Free Republic

Billionaire investor and longtime Donald Trump supporter Carl Icahn announced he is launching a $150 million super PAC to revise corporate tax law. Trump has indicated Icahn may be his choice for Treasury secretary should he win his bid for president. Icahn, in a letter to House and Senate leaders, said he wants Congress to pass legislation that will stop U.S. companies from moving profits overseas for lower tax rates, formally known as corporate tax inversions. He said lawmakers must be "accountable for the current gridlock in Congress that prevents important legislation from being passed." "In the last few years...

A recent New York Times headline read, "Raising Taxes on the Wealthiest Would Pay for Bold Plans." The story says that by soaking the rich "the government could raise large amounts of revenue ... while still allowing them to take home a majority of their income." Nowhere in the story, nor in the endless promises of Democratic presidential candidates, is there a single word about whether more government spending will produce the promised outcomes. We are to take this on faith, despite past performance being a good indicator of future results. Also absent is any expectation that individuals have more...

<p>Crime is back up in California. Los Angeles reported a 20.6 percent increase in violent crimes over the first half of 2015 and nearly an 11 percent increase in property crimes.</p> <p>Last year, cash-strapped California taxpayers voted for Proposition 47, which so far has let thousands of convicted criminals go free from prison and back onto the streets. Now the state may have to relearn what lawbreakers often do when let out of jail early.</p>

Placing Principles before PersonalitiesEvery time in this century we've lowered the tax rates across the board, on employment, on saving, investment and risk-taking in this economy, revenues went up, not down. ~ Jack Kemp:: By: Larry Walker, II ::Dr. Ben Carson doesn’t really have a tax plan at all, yet he’s number 2 in the polls among conservative Republicans. On the other hand, Donald Trump has a very detailed tax reduction plan. In a nutshell, Trump’s plan eliminates taxes on individuals making less than $25,000 and on couples making less than $50,000, lowers the top marginal rate to 25%, just...

At the recent televised debate among candidates for the Democrats’ nomination for president, Hillary Clinton declared that “the wealthy pay too little” in taxes and “the middle class pays too much.” Some people might wish to argue about whether that is true or not, but no rational argument can be made on either side of this issue, because the words used are completely undefined. Nor is Hillary Clinton the only one who talks this way. It is one of the many signs of the mindlessness of our times that all sorts of people declare that “the rich” are not paying...

At the recent televised debate among candidates for the Democrats' nomination for president, Hillary Clinton declared that "the wealthy pay too little" in taxes and "the middle class pays too much." Some people might wish to argue about whether that is true or not, but no rational argument can be made on either side of this issue, because the words used are completely undefined. Nor is Hillary Clinton the only one who talks this way. It is one of the many signs of the mindlessness of our times that all sorts of people declare that "the rich" are not paying...

Illinois property taxes are now so high that they are equivalent to a second mortgage, according to a new study from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, a Washington-based tax-research and -education center. The report, which shows the effective property-tax rates in each state, ranks Illinois as the second-highest property-tax state in the U.S. The top spot goes to New Jersey, where the effective property-tax rate is 2.38 percent, barely higher than Illinois’ 2.32 percent. ... An effective property-tax rate of 2.32 percent means that if a typical Illinois homebuyer purchases a home at age 30 and lives there until the age...

(CNN)—Hawaii is a place many go to kick back, relax and enjoy the good life. But for others, it's a land of struggle. That's why its governor on Friday signed an emergency proclamation to tackle homelessness in the state, saying the measure will help turn around the lives of young and old. "Homelessness remains a serious issue in every county throughout the state," Gov. David Ige said in a press release.Hawaii has an estimated 7,620 homeless people, said the governor's spokeswoman Cindy McMillan, citing a 2015 statewide count. This may not seem like much compared with other places -- to...

“Right now, the wealthy pay too little,” Hillary Rodham Clinton said at this week’s Democratic debate in Las Vegas, “and the middle class pays too much.” But what could a tax-the-rich plan actually achieve? As it turns out, quite a lot, experts say. Given the gains that have flowed to those at the tip of the income pyramid in recent decades, several economists have been making the case that the government could raise large amounts of revenue exclusively from this small group, while still allowing them to take home a majority of their income. It is “absurd” to argue that...

Four percent, guys. To put that in perspective, Scott Walker was still pulling five percent in one poll released less than a week before he dropped out of the race.Every now and then, just for a fleeting moment or two, I put away my fatalism and consider that maybe the Republican establishment can’t nominate anyone it wants. And then the moment passes and I return to reality.As for Trump, there’s been a raging debate for the past three months between people who think his surge is due to a cocktail of populism, “white identity politics,” and sheer alpha-male bravado...

Today, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who as of-late has gone relatively gaffe-free, uttered a phrase that may not go over too well with the constituency he seeks to reach. During an interview that was live-streamed on the app Periscope, Bush told New Hampshire’s The Union Leader that to grow the economy, “people should work longer hours.” He was answering a question about his plans for tax reform and responded: “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see. Which means we have to be a...

Jeb Bush says he released 33 years of tax returns this week because he wants to be the most transparent candidate to run for president in 2016. But if that’s really the case, why is he continuing to obfuscate some of his most lucrative and potentially controversial business dealings he had before announcing his candidacy, like his work as an “adviser” for investment bank Lehman Brothers? So, if Jeb won’t tell you what Jeb exactly did while working on Wall Street, in the interests of transparency and disclosure, I will try. Not much is known about what Bush actually did...

Record-breaking transparency. Jeb takes a swipe at Hillary by releasing 33 years of personal tax returns Don’t look now, but Jeb Bush’s campaign is about to set a record in terms of releasing tax information. This afternoon, Bush will release 33 years’ worth of personal income tax returns via his website. That’s more than any other would-be nominee ever - by a wide margin. Only Bob Dole and John Kerry came close to this total, and the Bush release will outpace both of them by double digits. As the AP reports: Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush plans to release 33...

June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, in a break with his party, said he could support tax increases to help reduce the federal government’s budget deficit. The brother of former President George W. Bush told a congressional panel in Washington today that he could back a theoretical deficit-reduction package that would include $1 in tax increases for every $10 in spending cuts. 1 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post More from PostPolitics Obama: From dove to tough guy Aaron Blake JUN 1 THE FIX | When it comes to foreign policy, Obama’s image is starting to look a...

“Irwin Schiff, imprisoned for his resistance to the federal income tax, died yesterday (10/16/2015). Efforts by his son, the noted financial commentator Peter Schiff, to secure his release from prison so that he could die with his family were unsuccessful. Schiff’s sad passing illustrates an essential truth about the state: if you resist its orders, you will be dealt with by force.” ************* Personal comment: R.I.P., Irwin. I sat at Irwin's table -- and snapped this photo -- at the Tupper Saussy pretrial rally in Chattanooga years ago. The man was a patriot and a fighter for justice while receiving...

Americans don’t much like the federal tax system, a recent Pew Research Center report finds. But it’s not, as you might imagine, because they think they pay too much. Rather, they think people other than themselves don’t pay their fair share.Some six-in-ten Americans in the Pew Research survey said they were bothered a lot by the feeling that “some wealthy people” and “some corporations” don’t pay their fair share. Only 27% cited their own tax bills as something that bothered them a lot, even though 40% thought they paid more than their fair share given what they get from...

Link only per agreement with Bloomberg

Nevada regulators have ordered daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel to shut down, saying they can't operate in the state without a gambling license. The decision comes amid growing backlash by investigators and regulators over the sites, which have grown in popularity in the past year. The sites insist they are skill-based games and not chance-based wagers, and are therefore not subject to gambling regulations.

Bush wants to cancel the deduction for state and local taxes. As the presidential candidates roll out tax reforms, one test of seriousness is which tax deductions they’ll cut. One of the better ideas is Jeb Bush’s proposal to end the deduction for state taxes. While liberals decry tax cuts for the rich, they adore this particular subsidy for the rich, and especially for rich states and the political class in Sacramento, Albany and Trenton. Since the creation of the federal income tax in 1913, taxpayers who itemize have been allowed to deduct the income and property taxes paid to...