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Archive for the Taxation Category

December 24 (December 24, 2012)

Posted in Bankruptcy, Banks and Banking System, Bernanke, Consumerism, Federal Reserve, Pogo Plight, Spending, Taxation on December 24, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

TV “You need a new car, you really smell bad and need to do something about it, you really, really need to sport an expensive watch and you really, really, really need to acquire expensive jewelry for the woman in your life or you are a total loser.”

. . .

LTR

Dear Billy,

I would like a regular 9 to 5 gig, a change of threads, a new straight razor and a short vacation.

Your friend,

Santa

P.S. – I’ve been nice.

P.P.S. – I don’t need a new ride, any cologne or a chronometer. Ms. C. does not need any jewelry. She says ‘hello.’

. . .

[See the FBI documents that reveal secret nationwide monitoring of the Occupy Wall Street effort at http://www.justiceonline.org/commentary/fbi-files-ows.html.]

[See the research paper by the Congressional Research Service titled “Taxes and the Economy: An Economic Analysis of the Top Tax Rates Since 1945” at http://graphics8.nytimes.com/news/business/0915taxesandeconomy.pdf.]

[See the “e-ssays” titled “Consume, Don’t Invest? (Nov. 9, 2009)” and Boxing Day (December 26, 2011).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Can I pay my Visa bill with my MasterCard?

Today is the 99 year anniversary of the creation of the Federal Reserve – a semi-quasi-proto-government-like being – not understood by 99.999999999 % of Americans. To his (and our) credit, Bernanke is sharing the assumptions and strategy more transparently and considering the unemployment level because Congress directed the Federal Reserve to consider the unemployment level in its decision making. To his (and our) detriment, he is subsidizing Wall Street with vast amounts of free money and saddling ‘Main Street’ with debt and creating unhealthy conditions for the economy in the intermediate term.

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“Romney – O’Bama Care” Wins 4 – 4 (July 2, 2012)

Posted in Health Care, Judges, Supreme Court, Taxation on July 2, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1 “To no one’s surprise, as head umpire, Justice Roberts called 78 strikes and retired 26 batters. Then, in the bottom of the ninth inning, he came out of left field, called four balls, and allowed the runner to advance home and win the game. Some vocal fans of the winning team who might have stormed the field were left non plussed because the decision did not add up. Roberts knows how to call a game. He knows that the season is young, the All Star game remains and the Division playoffs and World Series await. The game is not over. The game is just starting.”

C2 “Justices Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, and Scalia could have joined in Robert’s early calls and advanced their agenda. Should we laud him for protecting the integrity of the court, whatever that is today.”

C1 “Whatever that is. A generation ago, critics said that the Commerce Clause allowed anything not patently insane to pass constitutional muster. Just about everything that Congress does is a tax in some fashion. Thus, now is everything done by Congress that is not patently insane constitutionally copacetic.”

C2 “There should be some limits.”

C1 “Who cares about legal nuance. Laws are concocted on an Etch A Sketch®; the provisions are as pliable as Play-Doh®.”

C2 “Something isn’t right.”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

I seem to recall entering law school already thinking like a lawyer and exiting law school still thinking like a human being.

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September 17 – Constitution Day (September 19, 2011)

Posted in Congress, Constitution, Law, Taxation on September 19, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

A “We celebrate America’s Protest Poem on July 4 yet don’t celebrate adoption of America’s Owners Manual on September 17. Last Saturday was Constitution Day.”

B “After proclaiming ‘Enough’ and declaring their independence, they spent almost a dozen years debating ‘Now what?’ Must admit they did an admirable job admixing a little British brewed due process and rule of law with French fueled separation of powers. And providing for taxation with representation.”

A “The fellows endeavored to check and to balance interests, although some curmudgeons allege they advanced their financial interests to balance their checkbooks.”

B “They probably didn’t retreat from pursuing their financial interests. Even if they were motivated by mixed interests, the final product is workable and works. And is not a bad start. Limiting participation and protection to well-to-do white boys was not the best start, yet look at the plight of mankind to that point. Man was not very kind.”

A “Too many hucksters today are so certain they know what was happening then and what was meant by the founding fellows. Every Owners Manual is supplemented and modified over time as our understanding and insights grow and develop.”

B “Still contend we should celebrate with a bar-b-que and a few fireworks.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “One Gun Per White Adult Male? A Flintlock Musket? The “One Man, One Gun” Decision (October 4, 2010).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

The Founding Fathers were fans of taxation? Since when?

The Founding Fathers created a government rather than destroying one? Since when?

The Constitution was written by geniuses so that it could be interpreted by fools, but nothing commands that it be interpreted by fools.

“the greatest of all reflections on human nature.”

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A Taxing Explanation (August 22, 2011)

Posted in Pogo Plight, Taxation on August 22, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

R “We paid no taxes and ate one meal every three days.”

L “I like the no taxes part.”

R “We didn’t pay taxes because we didn’t have income.”

L “I don’t like the no income part.”

R “Then during the Eisenhower administration – he was a Republican – taxes were as high as ninety percent.”

L “Taxes shouldn’t be even ten percent.”

R “We paid beaucoup taxes and ate three meals every day.”

L “I don’t like the taxes part.”

R “An empty stomach can fill the brain. I learned a simple lesson in life. If you get to pay taxes, you get to eat.”

L “You WHAT?”

R “When I get up in the morning, my consuming ambition is to find a way to pay taxes so that I can break my fast.”

L “YOU WHAT?”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

YOU WHAT?

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Deducing And Deducting The Mortgage Interest Deduction (January 24, 2011)

Posted in Congress, Housing, Less Government Regulation Series, Pogo Plight, Society, Taxation on January 24, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

L “Decades ago, Congress made a very prudent and sage decision to eliminate the individual tax deduction for interest paid by taxpayers on consumer debt. An economy driven by unrestrained consumption did not need any additional government subsidy to drive it.”

M “No need to spray gasoline on a fire.”

L “Taxes fuel decisions. The deduction for mortgage interest remained but only for a residence not to support the acquisition of personal property. The real estate industry secured and protected that deduction. And you know what happened?”

M “Humans did what humans do. Acted like humans.”

L “They acted humanly rather than humanely. Citizens and consumers found a way to circumvent the law. They could not deduct the interest paid to consume goods and services, but they could deduct the interest paid to consume their chateau even if they actually used the funds to consume goods and services. They simply used their chateau as an ATM (automatic teller machine) to pay for the consumption of consumer goods and then deducted all of the interest on their taxes. How many really knew what they were doing. And yet, Americans of every creed and color, every region and religion circumvented the spirit if not the letter of the law.”

M “The dilemma is that the mortgage interest deduction may be one of the last tax deductions available to the middle class, if the middle class can afford to buy homes.”

L “Everyone would be better off without the deduction and most other deductions, exemptions and credits. However, if Congress eliminated the mortgage interest deduction, the amount of the standard deduction may need to rise for a few years and then fall to zero during the transition to avoid jarring economic dislocations.”

M “It’s not going to be easy.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

We have met the enemy, and boy oh boy is he ever you and me. Mr. Pogo.

If one minute of cautionary commentary had been ventured last year for every month of coverage of the assault on Gifford and others, events may have developed differently.

If we as a society diverted one percent of the funds spent on the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) airport monitoring to FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) airline maintenance monitoring, the skies would be 100 times safer.

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Chamber of Business Supports The “Terrorist Tax” (July 5, 2010)

Posted in Taxation, The "Terrorist Tax" on July 5, 2010 by e-commentary.org

The Chamber of Business announced this morning that it supports the proposed “Terrorist Tax.” Heathcliff Lucre, IV, noted at the press conference: “My bona fides are bona fide. I despise each and every tax and all taxes. The words ‘tax’ and “taxes’ are four-letter words in my book. My wife and I so despise taxes that we went out and got matching tattoos on our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary proclaiming: ‘Taxes Stink.’ The decision to support a twenty-five cent per gallon hike in the tax on gasoline every quarter was wrenching. Nonetheless, after a spirited debate, the Board moved and approved the decision to support the tax. The Terrorist Tax is the one tax that will raise much-needed revenue and also spur other positive private sector market-based initiatives. The tax is painful but necessary.”

Bumper stickers of the week:

My [gas hog] consumed the gas your Prius saved

Support the Terrorist Tax

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

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Less Government Regulation Series: Homebuyer Tax Credit (Oct. 26, 2009)

Posted in Automobiles/Automobile Industry, Housing, Less Government Regulation Series, Taxation on October 26, 2009 by e-commentary.org

A clunker of an idea. The Homebuyer Tax Credit is another terrible scheme. The government allows individuals to take an $8000 credit for the purchase of a home. The government should quit trying to implant everyone in a single family house and instead allow individuals to live in a structure they can afford. The mortgage interest tax deduction and the exemption from income of $250,000/$500,000 on the sale of a personal residence under defined circumstances should be rescinded. The real estate market must be allowed to settle down rather than being jump-started with federal money. Meddling is muddying the mess more.

And, once again, the deficit-loving Republicans are also behind this raid on the public fisc. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), a free-spending “socialist” from Georgia, is supporting the extension of the act.

Seems that the houses and cars are being sold to buyers who were already planning to acquire a house or a car anyway.

[See the “e-ssay” dated August 3, 2009 entitled “Less Government Regulation Series: The Terrorist Tax Again” discussing among other things the clunker program for cars.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Like giving steroids to a grandmother

Government Tax Credit: Get A Home Without It

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Less Government Regulation Series: The Terrorist Tax Again (August 3, 2009)

Posted in Automobiles/Automobile Industry, Energy, Gas/Fossil Fuel, Less Government Regulation Series, Taxation, The "Terrorist Tax" on August 3, 2009 by e-commentary.org

July, 2008: Gas: over $4 a gallon Toyota Prius Hybrid Car: $3000 over MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) and a line of buyers occupying the showroom.

July, 2009: Gas: under $3 a gallon Toyota Prius Hybrid Car: $3000 under MSRP and a flotilla of the cars littering the car lot.

The Volkswagen tdi (turbo diesel injected) cars followed the same price arc in response to the price of diesel.

The market should maintain its central role in American society. Embrace it. Taxing gasoline/diesel at a “quarter a quarter” per gallon contemplates a twenty-five cent ($.25) increase in the tax on fuel each financial quarter (90 days). [See the “e-ssay” dated December 18, 2006 entitled “Pass The ‘Terrorist Tax’”] As a compromise, raise the tax twenty-five cents a year every year. Any tax by its nature contracts the economy which in this situation is akin to the body politic sucking in its stomach a little.

Implementing the tax while the market price of fuel is low is timely and crucial. The market is ready. More Prius cars will be built without the government passing legislation requiring more Prius cars. More resources will be invested creating a more improved hybrid car or a new more efficient car without further government directives to create improved and new vehicles. Although not fundamentally a revenue-generating measure, the tax funds can fill the fisc and reduce the country’s dependence on Chinese money. So many other positive economic changes will result without any further government action.

O’Bama must deliver a speech on the proposal as compelling as his speeches in Philadelphia and Cairo. He can sell it. Writing the speech would be fun.

The Cars Allowance Rebate System (CARS), the “Cash for Clunkers” Program, is a short-sighted, expensive and misdirected use of government resources and misuse of public resources. Too much government money is being spent to spew vehicles on the road that require substantial resources to produce and consume substantial resources to use.

Bumper stickers of the week:

25 cents a quarter

Stop funding terrorists

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$4 in June, $5 in July, . . . . (May 26, 2008)

Posted in Economics, Taxation on May 26, 2008 by e-commentary.org

$4 a gallon in June, $5 in July, $6 in August . . . . or October? Speculators and hoarders may be distorting the market somewhat. The real problem, of course, is one of supply and demand, too little of the former and too much of the latter. Our global addiction is growing along with the number of new addicts. Citizens of the world are voting daily in the world’s global voting booths – the maternity wards of the planet. Those little mouths will consume their daily supply of unrefined bread and refined oil. They say that if the rest of the world consumes like a typical American (which they are and will), we will need to colonize three more planets. However, the last census concluded that there is only one planet. For over a third of a century, since at least 1973, the world has been on notice that oil is finite. Little has been done to reduce the luster of and lust for oil. Seems like the time to act?

Bumper stickers of the week:

Pass the Terrorist Tax

Check those tires

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Energy Policy In A Nutshell (March 31, 2008)

Posted in Energy, Taxation on March 31, 2008 by e-commentary.org

Energy policy is complex. A few general ideas.

1. Increase the tax on a gallon of gasoline by a quarter (25 cents) every quarter (3 months) for two years or longer to reduce American consumption, spur alternative energy options, and reduce transfer payments to many of America’s enemies. The revenue, a secondary concern, could be used in a market-efficient way to offset some of the painful economic impact of increased gas prices. Taxes should have been increased when oil was at $25 a barrel, yet action now is better than more delay. (Okay, this will never happen in the current political climate with prices already rising daily, yet one can dream.)

2. Appoint Amory B. Lovins as Secretary of Energy.

3. Release 70 percent of the employees at the Department of Energy.

Bumper stickers of the week:

Pass the Terrorist Tax

A Quarter Every Quarter

Keep your tires properly inflated

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Archive for the Taxation Category

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