Tag: Tax Rates

RANT: Gas is going up and staying up?

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/this-chart-implies-something-very-troubling-about-the-price-of-gas/

THIS CHART IMPLIES SOMETHING VERY TROUBLING ABOUT THE PRICE OF GAS

Posted on December 4, 2012 at 12:50pm by Becket Adams

*** begin quote ***

See that? Although the price of crude has fallen in recent months, as the above chart clearly indicates, the price of gasoline remains at a record high.

“Anecdotally, it feels like when oil prices rise, gas prices at the pump rise; but when turmoil pauses in global geo-politics – or some entity decides that high oil prices just will not do for the world’s economy – gas prices at the pump seem not to drop so quickly,” writers are Zero Hedge note.

“Yes there are pipeline, inventory (and even tax) issues but the following chart suggests ‘gouging’ on a national level,” they add.

It’s also worth noting that what we’re seeing today with the price of gasoline and crude is eerily similar to what we saw right before the economic collapse of 2008.

*** end quote ***

I think there maybe a big overhang on the markets due to increased costs (i.e., Obamacare) and increased taxes (i.e., the fiscal cliff).

Given the “gouging rules” passed after Sandy. Or used during Sandy. I wouldn’t lower my price un my competition forces me to.

Hmmm?

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MONEY: Roth IRA Conversions are problematic?

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://mortonlaw.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/02/roth-may-become-more-compelling-planning-option.html

February 13, 2012
Roth may become more compelling planning option

*** begin quote ***

If the current proposal before congress to eliminate the stretch IRA provisions from the tax code go into effect, it presents an even more compelling reason to convert traditional IRA’s into Roth IRA’s.  While most people are reluctant to pay taxes now on a tax deferred account, the ability to pay taxes now under current rates, rather than under future rates which are likely to be higher.  Now with the potential loss of the ability of beneficiaries to stretch withdrawals when they inherit, thereby paying the taxes on the account within 5 years of their inheritance, the case for the Roth becomes more compelling.

*** and ***

Their growth and distributions would be tax free – unless, of course, congress eliminated the tax free character of the Roth IRA.  But they would never break a promise like that (unless, of course, you count their original promise not to tax social security benefits).

*** end quote ***

Wow, even more cynical people.

Converting to Roth now ENSURES that a tax is to be paid. Waiting MAY cause a higher tax to be paid.

What’s the time value of money in a zero interest rate environment?

That argues BOTH ways.

* Since money today has ZERO value, why not pay the tax (i.e., there is no better use of the funds; the NPV of the tax loss in the future is huge; confiscation of IRA / 401Ks for the “enhanced socsec benefit)?

* Since money today has zero value, why not try to convert it into something that will become valuable (i.e., real estate; gold; dividend paying growth stock)?

Pretty good argue with myself and lose twice.

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MONEY: The stretch IRA to be killed

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2012/02/08/congress-may-crush-key-tool-for-ira-inheritors

Personal Finance
2/08/2012 @ 3:40PM
Congress May Crush Key Tool For IRA Inheritors
Deborah L. Jacobs, Forbes Staff

*** begin quote ***

Let’s hope there’s enough of a public outcry that this legislation doesn’t pass. If it does, owners of traditional IRAs will have one more reason to convert them to Roth accounts. For more about Roth conversions, see my post, “Smart Moves For Battered IRAs” and two sophisticated strategies described here and here by Forbes Associate Editor Ashlea Ebeling. Meantime, stay tuned.
Hat tip to financial planner Michael Kirsh and CPA Robert Keebler for calling the pending legislation to my attention.

*** end quote ***

More bad advice. Pay taxes now rather than later? Guess what tax rates in the future or ROIs will be. I never liked IRAs or 401Ks just because it put you at the mercy of the future politicians and bureaucrats. Argh!

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POLITICAL: The only correct corporate tax rate is zero

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/11/21/0157216/Google-Warns-Irish-Government-Against-Tax-Increase

Posted by timothy on Sunday November 21, @02:02AM

from the shame-if-anything-was-to-happen dept.

*** begin quote ***

theodp writes “The Irish government has been given a stark warning from some of the biggest American companies in Ireland on the risk of a mass exodus if the country’s controversial low corporate tax rate is raised in return for an IMF/EU bailout to shore up the country’s beleaguered banking system. According to The Telegraph, a statement signed by senior execs at Microsoft, HP, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and Intel points out that although Ireland’s tax rate may be low in European terms, it is not when compared with locations such as Singapore, India and China.

*** end quote ***

Once again demonstrating that the only correct corporate tax rate is zero. Only real human beings pay taxes.

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POLITICS: The philosophy of taxes

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/08/31/the-truth-about-taxes/&cp=1/#comment-195287

The Truth About Taxes
Monday, 31st August 2009 (by J.D.)

*** begin quote ***

Note: Although I try to keep GRS a politics-free zone, today’s topic is inherently political. I’ve stayed as neutral as possible in the article, but I know that there’ll be some political discussion in the comments. Please keep conversation civil, as always.

Because I was frustrated with my own ignorance about the U.S. federal budget and our tax system, I recently spent twelve hours researching a variety of tax topics. From my research came two articles: last week’s short guide to the federal budget and today’s post, which answers some of my personal questions about taxes.

*** end quote ***

Welcome to the “tax wars”, by the time we’re finished with you, you too will be a raving loon!

Tactically, you can’t figure out how much “tax” you pay. We need to recognize that ONLY real people pay tax. So, the taxes that companies pay is really a hidden tax on the people who buy their products. BUT you can’t see it. Further, if there are capital goods used by a company, the taxes on that capital good are buried in the product’s price. Also, recognize that “costs”, “user fees”, or any unavoidable expense imposed by or as a result of the gooferment’s actions, laws, regulations, or diktats is a TAX! Try and figure out all of those. Good luck. One quick example, drugs. The FDA has rules, pharmacies have regulations, doctors have laws. Argh! It’s IMPOSSIBLE to figure out exactly what you pay in tax. And, then we can talk about monetary inflation as a gooferment tax. When you sum it all up, it might be greater than your annual income!

Strategically, taxes are NOT “the cost of living in civilized society”; they are THEFT. How does what dead old white guys did 233 years ago obligate me? It’s a principle of contract law that there has to be offer and acceptance to have a contract. Where is the offer? Where is my acceptance? What obligates me to pay? The definition of citizen states there is an exchange for the state’s “protection”, yet the courts have repeatedly held that there is no specific enforceable duty of the government to protect me. So why again do I have to pay for “services” that I don’t want, can’t use, and are horribly overpriced? In the case of Federal Abortion funding, it’s also morally offensive to me; yet, I still must pay.

Welcome to the tax wars. This is theft by deception. IMHO!

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MONEY: Inflation is a hidden tax

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://tslrf.blogspot.com/2009/05/inflation.html

Friday, May 8, 2009

Inflation

*** begin quote ***

This is a backdoor tax because a tax was not passed. You did not have money stolen out of your paycheck and didn’t write them a check but they in effect reached into your wallet and bank accounts and via a loss purchasing power you were essentially taxed.

*** end quote ***

Insidious backdoor taxation. Coming to you very soon!

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RANT: Too many drones; not enough workers

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/04/representation_without_taxatio.html

April 10, 2009
Representation without Taxation
By Alan Aronoff

*** begin quote ***

When beneficiaries of government policy do not sufficiently overlap the payers of those benefits, we have a governing system of representation without taxation. This type of system is not sustainable long term, but history suggests it may persist for some time under the pretext of ‘economic justice’ unless soundly rejected by the American people.

*** end quote ***

That’s the result of “progressive” taxation aka “soak the rich”.

The only fair tax is to make it voluntary. If the gooferment provides a service, then it should “tin cup” for donations.

At the very least, if EVERYONE had to pay a 1% tariff on imported goods. That would be “fair”.

As I proposed in page 616 of my book “CHURCH 10●19●62” (http://www.itstartedinchurch.com), a simple modest tariff collection mechanism would require little enforcement:

“Because the Government didn’t want to have a lot of checkers, the value is declared at the border. The tariff is two MILs per 10 ounces of value. The importer declares the value and pays the tariff. To ensure honesty, under estimation triggers a 100% penalty. So because the rate is so low and the penalty so high, importers typically add a zero to the end of the value number. For example, a truck valued of one thousand ounces would be assessed a tax of two ounces. So an importer, to be sure of compliance, would call it ten thousand ounces and pay a tax of twenty ounces. Not very fair, but very easy to administrate.”

We have reached the point where the “takers” outnumber the “producers”. We’ll we now see the diminished incentives lead to decreased productivity. Eventually it winds up that we look like a Communist country where the underground economy and “just getting by” becomes the national ethic.

Where are the pitchfork and torches?

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POLITICAL: Tax increases in a recession?

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/21/AR2009022100911_pf.html

Obama’s First Budget Seeks To Trim Deficit
Plan Would Cut War Spending, Increase Taxes on the Wealthy
By Lori Montgomery and Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, February 22, 2009; A01

*** begin quote ***

President Obama is putting the finishing touches on an ambitious first budget that seeks to cut the federal deficit in half over the next four years, primarily by raising taxes on businesses and the wealthy and by slashing spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, administration officials said.

*** end quote ***

Companies don’t pay taxes; people do. So raising the corporate tax is essentially a tax increase for everyone; poor included.

Rich folks have the ability to defer income and shit it and even “coast”. Watch how revenues “fail to appear”!

Stupidity!

Ignores the lessons of Kennedy and Regan.

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POLITICAL: the only real way to economically “stimulate”

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle502-20090118-02.html

Collectivism’s Last Stand
by L. Neil Smith

*** begin quote ***

Politicians must be taught, in no uncertain terms, that the only real way to economically “stimulate” the Productive Class is to stop stealing their fucking money! If the government announced a total tax amnesty, as well as a complete, permanent end to individual and corporate taxes—repealing all unconstitutional economic regulations would help, too—this depression would be over by the end of the week.

*** end quote ***

You have to admire how LNS can “turn a phrase”!

Wonder if it would take all the way to the end of the week?

“Next day” might be a better estimate.

But, we don’t have to worry. It will never occur to the congress critters!

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POLITICAL: My economic recovery plan

Published on by reinkefj1 Comment

http://www.lewrockwell.com/giles/giles30.html

Fallen Angel
by George Giles

*** begin quote ***

Our one party has two wings blue state socialists and red state fascists, they only disagree on minor conjectures like should we fleece the public fisc through the Federal Reserve, or the Internal Revenue service, or both?

*** and ***

If eternal vigilance is the price of liberty then Americans, as a culture, have been found wanting. The immense debt, the vanishing equity, and the struggling economic infrastructure are the waves upon which our ship of state sails.

*** end quote ***

Wonder if the sheeple will realize they have been had? If we have faith in the “American experiment”, then we can return to our roots of rugged individualism, cast out the socialists, and let the truly free market return us to prosperity. Enlightened individual self-interest is a powerful engine of prosperity. But, we have to be the “home of the free and land of the brave”.

(1) Let the bad actors in the marketplae fail. Citi, GM, NBC, or whomever has a problem; it’s just that. Their problem. Hard bitter medicine? Yes, but essential into correcting the “moral hazard” that our politicians have allowed to happen.

(2) Restore the “uptick rule” that prevents bear raids. FIre the genius at the Treasury, Fed, SEC that changed that one historical gem of an idea.

(3) Restore the marketplace in mortgages. Home ownership may not be for everyone. 20% down! Review every mortgage for criminal fraud. (Rumor hath it that Organized Crime went into the mortgage business.)

(4) End the “Drug Prohibition” policy. Sorry, but it’s nobody’s business what anyone puts in their own body. Pardon all non-violent drug offenders. Allow WalMart to battle the “illegal violent drug dealers”. (The cost of impure illicit drugs will dissolve overnight when Sam Walton’s children become “drug dealers”.) Clean safe drugs at everyday low prices will take all the profit and sexiness out of the drug culture. Hard to imagine a drug war over aspirin level prices. Pot, heroin, crack, and speed for $4 for a month’s supply? Maybe then as a society, we can focus on the medical problems that addicition represents. And, stop killing children both directly and indirectly. Eleimate all the drug agencies: DEA, FDA, and on and on. Consumers Reports, Underwriters Labratory, and “Drug Stores” like WalMart will do a far better job of keeping us safe.

(5) Downsize governemnt at all levels. Let’s conduct a raid on all these bloated kingdoms of waste. Let’s cut 5% per year. Every year.

(6) Let’s cut taxes. Business tax should be 0, but let’s start but cutting it to 10%. (Ireland is 11%!) We know that businesses don’t pay taxes; people do! Personal income tax ditto 10%. And, ONLY ONE ENTITY can collect our 10%. Either Federal, State, or Local gooferment. How they divide it up I care not, but no more than 10%. Property taxes should also be 0. Let the police, fire, and trash be supplied on a competitive basis.

(7) Let’s all MYOB. Marriage should be left to churches; not the gooferment.

How’s that for an economic recovery plan?

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RANT: We have an “economic illiterate” as US Senator!

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/11/how_stupid_is_senator_menendez.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7FJX5QiCrw

November 04, 2008

How stupid is Senator Menendez?

Larrey Anderson

*** begin quote ***

Either he is stupid or he is intentionally confusing the difference between the income tax and capital gains taxes.

Watch this interview of Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, by Neil Cavuto on FOX news.

*** end quote ***

Well, we have Lautenberg too.

<Just shaking my head!>

I don’t think we have ANYTHING to worry about. There won’t be any tax cuts period.

Then sheeple have been fooled again.

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POTUS08: O IS really a Marxist!

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

Obama Bombshell Redistribution of Wealth Audio Uncovered


Wow! Here’s a bombshell. It exposes that the man is a Marxist Socialist. Hearing his words, he, in Clintonesque stype, parses around it. Never letting anyone know what his codewords mean. Hold on to your wallet if he gets elected!

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POLITICAL: Corporations don’t pay taxes; people do. Zero the Corporate Tax Rate!

Published on by reinkefj2 Comments

http://www.doughroller.net/2008-presidential-elections/presidential-debate-fact-check-obama-mccain-economic-cla

First Presidential Debate Fact Check: Obama and McCain’s Economic Claims
Written by DR | Bookmarks: Reddit this, del.icio.us

*** begin quote ***

The first 2008 Presidential Debate saw both Senators Obama and McCain defend their economic proposals and attack the other’s plan. Facts, figures and statistics were flying back in forth during the exchange so fast it was difficult to keep up. So after the debate I watched the replay and read the transcript to pick out the economic claims made by both Presidential candidates. In this article, we’ll look at their claims to determine whether they are rock solid true (earning a score of 1), true but with a lot of spin (earning a score 2) or flat out, nose-growing false (earning a score of 3).

*** end quote ***

MY COMMENT ON THIS STORY

Excellent job on fact checking. Calm and reasoned. Apparently fair.

I have no “dog” in this fight. I’m a little L libertarian. Don’t care much for either candidate.

I would like to comment on “Corporate Income Tax”.

It’s a sham designed to deceive the folks as to what is the overall level of taxation that Americans pay.

CORPORATIONS DON’T PAY TAXES OR FEES. YOU DO!

As a “frugal” site, I read often, I think you’d hammer this home.

Corporations are very much like a zero sum game. If they have a cost, they pass it along to the person who buys their product or services. If it’s a widget with a pound of steel in it, your paying for that pound. Price of steel goes up, the corporation marks up the price of their product. Simple enough. If they didn’t they’d go broke.

When the gooferment imposes taxes on Corporations, that’s just another cost that the business pass along to you. EXCEPT now you can’t see it. You don’t know what portion of the cost of a loaf of bread is taxes and what portion is bread.

It gets worse, regulations and laws add costs. They come to you hidden in the cost of the products.

It gets even worse, when the gooferment taxes a product that corporations use to make or deliver other products (e.g., gasoline), that tax is a tax on taxes. And is passed along and even buried further. It has an exponential effect!

I’ve seen estimates that the real tax percentage in products is HUGE! 50 to 75%!! I don’t think anyone can tell. AND that’s excatly the politicians purpose.

Bottom line: Corporate taxes imho should be ZERO!

Let’s put the cost of gooferment squarely out in the open! These bozos are no fools. There’s a reason that Tax Day is a half a year away from election day. That reason is that they couldn’t get it any further away.

So, when either candidate talks about corporate taxes, regulation, and fees, I think they are, possibly unknowingly (But I don’t beleive that) DEFRAUDING us from know the true cost of how badly we are being ROBBED!

sigh, imho,
wake up sheeple,
fjohn

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