The SALT Exodus

When Republicans passed their tax reform legislation, the majority of Americans noticed a bump in their paychecks. It’s always good to keep more of your money; it’s even better to deprive the D.C. swamp of taxpayer largess.


However, certain provisions in this law may have unintended consequences red staters may soon regret. The repeal of SALT deductions (state and local taxes) could trigger an exodus unseen since the days of Moses. Blue states are notoriously expensive to live in. Their politicians are irresponsible spendthrifts as well as the voters who elect them. Once this provision is taken away only the poor and ultra-rich will inhabit these progressive utopias. Here is an excerpt from the Hill:


The recently passed tax bill, which repeals the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, will only speed up the exodus. Thanks to the bill’s passage, many New York taxpayers will save little or nothing despite a cut in the federal rate. The state’s highest earners — who have been footing an outsized share of the bill — will pay tens of thousands of dollars more in income taxes in 2018. In New York alone, loss of the SALT deduction will remove $72 billion a year in tax deductions and affect 3.4 million residents.


And make no mistake: What’s happening in the Big Apple is a microcosm of what’s happening in the nation’s blue states, cities and towns. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago — the places where power and capital have traditionally congregated — have become so over-regulated, so overpriced and mismanaged, and so morally bankrupt and soft on crime that people are leaving in droves. Of course, these high-tax cities are the same places hit hardest by the removal of the SALT deduction.


I admit I loved sticking it to these blue state scumbags. But I can say without hesitation I don’t want these commies becoming my neighbors. That New York accent, bad attitude and progressive politics have no business in the South. 

Source:

http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/384536-the-great-exodus-out-of-americas-blue-cities

Liberal Myth: Blue States are Donor States

We’ve all heard the braggadocious complaints from blue state progressives about being net contributors to the federal coffers.  These so-called elites resent all those ingrates in flyover country who take more from Washington D.C. then they give.  Well, we’re finding out this is just another big lie perpetuated by a band of thumb suckers.  We can thank the Trump administration for exposing this liberal myth.  Here is an excerpt from USA Today:

Trump’s new tax plan would hit blue states hardest, by eliminating the federal deductibility of state income and property taxes. That’s going to make it harder for blue states to maintain the high tax rates they’ve traditionally levied.

Right now, if you pay state property or income taxes, you can deduct them against your federal income taxes. In effect, it means that if you’re in a high federal bracket, your state taxes may be offset by that federal deduction to the tune of 40% or more.

End the federal deduction, though, and high state taxes come straight out of taxpayers’ pockets with no offset.  As economist Nicole Kaeding told The Hill, by allowing deductions for state taxes, “the federal government is essentially subsidizing high tax rates in states like California and New York.”

Whoa!  Did I read that correctly?  If I’m not mistaken, Americans are subsidizing states like California and New York to a tune of about 40% or more.  I believe it’s time for these self-proclaimed elites to get off of their high horses and forgo all of those “loopholes” they level at everyone else.  What’s that saying, “Paying taxes is the highest form of patriotism”? Time to pay up, libtards.

Source:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/05/01/trump-test-democrats-tax-patriotism-glenn-reynolds/101159082/

https://costonscomplaint.blogspot.com/2017/01/californias-progressivism-responsible.html?m=0

Dem Capos Demand Don Obama Enforce Loyalty Oaths

Senate Democrats want a crackdown on companies that have fled their extortionist policies.  Capos Durbin, Warren and Reed want Don Obama to remind these taxpaying soldiers of their obligation to the federal government.  They want undying loyalty to this thing called Cosa Nostra.  Here is an excerpt from their letter to the Godfather, as reported by the Hill:

“Corporations that renounce their U.S. corporate citizenship should not be able to reap all the benefits that American tax dollars provide,” they wrote. “We urge you to use your authority to stand up for American companies which are proud to be part of our nation and reduce U.S. incentives for others corporations which would abandon their responsibilities to their country for a nod of approval from Wall Street.”

The senators warned that 47 corporations have inverted operations in the last decade, with over a dozen more announcing plans to do the same. If the government does not act soon, the U.S. could lose billions of dollars in tax revenue from companies that enjoy perks provided here, they cautioned.

“Inverted corporations take advantage of all the things American tax dollars provide—from tax credits for research and development, investments in transportation infrastructure, and strong patent and copyright protections, to profiting from taxpayer-supported programs like Medicare and the Veterans Health Administration. Yet, these companies claim to be foreign corporations when it’s time to pay their tax bill,” they wrote.

The federal mafia needs those soldiers producing.  And they had better.  After all, they have all the benefits of this thing called a family.  By the way, once you’re in, you can’t leave.

Source:  http://thehill.com/policy/finance/214343-senate-dems-urge-obama-to-act-alone-on-inversions#ixzz39ee5Fscv 

A Federal Government Holiday Reminder

H/T:  Muskegon Pundit

N.C. Hospitals Throw Tantrum Over State Budget

You can hear the squeals all the way from Raleigh.  The free lunchers are throwing tantrums throughout the state.  So-called “non-profit” organizations are screaming about reductions in state tax refunds, and the possibility of actually having to collect taxes for services rendered.  One of the biggest non-profits in the state are hospitals.

Carolinas HealthCare System CEO Michael Tarwater warned Tuesday that state legislative proposals to tax hospitals and decrease reimbursement could “disrupt the delicate balance that exists between mission and margin.”

“It’s still pretty gloomy,” Tarwater told board members at their quarterly meeting.

Tarwater, who leads the region’s largest hospital system with $7 billion in revenues and about 40 hospitals across the Carolinas, said he and his staff are monitoring state and federal legislative proposals. Some of them “would have a very negative impact on what we are able to do for our patients,” he said.

For example, under a bill co-sponsored by N.C. State Sen. Bob Rucho (R-Matthews), nonprofit hospitals would be required to pay sales taxes.

State and local governments now pay more than $400 million in annual sales tax refunds to nonprofits, and most of the money goes to hospitals. Under Rucho’s bill, sales tax refunds would be capped at $100,000 per year starting in 2016.

We all know what N.C. hospitals’ mission is, and that is to procure outrageous profits.  Everyone complains about Big Oil.  Hell, they’re pikers compared to Big Hospital.  Their profit margins double that of the integrated oil and gas industry.

I have a mission for anyone who’d like to take a challenge.  Get a quote from a hospital on the cost of stitching a finger.  Now that’s a mission!

And let’s disabuse ourselves that these "non-profit" hospitals are concerned about the general welfare of our citizens.  They are just as concerned about profit as any other business, and will use any means to help their bottom line. 

For years, the state hospital industry had been accustomed to getting its way in Raleigh. With a squad of lobbyists and generous donations to elected officials, it has long been one of the most powerful interest groups in state politics.

Now it’s facing an array of financial threats, including the rejection of expanded Medicaid funding by the state legislature.

Leaders in both North Carolina and South Carolina chose not to accept Medicaid expansion, which was intended to provide health insurance to more low-income people as part of the Affordable Care Act.

By rejecting the money, North Carolina will deprive state hospitals of $440 million a year, the hospital association estimated.

Tarwater added that cutbacks to hospitals will make it harder for Carolinas HealthCare to give free care to needy patients and to provide other “community benefits.”

The nonprofit system said it provided $284 million in financial assistance and discounts to uninsured patients last year.

And I'm sure they made it up it by overcharging the insured and those who paid cash.  But even after the state rejected “free money” from the federal government, Carolinas HealthCare’s financials aren’t hurting.  Hell, they’re expanding:

In other business at Tuesday’s quarterly board meeting, Carolinas HealthCare reported first-quarter profits of $160 million, a decrease from $229 million during the same period in 2012. Most of the profit resulted from investment income of $130 million, which was down from $169 million in last year’s first quarter.

The system also reported operating income of $18 million from net operating revenue of $1.9 billion, compared to the first quarter of 2012 when it had $37 million in operating income from $1.6 billion net operating revenue.

Chief Operating Officer Joe Piemont blamed the decrease on “impacts of changes in funding,” such as Medicaid cuts and the loss of county reimbursement for indigent care. “And our costs are not going down.”

Still, Piemont called it “a solid quarter.”

Capital expenditures for the system totaled $185 million in the first quarter. That included the start of construction on a behavioral health center in Davidson and a new rehabilitation center at Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast in Concord.

 

Rock on, North Carolina hospitals.  Rock on.

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/06/11/4099814/carolinas-healthcare-chief-worried.html#storylink=cpy

Pay Your Fair Share, Al Gore!

Pay your fair share Al Gore!  This hypocrite was desperate to unload his failing television network to Al-Jazeera before the Bush Tax cuts expired.  This is the same jerk who rails against the rich for using tax loopholes to avoid their “patriotic” responsibilities.  On top of that, this steward of the environment sold his network to his arch nemesis: big oil.  The Examiner reported the following:

With reports of a possible windfall of as much as $100 million from the sale of Current TV for co-founder Al Gore, it appears he may have been better off in business than politics for most of his life. Matthew Sheffield has reported for NewsBusters, Report: Gore Wanted Current TV Sale Completed in 2012 to Avoid Obama Tax Increases. In a bit of a paradox, Al Gore, as the previous politician who appears to have been among the first to have introduced the idea of blaming “the wealthiest one percent” for all of America’s ills, is making headlines with the sale of his Current TV channel to the Al Jazeera.

Forbes writes that the former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate had wanted the sale to the Qatari channel to be completed prior to December 31. That date was important to Gore due to the fact that he was trying to avoid the higher tax rates that President Obama has been insisting on for years. However, despite their best efforts to avoid paying a fairer share for taxes, Gore and his partners were unable to get the deal done before 2013. This is the same Gore who spent a great deal of his 2000 presidential campaign attacking eventual president George W. Bush for allegedly wanting to give away America’s cash to the very richest Americans.

Al Gore refused to sell Current TV to Glenn Beck because of ideological conflicts.  Apparently, Big Al has more in common with Jew hating polluters who despise America, than a devout Christian who loves his country.

Source:  http://www.examiner.com/article/gore-sells-current-tv-to-al-jazeera

Raising Taxes Will Not Balance the Budget

This is a straight forward tutorial.  But to the average Obama voter, we probably would have to resort to a Clockwork Orange type of therapy. 

 

 

 

H/T: NC Renegade



 

Is TS Designs a Business or Eco-Grifters?

Yesterday, the Charlotte Observer published an op-ed written by Eric Henry, president of TS Designs. Now, mind you this is no ordinary article. Most small business owners I know, despise the Obama administration’s ‘You didn’t build that’ meme. So, it’s surprising to see an entrepreneur with an Occupier attitude. And as usual not all things are what they seem with this newspaper. And neither is TS Designs. Just go to their website. You’d think this company is more of a commune than a business. But first, I’ll let Mr. Henry tell his story.

From Eric Henry, president of TS Designs, a t-shirt manufacturing and printing company in Burlington:

If anyone tells you that ending the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2 percent would hurt job creation, tell them to talk with me. We founded our business, TS Designs, in 1977 as a small manual screen printing company and grew to land contracts with some of clothing’s biggest brands. In 1993, we lost much of our business as a result of the supposedly job-creating NAFTA trade agreement as large brands sought out the cheapest labor costs they could in Mexico.

We decided to stick it out and keep good jobs right here in North Carolina. We invested in new technologies that reduced our energy and waste costs. We found new markets for our t-shirts. And we looked at our location in North Carolina as a virtue, not a problem. We decided to manufacture t-shirts from cotton grown, ginned, spun, knit, finished, cut, sewn, printed and dyed all within our state’s borders; or as we like to say, from dirt to shirt in North Carolina.

Years ago, I studied to be an economist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Our public schools, colleges and universities are among the important places we can see our tax dollars at work.

The new markets that TS Designs found are the environmentalist. The green energy fanatics are willing to pay higher prices for an eco-friendly product, whereas others would eschew paying 30% more for a stinking t-shirt. And isn’t it interesting that Mr. Henry is committed to education? His company is in need of indoctrinated students. Business Journal reported the following boondoggle on September 2010:

The work force will soon be a bit greener in Alamance County, thanks to a grant that is allowing Alamance Community College to place 40 interns at businesses and organizations across the community this fall.

The Energy Internship Program is funded by a grant awarded in July from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Alamance Community College was the only community college in the state to get money, and it got the largest grant — $339,276 — of the $5.6 million distributed to other entities in the state.

And guess which company is right in the middle of it all:

Alamance Community College has also been ahead of the curve in terms of green technology. Last fall, it launched its 12-credit-hour Green Technology Certificate Program, which is part of its industrial systems technology department. Participating students learn about wind, solar and hydro power systems, renewable energy and environmental sustainability issues.

Students who want to be eligible for one of the internships must be six hours into the Green Technology Certificate Program, Rhode says.

“We were looking at doing (the Green Technology Certificate Program) before the North Carolina community college system developed a curriculum for it,” says Nadelman, who credits Alamance Community College vice president Barry Weinberg for starting the program there. “We also had some forward-thinking people in the community who were working with solar energy and wanted us to do this.”

One of those companies, TS Designs, a small screen-printing business in Burlington, now serves as a remote classroom for students, who can observe how solar energy is implemented into a working business model.

They have solar panels all right. And it couldn’t have happened without federal and state tax credits. Here is an excerpt from their website:

Our numbers estimate that our new solar array will pay for 96% of its purchase, installation, and operating costs over a 6 year period. This document answers a few FAQ’s about the numbers behind the payback.

The rest of this page references a spreadsheet with all the summary calculations shown. You can view that spreadsheet here as a PDF (opens in a new window).

Alternatively, you can find a PDF containing both the spreadsheet and all of the analysis content on this page for easy printing here.

How is the federal solar tax credit calculated?

The federal solar tax credit is calculated as 30% of the array purchase price; our federal tax credit is ($71,000 * 30%) = $21,300.

TS Designs is an S-Corporation, which means its income, and thus its tax burden, is transferred to its owners (Tom Sineath and Eric Henry). Because the federal tax credit will be claimed by Tom and Eric, the AMT (alternative minimum tax, a tax affecting individual income) will affect how much can be claimed in any given year (which is why the credit is spread over several years in varying estimated amounts on our attached payback analysis spreadsheet).

How is the NC state solar tax credit calculated?

The state solar tax credit is calculated as 35% of the array purchase price, divided evenly among the first 5 years. Our NC tax credit is ($71,000 * 35%) = $24,850, so we can take a $4,970 credit each year for five years.

Isn’t that a little hypocritical? Not if you’re a liberal. Mr. Henry continues on:

When the first Bush tax cuts passed in 2001 our nation had a budget surplus and we were told the tax cuts would pay for themselves by boosting economic growth and job creation. Many people thought that was bunk. You’d think the economic meltdown and large budget deficit would have shown that giving tax breaks for the best-off Americans makes them richer – it doesn’t pay for itself, it doesn’t trickle down and it doesn’t create jobs, at least not in America.

I know firsthand that investment is the key to keeping my business healthy. I know that the taxes I pay allow the government to reinvest in teachers, roads, clean water and other infrastructure and services that my business depends on to succeed.

North Carolina benefits significantly from government investment. For every tax dollar we send to Washington, we get $1.08 back in everything from supports for our cotton farmers, jobs at our military bases, investments in our national parks that bring tourists to our state, and research and education investments that support the Research Triangle.

What a bunch of nonsense. The only ones who get $1.08 back on their one dollar investment are the teat squawkers and political grifters who game the system. From 1995 to 2011, North Carolina cotton farmers received $1,632,729,642 in federal government subsidies. Now, that’s a hell of return on an investment! Lord only knows how much taxpayer money the Research Triangle scammed us out of. Oh, forgot. That’s an investment according to Mr. Henry of TS Designs.

And this particular Gem from the president of TS Designs is particularly amusing:

As a small business owner, taking money from the budgets of families struggling to make ends meet and giving it to the most prosperous families won’t help my business or our economy. Instead it will continue us down the path of subsidizing the already well off instead of making the investments in our economy and our people that truly strengthen our nation and our homegrown jobs.

Notice the attitude of this liberal. This guy seems to think that the “most prosperous families” didn’t earn their money; it was given to them. And he wants his due. He’s entitled to their wealth.

It’s hard to believe that entrepreneurs have the mentality of an Occupier. But then again, TS Designs business model caters to these teat squawkers.

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/21/3469242/take-it-from-this-business-owner.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2010/09/13/focus4.html?page=all


http://tsdesigns.com/blog/2008/09/15/solar-payback/


http://tsdesigns.com/blog/2009/12/05/dr-jack-martins-acc-class/


http://farm.ewg.org/region.php?fips=37000


http://www.bcorporation.net/tsdesigns


http://tsdesigns.com/blog/2011/12/12/from-dirt-to-shirt-video/


http://www.luckphotography.com/2012/01/lucked-out-slowmoneync-ts-designs-funding-celebration-community-building-in-action-burlington-nc-event-photography/

The Hunt for Accidental Americans

Last year 1,780 Americans renounced their citizenship. Expatriates are finding out that the land of the free isn’t so free anymore. The bloated U.S. government is in need of money, and many are finding greener pastures elsewhere. But there is a price to be paid. If you think the I.R.S. is going to let you off scot-free, you’ve got another think coming. Here is a sample of what is going to happen to you for daring to leave the collective, as reported by the Wall Street Journal:

You might owe an exit tax. U.S. citizens who expatriate are treated as though they sold all of their property the day before they renounce, even if they will continue to own it and pay property or other taxes.

Capital gains (net of losses) are taxed at the current top rate of 15%, after an exemption of $651,000. The tax on some assets, such as an individual retirement account, will be at ordinary income rates up to 35%, notes Dean Berry, an attorney with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York.

The tax applies to U.S. taxpayers whose net worth is greater than $2 million or whose average annual income tax for the past five years is $151,000 (adjusted for inflation).

There are important exemptions; one involves people who have been dual citizens from birth. For more information, see the instructions to IRS form 8854.

You will have to certify that you have been tax-compliant for the last five years. The upshot: Expatriation is a bad strategy for coping with past noncompliance.

Your heirs could get a big tax bill. The U.S. heirs of wealthy taxpayers who renounce their citizenship usually owe inheritance tax equal to the U.S. estate tax on assets left to them by the expatriate. (This doesn't apply to spouses who are U.S. citizens.)

What is even more perverse is if your parents are foreigners, and you were accidently born on U.S. soil, than according to an asinine Supreme Court ruling, you’re considered an American citizen. That used to be considered a good thing. But not today, and especially, if you live abroad and never considered yourself an American.

Also, unlike many countries, the U.S. has a broad definition of who is a citizen—including, for example, people born on American soil. That produces a large number of "accidental citizens" who don't consider themselves American but nevertheless owe U.S. taxes.

Steven Cantor, a lawyer at Cantor & Webb in Miami, says he recently had a Latin American client accused by the Internal Revenue Service of hiding offshore accounts, but who was a citizen only because he was born here after his mother sought medical attention during a difficult pregnancy. Mother and son immediately moved back home.

"He had no U.S. passport or Social Security number and had traveled to the U.S. on a tourist visa, but I had to struggle to convince the IRS of his innocence," Mr. Cantor says. An IRS spokesman declined to comment on the case, but said the agency has since clarified the rules to provide reduced penalties for U.S. citizens in such circumstances.

Hell, even a Clinton sycophant and campaign contributor hauled ass out of this country. Does anyone remember Denise Rich?

Well, at least Mrs. Rich got what she wanted: a pardon for her husband. The rest of us – true or accidently born here – will be stuck with a slobbering, avaricious federal government.


Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303879604577410021186373802.html

http://mises.org/daily/5666/The-Attack-on-Accidental-Americans

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-01/wealthy-americans-queue-to-give-up-passports-in-swiss-capital.html

http://now.msn.com/another-super-rich-person-quits-the-us-for-good

Dependents? Who Did I Miss?

I received this via email. It is only a joke. No need for you humorless Libtards to report me to the I.R.S.:

I just received my tax return for 2011 back from the IRS. It puzzles me!!!

Their question is: how many dependents do you claim?

I guess it was because of my response to: "List all dependents"

I replied:

12 million illegal immigrants;
3 million crack heads;
42 million unemployed people on food stamps,
2 million people in over 243 prisons;
Half of Mexico
And 535 persons in the U.S. House and Senate.

Evidently, this was NOT an acceptable answer.

I KEEP ASKING MYSELF, WHO DID I MISS?

Obama Administration Taxes Your Christmas Tree

Just when you thought you heard it all, the Obama administration throws a slider that is just outside the strike zone. Apparently, the federal government isn’t doing enough to promote the image and marketing of Christmas trees. That’s right … Christmas trees! And they plan on doing this with a 15-cent surcharge on your Charlie Brown tree:

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry” (7 CFR 1214.46(n)). And the program of “information” is to include efforts to “enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States” (7 CFR 1214.10).

To pay for the new Federal Christmas tree image improvement and marketing program, the Department of Agriculture imposed a 15-cent fee on all sales of fresh Christmas trees by sellers of more than 500 trees per year (7 CFR 1214.52). And, of course, the Christmas tree sellers are free to pass along the 15-cent Federal fee to consumers who buy their Christmas trees.

Acting Administrator Shipman had the temerity to say the 15-cent mandatory Christmas tree fee “is not a tax nor does it yield revenue for the Federal government” (76 CFR 69102). The Federal government mandates that the Christmas tree sellers pay the 15-cents per tree, whether they want to or not. The Federal government directs that the revenue generated by the 15-cent fee goes to the Board appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out the Christmas tree program established by the Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. President, that’s a new 15-cent tax to pay for a Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

All I have to say is watch out Easter Bunny. You’re next!

Source: http://blog.heritage.org/2011/11/08/obama-couldnt-wait-his-new-christmas-tree-tax/

Princess Pelosi Throws Pearls at the Middle Class

Princess Pelosi is astounded at the charge that Democrats are playing one group of citizens against another. That charge of course is class warfare:

“Am I missing something here?” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) asked Sunday at the 2011 New Yorker Festival. “That is an illegitimate charge in a country that has life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in its founding documents.”

And isn’t it convenient that the princess would invoke our founding documents, especially after she denounced our Constitution as antiquated.

But I digress. The princess has more gems of wisdom:

“We reward success. I’ve got these pearl earrings,” she joked. “God bless [corporations] for their success, God bless the shareholders who participate in that success. But let’s not forget the workers who contributed to that success. And as long as productivity and wages continue to go like that — productivity up, wages not rising in any relation to productivity — we’re going to have an erosion of the middle class. We’re going to have people slipping down from it. Most people in the country, no matter how poor they are, believe they are in the middle class, and that’s where they want to be, and we have to honor that aspiration.”

The reason we have an erosion of the middle class is because we have companies fleeing the United States, thanks to the regulatory state and burdensome taxes that her Grace has helped to create. The princess doesn’t reward success. She demeans it and taxes it. And if you don’t fit into her little rubric of what a company exist for, then you can kiss your business goodbye.

Pearls before swine, Princess!

Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/185123-pelosi-says-gop-is-using-class-warfare-term-as-a-defense?utm_campaign=briefingroom&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitterfeed

California City Imposes Jizya Tax on Christians

Christians around the world are under attack. In the Middle East, their churches are being burned to the ground and some have lost their lives. Since the Arab spring began, a tax called the jizya is under consideration for all non-Muslims.

A city in Orange County, California has levied their form of a Christian tax:

MISSION VIEJO (CBS) — An Orange County couple has been ordered to stop holding a Bible study in their home on the grounds that the meeting violates a city ordinance as a “church” and not as a private gathering.

Homeowners Chuck and Stephanie Fromm, of San Juan Capistrano, were fined $300 earlier this month for holding what city officials called “a regular gathering of more than three people”.

That type of meeting would require a conditional use permit as defined by the city, according to Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), the couple’s legal representation.

The Fromms also reportedly face subsequent fines of $500 per meeting for any further “religious gatherings” in their home, according to PJI.

“We’re just gathering and enjoying each other’s company and fellowship. And we enjoy studying God’s word.” Stephanie Fromm told CBS2

I wonder when we can expect church burnings in the City of San Juan Capristrano. Why not? It’s all the vogue in Arab countries. And we know liberals despise Christians as much as Muslims.

Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/09/20/oc-couple-threatened-with-500-per-meeting-fines-for-home-bible-study/

Rep. Charlie Rangel is Awkwardly Embarrassed of Congress

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) made an appearance on Fox News. He proceeded to pontificate on the lack of revenues the federal government needs in order to service the debt. Now, mind you this is the same person who evaded paying taxes and abused his privileges as a United States congressman; violations which garnered a formal rebuke by the House of Representatives.

It must take a special kind of person to publicly disgrace himself and then show up on the most popular cable news network in order to condemn others who take advantage of the tax laws.

But the biggest kicker is when he proclaimed that he was awkwardly embarrassed that Congress abdicated their responsibilities by employing a super-committee to confer on spending cuts.

Well Congressman, I’m glad to know that you’re capable of being embarrassed.

Source: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/watch-speaker-nancy-pelosi-delivers-house-censure-to-rep-charlie-rangel/

The E.P.A.: Cry Havoc and Let Loose the Dogs of Fines

The Environmental Protection Agency is getting ready to let loose the dogs of war on American businesses, states, and municipalities.  The Supreme Court has given this rogue agency the green light and Lisa P. Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator, is going to make the most of it:

Ms. Jackson said she intended to go forward with new, tougher air- and water-quality rules, including those that address climate change, despite Congressional efforts to override her authority and even a White House initiative to weed out overly burdensome regulations.

The first of these new rules is expected to be announced Thursday, imposing tighter restrictions on soot and smog emissions from coal-burning power plants in 31 states east of the Rockies. The regulation is expected to lead to the closing of several older plants and will require the installation of scrubbers at many of those that remain in operation.

 Oh yes, that dreaded boogieman climate change has to be defeated.  Or is it global warming?  I guess it depends on the template of the day.  Anyway, the federal bureaucratic machine is looking to fill Uncle Sam’s coffers, and this green hoax is just the ticket (or should I say fine).  It’s much easier to have a government agency levy non-compliance fines, than it is for Congress to raise taxes.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute contends that in 2008 government regulations cost the American economy $1.75 trillion.

“If regulatory costs remain largely hidden from public view, regulating will become increasingly attractive compared with increasingly unpopular taxing and spending,” Crews writes. “Rather than pay directly and book expenses for new initiatives, the federal government can require the private sector — as well as state and local governments — to pay for federal initiatives through compliance costs.”

What a bunch of sneaky sons of bitches.  The Dailey Caller reports the following abuses of our freedom courtesy of the United States of the Federal Bureaucracy:

• In 2010, federal agencies issued 3,573 final rules.

• While agencies issued 3,573 final rules, Congress passed and the president signed into law a comparatively “few” 217 bills. Considerable lawmaking power is delegated to unelected bureaucrats at agencies, an abuse addressed recently in proposals such as the REINS Act.

• Proposed rules in the Federal Register have surged from 2,044 in 2009 to 2,439 in 2010, a jump of 19.3 percent.

• Of the 4,225 rules now in the regulatory pipeline, 224 are “economically significant” meaning they wield at least $100 million in economic impact—this is an increase of 22 percent over 2009’s 184 rules.

• Given 2010’s government spending (outlays) of $3.456 trillion, the regulatory “hidden tax” of $1.75 trillion stands at an unprecedented 50.7 percent of the level of federal spending itself.

• Regulatory costs exceed all 2008 corporate pretax profits of $1.463 trillion.

• Regulatory costs dwarf corporate income taxes of $157 billion.

• Regulatory costs tower over the estimated 2010 individual income taxes of $936 billion by 87 percent—nearly double the level.

• Regulatory costs of $1.75 trillion absorb 11.9 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), estimated at $14.649 trillion in 2010.

• Combining regulatory costs with federal FY 2010 outlays of $3.456 trillion reveals a federal government whose share of the entire economy now reaches 35.5 percent.

 Let’s thank the Supreme Court for validating the supremacy of the Bureaucratic State.

Source:

http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/19/the-hidden-tax-report-estimates-regulation-costs-economy-1-75-trillion/#ixzz1RNQMDhmi

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/science/earth/06epa.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/government-regulations-economy-trillion/2011/04/19/id/393329

U.S. Households Receive More in Government Largess Than Pay into Treasury

Citizens of the United States have become dependent on federal government largess. More families are receiving handouts than what is being paid into the treasury. Fox Business reports:


U.S. households are now getting more in cash handouts from the government than they are paying in taxes for the first time since the Great Depression.


Households received $2.3 trillion in some kind of government support in 2010. That includes expanded unemployment benefits, as well as payments for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and stimulus spending, among other things.


But that’s more than the $2.2 trillion households paid in taxes, an amount that has slumped largely due to the recession, according to an analysis by the Fiscal Times.


Also, an estimated 59% of the 308.7 million Americans in this country get at least one federal benefit, according to the Census Bureau, based on 2009 data. An estimated 46.5 million get Social Security; 42.6 million get Medicare; 42.4 million get Medicaid; 36.1 million get food stamps; 12.4 million get housing subsidies; and 3.2 million get Veterans' benefits.


And the handouts from the government have been growing. Government cash handouts account for a whopping 79% of household growth since 2007, even as household tax payments--for things like the income and payroll tax, among other taxes--have fallen by $312 billion.

There is a unverified quote attributed to Sir Alex Fraser Tytler that pretty much sums up what happens to nations that have reached this point in their history:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess of the public treasury. From that time on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the results that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship....


The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from great courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependency back again to bondage

Bondage here we come.

Source: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/04/20/government-cash-handouts-exceed-tax-revenues/

George Soros Deceiving Americans Again

George Soros believes we tea partiers are easily deceived by Fox News and talk radio. Soros states that reducing taxes and getting rid of burdensome federal regulations doesn’t benefit average Americans. No, life would be unbearable without a government bureaucrat breathing down our necks and raiding our pocketbooks.

If you want to see a deceiver in action, watch the above video. Notice how he danced around his youthful exploits as a Nazi collaborator. And completely ignores his participation in overthrowing foreign governments just for the fun of it.

Here is a man who once stated he was God. Is it any wonder he thinks we little people are stupid and insignificant?

Federal Reserve to Tax the World

The Federal Reserve is about to impose a tax upon the whole world through Bernanke’s quantitative easing scheme. Germany and other countries have been outspoken on the U.S. debt and possible currency crisis:


BERLIN - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble lashed out Friday at the United States' move of printing huge money to stimulate its slow recovery, saying that these policies would not help but create more troubles.


"With all due respect, my feeling is that the United States is at a loss," Schaeuble told reporters in Berlin, two days after the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) announced it would purchase 600 billion dollars of long-term government bonds by mid-2011, in a new round of "quantitative easing".


"Saying now that we once again make an additional $600 billion available will not solve any problem." Schaeuble said. The difficulties faced by Americans had nothing to do with " liquidity drain."



“Helicopter Bob” Bernanke should take the advice of Germany’s Finance Minister. After all, I’m sure Mr.Schaeble remembers what his parents and grandparents went through with the Weimar Republic.

Biggest Tax Hikes in U.S. History Coming

120 Days to Go Until the


Largest Tax Hikes in History


From Ryan Ellis on Friday, September 3, 2010 11:10 AM


See also: Get 'Em While They're Hot: Medicine Cabinet Tax Hits in 120 Days

In just 120 days, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:

First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%

- The 25% bracket rises to 28%

- The 28% bracket rises to 31%

- The 33% bracket rises to 36%

- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family. The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care tax credit will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The top capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The top dividends tax rate will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.


Second Wave: Obamacare

There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:

The Tanning Tax. This went into effect on July 1st of this year. It imposes a new, 10% excise tax on getting a tan at a tanning salon. There is no exemption for tanners making less than $250,000 per year.

The “Medicine Cabinet Tax” Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike. This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Brand Name Drug Tax. Starting next year, there will be a multi-billion dollar tax assessment imposed on name-brand drug manufacturers. This tax, like all excise taxes, will raise the price of medicine, hurting everyone.

Economic Substance Doctrine. The IRS is now empowered to disallow perfectly-legal tax deductions and maneuvers merely because it judges that the deduction or action lacks “economic substance.” This is obviously an arbitrary empowerment of IRS agents.

Employer Reporting of Health Insurance Costs on a W-2. This will start for W-2s in the 2011 tax year. While not a tax increase in itself, it makes it very easy for Congress to tax employer-provided healthcare benefits later.

Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired. The major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be “depreciated.”

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Until this year, a retired person with an IRA could contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.” This ability will no longer be there

Read more: http://www.atr.org/days-thebr-largest-tax-hikes-history-a5370##ixzz0yVvymJkc

H/T:  Randy's Right