Talk-radio host Neal Boortz is no fan of the nation’s capital. “The place gives me the creeps,” he said on this week’s Scribecast. Boortz, a self-described libertarian who first visited Washington, D.C., in the 1950s, said federal bureaucrats have given the city a bad reputation. “I came to know Washington as a symbol of freedom, of liberty, of all that made this country great,” Boortz said. “And now when I come to this city, I see these people walking on the sidewalk and I just think, yeah, what cubicle are … More
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Rule #1 of tax reform: Tax reform does not raise taxes. The budget resolution sponsored by Representatives Jim Cooper (D–TN) and Steve LaTourette (R–OH) breaks this rule. In reality, it is a massive tax hike of nearly $2 trillion, according to Americans for Tax Reform. The Cooper–LaTourette budget follows the faulty path first worn by President Obama’s Simpson–Bowles deficit reduction panel. Cooper and LaTourette, like Simpson–Bowles before them, would eliminate most credits, deductions, and exemptions and lower marginal tax rates—but not nearly enough. Their plan targets a top rate in … More
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By Daniel J. Mitchell
American companies are hindered by what is arguably the world’s most punitive corporate tax system. The federal corporate rate is 35 percent, which climbs to more than 39 percent when …
President Obama’s Corporate Tax Reform Rearranges the Deck Chairs on the Titanic is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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By Daniel J. Mitchell
American companies are hindered by what is arguably the world’s most punitive corporate tax system. The federal corporate rate is 35 percent, which climbs to more than 39 percent when you add state corporate taxes. Among developed nations, only Japan is in the same ballpark, and that country is hardly a role model of economic [...]
President Obama’s Corporate Tax Refom Rearranges the Deck Chairs on the Titanic is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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On December 31, a set of approximately 50 tax-reducing provisions commonly referred to as the “tax extenders” expired. These provisions, which apply to both individuals and businesses, include popular measures such as the Research and Experimentation credit for businesses and the optional deduction for state and local sales taxes for individuals. Congress will need to retroactively extend these tax laws at some point this year; otherwise, a steep tax increase on certain groups of taxpayers will remain in place. Retroactively addressing the tax extenders is nothing new. Congress generally waits … More
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By Michael F. Cannon
…appears at the end of this a poor, unsuccessful letter I sent to the editor of the Washington Post: After quoting a scholar who expresses the economic consensus that the rising cost of employer-purchased health benefits “means lower wages and salaries,” “New study shows health insurance premium spikes in every state” [Nov. 17] immediately contradicts that [...]
Cannon’s Second Rule of Economic Literacy is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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How many times should your money be taxed? One time? Two times? Three times? Four? Sounds like a ridiculous proposition, but that’s the true story of capital gains taxes in America, and it’s one that’s not being told in the continuing debate over Governor Mitt Romney’s taxes. For more than a week, the media has focused on the subject of just how much Romney pays in taxes. On Tuesday, the governor released his tax returns indicating that he paid about 15 percent in taxes last year. At first blush, that … More
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House Republicans return to Washington today to vote on a two-month payroll tax extension. If news reports are correct, the bill is likely to fail, leaving in doubt how lawmakers will resolve their differences before the year draws to a close. These year-end squabbles are now routine business in the nation’s capital. At issue in this case is the short-term extension of the payroll tax rate through February. “I believe that two months is just kicking the can down the road. The American people are tired of that. Frankly, I’m tired … More
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Ready for a new year and another bout with the Internal Revenue Service, deductions, exemptions, pens and pencils, calculators, receipts, 1040s, W-2s, accountants, Quicken, TurboTax, and more? If you’re like most Americans, that laundry list of income tax jargon, paraphernalia, professionals and their fees is enough to set your head spinning — and even if it isn’t, the thought of paying Uncle Sam your annual dues will certainly do the trick. America’s tax code needs reform, plain and simple. The current tax system discourages saving, investment, and entrepreneurship. It’s a drag on … More
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President Obama and Republicans in Congress continue to wage war over an extension of the payroll tax cut. But missing from the debate is any discussion of comprehensive tax reform that would eliminate payroll taxes altogether. Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes are the second-largest source of federal revenue, surpassed only by personal income taxes. This week’s chart from Heritage’s 2011 Budget Chart Book depicts federal revenue by source. That chart would look quite different if Heritage’s tax-reform plan were enacted into law. That plan, part of the Saving the … More
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