at least $20 million per year in the city — down from a $500-per-head tax Mayor Jenny Durkan had threatened to veto. The Seattle City Council voted unanimously Monday to adopt a new tax on the city’s largest employers to help address homelessness. The ordinance will impose a tax of $275 per employee, per year on for-profit companies that gross at least $20 million per year in the city — down from a $500-per-head tax that Mayor Jenny Durkan threatened to veto. -snip- The...

Laffer Curve strikes again: lower tax rates produced more revenue The results of last year's Trump tax cut are starting to roll in, and they should not be surprising to students of the Laffer Curve or readers of this blog. As I noted last October, not cutting taxes rates is boosting the deficit: Since early last year (February 2016, to be exact), when talk of tax cuts began to spread and politicians on both sides of the aisle began to agree that our corporate tax rate—the highest in the developing world—should be cut, revenues from corporate and individual income taxes...

Reaction to a proposed Seattle business tax for housing and homeless services jolted elected officials this week as flare-ups of opposition revealed deep frustration with the city’s handling of its homelessness crisis. If Seattle City Council members were surprised by the reaction — including a raucous town-hall meeting in Ballard and an unexpected protest by construction workers — the response of many residents and business owners seemed to be, what took you so long? “They’re hearing the whole story now,” said Erin Goodman, executive director of the Sodo Business Improvement Alliance, which is holding its own town hall on the...

Among the alleged asylum-seekers parked on the U.S. border is a contingent of Hondurans, allegedly fleeing persecution, poverty, crime, and oppression.  If that is the case, then why is the Honduran government helping them, driving them northward under orders given to the Honduran ambassador, who is helping and escorting them? Leaders of a caravan of Central American migrants traveling toward the United States through Mexico have repeatedly accused the Honduran government of corruption and with failing to address the poverty, crime and economic conditions forcing families to flee by the thousands. So it shocked some observers when the Honduran ambassador joined...

A poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University showed nearly three-quarters of those asked support a tax that “would be lower for lower-income taxpayers and higher for upper income taxpayers.” When asked if they would support a tax that “would result in single filers earning over $17,300 to pay more in taxes,” support drops to 14 percent. The Illinois Policy Institute asked that question in a poll in late March and early April. “We know we have to increase revenue to get our state out of it (economic trouble) and I believe this (progressive tax)...

Acting on President Trump’s demand that his cabinet secretaries gut Obama-era federal regulations, the Treasury Department on Tuesday said it has cut over 300 standing and proposed rules with a focus on the Internal Revenue Service. In a new 20-page report, Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin highlighted the elimination of 305 regulations, including those proposed, and the wiping away of 298 IRS “deadwood” rules. “Reducing unnecessary burdens will lead to increased economic growth, greater job creation, and a fundamentally stronger economy for our country,” said Mnuchin. “Regulatory reform is a key component of the president’s plan to make American businesses more...

There has been a vast, largely unheralded migration in the U.S. over the past decade. Not because of weather, or amenities. But because of taxes. Recently, Wallet Hub published a list of states ranked by their tax burden, based on property taxes, income taxes and sales taxes as a share of personal income. The five states that impose the biggest tax burden on their residents are, in order: New York, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont and Minnesota. The five states with the lowest tax rates: Alaska, Delaware, Tennessee, Florida and New Hampshire. Right away there are some obvious similarities between the groups....

As Californians are painfully aware, the Democrat Stronghold of Sacramento this year levied upon them an additional gasoline tax that soaks motorists for nearly twenty cents per gallon. Yes, on its face, it's "only" twelve cents per gallon, but nothing in Sacramento is as it appears. Democrats inserted language that alters the way that tax is calculated, and that little bit of typical Democrat chicanery accounts for the difference between what they say, and what drivers actually pay. As fewer Californians know, Reform California, with Carl DeMaio as Chairman, is leading the push to place an Initiative on the November...

Pass-Through Business Taxes Previous law: Businesses organized as sole proprietorships, LLCs and partnerships don’t pay corporate tax rates. Instead, the owners pay individual income taxes on their share of business income – they’re called pass-through business taxes. Those tax rates are the same as the individual income tax rates. New law: Business owners can take a 20 percent deduction on their pass-through business income, with limits for those earning above $157,500 (single) and $315,000 (married, filing jointly).

Perhaps you are one of the many Americans who are afraid of preparing their own income-tax returns. If so, let me offer these words of encouragement: You stupid idiot. I say this because doing your own taxes has never been easier, thanks to modern technology such as the telephone, the personal computer and the canned frozen margarita. Take me. I am not a so-called "Certified Public Accountant, " but I have been handling my own taxes for years, using a simple, three-step system: STEP ONE: One week before the April 15 tax deadline, I gather together all my financial records....

What is QBI for an independent consultant? Thanks in advance

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The cost of gas is up across the country, including in Maryland, and is inching toward the highest price in three years. Gas is going up about a penny every other day — 15 cents in the past month. “We’ll be paying the highest prices for this time of year since 2014,” said Christine Delise with AAA. Gas companies are changing over to a different summer blend. To do so, some refineries shut down, leading to the classic market principal of supply and demand. A tighter supply means they can demand more for your fuel. Demand is...

Immigrants who accept almost any form of welfare or public benefit, even popular tax deductions, could be denied legal U.S. residency under a proposal awaiting approval by the Trump administration, which is seeking to reduce the number of foreigners living in the United States. According to a draft of the proposal obtained by The Washington Post, immigration caseworkers would be required to consider a much broader range of factors when determining whether immigrants or their U.S.-citizen children are using public benefits or may be likely to do so. Current rules penalize immigrants who receive cash welfare payments, considering them a...

When does life begin for farm animals- Conception or Birth? Dairy cows and horses held more than 2 years qualify for special capital gains treatment when sold. While this might appear trivial, many dairy farmers are liquidating due to the low milk prices and selling off their entire herd resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds. Heifers less than two years old create a tax problem. The question is: "What is the acquisition date of cattle or horses born on your farm/ranch from your animals?" Conception or Birth? If it is conception you have an extra 9 months...

Gov. Phil Murphy is set Tuesday to unveil a state budget proposal -- his first -- that will include more than $1.5 billion in new revenue from taxes and closing loopholes, including a small spike in New Jersey's sales tax, NJ Advance Media has learned. The extra revenue would also come from a proposed millionaires tax, closing tax loopholes used by corporations, and a plan to legalize marijuana, according to multiple sources briefed on the budget.