Free Republic

“The mislabeled ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ will do nothing to bring the economy out of stagnation and recession, but it will raise billions of dollars in taxes on Americans making less than $400,000.” — Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, in a news release, July 30 We have long found that complex tax and budget issues are ripe for spin that confuses ordinary readers. Crapo’s comment above is illustrative of a GOP onslaught against the massive bill that was approved in the Senate over the weekend and is up for a vote in the House this...

Gwen Inglis, a national cycling champion, was training on familiar roads when a driver hit and killed her after drifting into the bike lane, Lakewood (Colo.) Police said. Inglis was riding with her husband, Mike, in the Denver suburb around 10 a.m. on Sunday when the Nissan sedan driven by Ryan Montoya, 29, veered into the lane. He remained at the scene. Inglis, 47, was taken to the hospital, where she died of her injuries. Inglis is the reigning 2019 U.S. road race champion in the 45-49 age group and her husband won the national title in the 50-and-over category...

Anyone who believes the “rich” and large corporations will pay for $28 trillion in debt or the $2 trillion in new deficit has a real problem with maths...Biden’s announcement of a massive tax increase on businesses and wealthier segments of the population simply makes no sense. The tax hikes will have a significant impact on economic growth, investment and job creation and do not even scratch the surface of the structural deficit. Even if we believe the Gross Domestic Product growth and revenue estimates announced by the Biden administration, the impact on debt and deficit is negligible. So, what is...

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - President Joe Biden’s economic agenda includes a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that aims to repair roads, focus on clean energy and create millions of jobs for Americans among other issues. The proposal, called the American Jobs Plan, faces an uphill battle in Congress as some Republicans are opposed. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday morning that he was unlikely to support anything “If it’s going to have massive tax increases and trillions more added to the national debt,” according to NBC News. Although there’s a lot to unpack in Biden’s plan, including money to...

“If you elect me, your taxes are going to be raised, not cut.” "And here’s how it works. I’m going to raise taxes.” “You’re going to get a tax raise.” — Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, misleadingly quoted in a Trump television ad, released Oct. 19 The Trump presidential campaign is the master of the mischievous clip job. Time after time, the president’s campaign has released ads that snip and clip Biden’s speeches and remarks to make the former vice president appear to say the opposite of what he was saying.... But Biden is not planning to raise everyone’s taxes...

A cardinal rule of government ought to be: stop wasting money before demanding taxpayers hand over more. When it comes to the Highway Trust Fund and the gas tax, Congress has failed to learn this simple lesson. The federal highway program is set to expire a year from now, but lawmakers looking to fund their pet projects are eager to get started. So the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has already approved a bill that would authorize billions more in projects than the federal gas tax will bring in. The thing is though, they don’t know how to pay...

House Democrats are currently pushing the biggest tax increase that nobody's heard of. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., along with more than 200 Democratic cosponsors, recently introduced the Social Security 2100 Act. The legislation would raise the effective payroll tax rate by 2.4 percentage points, split between employer and employee, to 14.8 percent. And this tax increase would apply to all earned income. At a Capitol Hill hearing this week, I testified about how this tax increase would hurt workers, entrepreneurship, and small businesses like mine. Larson’s plan would increase small businesses’ annual payroll tax burden per employee earning $50,000 per...

Red alert! HJR1018, the $293 million tax increase for highways Constitutional Amendment has been deceptively scheduled for today upon adjournment of the AR Senate around 2-3? I'll try to livestream the event on my facebook page with commentary or you can watch it on your own here: Arkansas Legislator website) Agenda that was not available last night)

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Owners of hybrid and electric vehicles in Mississippi received a notice from the state Department of Revenue informing them of the new annual tax on their vehicles. The new tax, which took effect on October 1, will tax $75 for hybrid vehicles and $150 for total electric vehicles annually. The tax is in addition to regular tag fees and must be paid at vehicle registration or renewal. Cathy Waterbury, The associate commissioner of the Department of Revenue and she said the revenue attained from the tax will go towards the state’s highway fund, infrastructure and the...

The eulogies for George H.W. Bush keep rolling in, and a great American hero's life has been given proper tribute. But there has also been a rewriting of history about the Bush presidency that needs to be cleared up. Liberals love Bush for the very tax increase betrayal that destroyed his presidency. This was the official end of the Reagan era. This was not just the political blunder of the half-century, it was a fiscal policy catastrophe. Most readers under the age of 40 have no idea the real story of what happened. What the history books are writing is...

The Government could raise €433 million by introducing a 43 percent income tax rate for workers earning more than €80,000 a year, an analysis by the Revenue Commissioners states. In a document prepared in advance of October’s budget, Revenue outlines estimates on how many people will pay tax, and at what rates, come January. Tax authorities have worked out several scenarios related to the potential cost/gain of increasing/decreasing income tax rates. […] An individual currently earning €100,000 pays €38,801 in income tax, but if a rate of 43 percent kicked in on earnings of €80,000 and more, they would pay...

I like how the constant harping and carping about tariffs these days gets invoked together with fearmongering about Smoot Hawley and the Great Depression. What is missing? The Revenue Act of 1932. After the 1929 crash there was a small tax cut, but this was overshadowed by Smoot Hawley just months later. In the middle of bad economic times, you simply don't raise taxes, and yes, a tariff is a tax. But let's get to the meat of the numbers, shall we? The Revenue Acts of 1918 and 1921 had a top tax rate of 73%. The Revenue Act of...

One of the ironies of trade protectionism is that tariffs and import quotas are what we do to ourselves in times of peace what foreign nations do to us with blockades to keep imports from entering our country in times of war. Or consider that we impose sanctions on U.S. enemies such as North Korea, Russia and Iran because we want them to feel the economic pain of being deprived of imports. But now we are imposing sanctions on our own country by punishing with tariffs in order to make Americans more prosperous. If ever there were a crisis of...

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is now admitting that some middle class Americans might see tax increases after all if the new Republican tax plan goes through. Kentucky Republican senator McConnell had previously stated that 'nobody in the middle class is going to a tax increase' under the new tax plan, but dialed back his assertion in a new interview. 'I misspoke on that,' McConnell told the New York Times on Friday, noting that it wasn't possible to guarantee that 'no one sees a tax increase.' McConnell went on to explain that what the Republicans were 'targeting levels of income...

As they prepare to unveil their own sweeping tax plan, Senate Republicans are revisiting key provisions of the GOP House proposal, including possibly eliminating property tax deductions as well as state income tax deductions, increasing the size of child-care credits, offering more help to small businesses and having corporate tax cuts phase in or expire, according to those familiar with the negotiations. The final outline of the Senate plan, scheduled to be released Thursday, remained a work in progress, officials cautioned. “Everything is on the table,” said one Republican official Tuesday evening, who did not want to be identified discussing...

France said Thursday it would temporarily raise taxes on the profits of big companies in order to meet its deficit target after being hit with a hefty bill for an unlawful levy on dividends. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist government has pledged to bring the deficit within the EU limit of 3.0 percent of GDP for the first time in a decade this year. That goal, however, appeared to be in jeopardy after the state was ordered to pay back €10 billion ($11.6 billion) in taxes on dividend payments imposed by Macron’s Socialist predecessor François Hollande. Ruling that the tax was...

Facing a campaign to repeal the state’s new gas tax increase, Sacramento-area politicians and transportation officials gathered under a freeway underpass Monday to tout projects that are expected to be funded by the hike. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, county Supervisor Phil Serna and others spoke in praise of Senate Bill 1, which has continued to generate opposition from Republicans after the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved the measure in the spring. Caltrans officials Monday outlined more than $1 billion in projects that will be “accelerated” in the region as part of the $52 billion statewide anticipated from higher gas taxes and vehicle...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Frank Wagner visited Roanoke Friday to pitch his campaign message of improving transportation infrastructure in order to create more jobs across Virginia.At a Roanoke County Republican Committee luncheon, Wagner, a GOP state senator from Virginia Beach, discussed his proposal to raise the gas tax for projects like widening Interstate 81 and building Interstate 73 and the Coalfields Expressway.Yes, he’s a rare Republican calling for a tax increase. He understands the irony. Building up major pathways in and out of Southwest Virginia will improve the business climate, he said.In the economically depressed Southside region , adding broadband and...

President Donald Trump said on Monday he would consider raising the federal tax on gasoline to fund infrastructure development "earmarked toward the highways," Bloomberg News reported. "It's something that I would certainly consider,” Trump told the news agency.