Free Republic

The fiscal cliff deal handed Democrats a tax victory years in the making, but it also means the party will need a new playbook for the budget battles that lie ahead. That’s because many Democrats readily acknowledge that they’ve exhausted their ability to raise taxes on the richest Americans by jacking up their rates. The historic tax agreement passed by Congress this week raises rates on top earners from 35 percent to 39.6 percent. Meanwhile, provisions from the 2010 health care law kicked in Jan. 1, increasing rates on investment income from 15 percent to almost 24 percent for the...

Like most people, I’m a sucker for a heartwarming story around the holidays. Sometimes, you get that nice feeling when good things happen to good people, like you find at the end of a classic movie like “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But since I’m a bit of a curmudgeon, I also feel all warm and fuzzy when bad things happen to bad people. That’s why I always smile when I read stories about taxpayers moving across borders, thus preventing greedy tax-hiking politicians from collecting more revenue. “Where’s our tax revenue?!?” I’m glad when that happens to French politicians. I’m glad...

In times past, political leaders would lay out their domestic and foreign policies in clear, coherent terms. President Obama talks about getting our fiscal house in order but fails to propose any meaningful spending cuts. His proposals to increase the tax rate on the top 2 percent of taxpayers would fund the government for eight days, assuming no behavioral change by those whose feathers are being plucked. In the real world, we know people will spend a great deal of time and effort to avoid paying high marginal tax rates. In high tax states such as California and New York,...

Amid the ongoing “fiscal cliff” battle, a popular argument about tax revenues has been reintroduced by Republican-leaning commentators. Eager to disarm facile Democratic proposals meant to erase federal deficits through higher tax rates levied on top earners, conservative pundits have published voluminous commentary and stats showing that income tax increases on the rich don’t produce the revenues desired. In USA Today, Michael Medved wrote that “The problem with this odd wave of high tax nostalgia is that it ignores one crucial fact about the Eisenhower era: Higher tax rates on a few wealthy taxpayers didn’t produce higher revenues.” Writing in...

It’s Magic!- By: Larry Walker, II -The current 2012 Tax Rate Schedule is shown below. Applying the Obama-Doctrine, single filers making over $200,000, and married filers making over $250,000 would get a tax hike. However, since there is no cut-off at either $200,000 or $250,000 in the current tax rate schedule, the 33% bracket would need to be split, resulting in a sharp tax increase for a handful of unfortunate individuals. Thus, taxpayers with taxable incomes between $200,000 ($250,000 if married) and $388,350 would see their taxes rise by 20%, while those with incomes over $388,350 would get that plus...

Here's Why Google Could Disappear in Five Years: Pro Published: Friday, 19 Oct 2012 | 12:25 PM ET By: Cadie Thompson Technology Editor, CNBC.com Google may be on its way out as the dominant player in search, according to one analyst — and could even "disappear" in as little as five to eight years if the competitive pressures that ultimately claimed other search giants start to take root. In the wake of a surprisingly weak earnings report, Eric Jackson, Ironfire capital founder and managing member, said Google Google [GOOG 681.79 -13.21 (-1.9%) ] could easily find itself fending off the...

Republicans need to challenge and layout the truth of the Reagan Bush tax cut policies. Ryan is jut the man to do it. They have to explain that Government Revenues rose after these tax cuts, which is the exact purpose of taxes to drive government revenue (not to worry about percentages people pay but the real dollars that are driven into the government revenue. They have to then explain that spending more than those revenues is what drove the debt up. Finally give an example to disprove increasing tax rates raises more revenue by using the state of Maryland Millionaire...

When you compare the 50 laboratories of democracy after sorting them based on how their citizens voted in November 2008, only 10 Democratic-voting states are net recipients of federal subsidies, as opposed to 22 Republican states. Only one red state (Texas) is a net payer of federal taxes, as opposed to 16 blue states. One blue state (Rhode Island) pays as much as it gets.

We really don’t know what the optimum tax rate would be that maintains revenues at 18-20% of GDP while allowing for maximum GDP growth, but we do know that economic growth is good for everyone and as the economy grows, tax revenues grow automatically. Ideally, our leaders in Washington would try to figure out the optimum tax structure to generate revenues at 18-20% of GDP while stimulating economic growth. Once that level is determined, I believe they should set the rate and forget it. Unfortunately, tinkering with the tax code seems to be irresistible to almost all politicians. In addition,...

State Controller John Chaing continues to uphold the California Great Seal Motto of “Eureka”, i.e., 'I have found it'. But what Chaing is finding as Controller is that California’s economy as measured by tax revenues is still tanking. Compared to last year, State tax collections for February shriveled by $1.2 billion or 22%. The deterioration is more than double the shocking $535 million reported decline for last month. The cumulative fiscal year decline is $6.1 billion or down 11% versus this period in 2011. (snip) California politicians seem delusional in their continued delusion that high taxes have not savaged

Great Britain has instituted a 50 pence tax assessment on incomes and it failed to generate the expected revenue.Duh.Telegraph: The Treasury received £10.35 billion in income tax payments from those paying by self-assessment last month, a drop of £509 million compared with January 2011. Most other taxes produced higher revenues over the same period.Senior sources said that the first official figures indicated that there had been "manoeuvring" by well-off Britons to avoid the new higher rate. The figures will add to pressure on the Coalition to drop the levy amid fears it is forcing entrepreneurs to relocate abroad.The self-assessment...

Mexico's leader sees potential in progress of Petrobras Guillermo Najera, a 42-year-old machine operator at Mexican state-controlled oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, gets paid to do nothing all day. Pemex management can't fire the union worker or transfer him from the ammonia plant in Ciudad Camargo, where he still shows up for work even though the plant stopped production in 2002. "We don't have anything else to do except keep our areas clean," Najera says as he and dozens of other idle workers enter the gates of the plant for the 7 a.m. shift. "I want to go back to work."...

The City of Plano and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital are expected to approve an agreement that would let the hospital sponsor four city recreation centers. It's a new and innovative way for the city to collect revenue at a time when budget shortfalls have become common. Once the deal is approved, the hospital's logo will be on the upstairs jogging track. Signs will be placed on walls that are now bare, and also on outside monuments.

A neurosurgeon, vetted by Levin's staff, calls Mark and talks about what he knows about Obamacare Death Panels. From 11/22/11

Republicans offered a debt reduction blueprint that includes meaningful tax reform, needed spending cuts, and at least $300 Billion in increased federal revenue -- the piece of the puzzle the Left relentlessly focuses on. Yet Democrats just aren't interested:

I’m a day late on this but it’s too intriguing not to blog. You can read the actual letter, which is exceedingly tame, on Mike Simpson’s website. Among the signatories: …Ron Paul. The bad news? If this happens, some people might be paying a little more. The good news? We’ll never have to read another “time for a grand bargain” column from Tom Friedman again. Dude, I think we should take the deal. A group of 40 House Republicans for the first time Wednesday encouraged Congress’s deficit reduction committee to explore new revenue as part of a broad deal that...

Two interrelated issues confront the taxpayers: The insolvency of the federal government and its seemingly never-ending barriers against the production and distribution of affordable energy. The assertion that the United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population but consumes 26 percent of its energy fails to mention that the U.S. produces 26 percent of the world's industrial output. Another contrived assault against expanded domestic oil production is that the U.S. has only 3 percent of the world's oil reserves. This number is questionable, especially since the federal government either has made it illegal to explore for oil...

Last year, as a debate over the runaway national debt gathered steam in Washington, Social Security passed a treacherous milestone. It went “cash negative.” For most of its 75-year history, the program had paid its own way through a dedicated stream of payroll taxes, even generating huge surpluses for the past two decades. But in 2010, under the strain of a recession that caused tax revenue to plummet, the cost of benefits outstripped tax collections for the first time since the early 1980s. Now, Social Security is sucking money out of the Treasury. This year, it will add a projected...

Remember when President Obama was a U.S. Senator talking about how raising taxes is about "fairness?" We do. In the following clip, Charlie Gibson explains how history shows lowering the capital gains tax actually increases government revenue. Gibson asks Obama, with the facts showing lower tax rates actually increase revenue, why raise the capital gains tax at all? Then Senator Obama responds by saying raising taxes is about fairness. http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2011/07/15/flashback_obama_says_raising_taxes_not_about_revenue_but_about_fairness

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, hit the two leading Republican presidential candidates this morning - one for spending issues and the other on his much-discussed tax plan. Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., "thinks there's some sort of virtue in not criticizing Bush's [big spending] mistakes," Norquist said. Romney could correct that mistake, but Norquist was even less sanguine about Cain's 9-9-9 plan. "Having three taxes, all of which can grow - it's like having three needles in your arm taking blood out, it's much more dangerous than having one," Norquist explained. Norquist praised Cain for trying to...