Free Republic

Governor Dayton wants to build billions of dollars worth of roads and bridges during the next 10 years, but he's not doing much bridge-building with House Republicans. At a news conference, he slammed their $750 million transportation plan that doesn't call for any new taxes. "The panel of experts I convened said there's a $6 billion shortfall over the next 10 years and their response yesterday was $200 million from the general fund and $550 million from la-la land," Dayton told reporters at a news conference Friday morning. Dayton also accused Republicans of not even wanting to solve the problem.

Democrats for over a century were associated with the American middle class. Working-class voters once believed that Democratic-inspired intervention into the economy – minimum-wage laws, overtime pay, Social Security, Medicare, workers’ compensation – protected their interests better than unfettered free-market capitalism. Republicans often had trouble selling the argument that an unleashed economy and new technology would relegate poverty to a relative, not absolute, condition – something like suffering with a cheap outdated iPhone 4 while the better-off afforded an iPhone 6. Why, then, have Democrats lost the working class – especially white, lower-middle-class voters? There are several obvious reasons. For...

One of the first agenda items on the to-do list for the new Congress is redefining the definition of full-time work under Obamacare's employer mandate, which goes into effect this year. Under the healthcare law, companies have cut hours in order to avoid reaching the Obamacare threshold requiring businesses to provide health insurance if they employ more than 50 full-time workers at 30-hours per week. As a result, the economy is seeing an substantial shift from full-time to part-time workers with fewer benefits as a result of the law. Republicans have long expressed the need to re-establish the definition of...

With the new calendar year upon us it is time to remind lawmakers about sound public policies. One overlooked area the new Legislature needs to take up is large, across-the-board tax cuts. Center analysts have recommended a personal income tax cut from 4.25 percent to at least 3.75 percent. There are four major reasons why a tax cut is necessary. First, the money legally confiscated from Michigan residents belongs to them, not Lansing politicians or their hangers-on. Second, the Legislature has owed us a tax cut since its members hiked personal income taxes by 11.5 percent in 2007. Third, other...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)The complicated process of signing up for Obamacare is now being matched by IRS instructions to help Americans figure out how much in healthcare taxes they owe Uncle Sam. The agency has issued 21 pages of instructions, complete with links to at least three long forms and nine tip sheets. It is geared to those who have Obamacare or who owe a fine, dubbed “shared responsibility payment,” for refusing to get health insurance. The IRS warned that everybody must have health insurance or pay the tax. “While the vast majority of tax filers — over three quarters — will just...

The President is set to announce plans to increase the welfare gravy train. This time he wants to make two years of community college free. The cost is unknown at this time though the administration acknowledges it would be significant. After spending $10,000 or more a year per student per year on mediocre government schools, Obama wants taxpayers to further fund mediocre community colleges. College tuition at four year schools has increased dramatically because of the influx of free money via student loans. The cost of “free” community college may be low today but once schools stop chasing students around...

Record-low gas prices across the U.S. have given rise to fresh talk in Washington of raising the federal gas tax for the first time in over 20 years, with leading Republicans now saying a hike must not be ruled out. The GOP has long resisted calls from business leaders and others to boost the 18.4 cent-per-gallon tax as a way pay for upgrades to the nationÂ’s crumbling roads and bridges. Yet in recent days, senior Senate Republicans have said they want to keep options open and that "nothing is off the table" when weighing the best mechanisms to pay to...

Wondering how Obamacare affects your tax return? Relax: You just need to know your NABPP and SLCSP from your SRP, MEC and ECN – and follow the IRS's 21 PAGE guide - Lengthy and impersonal 'Publication 5187' is now available as Americans grapple with Obamacare's impact on their annual tax returns - Includes 4-page glossary of terms and acronyms taxpayers need to understand because of the Affordable Care Act - Boiled down: Get medical insurance, prove you aren't required to, or pay a new tax - Some example scenarios in the IRS manual are more than 150 words long, use...

A renewed push by some Democrats for an increase in the federal gas tax to replenish the Highway Trust Fund drew a frosty reception Thursday from Speaker John A. Boehner — though the Ohio Republican stopped short of ruling the idea out. Both Boehner and the top-ranking Democrat in the House, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, were asked Thursday about an increase in the 18.4 cent-per-gallon federal gas tax after the National Republican Campaign Committee sought to make a gas tax increase a political liability for Democrats. “I’ve never voted to raise the gas tax. Funding the highway bill is critically...

Gov. Mark Dayton walked into unfriendly territory Wednesday to pitch his plan for a gas tax increase to fund transportation needs. Surrounded by business leaders at a Minnesota Chamber of Commerce dinner, Dayton reiterated his call to raise $6 billion over 10 years by applying the sales tax to gasoline and imposing a series of fee increases. But minutes before Dayton took the stage, a chamber leader repeated the position of the business group: Road work should be paid for without raising taxes and fees. "I know there are things about state government and my administration's policies that you don't...

If you're wondering why New York City police officers keep turning their back on Mayor Bill de Blasio, let's review parts of the mayor's recent speech on the Eric Garner case that have been removed from the "Official Website of the City of New York." De Blasio said: "I was at the White House the other day, and the president of the United States turned to me and he said that [De Blasio son] Dante reminded him of what he looked like as a teenager." Why does Obama think every black teenager looks like him? Does he think they all...

Storied Minnesota medical-device company Medtronic will move its headquarters to Ireland after shareholders approved a merger Tuesday with Dublin-based health care supplier Covidien. The controversial $43 billion "inversion" deal will allow the new company, to be called Medtronic PLC, to reduce its corporate tax liability as it repatriates cash stored overseas. But the deal has irked longtime Twin Cities shareholders, who will face significant capital gains taxes on their Medtronic holdings. In preliminary vote totals, shareholders representing about 75 percent of Medtronic's outstanding shares approved the deal, general counsel Brad Lerman announced to a special shareholder meeting in Minneapolis. And...

Effing the Middle Class:: By: Larry Walker II ::In Part 1, we voiced concern that in constitutional law sense, an excise tax is usually an event tax as opposed to a “state of being” tax, the recent exception to this principle being the "minimum essential coverage" tax under Internal Revenue Code section 5000A as enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111–148), whereby an indirect tax is imposed on the condition of not having purchased health insurance coverage.This is not the first time in history the United States has forced its middle class to pay a...

When prominent members of both political parties talk about the possibility of taxing fossil fuels – you know something serious has shifted in U.S. politics. On Monday morning, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, a largely pro-business Democrat, published a column in The Washington Post calling for the imposition of a carbon tax.

Everyone wants tax reform. At least we pay lip service to the idea that the U.S. economy would be better off with lower rates, a simpler code, and fewer loopholes. Yet something everyone claims to support has proved elusive time and again. Why? For starters, it's not clear that everyone's idea of tax reform is the same. Corporations want lower statutory rates; they are less enthusiastic when it comes to sacrificing their bought-and-paid-for tax breaks. Liberals want an even more progressive tax code, with higher rates on the wealthy. Conservatives want to reduce anything that looks, smells, or acts like...

In the latest blow to New Jersey, which is still staggering from the recession, Mercedes-Benz USA said on Tuesday that it would move its headquarters to Georgia from Montvale, N.J.

As 2014 draws to a close and the final few state legislatures still in session prepare to finally adjourn for the year, the ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform has again published State Tax Cut Roundup, which details the states that cut taxes in the 2014 legislative session. During the 2014 legislative session, 14 states passed significant tax cuts into law. These cuts vary in what tax they reduced and their size but they share one crucial similarity: they put more money into the pockets of taxpayers in their respective states. Those 14 states are detailed in the map below:...

Another day and another complaint by the IRS that they won’t have enough money to administer the tax code properly. Boohoo. Maybe they should have thought about that before Lois Lerner came before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and decided to invoke her right not to incriminate herself. Repeatedly. Its one thing when a Mafia don does that. But come on: The IRS? Or perhaps they should have thought of it before they lost the emails that they said died because of a hard drive failure. This time the crier for the IRS is CNNMoney, which complains that...

The new Congress will begin its session today. Conservatives will try to oust Speaker John Boehner and will fail badly in their efforts. From there the question is what direction is the new Republican Congress going to take things. The next 100 days are crucial for the Republican Party, which badly needs to show its capable of governing. It’s a given that President Obama will veto just about every bill Congress sends him. The key for Republicans will be passing bills the general public can support while making Obama look like an obstructionist in vetoing them. It’s easier said than...

If Michigan voters approve a proposed sales tax increase that will be on the ballot, it would give Michigan the second-highest state sales tax in the country, trailing only California. According to the Tax Foundation, California has the highest state-level tax rate at 7.5 percent. Five states (Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Tennessee) have the second-highest state sales tax at 7 percent. Michigan’s current sales tax is 6 percent. As part of a compromise made by the Michigan House and Senate, a deal was made to let voters decide May 5, 2015 if they want to increase the...