Free Republic

Pushing past skeptics, Senate Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a new billionaires’ tax proposal, an entirely new entry in the tax code designed to help pay for President Joe Biden’s sweeping domestic policy package and edge his party closer to an overall agreement. The proposed tax would hit the gains of those with more than $1 billion in assets or incomes of more than $100 million a year, and it could begin to shore up the big social services and climate change plan Biden is racing to finish before departing this week for global summits. The new billionaires' proposal, coupled with...

More than 100 millionaires say current tax systems are “not fair” and increasing wealth tax would help resolve inequalities made dramatically worse by the Covid health crisis. Millionaires from around the world have signed an open letter asking governments to tax them at higher rates. The letter was published online Wednesday, mid-way through Davos, the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting being held virtually this year. The signatories of the letter, which was the result of a joint initiative from inequality advocacy groups Patriotic Millionaires, Millionaires for Humanity and TaxMeNow, said current tax systems were “not fair”. While only 100 millionaires...

A leftist group funded by billionaire George Soros secured a massive government contract to help illegal immigrants avoid being deported. The Vera Institute for Justice (VIJ), which “views immigration enforcement agencies as a ‘threat’ to civil liberties, secured a $158 million taxpayer-funded contract to help unaccompanied minors avoid deportation,” according to records obtained by Fox News reporter Joe Schoffstall. VIJ President and Director Nicholas Turner exploited the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the organization’s 2020 annual report to assail America as harboring “structural racism.” In addition, Turner attacked the American criminal justice system as having “roots established...

California lawmakers unveiled a new bill at the beginning of the year that would establish a single-payer health care system – an ambitious plan that would be funded by nearly doubling the state's already-high taxes. A new analysis from the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan group that generally advocates for lower taxes, found that the proposed constitutional amendment would increase taxes by roughly $12,250 per household in order to fund the first-of-its-kind health care system. In all, the tax increases are designed to raise an additional $163 billion per year, which is more than California raised in total tax revenue any...

IRS Charles Rettig warned that "due to the enormous challenges the government faces we may no longer be able to afford giving refunds on your taxes." "The very fact that we already have the money and are trillions of dollars in debt creates a tremendous pressure to simply keep the money," Retig said. "This alone would lower the government's expenses. We would also save money by not having to process returns that are filed. While it's probably too late to save every taxpayer the time and trouble of preparing and filing, we could certainly save time and trouble here at...

LOS ANGELES — Cannabis advocates, small farmers and business owners called Thursday for an overhaul of the California marijuana tax system as they struggle to keep afloat amid rising operating and regulatory costs. They gathered outside the State Capitol in Sacramento to make their case and warn that the industry could collapse if steps aren't taken soon. “We’re here today because the craft cannabis industry here in California is in crisis and on the brink of collapse,” said Amber Senter, a co-founder and the executive director of Supernova Women, a nonprofit organization that works to create opportunities for people of...

Treasury Department officials on Monday said that the Internal Revenue Service will face "enormous challenges" during this year's tax filing season, warning of delays to refunds and other taxpayer services. In a phone call with reporters, Treasury officials predicted a "frustrating season" for taxpayers and tax preparers as a result of delays caused by the pandemic, years of budget cuts to the IRS, and the federal stimulus measures that have added to the tax agency's workload. Mark Everson, who served as the IRS commissioner during the George W. Bush administration, said "practitioners across the country are very concerned" about the...

There’s a certain type of architecture from the mid-20th century called “California Crazy.” Think of a donut shop shaped like a big concrete donut or a restaurant shaped like a hat. That kitschy programmatic architecture defined Southern California life in the middle of the last century.Here’s an example:Uzma Gamal, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons These days “California Crazy” has new meaning all its own — the policies of a left-wing state that seems to be drifting ever leftward. Citizens of the Golden State pay anywhere between 1% and 12.3% in taxes, depending on residency, income, and filing status, according to...

Skyrocketing gas prices are sparking major concerns in the UK, with households bracing for higher bills and food prices. The energy crisis has already hit millions of Brits, but is set to hit more still. The UK is highly dependent on consumer spending to generate output, indicating the economy could still be in the mire heading into the spring. A wave of concern over the swelling cost of living is sweeping across Britain. While households are bracing for higher tax bills and are already being stung by food prices leaping, it is swelling energy costs that will hit hardest in...

Illinois keeps losing people it can ill afford to lose. I recently checked in on a prospective donor who I met in Chicago three years ago. I didn’t know him at all back then, but it was easy to get a sense he cared deeply about Illinois. His passion for fixing Chicago’s problems was obvious from the moment I met him. He was everything Chicago should want from someone in the business community. An engaged and highly successful investor, tech entrepreneur and C-suite executive. Politically active yet still willing to get his hands dirty on real policy issues. Not scared...

The IRS doesn’t want you to forget to include income from dealing illegal drugs or stolen property on your tax forms this year. “Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity,” the IRS’ website states. The list was created to help those preparing their 2021 tax returns. It also mentions stolen property — unless it’s returned to the owner. “If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income...

Conley stated, “The general concept is to eliminate some, or all, of the district’s property taxes used for operations of the district, and at the same time institute a new SDIT that would replace the revenue currently generated by the property taxes.” Conley’s presentation to the school board comes after board members and Superintendent Renee Willis earlier this month objected to City Council approving tax abatement for the Belle Oaks Marketplace project at the Richmond Town Square mall property. Included in the $260-million mixed-use Belle Oaks project will be residential and retail uses. Only the northern portion of the mall...

As you wind down the year, cleaning out drawers and emptying wallets of receipts, don’t forget to report to the IRS any income you brought in from drug deals, bribes, stolen goods, prostitution or other illegal activity. According to IRS publication 17, the Internal Revenue Service wants taxpayers to include on their forms “income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs.” Make sure you put that on “Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity,” the IRS wrote. The agency also requests that “if you steal property, you...

If only they would apply that lesson to other goods and services.At the beginning of 2022, tax rates for marijuana cultivated in California are set to increase, even though black market sales completely dominate the retail market in the Golden State. Experts estimate that about three-quarters of all marijuana sales in California happen not through legal dispensaries, but through unlicensed vendors. California voters legalized the cultivation and sale of marijuana for recreational use in 2016, but extremely high taxes and oppressive regulations have caused the rollout to be a disaster. The tax increase set to hit on New Year's...

The American Revolution was sparked in part by unjust taxation. After all, the colonists in Boston rebelled against Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” and summarily tossed English tea into the harbor in protest in 1773. Nowadays Americans collectively spend more than 6 billion hours each year filling out tax forms, keeping records, and learning new tax rules according to the Office of Management and Budget. Complying with the byzantine U.S. tax code is estimated to cost the American economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually – time and money that could otherwise be used for more productive activities like...

My Christmas Eve posts of the past have been some of my favorites, starting with the very first one in 2009. You remember - the year the Obama’s decided they simply must continue their family tradition (est. 2008) of spending 2 weeks over Christmas at a luxury resort in Hawaii on somebody else’s (ours) dime. Raj did a short video of that trip that I think I’ve used every Christmas Eve hence so tradition demands I use it again. Mele Kalek-Obama: (iMotus, make several cameos in this short musical so watch for me!) Amazingly the opening sentence in that 2009...

Elections matter. It shows in the sometimes not so subtle changes that surface unintended consequences. The shift to the left with President Joe Biden taking office and both houses of Congress narrowly in control by the Democrats is impacting our country in a profoundly negative way. The takers in our society are emboldened and are grabbing at all they can get. In metropolitan areas, we are seeing well organized mobs storming high-end stores, grabbing merchandise, fleeing, and openly selling their stolen goods. In Washington and state capitols, the progressive takers are demanding more and more free services and subsidies. All...

Elon Musk used his Twitter account like a battering ram to troll the left for their hypocritical pontificating about class warfare. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) took to Twitter Dec. 13 to express disgust at the world’s richest man being chosen as TIME magazine’s 2021 “Person of the Year.” Warren spewed, “Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else.” Musk clapped back: “[I]f you opened your eyes for 2 seconds, you would realize I will pay more taxes than any American in history this year.” Then Musk...

The federal appeals court based in Denver has dismissed the long-running lawsuit seeking to void Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights, finding in a 7-2 decision that a collection of local governments has no basis to challenge the 1992 constitutional amendment. Chief Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich, writing for himself and six of his colleagues, concluded that the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners, a handful of school districts and one special district failed to show that the 1875 Enabling Act that guaranteed to Colorado a "republican" form of government had also given the local government entities the ability to challenge TABOR's...

The analysis exposed the inherently gimmicky nature of using permanent tax increases to pass temporary increases in spending.In the second installment of news the Biden administration didn’t want to hear about Friday (the first being the record-breaking inflation report), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an analysis of making permanent the programs in Democrats’ Build Back Bankrupt spending spree. Democrats immediately claimed the bill they want to pass through Congress doesn’t resemble the CBO’s parameters in the slightest. In that case, Republicans should respond by bringing a legislative proposal resembling those parameters to the Senate floor, and forcing Democrats to...