Free Republic

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear one of the most important tax cases in history, which could either greenlight the constitutionality of an economically disastrous wealth tax, or destroy critical parts of the U.S. tax system. Unless the justices take a middle road and define the 16th Amendment according to the history and traditions of the U.S. tax system, the case will result in bad law and worse outcomes. The case (Moore v. United States) concerns the constitutionality of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA). The act imposed a mandatory repatriation tax on pre-2018 profits that companies...

The media has been seeking to destroy President Trump since he began running for office. They spread the known lie about Russian collusion for years. They lied about what he said in Charlottesville and now they lie about his taxes. Here's their latest ball of wax: Trump's charitable giving dropped to $0 by the time he left office, returns showWhich is fake news.Either they don't understand the tax code and the nature of tax returns at all, or they are intentionally lying.If they don't understand taxes they should shut up instead of spouting lies and ignorance. I am an accountant...

(The opinions expressed in guest op-eds are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.)The U.S. Tax code should be scrapped, and the IRS abolished, and in its place, a flatter, simpler and fairer single tax rate system should be created. We can call it the Tax Code Complication Act to gain approval from the Democrats. Meanwhile, if you need me, I’ll be over here holding my breath.And now, with the Inflation reduction Act, a total farce that funds 87,000 new IRS agents, get ready, find that lunch receipt from 7 years ago because they're...

As inflation continues to impact working-class Americans across the country, reports show that Black Americans are being hit the hardest. On top of the massive economic inequalities caused by the pandemic, rising costs for housing, food, and gas are making it virtually impossible for Black communities to improve their financial conditions in material ways. My grandfather — as a young person — met people who had been wealthy slave owners before the Civil War. It has only been a few generations since more of America’s wealth was derived from enslaved people rather than farmland or factories. We have come a...

Before Congress completes consideration regarding either or both mega-infrastructure bills, it needs to determine how it will offset the reduction in federal tax revenues that will occur resulting from the many states’ legislation passed in 2021 to “work around” the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap of $10,000. It matters not whether each or any member of Congress believes the $10,000 SALT cap is justified and/or unjustified or whether the members of Congress believe the “workarounds” are appropriate. The loss to Treasury could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The loss of revenues either needs an offsetting...

Banks are pushing back against a proposal from the Biden administration that could force them to turn over customers' account information to the Internal Revenue Service. Under the plan, banks and other financial institutions would be required to annually report customers' account inflows and outflows of $600 or more to the IRS. The White House has estimated the policy, which would apply to bank, loan and investment accounts, could generate about $463 billion in additional revenue over the next decade. The measure, if Congress approves it to fund Biden's sweeping $3.5 trillion family and climate change plan, would give the...

We are three months from the Presidential election, and the stakes for the future of America have never been higher. The COVID-19 global pandemic knocked America's robust economy back on its heels. As states cautiously reopen, President Trump has been laser-focused on supporting small businesses and getting our nation to work. However, in Washington, D.C., with 51 million people out of work, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrats, and their connected cronies have abused SBA loans. They have snuck numerous provisions into emergency bills under the cover of COVID-19. The most terrifying sign of Democrats' plans is their embracing the previously...

Eight months into their control of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) hasn't missed many opportunities to draw a stark contrast between the two parties' policies. From defending infanticide and trying to gut the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to the job-killing New Green Deal, hardly a day passes that the Left's radicalism isn't on display. But yesterday, liberals took their extremism to new heights -- demanding a tax on Bible-believing Americans. Thursday's hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee wasn't the first time liberals have tried to use the IRS to do their dirty work -- but it might...

On Wednesday, the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a controversial “gay reparations” bill that will entitle same-sex couples to millions of dollars in tax refunds for their “marriages” which were not previously recognized under federal tax law. LifeSite News reports: "The PRIDE (Promoting Respect for Individuals’ Dignity and Equality) Act removes sex-specific terms such as 'husband' and 'wife' from the federal tax code, and allows couples “married” while the Defense of Marriage Act (which protected states and the federal government from having to recognize same-sex “marriages” from states that chose to recognize them) to claim tax refunds for...

A lot of MSM people are hyperventilating that Donald Trump has been exposed by the New York Times as a tax cheat, a criminal.  For example, Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post lit into President Trump over his alleged “tax dodging,” in effect accusing him of a crime.   She said Trump “ducked” the tax code and implied that funding cuts to the IRS made it easy for him. She frets that "as president, Trump has worked diligently to either preserve or multiply other tax breaks his family has benefited from," apparently referencing the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,...

The marriage of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry is anything but ordinary. Even among royal marriages it’s unique because Meghan is American – and, like many Americans, she is biracial. But while her race isn’t a issue, her nationality is – thanks to the U.S. tax code.Prince Harry, Meet the IRS American citizens like Markle, who was born in Los Angeles, must report their worldwide income to the IRS even while living abroad. (For more, see How to Pay Taxes If You're Overseas.) She will have to file U.S. tax returns and Foreign Bank Accounting Report (FBAR) forms, assuming she...

The Republican tax overhaul may not do a great deal to boost overall economic growth — but it’s already having one stimulus effect. Call it the Full Employment Act for Tax Pundits.Ever since the contours of the plan made clear that residents of high-tax states would take the biggest hits, a cottage industry devoted to strategizing blue-state tax work-arounds has emerged. As a reminder, Americans for generations have been able to deduct the amounts paid for state and local income tax, as well as property tax, from their federally taxable income. But the new law caps that amount at $10,000,...

According to a report from the Tax Foundation, Americans spent $409 billion (2.2 percent of GDP) on tax compliance in 2016. This works out to 8.9 billion man-hours wasted preparing tax returns, which is the equivalent of roughly 4 million full time jobs. The Tax Foundation’s figure includes time spent by individuals preparing and filing their taxes, and money spent by individuals and corporations on tax services provided by accountants and lawyers. Essentially, it is wasted money. The billion dollar question: why does America waste so much money doing taxes? Because of complexity. The US Tax Code is so inordinately...

President Donald Trump has proposed what he calls "the biggest tax cut since Ronald Reagan." He also wants vast simplification so that Americans can fill out their taxes on a postcard return. Let's hope that part of this reform package will be to defang the IRS, which treats Americans as if they are guilty until proven innocent and invades the basic privacy rights of citizens. Meanwhile, Trump's critics on the left seem to think the tax code is just fine the way it is. Although some, like socialist hero Bernie Sanders, want tax rates to go much higher. So as...

An idea so great . . . we've heard it many times before. Now will someone please make it happen? Not remarkable: A Republican officeholder says the tax code should be simplified to the point where you could file your taxes on a postcard. We’ve been hearing this since the days of Ronald Reagan at least (maybe people were saying it before that but I would have been too young to remember), and it’s one of the few policy ideas that Republicans of all stripes can agree on, at least in theory. That said, no one has ever advanced a...

I knew that would get your attention! So, tonight I'm a fly on the wall at the United Way of York County (PA)Campaign Victory Celebration, watching the "lucky" donors whittle down to the final two, one of whom will receive a $30,000.00+ loaded up Harley and the other who will receive a $3000.00 travel voucher from AAA. There are two finalists. I know one of them....Lynn Henry, one of sons of Spring Grove area schoolteacher who lived past her 101st birthday, who followed in his mother's footsteps and taught in the Dallastown Schools for a long time before retirement. And,...

There's no such thing as a tax loophole I’ve argued, on several occasions that there’s no such thing as a tax loophole. It simply doesn’t exist. There’s the tax code as written. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. The term “tax loophole” is a loaded term used by liberals who want to imply that someone has committed the crime of tax evasion when they haven’t. What they’re really doing is attacking successful people for being smart enough to know the tax laws and follow them.

It's about the abuse of the tax code to undermine federalism and the constitutional separation of powers You probably saw yesterday - and maybe you celebrated - the news that a federal judge has ordered a nationwide halt to the Obama policy of requiring states, cities and school districts to accommodate “transgender” bathroom usage or face the loss of federal funds. It’s certainly good news that the transgender nonsense has suffered a defeat. But if you think that’s all this is about, you’re missing a much larger point. Obama and the Democrats don’t even really care all that much about...

If I had any lingering doubts about Donald Trump being the best possible candidate for President, he erased them with his announcement of Mike Pence as his preferred VP. It is not about Mike Pence, although he is a great selection. Go to 13:40 in his announcement speech. At that point in the speech, Mr. Trump explains the "Johnson Amendment". This was an amendment to the US Tax code in 1954 proposed by Senator Lyndon B. Johnson and eventually passed that prohibited Pastors, Ministers and Priests from addressing political issues in their sermons on the penalty of losing their tax...

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump doubled-down Sunday night on his comments that the US should “do a better deal” with Japan, South Korea and other allies, saying they should pay more for America’s protection while taking a greater role in their defense — including building their own nuclear weapons "If you start raising that minimum wage, you're going to make a lot of our companies even more non-competitive," he said. Trump also delved into his plans to change the nation's tax code by "simplifying" it. He also renewed his promise to repeal ObamaCare — though he again wouldn’t offer specifics...