Archive for the “Taxes” Category
The Wall Street Journal makes short work of Warren Buffett (“Buffett Rule”) and President Obama’s arguments that millionaires are not paying their “fair share”
So here we are back at the same old political stand, though even Mr. Obama concedes that today those he routinely calls “millionaires and billionaires” pay at least some tax. The President’s complaint, echoing billionaire Warren Buffett, is that too many billionaires pay a lower rate than regular salary earners. So even as he endorsed tax reform in general yesterday, Mr. Obama insisted that one of his reform “principles” is that people who make more than $1 million must pay a higher tax rate than middle-class earners.
There’s one small problem: The entire Buffett Rule premise is false, as the nearby table shows. In 2008, the last year for which such data are available, the IRS reports that those who made more than $1 million in adjusted gross income paid an average income tax rate of 23.3%.
That’s slightly lower than the 24.1% rate paid by those making between $500,000 and $1 million, probably because the richest are like Mr. Buffett and earn more from capital gains and dividends. The rate for a relative handful of the rich—400 people—fell to 18%, the modern equivalent of Barr’s Gang of 21. But nearly all millionaires still paid a rate that is more than twice the 8.9% average rate paid by those earning between $50,000 and $100,000, and more than three times the 7.2% average rate paid by those earning less than $50,000. The larger point is that the claim that CEOs are routinely paying lower tax rates than their secretaries is Omaha hokum.
If Mr. Obama really wants all of these people to pay even more in taxes, there are only two ways to do so. One is to raise tax rates on capital gains, dividends and other investment income that is taxed at 15% and represents a great deal of income for the wealthy. This is probably Mr. Buffett’s tax secret, though to our knowledge he hasn’t released his returns to the public.
Read all of the piece.
Most pundits acknowledge that President Obama’s speech yesterday was more for his re-election than plausible policy that can actually be signed into law.
Obama sold his “Hope and Change” in 2008, but he and Warren Buffett will have a harder time selling their class warfare.
Tags: Barack Obama, Tax Rates, Warren Buffett
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Day By Day by Chris Muir
The Super Rich that President Obama and Congressional Democrats wish to surcharge are not stupid. They will move their enterprises/investments offshore where a willing country will tax them less.
Then, guess what?
Yes, they will lower the definition of Super Rich and/or add a National Sales Tax or a Value Added Tax. And, keep on spending.
Tax and spend Liberals – haven’t we heard this failed tune before?
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Tags: Day By Day, Taxes
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Yes, the Democratic Party has suddenly become the “Party of No.”
The House Democratic Caucus has voted to reject President Barack Obama’s tax deal with Republicans in its current form.
By voice vote, the rank and file Democrats passed a resolution Thursday that said the tax package should not come to the floor of the House for consideration. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., introduced the resolution.
Said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas: “If it’s take it or leave it, we’ll leave it.”
Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., said “it’s a pretty clear message. We don’t like the bill.”
So, what happens if President Obama’s own party does not affirmatively act on the Obama-GOP compromise tax rate/cut bill by the end of the lameduck session next week?
Taxes will go up on January 1 for everyone.
Of course, the GOP which in January will control the majority in the House will quickly vote to change the tax rates as soon as the new Congress meets, but, this will take time, Senate action (which is always slow) and economic uncertainty will do nothing positive for America.
Will the far-left House Democrats of Speaker Nancy Pelosi prevail over their own President?
Stay tuned here and on Twitter ———->
Tags: Democrats, GOP, Taxes
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Posted by Flap in Taxes
Obama Sells Out the LEFT: a Republican Win on Taxes
"There really is no other way to say it: the Republicans won, the liberal Democrats lost, and the president sided with the Republicans. The subject, of course, is an agreement to extend all the Bust tax cuts. The president tonight announced a "bipartisan framework" for agreement on, among other things, to extend the Bush tax cuts for two years. A Republican House aide tells me tonight it is "a damn good deal." And so it is, from the perspective of conservatives.
As they’ve been demanding, all of the Bush tax cuts are extended for two years. The estate tax that was due to pop back up to a rate of 55 percent was retained, but with a $5 million exemption and at a rate of 35 percent (better than Republicans privately expected). For that huge concession, the president extracted… a 13 month extension in unemployment benefits.
Now it’s true that the deal includes a one-year payroll tax cut of 2 percent. Plus other tax credits — the earned income credit, the child tax credit and the newly-created college credit — all remain in place. And businesses will be allowed to expense 100 percent of their purchases for equipment. Liberals and White House spinners will argue that the White House "wanted" many of those tax credits and breaks, but in point of fact the Republicans didn’t mind giving more tax breaks. It sounds better to slide those items into the White House’s column, but really the only concession by the Republicans was on extension of the unemployment benefits."
Indeed correct that the Republicans have won with this deal.
However, the real winners are the American people.
Let’s see how well the Obama Administration sells this "compromise" to his own Democratic Party and if there is a revolt – enough to deny passage in the House.
tags: Taxes Barack_Obama GOP
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
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Posted by Flap in Taxes
Delaying Tax Vote Could Crash Stock Market on December 15th
"Failure by Congress to extend the Bush tax cuts, especially locking in the 15 percent capital gains tax rate, will spark a stock market sell off starting December 15 as investors move to lock in gains at a lower rate than the 20 percent it would jump to next year, warn analysts. While it is unclear how bad the sell off could be, it could wipe out the year’s gains, they warn.
"Capital gains tax rate will increase from 15 to 20 percent if the tax cuts are not extended. The last time the capital gains tax rate increased–on Jan. 1, 1987 from 20 to 28 percent–investors realized their gains at the lower tax rate," said Daniel Clifton at a Washington partner at Strategas Research Partners.
"We would expect a similar effect this time around as investors see the tax rate going up and choose to realize their gains and incur the 15 percent tax." In a memo to clients, Clifton says that the date most clients are focused on is December 15th for a deal in Congress before beginning to sell. One reason: Many stock options expire that day and investors have to act."
There may very well be a deal to extend the entirelty of the Bush tax rates for a year or two and kick the can down the road.
Look for a number of votes over the next week as the political sideshow plays out.
tags: Taxes
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
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Posted by Flap in Taxes
House Democrats Vote to Increase Taxes
"Congressional Democrats rammed a bill through the House of Representatives Thursday indefinitely extending the Bush-era tax cuts only for families making $250,000 a year or less. It would maintain the current Alternative Minimum Tax limit for two years. The measure, which passed on a sharply polarized 234-188 vote, would allow the Bush tax cuts to expire after December 31 for the wealthiest Americans. Most Democrats backed the bill, while most Republicans opposed it. GOP leaders are insisting on an extension of the tax cuts for all Americans. All 42 Senate Republicans publicly vowed Monday to prevent a final vote on any other legislative business in the lame duck session until Congress has "prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers.""
The U.S. Senate will likely filibuster this cynical attempt to raise taxes on small business and demagogue the issue of tax rates for the wealth.
But, the LEFT will have a field day painting the GOP as the party of the rich.
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Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, accompanied by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., center, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.
As they should.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will announce this morning that Republicans will block any legislation from coming to the Senate floor until two key economic issues are addressed: funding the government (the “continuing resolution” which must pass to prevent a government shutdown) and the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts.
McConnell will say that members of his caucus are united in the pledge to use procedural votes to prevent any other non-economic issues — including the new START treaty, the DREAM Act, or the defense authorization bill that contains a potential repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy – from coming to the floor for debate.
Power politics to force Obama and the Democrat’s hand on the Bush era tax rates. If they expire, then the GOP will re-enact them in January (the next Congress) and force Obama to either sign the bill or use his veto.
Believe me, Americans care about jobs and taxes – not whether gays can serve in the military and amnesty for illegal aliens.
Tags: Mitch_McConnell, Taxes
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