Washington's Wake

Posts Tagged ‘Taxes’

One of the first people to plead guilty to not paying taxes because they were hiding money in Switzerland is awaiting sentencing.

Paul Zabczuk pleaded guilty in federal court to filing a false tax return related to hundreds of thousands of dollars held in UBS accounts, and he could face up to three years in prison, the Justice Department said.

Shouldn’t he actually be given a position in HRH The Sun King’s administration? I mean, with all the other folks hired by HRH The Sun King having tax issues, I’m talking about you Timmeh, he should fit right in, right? Or maybe he can get a job with Charlie Rangel, who also doesn’t seem to pay his taxes.

On a serious note, how do you expect the plebians to pay their taxes when those in positions of power do not pay their taxes and abuse the system? And for this reason, those people that are in positions of power should be held to a higher standard and not a lower standard. It sets up this country for a nasty case of entitlement for the political class to do whatever they want because, you know, we’re in charge and you’re not.

As if we weren’t all waiting for this other shoe to drop. The trial balloon has official been raised.

The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.

Volcker, answering a question from the audience at a New York Historical Society event, said the value-added tax “was not as toxic an idea” as it has been in the past and also said a carbon or other energy-related tax may become necessary.

Though he acknowledged that both were still unpopular ideas, he said getting entitlement costs and the U.S. budget deficit under control may require such moves. “If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes,” he said.

I hate to quote the entirety of a news article but that was it. Which is why I am certain this is a trial balloon. Time to see how far we can radically remake America in the leftist manner.

The thing that I feel the worst is that Paul Volcker doesn’t even know that’s he’s being used. And he’ll be discarded like a used, well, you know, if they need to do so. He did such a great job at the end of the Carter era, it’s so sad to see him repeat history.

If you folks thought the health care bill was bad, wait till the drunken sailors masquerading as congress will do with real extra billions in cash. These reprehensible solons can’t be responsible with the deficit spending they’ve already done. Now we want to give them even more money?

You want to get entitlement spending under control, cut the spending. There’s two ways for everyone who is not a government, to deal with their spending. They can either increase income or reduce expenses. The pathetic excuse for the political weenies in Washington haven’t even thought about reducing expenses.

As it’s obvious they won’t reduce expenses. We the people will have to do it for them. The first way to cut the expenses in Washington is to vote out of office those bums and put new ones in with a really tight leash. And yes, I do mean leash. If they won’t heal to the voters, vote the new guys out too.

Yes, maybe it is time to remake America. And we’ll first start with the political class. I think it’s time they get to see the exercise of political power by those in flyover country by losing their jobs.

Can I just say that phrase, speaks out, is one of those phrases that every “reporter” and news reader should be forced to never ever use. It is one of the most obnoxious and overused phrases. But I digress…

You knew it was only a matter of time before the IRS was going to say something. Now we have some sort of semi-official response to the most Rube Goldberg like legislation this country has ever seen.

Speaking at the National Press Club on Monday, Shulman downplayed the IRS’s role in enforcing the recent overhaul of the health insurance industry by claiming the agency would not aggressively target individuals who don’t purchase coverage. He noted that the health-care bill expressly forbids the agency from freezing bank accounts, seizing assets or pursuing criminal charges, but when pressed said the IRS would most likely use tax refund offsets to penalize those that don’t comply with the mandate. The IRS uses refund offsets to collect from individuals that owe the federal government a delinquent debt.

“These are not the kinds of things we send agents out about,” Shulman said. “These are things where you get a letter from us. Congress was very careful to make sure there was nothing too punitive in this bill.”

Oh man does the IRS have a sense of humor.

And they lie.

While they may say that publicly, I believe Megan McArdle hits the nail right on the head with her theory of what the IRS will actually do.

If the IRS can reorder the priority of the tax dollars they take from you, then they can simply put any funds towards the mandate first. That way, if you attempt to go without insurance and then pay the IRS everything except the mandate penalty, you’ll end up with a tax liability the exact size of the mandate penalty . . . for which they can now garnish your wages, put tax liens on your house, and otherwise do all the nasty stuff that they are authorized to do under Subtitle F.

That’s about what I would expect. You will not be able to evade this tax. They may say now that it’s not a high priority or they won’t do this, but once the billions don’t show up, you know the IRS enforcement will start to ratchet up.

While many of us debate the minutia of the various bills and proposals, dissect the monetary costs, discuss the cultural price tag and wallow in an overwhelming sense of foreboding, Massachusetts is already living some of the consequences of this foolishness.

Today on Boston.com it was reported that the commonwealth is upwards of $200M short in tax receipts. Now, this is not directly related to the Mass healthcare debacle that is unfolding daily, but it is an indirect result. You see, our healthcare mandates have pushed up expenses quite a bit and to cover that, the moron governor pushed through a 25% tax increase from 5% to 6.25%. The opponents continually pointed out that it would not raise the revenue that they forecast, but the governor and his troglodytes in the legislature pushed it through anyways.

The result, predictably enough, significantly less revenue than expected.

Why?

I’m not an expert, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that Rep. Michael Rodriguez isn’t the exception when he drives across the border to New Hampshire to buy his liquor without the sales tax. People change their behavior when you charge them more. This isn’t just a rule of taxation, it’s a fundamental rule of economics.

If I were to run a business like Taxachusetts is run, I would expect to double revenue if I doubled the price of my widget. “Gee, wow, I made $1,000 selling these for $1 each.. I need $10,000 — so i’ll just sell them for $10 each.”

Do you really think 1000 people will buy the widget for 10x more? I suppose, if it’s insanely awesome, they might, but more than likely, if i do that, my revenue will drop to almost nothing.

All of the healthcare proposals on the table are completely unrealistic. Government can try to raise taxes to pay for the monstrosity, but in the end, people will avoid the taxes, and revenues WILL fall. Then we’ll not only be worried about paying for the stupid healthcare shenanigans, but any and all other services we’ve come to rely on.

It’s even worse, really, because there are even wider repercussions of  these insane policies…

First of all, people will work less. Why work more for the US Govt? Why not just sit back and rake in the welfare? It’s not like you won’t have health insurance or a paycheck.

Another unavoidable effect of confiscatory taxation is that the best and the brightest will relocate, either out of the country, or to the parts of the country where the tax code and business situation is the friendliest.  This will leave the dregs and the scum running the places most in need of the best. There is a reason why the most Liberal areas are shrinking at the fastest rate.

You’ll notice that all of these things are indirect results, but they are real and provable. The types of policies being pursued in this country right now are destructive to the economy, destructive to the social fabric and most certainly unsustainable for any length of time.

All of this starts us down a convoluted path, where every niggling little bit of economic spewtum is examined for it’s usefulness to government. Agencies are required to track all behaviors, because ultimately all behavior is economic behavior.  I was reading on hotair.com about tax exemptions for pets - and that is really the next logical step isn’t it? The government starts offering lollipops on the bank counter. Everyone loves a little gift, it makes them feel like everything is good.  yes, it’s a republican proposal, but that’s really just a symptom of the larger problem. This isn’t about the cat or the dog, or the behavior, this is about tossing a bone to the tax payer to keep them from boiling. Government, Republican and Democrat, now use whatever they can do bribe the electorate.

Healthcare is the final step. Once you have power over a person’s life…and death… there is no need to bribe. Take what you need by gunpoint and demand what you want.

Massachusetts will pretend to make ‘tough choices’ and ‘do the right thing’ but in the end, nothing will change, people who are smart will leave, and the commonwealth will grow more and more a cesspool where no rational person will want to live.

Ultimately, THAT is what this healthcare debate is about. Do we want to be a gray lifeless totalitarian cesspool state or not?

Here’s a wonderful update about the amount of money and the jobs that are being saved up here in the great Live Free or Die state.

The report also revealed that through the end of June that stimulus money created or saved 796 jobs, with 700 of those state workers who did not have to get laid off thanks to the federal grants, Fitch said.

So much for “shovel ready” projects that could help save jobs. As I’ve said before, this bill masquerading as pork is nothing more than a complete and utter political payoff to HRH The Sun Kings supporters.

The state has so wonderfully created a nice google map showing the spending, which can be viewed at http://www.nh.gov/recovery/map/index.htm. You click on the link for the statewide amount and a nice bubble pops up. Then click on the wonderful summary tab and please note that the wonderful number ZERO is listed for employment.

Stimulus my ass. This does nothing for private sector jobs that pay for the public sector. Nothing but a complete and utter waste of taxpayer money. And the chattering skulls in DC don’t understand what yesterday was about, do they? Well they’ll find out when they’ve been voted out in 2010. Oh and the republican party had better understand that they’re in the cross hairs too.

The TaxProf has the details that there is yet another HRH The Sun King nominee with tax problems.

President Barack Obama’s nominee for the top international post at the Treasury Department has been sidetracked by a Senate committee’s investigation into her personal tax returns.

Lael Brainard, nominated in March as Undersecretary for International Affairs, is the latest Obama appointee to be tripped up by the Senate Finance Committee. Of particular concern is Ms. Brainard’s use of a home-office tax deduction, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

Doesn’t any of these rich liberals use tax lawyers or accountants?

But what really makes this interesting is that her husband is also in the administration. Guess nepotism isn’t a problem for HRH The Sun King.

The delay in Ms. Brainard’s nomination is especially noteable because her husband, Kurt Campbell, was confirmed by the Senate on June 25 as Assistant Secretary for East Asian Affairs. If the couple filed a joint return, any errors would be his, too.

Of course they don’t mind charging people taxes, these thieves never pay them. For shame.

California is obviously in big trouble, but I wonder if there is a kernel of hope in it’s disaster. Usually in left-leaning states when times get bad people mutter and grumble a bit, but in the end, taxes go up, and the pork barrel party continues without so much as a pause.

But right now in california, all of the tax increases are struggling to gain any traction. And, as they promote them, and people learn more about them, they lose ground.

As the policy institute’s president, Mark Baldassare, put it: “The people who are most tuned in are most turned off.”

And I wonder, perhaps the souls of the people in California are only atrophied and not completely dead. Perhaps that fighting spirit of liberty is still alive there. As politicians and political action groups try to use fear they are losing ground.

“Fear can be a powerful motivator for people to vote against something,” he said. “Whether it can be a motivator to vote for something will be tested over the next few weeks.”

The fact that pols and connected folk there think fear is a solution says something really deep and terrible about them. Who uses fear? Evil people. Terrorists. That’s who. Perhaps Californians are realizing that their liberal politicians are domestic terrorists.  Using terror to get what they want, how is that acceptable to anyone?

We shall see, but maybe there’s a corner to be turned here – a revolution beginning. How the lost and pathetic people of California react to these tactics will tell us all a lot about where we’re going and how quickly.  It is interesting to me that the people so desperate to raise revenues are wasting millions to advertise the measures they want to use.  If I were a Californian I’d be on the verge of open rebellion – steal my money, then make me vote to give you the authority to steal MORE money, and complain bitterly about my unwillingness whilst using my stolen money to tell me what we need to do to steal more of my money?

“I do think we have our work cut out, but I don’t think all is lost,” the speaker said. “In the coming days, I think you’ll see a barrage” of advertising to drive home the message that the measures are badly needed.

Oh yeah. That seems right

Amazgingly enough, the AP has a story talking about some of HRH The Sun King’s talking points and wow, they’re actually keeping track. You know that AP will soon be getting an ‘F’ from the administration.

“That wasn’t me,” President Barack Obama said on his 100th day in office, disclaiming responsibility for the huge budget deficit waiting for him on Day One.

It actually was him – and the other Democrats controlling Congress the previous two years – who shaped a budget so out of balance.

And as a presidential candidate and president-elect, he backed the twilight Bush-era stimulus plan that made the deficit deeper, all before he took over and promoted spending plans that have made it much deeper still.

Yes you got that right. The AP actually admitted that the current administration really does have responsibility for the current financial mess of a “budget”.

OBAMA: “Number one, we inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit…. That wasn’t me.
…
THE FACTS:

Congress controls the purse strings, not the president, and it was under Democratic control for Obama’s last two years as Illinois senator. Obama supported the emergency bailout package in President George W. Bush’s final months – a package Democratic leaders wanted to make bigger.

Maybe the honeymoon really is off between the liberal voters in the legacy media and HRH The Sun King. And yes, it is a fact that the democratically controlled congress, of which HRH The Sun King was a member of, controls the purse strings and have made a trillion dollar deficit. For at least this year. Who knows about next year.

Here’s a good rant to start off your day.

There will always be death and taxes; however, death doesn’t get worse every year.

– Anonymous

That about sums it up .