Free Republic

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear one of the most important tax cases in history, which could either greenlight the constitutionality of an economically disastrous wealth tax, or destroy critical parts of the U.S. tax system. Unless the justices take a middle road and define the 16th Amendment according to the history and traditions of the U.S. tax system, the case will result in bad law and worse outcomes. The case (Moore v. United States) concerns the constitutionality of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA). The act imposed a mandatory repatriation tax on pre-2018 profits that companies...

Chairman & CEO Chuck Robbins on repatriation: "It was 100 percent the tax reform impact that enabled us to bring back $67 billion, which we've completed."https://twitter.com/FoxBusiness/status/999163012274630657

New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that a coalition of East Coast states will sue the federal government over the Trump-signed tax overhaul, in the latest bid to undermine the law that Republicans have cheered. The states -- New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- appear to be taking aim at a provision that limits residents' state and local tax deduction (SALT) to $10,000. While the law contains sweeping tax rate cuts for businesses and individuals, taxpayers in high-tax states like those in the Northeast are expected to take a hit from the SALT change. Cuomo called it...

A group of 44 conservative leaders have sent a letter to all members of Congress that might be called a conservative wake-up call. The group represents, through their various organizations, a broad array of conservative concerns. But they boil it all down to three areas that all agree need immediate legislative action. Tax reform, which currently is in the pipeline, bolstering our defense budget, and getting the federal budget in order through fiscal restraint. The point these conservatives wish to drive home to Congress is that Donald Trump's election in 2016 was not just an anti-establishment vote. It was a...

The GOP are honing in on a legislative victory at last. Republicans are learning their lessons from the healthcare fight. They need a unified plan to achieve real, lasting tax reform. It has been a struggle just to get this far though. The September 27 tax framework released by the White House and GOP leaders included some clear goals, such as setting a corporate tax rate of 20 percent and cutting tax rates on businesses and individuals. However, it failed to offer answers to some looming questions, like where to set income brackets or which corporate tax breaks should be...

House Republicans on Thursday narrowly adopted the Senate’s version of the 2018 budget resolution, overcoming a key hurdle for the party’s tax-reform plan. The budget will allow Republicans to pass a tax overhaul that adds up to $1.5 trillion to the deficit through a process known as reconciliation, which only requires 51 votes to pass in the Senate. Twenty Republicans voted against the budget in the 216-212 vote, more than the 18 who voted against the original House version earlier this month. Most of the 20 defectors were centrists hailing from populous states that could stand to lose from eliminating...

Tax reform is now the order of the day. Congressional Republicans have been eager all year to rewrite the tax code. Slashing and simplifying taxes is, they believe, the straw that stirs our economic drink. Get this right, they say, and America will enter a new golden age of fast growth. This might well be true. But the details of their tax proposal will pose many political problems for the GOP. Too many provisions give the impression that the party cares more about helping the well-off than about aiding average Americans and their families. This is because the plan’s immediate...

Proposals floating around Washington to cap the amount that Americans can contribute before taxes to 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts are unsettling professionals in the retirement industry. Republicans are looking for ways to generate revenue to support broad reductions in individual tax rates. One idea is to limit the amount of pretax money households can sock away for retirement saving. Such a move would likely generate significant political blowback but it hasn’t been explicitly ruled out, stirring worry among industry lobbyists.

Proposals floating around Washington to cap the amount that Americans can contribute before taxes to 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts are unsettling professionals in the retirement industry. Republicans are looking for ways to generate revenue to support broad reductions in individual tax rates. One idea is to limit the amount of pretax money households can sock away for retirement saving. Such a move would likely generate significant political blowback but it hasn’t been explicitly ruled out, stirring worry among industry lobbyists.

Politicians exploit public ignorance. Few areas of public ignorance provide as many opportunities for political demagoguery as taxation. Today some politicians argue that the rich must pay their fair share and label the proposed changes in tax law as tax cuts for the rich. Let’s look at who pays what, with an eye toward attempting to answer this question: Are the rich paying their fair share? According to the latest IRS data, the payment of income taxes is as follows. The top 1 percent of income earners, those having an adjusted annual gross income of $480,930 or higher, pay about...

Politicians exploit public ignorance. Few areas of public ignorance provide as many opportunities for political demagoguery as taxation. Today some politicians argue that the rich must pay their fair share and label the proposed changes in tax law as tax cuts for the rich. Let's look at who pays what, with an eye toward attempting to answer this question: Are the rich paying their fair share?According to the latest IRS data, the payment of income taxes is as follows. The top 1 percent of income earners, those having an adjusted annual gross income of $480,930 or higher, pay about...

It’s a specter that should stalk the nightmares of Republican leaders: a Senate chamber, packed on Christmas Eve, as lawmakers gather to decide the fate of a tax package that will shape the GOP’s political fortunes. The bill remains one vote shy, and then Sen. John McCain walks in, pauses before the desk, and delivers his second thumbs-down dagger of the year. For that reason, the Arizona Republican, who is fighting a public battle with brain cancer, will be among his party’s most closely watched as the year winds down and the tax debate gears up. Yet over his decades...

To cut taxes on businesses, middle-class families and the wealthy, President Donald Trump’s tax plan relies on the elimination of key deductions that cost the federal Treasury many billions of dollars each year. Getting rid of those giveaways, in theory, will provide new federal revenue that will help offset the revenue loss that will come from lowering rates. In principle, tax experts support the idea of a cleaner tax code with lower rates and fewer ways for people to reduce what they owe. But tax breaks tend to be popular and notoriously hard to roll back once they’re in place....

RUSH: The earned income tax credit. I did some checking during the break. I can’t find anything on it. It’s not mentioned. USA Today says that it remains but is untouched. But other sources… The Washington Post says that top Republican officials haven’t decided to do with earned income tax credit. Do you know what that is, folks? The earned income tax credit is a way of assuming poor people earn money. You just assume they earn money and the amount is based on a formula, “the earned income.” And then they get a credit on what their taxes would...

President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, said today that he can't guarantee that taxes won't go up for some middle-class families under the administration's sweeping tax overhaul. "There's an exception to every rule," Cohn told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview on "Good Morning America." "I can't guarantee anything," said Cohn, the director of the White House Economic Council. "You can always find a unique family somewhere." He said Trump's plan is "purely aimed at middle-class families." But Cohn acknowledged that "it depends which state you live in." "A typical family of four earning $55,000...

A Republican-sponsored tax reform plan (PDF) unveiled Wednesday could reduce federal income taxes for many Americans, though the details are sketchy on who would benefit most and who would pay more. The "Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code," released by the Senate Finance Committee, reduces the number of tax rates to three, nearly doubles the standard deduction, and makes more people eligible for child- and adult-care tax credits.It also eliminates most other deductions, including those for state and local income taxes, but keeps deductions for mortgage interest and charitable contributions. The plan also eliminates the alternative minimum tax, or...

Congressional Republicans on Wednesday unveiled the framework for their long-awaited tax-reform plan, which simplifies the tax system and cuts rates for businesses -- while attempting to boost household incomes by nearly doubling the standard IRS deduction used by most Americans. “Today, we move one step closer to fixing our broken tax code," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said. "This is our best opportunity in a generation to deliver real middle-class tax relief, create jobs here at home, and fuel unprecedented economic growth.” The framework plan calls for increasing the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for families, which...

Matt Drudge trashed the new tax reform proposal by congressional Republicans as a plan no different than something Democrats might have designed."First keep Obamacare, now raise taxes on top earners?" the founder and editor of the influential Drudge Report wrote on Twitter, referring to a reported "surchage" in the plan for the wealthiest earners. "At least illusion there is difference between parties is finished once and for all!"In another tweet, he said, "Big winner if they pass it: No income tax states. Nashville and Austin will be as crowded as Manhattan..."The bill was pitched by Republican leaders as an overall...

Drudge rips Trump tax plan: Difference between Dems and GOP is an 'illusion' By Josh Delk - 09/27/17 12:16 PM EDT The Drudge Report's Matt Drudge sent out a rare tweet Wednesday morning criticizing the GOP for making concessions to Democrats on taxes and health care, saying there is no longer an "illusion" of difference between the two major parties. "First keep Obamacare, now raise taxes on top earners? At least illusion there is difference between parties is finished once and for all!" Drudge said, taking aim at proposals in the new GOP tax plan. The website also led with...

President Trump will release a sweeping plan Wednesday to cut taxes and simplify the tax code that will eliminate the deduction for state and local taxes — a move that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has warned would be a “death blow” for New York.