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American and Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a rare structure called a nilometer in the ruins of the ancient city of Thmuis in Egypt’s Delta region. Likely constructed during the third century B.C., the nilometer was used for roughly a thousand years to calculate the water level of the river during the annual flooding of the Nile. Fewer than two dozen of the devices are known to exist. Before the completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1970, the Nile flooded the surrounding plains each year in late July or August. As the waters receded in September and October, they left...

Two-thirds of Americans do not have any taxable income. The most recent IRS data shows that Americans earning over $100,000 per year pay roughly 80% of all taxes in America. This means that roughly seven percent of our nation pays the overwhelming majority of everyone else's government expenses. I'm a big fan of the idea of a nationwide flat tax. But here's the problem: We already have a flat tax and an income tax. Almost every item we buy has a federal tax somehow levied on it. When you pay your cell phone bill you pay a universal access fee...

Report: Tesla Used Illegal Foreign Labor to Expand CA Plant by Chriss W. Street 17 May 2016Newport Beach, CA148 First Digital’s Bay Area News Group investigative reporters have accused Tesla Motors of employing foreign contract laborers at $5-per-hour, 10 hours a day, six days a week to expand its government-subsidized California auto plant. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy in loaned Tesla Motors $465 million to open a plant for its all-electric Model S vehicle. Despite the $1 billion traditional automakers were paying to build and equip new auto plants, Tesla acquired the bankrupt General Motors “New United Motor...

A report from the state House Fiscal Agency shows that there has been a steady decline in the number of police officers in Michigan, falling 15.4 percent from 1990 to 2015. The report does not go into why this is, but here’s one theory: Pension underfunding is crowding out government spending, including hiring decisions. Consider that the state police retirement system now costs between 57 percent and 63 percent of the Michigan State Police’s total payroll. It is not because the benefits are lavish. It is because the state is trying to pay for promises that it made in the...

“We don’t care who you are,” stated Koskinen, “Whether you go to church, or don’t go to church.” Koskinen explained audits occur when something pops up in your tax returns they find suspicious. It’s basically all about the numbers. Party or religious affiliation is not part of any IRS audit red flag, according to Koskinen.

Four men are facing trial this month accused of raping a woman on a student ferry trip between Stockholm and Finland, one in a series of alleged incidents on the so-called Baltic booze cruises. ... On Thursday four 19-year-old men were charged. According to the prosecutor no one else is believed to have been involved in the alleged aggravated rape. ... All Sweden-Finland ferry crossings give adult passengers the opportunity to purchase duty free alcohol, offering a huge discount for Nordic travellers used to some of the highest food and drink taxes in Europe. The incident is among several rapes...

The island’s troubles have their origin in an era of corporate tax incentives in the 1970s that exempted firms from paying federal taxes on profits earned in Puerto Rico. This was done to prevent tax-allergic American companies from setting up shop outside the country. Pharmaceutical, textile and electronics companies flocked to the island to spark a manufacturing boom that lasted for around two decades. In 1996, the American government, under the Clinton administration, started weaning Puerto Rico off these tax breaks to offset some of the country’s federal deficit. The largesse disappeared entirely in 2006 and its economy has suffered...

The Legacy Lives On! Mark’s Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation “Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.” --Mark Levin in Liberty and Tyranny Welcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811

There is an underappreciated level of both job creation and job loss constantly happening in Michigan. This can be seen in the most recent “job churn” figures covering July through September of 2015. During that quarter 195,118 jobs were created in Michigan, and 204,087 jobs disappeared according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is out of around 3.6 million Michigan jobs included in this particular federal database. Thus, about one out of every 18 Michigan jobs was newly created during this three month span, and another one out of 18 jobs disappeared. This remarkable “job churn” demonstrates why politicians’...

With state government drowning in red ink and some social service agencies on the verge of collapse, a group of rank-and-file lawmakers is pitching an income tax increase, spending cuts and borrowing as a jumping-off point to a larger budget deal...... ......Under the proposal, the state would bring in roughly $5.4 billion through a combination of tax increases. That includes raising the personal income tax rate from 3.75 percent to as much as 4.85 percent, expanding the sales tax to certain services and eliminating some corporate tax breaks.

Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate; now what's going to happen to us, with both a Senate and a House?" — Will Rogers Most Marylanders are wondering the same thing. This year, the liberal majority in the Senate and House launched a fiscal attack on Gov. Larry Hogan's efforts to balance the budget, reduce the deficit and cut taxes. Their goal: to handcuff Hogan and prevent him from doing the job we elected him to do. Fencing and mandated spending are the manacles Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Mike Busch are using. Here's how they work....

There are few things I dislike more than paying taxes. As Americans, a third of all your hard earned dollars is confiscated by the U.S. government. Most of us get to determine what we do with our money – but not when it comes to taxes. However, there is the argument that taxes are a function of our democratic system. Those taxes are the result of laws implemented by freely elected representatives. If anything, we — the voters — are as much to blame for the muddied tax codes as are the nitwit politicians we elect.

Donald Trump said on Sunday that taxes for the wealthy should go up but that his tax plans would likely be renegotiated with Congress should he win the U.S. presidency. "For the wealthy I think frankly it is going to go up and, you know what, it really should go up," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee told NBC's "Meet the Press." Trump said that he see his current tax plans, which would reduce taxes for the middle class and businesses and increase those for the wealthy, as a negotiating "floor" that may change in dealings with Congress. Latest News Update...

On Thursday, The Guardian published a report by Nellie Bowles in which Cupertino mayor Barry Chang went on a little bit of a rant against Apple, Cupertino's largest employer. Chang had some harsh words about the company spending $5 billion to build an office in his city, including, for example, that "Apple is not willing to pay a dime" and that "they abuse" the city of Cupertino.Apple says that it pays tens of millions of dollars annually in property tax to Cupertino, and that it is the biggest taxpayer in Cupertino. Apple also says it funds millions in public improvements, such as adding sidewalks, bike...

Getting local politicians to battle Apple is hard, Chang said. He recently proposed that Apple – which is building a massive new campus its own employees nicknamed the Death Star, or more favorably, The Spaceship – should give $100m to improve city infrastructure.

Suppose you're a hardcore fiscal conservative. You don't give a hoot about social issues, and you don't follow any of this nonsense about identity politics or insiders and outsiders. All you care about is getting the nation's fiscal house in order. Are you sitting down? I hope you’re sitting down. Because the candidate you should vote for might surprise you. According to a new report from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the most fiscally conservative presidential contender left standing is . . . Hillary Clinton. Seriously....

Monday, May 02, 2016 Taxpayer-funded financial aid for immigrant college tuition heads to IL House SPRINGFIELD - Two Republican state senators - Christine Radogno and Chris Nybo - crossed the aisle last week to support the Democrats' effort to provide taxpayer-funded financial assistance for undocumented immigrant students. The measure would add Illinois to the five states that grant immigrant students financial aid for college education regardless of their legal status. Already, Illinois is one of 18 states that allows any status immigrants to qualify for lower in-state tuition and set up private college funds. SB 2196 easily passed the Illinois...

Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton often assert that the only way to correct wealth inequality in America is to tax the rich at even higher rates. A new study suggests this is false. As part of what she called the “growth and fairness economy,” Hillary Clinton has proposed surtaxes on the wealthy and higher taxes on all capital gains to “shuffle the deck,” as she put it. In the past, she has hammered the rich for being, well, rich. “Economists have documented how the share of income and wealth... ...both Clinton and Sanders would raise rates on...

Champagne delivered mail in Pennsauken. Prosecutors say he admitted stealing 72 U.S. Department of the Treasury checks totaling $443,000 and giving them to other people, who weren't named in court documents. Fishman says those people paid Champagne $50 per stolen check in 2014. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Sentencing is Aug. 3.

Our top-heavy economy has come to this: One man can move out of New Jersey and put the entire state budget at risk. Other states are facing similar situations as a greater share of income — and tax revenue — becomes concentrated in the hands of a few. Last month, during a routine review of New Jersey’s finances, one could sense the alarm. The state’s wealthiest resident had reportedly “shifted his personal and business domicile to another state,” Frank W. Haines III, New Jersey’s legislative budget and finance officer, told a State Senate committee. If the news were true, New...