Free Republic

Full Title: New "White Privilege Tax" for all White People Supported by Minorities in Shocking Racism Experiment In a shocking experiment, media analyst Mark Dice asks minorities in San Diego, California to sign a petition to support adding a "White Privilege Tax" on the income of all white Americans to help fund social programs for minority communities to offset Caucasians' supposed "white privilege." The results are disturbing. Email Mark@MarkDice.com for interview requests. *SUBSCRIBE* for NEW enlightening videos DAILY. Let everyone know what you think by sounding off in the comments section, give this video a thumbs up if you liked...

More than 200,000 Germans formally left the Catholic Church in 2014, accelerating the downward trend in the Catholic proportion of the country’s population. Germans who are officially enrolled in congregation are subject to a “church tax,” and so disaffected Catholics have an incentive to drop their registration, rather than simply stop attending Mass. The number of Catholics taking that step has increased sharply in recent years. In 2013, 178,805 Catholics formally dropped off the parish rolls in Germany. In 2014 that figure jumped by 22%, to 217,716, according to official statistic released by the German bishops’ conference.

Millions flock to the Southern California coast each year, often renting a cottage or condo for a respite by the sea. But the explosive growth of online travel booking sites in recent years has prompted several coastal cities to consider tightening regulations on those who rent out their homes for short stays. While proponents of the short-term rental industry say the additional income often is vital to property owners’ livelihoods and the local economy, city leaders and neighbors want greater oversight to protect residential neighborhoods, tax revenue and the availability of housing amid a booming industry. Santa Monica, Laguna Beach,...

President Reagan had a gift for proving his critics wrong. Almost none of the leading economists of the late 1970s thought that his supply-side tax-cutting agenda, along with stable monetary policy and deregulation, could revive the U.S. economy. But the prosperity of the 1980s, with growth rates higher than 6 percent, proved the Gipper correct. An economics major from Eureka College understood our free-market system better than the so-called experts at Harvard, Yale and MIT. As the 2016 presidential campaigns gear up, Reagan’s policies are under assault again, this time even from some on the right. This new group, called...

City officials are pushing property-tax hikes, sales-tax hikes, and even a commuter tax and financial-transaction tax. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s wish for a $474 million sales-tax increase to help pay for the county’s growing pension debt has been granted. The hike pushes the sales-tax rate back up to 10.25 percent in Chicago – the same as it was when Preckwinkle took office in 2010. And that’s not the only new tax residents have to face. Preckwinkle is just the latest local leader to usher in a tax increase. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel created a new tax earlier this...

In her highly anticipated speech on the economy Monday, Hillary Clinton was heavy on rhetoric and short on specifics, promising to reveal her actual policy proposals in the weeks ahead. But this week, she also dropped a not-so-subtle hint about a big one. In a questionnaire for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which endorsed her this week, Clinton noted that the so-called “Cadillac tax” levied under Obamacare is one area she is “examining.” The Cadillac Tax is a surcharge on expensive health care plans. It’s a crucial provision of Obamacare, bringing in much-needed revenue and trying to curb the...

Cook County Board today cleared the way for President Toni Preckwinkle's plan to raise the county's sales tax a penny on the dollar, mostly for pensions. The action came when the board's Finance Committee, which includes all board members, voted 9 to 7 to 1 to send the $474 million a year tax hike to the full board, which will consider it later today. The key votes came from Commissioner Luis Arroyo, a Chicago Democrat who voted "yes," and suburban Republican Elizabeth Gorman, who cast a "present" ballot and who is widely rumored to soon be headed to a new,...

The IRS wants to know more about the income of one half of hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse. In a court filing, the government asked a judge Wednesday to enforce a summons against Joseph Utsler, better known by his stage name, Shaggy 2 Dope. Utsler's partner in Insane Clown Posse is Joseph Bruce, known as Violent J. Separately, they have been challenging the U.S. Justice Department over a 2011 report that described their fans, the Juggalos, as a "hybrid gang."

It is too early to tell how a recent round of tax hikes and a minimum wage increase will play out in Minnesota, a state where liberal and conservative forces have often swapped control and policies. But the state's experience may give pause to a crowded field of Republican presidential hopefuls who largely swear by tax cuts and small government as a recipe for prosperity. Judged by those standards this state on the Canadian border should be a train wreck in process. Instead, Democratic Governor Mark Dayton's Minnesota could become a touchstone in the national debate over how to bolster...

Economic populism is having a moment of celebrity these days. But so is economic gluttony. These conflicting impulses – equality versus liberty – have been in constant competition. For some, equality of opportunity and outcomes is the ultimate political value; for others, it is liberty, which is degraded when property rights are too restricted by taxation and regulation. There is a view in both parties that voters are in an egalitarian mood. I don’t buy it. The icon of economic gluttony in politics today is Donald Trump, however grotesque and trivial that may seem. Trump is doing well in the...

A Republican House member is introducing legislation to increase the federal gas tax by 10 cents-per-gallon to help pay for transportation projects across the nation. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.), would offset the gas tax increase with a $133 income tax credit that would be offered to drivers to minimize the impact of higher prices at the pump. Rice said in an interview with The Hill that his measure would not cost extra money but would give states "certainty" about the availability of federal transportation funding as a July 31 deadline for the expiration of the current...

MONTPELIER, VT -- All food and beverages sold through vending machines are now subject to Vermont's 9% meals and rooms tax, effective July 1. A 6% sales tax on sugary drinks is also in effect. The new levies are part of a tax package that lawmakers passed in May to raise a $30 million in new revenue. Lawmakers expect the sales tax on soft drinks to raise about $8 million a year, and applying the meals tax to vending machines to add about $1 million a year. Exempt from Vermont's sugary drink tax are products that contain milk, soy, rice...

Michigan paid out $245 million more than it collected in 2012 to nearly one-third of state income tax filers, which were the people who reported incomes of less than $16,000. At the other end, the state collected $1 billion from the fewer than 1 percent of households who reported earnings of $500,000 and above. The information is included in the tax return data recently published by the Michigan Department of Treasury. It sheds light on an ongoing debate about who pays the approximately $7 billion in annual state income tax collections. Of the 4.6 million people who filed state tax...

It won’t be long before Americans all across the country are celebrating our great national birthday. And we won’t do so quietly. “It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty,” John Adams, our second president, wrote of July 4. “It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” Indeed it should. I also frequently urge people to reread our founding charter, the Declaration of Independence, which...

Almost every option facing debt-drenched Greece is bad, but there is only one that will end this Greek tragedy for good. Let Greece go bankrupt. Then let this once-rich nation, hit the restart button to rebuild its economy. What I’m suggesting for Greece is what might be called the Detroit option. Put Greece under receivership and let these new authorities figure out how to manage the debt and decide who will take a haircut and how big. Pensioners, bondholders, welfare recipients, government workers, the International Monetary Fund, all will have to settle for less — maybe a lot less. It’s...

Even as Mayor Rahm Emanuel warns about a property tax hike of up to $250 million for the cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools, another big wave of increases likely is coming to rescue the pensions of police officers and firefighters. A massive payment due to those retirement plans next year could drive up Chicago property taxes by more than 30 percent, according to a Crain's analysis. And if the current logjam in Springfield continues, it could be a lot worse. Taxes on a $250,000 home would jump $224, assuming the city continues its current practice of using property taxes to fund...

Chicagoans who pay to stream movies and music from services like Netflix and Spotify will now need to fork over an additional 9 percent for the privilege, as will Chicago businesses that pay to use everything from real estate to court databases online, under a decision the city quietly made recently to expand its taxing power.. The added costs are the result of a ruling by the city Finance Department that extends the reach of ordinances governing two types of taxes — the city amusement tax and the city personal property lease transaction tax — to cover many products streamed...

Digital media companies and Chicagoans will now be slapped with a 9 percent “cloud tax” on streaming services, the Chicago Sun Times reported Wednesday. City officials aim to generate $12 million from the new tax. Collections will begin Sept. 1. “In an environment in which technologies and emerging industries evolve quickly, the city periodically issues rulings that clarify the application of existing laws to these technologies and industries,” mayoral spokeswoman Elizabeth Langsdorf said in a statement, the newspaper reported. Companies are already working to shift costs imposed by the “cloud tax” onto consumers. Entertainment website The Verge reported Wednesday that...

It’s a progressive paradise.Public employees get 30 vacation days a year. Anyone who works over eight hours in a day gets paid time-and-a-half. Employees have strong rights.The minimum wage is high: 77 percent of the median wage.Environmental regulations are settled beyond the pressure of local economic interests. The forests and mountains are pristine destinations for ecotourism.Energy costs are kept high, pushing consumption down to a level deemed “socially beneficial”. Utilities have strong public backing and provide jobs to thousands.Union jobs in shipping are protected from outsourcing to cut-rate foreign competitors.The social safety net is buoyant and provides a solid working-class standard...

Chicago officials are taking an aggressive new tax approach. Consumers will now have to pay 9% on Netflix, Amazon Web Services and more. Chicago is marking Independence Day this year with fireworks, hot dogs – and sweeping new tax rules that require companies to collect a 9% levy every time consumers use streaming and cloud services such as Netflix or Amazon Web Services. The rules, which went into effect today, came about after city officials expanded the interpretation of existing amusement and property lease taxes to encompass cloud-based technologies. According to lawyers at ReedSmith, which flagged the new rules in a blog post,...