Free Republic

Yes, it is once again tax time. Chances are there have been a few grumblings this time a year in your home or one nearby concerning everyone’s favorite villain – the IRS. From the missing emails of Lois Lerner and using the tax system to target Tea Party protesters to ever increasing debt loads due to expanding government, crony capitalism and general rampant corruption, few if anyone beliefs the tax authority is a beneficial institution. PJ Media issued a three-part series – a Death by Taxes video panel hosted by Bill Whittle wherein he interviews the notorious tax reformer Grover...

Proposed Internet sales-tax legislation received a huge boost on Monday when the White House officially backed the bill, saying it would level the playing field among online and retail stores by ensuring that both pay sales taxes. “Today, while local small-business retailers follow the law and collect sales taxes from customers who make purchases in their stores, many big-business online and catalogue retailers do not collect the same taxes,” White House press secretary Jay Carney. “This puts local, neighborhood-based small businesses at a disadvantage to big, out-of-state, online companies.”Now, the Senate is scheduled to debate the Internet sales-tax legislation for...

President Obama seeks in his new budget to raise the estate tax, which was permanently lowered in the Jan. 1 “fiscal cliff” deal between the administration and congressional Republicans. Mr. Obama’s proposal would reinstitute the estate tax in 2018 at tax rates imposed in 2009, when about 3 in 1,000 people were subject to the tax. It would raise about $79 billion over 10 years. The plan would drop the per-person exemption to $3.5 million from $5.25 million this year, and raise the top tax rate to 45 percent from 40 percent.

WASHINGTON (CBS DC) – A public health proposal suggests that tobacco smokers should be required to apply and pay for a “smoker’s license” in order to continue buying cigarettes. In this week’s PLOS Medicine medical journal, two leading tobacco control advocates debate the merits of the smoker’s license. Simon Chapman, a professor at the University of Sydney, proposes that users would have to apply and pay for a mandatory license in the form of a smartcard that would be shown when buying cigarettes.

Why is it that those who work hardest to deny the connection of “economic” and “moral” issues are also the ones who use money to manipulate the moral lives of Americans?

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Friday he's "definitely undecided" on another run for the White House next year and is increasingly concerned Republicans will "Balkanize themselves" ahead of 2012. A day after the sparsely attended first debate of the GOP primary season, Huckabee said in an interview on Fox News that he had no regrets about missing the gathering and that he's still working toward a decision on 2012. "First of all, I've got to come to a place where I believe I should run, and I'm not there yet," Huckabee said. "My feeling is I'll be there by...

Cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong wants the tax on cigarettes in California raised from 87 cents per pack, to $1.87. Other tobacco products would also be taxed with an equally large increase. Mr. Armstrong is a co-founder of the California Cancer Research Act, proposed legislation estimated to generate over $800 million annually for cancer research, prevention, treament and education. Cancer survivor Don Perata is the bill’s sponsor. Perata was a California state legislator for four years ending in 2008, and currently is a lobbyist for a California prison guard union. Mr. Armstrong said, “The scale...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's tax package, the largest in California in nearly two decades, would affect everyone who buys goods, drives automobiles, plays golf, attends commercial sporting events or has a drink at the local watering hole. The governor has called his plan - billions of dollars in spending cuts along with $4.7 billion in new taxes during the current fiscal year and an additional $9.5 billion in taxes next year - a drastic measure that's desperately needed to address an estimated $24 billion revenue shortfall over the next two years. While most experts agree that raising taxes in a struggling...

AUSTIN — The state's new $5 surcharge for strip club visitors will not violate the clubs' First Amendment free speech rights, state officials argued in a court brief filed in advance of a court hearing. The new fee, which was approved this year by the Texas Legislature, is set to take effect on Jan. 1. It's expected to raise about $44 million to be dispersed for sexual assault prevention programs and health care for the uninsured. A state district judge was scheduled today to consider a request made by a group of strip clubs to delay the fee. The Texas...

Secret green tax blitz planned for cars, air travel and consumer goods By SIMON WALTERS, Mail on Sunday Secret plans for a multi-billion-pound package of stealth taxes on fuel, cars, air travel and consumer goods have been drawn up by the government to combat global warming. The proposals, leaked to The Mail on Sunday, show that the Government is considering introducing a raft of hard-hitting 'eco-taxes' that will have a devastating effect on the cost of living. Families with big cars could end up paying more than £1,000 a year extra in tax. And nearly every household in Britain will...

Sacramento -- Bleary-eyed lawmakers voted early today to put a $37 billion package of bonds intended to fix levees and build new highways and schools on the November ballot. "Today we made a giant step forward in terms of our commitment to the state's economy and in terms of strengthening our crumbling infrastructure," said Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. "We also showed what bipartisanship can look like." An attempt by the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to put a larger bond on the June ballot failed two months ago. Of the four bonds, transportation is the largest, at...

For the first time since 1972, the United States is planning to fly to the moon, but instead of a quick, Apollo-like visit, astronauts intend to build a permanent base and live there while they prepare what may be the most ambitious undertaking in history -- putting human beings on Mars. President Bush in 2004 announced to great fanfare plans to build a new spaceship, get back to the moon by 2020 and travel on to Mars after that. But, with NASA focused on designing a new spaceship and spending about 40 percent of its budget on the troubled space...

RICHMOND -- Virginia lawmakers are heading full speed toward a showdown over increased taxes for roads and public transit. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, is proposing a series of fee and tax increases that would raise $3.7 billion over four years. Meanwhile, the Senate has offered an even larger $4 billion plan that, among other things, raises the gasoline tax, while the tax-averse House is expected this week to propose legislation that would ease congestion without raising taxes.

There is no shortage of high-stakes political duels in California - especially those that pit Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger against Democrats and unions - but under odd circumstances, one potential collision was averted Thursday. The California Teachers Association suddenly dropped a ballot measure that would have levied billions of dollars in new property taxes on business to boost school spending. Publicly, the powerful union and other elements of the Education Coalition issued a torrent of sugary words with the business groups that would have spent tens of millions of dollars to defeat the pending "split roll" measure in next June's...

Last week, the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District voted to place yet another multi-billion bond measure on the ballot. This $3.8 billion proposal is, of course, on top of the $9.5 billion in bonds that have been approved since 1997, the most recent, less than 18 months ago. Of course these figures do not include interest on the bonds which nearly doubles the taxpayers' obligation. It will be very interesting to see if voters, once again, allow themselves to be fleeced. To put into perspective the magnitude of these multi-billion dollar bonds, all one has to do...