Free Republic

As President Joe Biden visited Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, he called for an increase in taxes on the rich. “When I look at the economy, I don’t look at it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago,” Biden said during his speech. “I look at it through the eyes of Scranton.” Biden explained that he wanted to make the tax code fair, in order to allow regular American citizens to keep more money in their pockets. In an attempt to make the tax code fairer, Biden suggested a 25% minimum tax rate for billionaires, while slamming former President Donald Trump for being...

Donald Trump has outlined his plans for federal taxation should he be elected. "I will make the Trump tax cuts permanent. You know they expire in a year. And we will cut your taxes even more than that," he said in a speech in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 14, 2024. Trump made the direction clear. Lower. But President Biden has also made his plan clear: He wants to wallop Americans with a $5 trillion tax increase. Biden’s written plan calls for a small business tax hike, a corporate tax hike, a capital gains and dividends tax hike, income...

An equation to understand the current confusion: National debt = issuance of Treasury bonds = printing dollars (Q.E.), and increasing the supply of money = federal spending. Therefore, national debt = federal spending. It’s the principle of equivalency. All those who work for a living, and who make their own way, pay this debt. The recipients of this spending, like welfare and entitlement beneficiaries and federal subsidies like E.V. credits, ride on the effort of those who work. Corporations don’t pay debt; they increase the price of their products and pass it along to buyers. Bottom line: Every citizen bears...

Illegal immigration weighs heavily on the wallets of hardworking American taxpayers - to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars annually.Still, the Biden administration turns a blind eye to these fiscal strains, neglecting the toll on our economy, the structural integrity of our nation, and the safety of our citizens.Estimates suggest that illegal immigrants cost each household about $1,000, adding up to more than $120 billion a year.Sources such as Newsweek hint that the true cost may be even higher, possibly reaching $150 billion annually, an amount shared by both federal and state governments. In all actuality, the financial...

New Jersey residents will pay the most in lifetime taxes, and people in West Virginia will pay the least, according to a Self Financial study. Earlier this week WalletHub released a study that shows which states’ residents have the highest and lowest tax burden, measured as the proportion of total personal income that residents pay toward state and local taxes. Another study released this week, from credit-building platform Self Financial, analyzed the lifetime cost of tax in the U.S. The study looks at how much tax the average person is estimated to pay in each state throughout their lifetime. According...

About 2 1/2 years ago I wrote a post titled "California plans to kill the residential solar industry." At the time, I had just had solar panels installed on my roof to save money and within months California announced a new plan (Net Metering 3.0) that would have taxed me and anyone else who owned a rooftop solar system for owning the panels. I predicted that if this plan passed, California's rooftop solar industry would fall off a cliff.The result of Net Metering 3.0 is likely going to be the end of the residential solar industry in California. I have...

Texas Democrat Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett called for black Americans to be exempt from paying taxes when asked about reparations for slavery. The 43-year-old then went on to suggest it may not succeed because many poorer black people 'aren't really paying taxes in the first place'. Crockett, a liberal freshman in the House who has called Texas GOP Governor Greg Abbott's immigration policy 'insane' and that his new laws aim 'to kill people,' made the statement on 'The Black Lawyers Podcast' last week. When the host asked her about reparations - often on many far left politicians and activists wish lists...

The new "EV Tax" is the highest in the nation and will likely put the brakes on EV adoption in the Garden State. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With the stroke of a pen, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has unplugged the state's pro-electric-vehicle position, signing into law a new EV road tax that is the highest of its kind in the nation. Starting in July, New Jersey EV owners must pay an annual $250 road tax fee in an effort to offset the state's loss in fuel tax revenue. The new fee will increase by $10 each of the next four years until...

How Putin is selling Russians a bitter pill in sweet coating - NEW TAXES WILL BE FAIR FOR THE POOR! Half hour of monologue, rest will be Q&A with comments. Details of growing up in Russia, 1991 collapse of USSR, taxes in Russia and what it goes to in USSR.

"Never trust a man who lays his hand on his heart when he assures you of anything," goes the old axiom. That's why I never trust a Democrat who makes any promise ever about a federal agency or program. Take Medicare. In 1966 when Medicare began, it cost $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committee estimated that Medicare would cost about $12 billion by 1990. Instead, it cost $107 billion and today costs the government close to a trillion dollars.So when Joe Biden and the Democrats assured Americans and Republicans in Congress that the $80 billion the president wanted...

Two things keep the IRS out of most people's hair: the annual gift tax exclusion and the lifetime exclusion. Nerdy takeaways: * A gift tax is a tax owed on the transfer of money or property to another person while receiving nothing or less than full value in return. * The gift giver is the one who generally pays the tax, not the receiver. * If you give more than the annual gift tax limit, you may have to file a gift tax return, but this does not necessarily mean that you'll owe taxes on the gift. * The 2024...

Protests erupted across the country against the federal carbon tax on Monday — the same day it rose by 23 per cent — while Canada's only Liberal provincial leader pressed for an emergency meeting to discuss alternative ways to cut emissions. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey called for an emergency meeting of leaders throughout Canada, arguing the program is too costly for his province and doesn't work as intended. Instead, Furey is urging the federal government to make "bold investments" in infrastructure and incentives akin to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act...

The Vermont Legislature is advancing legislation requiring big fossil fuel companies pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme weather. “In order to remedy the problems created by washed out roads, downed electrical wires, damaged crops and repeated flooding, the largest fossil fuel entities that have contributed to climate change should also contribute to fixing the problem that they caused,” Sen. Nader Hashim, a Democrat from Windham County, said to Senate colleagues on Friday. It’s a polluter-pays model affecting companies engaged in the trade or business...

It was dark. It was early — 6:20 A.M., in fact. Seventy miles per hour — a bit over the speed limit, yes, but nothing unusual for a rural highway at that time of day. Or an interstate at any time of day, for that matter. And there she was, suddenly in the headlights, just...standing there. It all happened so very, very fast. I swerved, desperately attempting to miss her. I failed. I hit her at an angle, but still in the head and chest. At least I can rest easy knowing that she didn’t suffer. That doe died instantly,...

Colorado Democrats are pushing an 11 percent excise tax on gun and ammunition sales, as well as numerous other California-style gun controls. There is a public hearing on the excise tax proposal today, and Colorado Springs firearms instructor Ana Flanell is urging the public to rally against the tax. On Easter Sunday she posted to X: “Join me at the Capitol tomorrow to testify against this “sin” tax. Self-defense is our right and we should not be taxed an outrageous 11% to exercise our Second Amendment rights. I’ve included a screenshot below of what to select when signing up. Let’s...

Critics are blasting a "rain tax" Toronto is proposing to charge homeowners, Newsweek reported. City officials are proposing to hit homeowners with a "stormwater charge" according to how much their properties' water runoff would impact the storm sewer system, the magazine said, adding that it's an attempt to encourage citizens to keep grass and plants on their properties rather than paving outdoor square footage. Newsweek, citing Toronto city authorities, said the charge would be based on each property's hard surface area, including roofs, driveways, parking lots, and other concrete landscaping. "Stormwater is rain and melted snow. When not absorbed into...

Pesident Biden is pushing for trillions in tax hikes during an election year, despite experts warning it would reduce economic output and have other dire effects. It may be popular with the anti-corporate elements of potential voters, but tax experts say it's a mistake. "The tax increases would substantially increase marginal tax rates on investment, saving, and work, reducing economic output by 2.2 percent in the long run, wages by 1.6 percent, and employment by 788,000 full-time equivalent jobs," according to a recent Tax Foundation analysis. "On a gross basis, we estimate Biden’s FY 2025 budget would increase taxes by...

New York City officials are forecasting overdue property taxes will surge to a record $880 million in the current fiscal year — and they say it’s because they’ve lost the power to enforce punishments for delinquencies. The staggering figure — forecast for the fiscal year ending in June — marks a jump of more than 30% from three years ago, according to an offering document for a city general obligation bond sale Tuesday obtained by Bloomberg. “It’s not just the absolute dollar amount that I think should worry us all,” Preston Niblack, the city’s finance commissioner, said at a City...

My tax return is being held so the IRS can review it. The letter says they want to verify several things including “Itemized Deductions”! I use the standard deduction. I’m guessing it has to do with my voter registration as a republican. Anyone else experiencing this? Cheers!

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 18 states is calling on the Biden administration to terminate a taxpayer-funded tax filing preparation program, characterizing it as wasteful, unnecessary and flawed. In a letter Monday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel, 21 top financial officials from 18 states said the costs of the IRS Direct File program "far outweigh any potential benefits" and will create new issues for taxpayers and states, alike. In May 2023, Yellen ordered the IRS to move forward with the first-of-its-kind program, which is funded by the...