Tag: IRS

Fair Tax Act Of 2023

This post is for all who have no idea what the ‘Act’ is all about….those that spend all their time on TicTac or Twatter….or are more concerned with what new song some skinny blonde porks out or what celeb was wearing a sheer dress….the Act will effect all of us mere mortals and you should be aware before you start some dialog with little knowledge.

First of all….what is the Fair Tax Act of 2023?

This bill imposes a national sales tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services in lieu of the current income taxes, payroll taxes, and estate and gift taxes. The rate of the sales tax will be 23% in 2025, with adjustments to the rate in subsequent years. There are exemptions from the tax for used and intangible property; for property or services purchased for business, export, or investment purposes; and for state government functions.

Under the bill, family members who are lawful U.S. residents receive a monthly sales tax rebate (Family Consumption Allowance) based upon criteria related to family size and poverty guidelines.

The states have the responsibility for administering, collecting, and remitting the sales tax to the Treasury.

Tax revenues are to be allocated among (1) the general revenue, (2) the old-age and survivors insurance trust fund, (3) the disability insurance trust fund, (4) the hospital insurance trust fund, and (5) the federal supplementary medical insurance trust fund.

No funding is authorized for the operations of the Internal Revenue Service after FY2027.

Finally, the bill terminates the national sales tax if the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (authorizing an income tax) is not repealed within seven years after the enactment of this bill.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/25

Now a break down how this act would work and effect you…..

Imagine this: Instead of paying federal taxes to the IRS, you pay them to your local cafe every time you buy a latte or to your supermarket when you make a grocery run — or to countless other businesses when you make purchases.

That’s a future proponents of the Fair Tax Act would like to see. The idea of implementing a national sales tax in lieu of our current federal tax apparatus is once again gaining steam after Rep. Buddy Carter (R. Ga.) introduced the bill to the House of Representatives earlier this month, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has agreed to bring the bill to a vote.

“This bill will eliminate the need for the [IRS] entirely by simplifying the tax code with provisions that work for the American people and encourage growth and innovation,” Carter said in an announcement.

The Fair Tax Act is unlikely to become law due to opposition from Democrats, and President Joe Biden has already said that he will veto the bill if it does manage to pass both the House and the Senate.

Still, the proposal has many wondering what a national sales tax or “fair tax” would look like.

https://money.com/fair-tax-act-national-sales-tax/

I love it when we are told that it is for us that this type of screwing is pointed to….but in reality it is aimed for the rich to pay less taxes than they pay now (and some pay no tax at all)

DO NOT BUY the hype…none of this is for you.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Fighting Inflation….A Typical Solution

We all are suffering the ravages of inflation….well most of us mere peasants that is….Most of us need some help….with that said the IRS has stepped up to help out….

The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday announced the adjustments that will be in effect for 2023 tax rates in response to soaring inflation, meaning some taxpayers could see a lower tax bill. As the New York Times reports, typically when tax rates are adjusted for inflation, the adjustments are “incremental.” Not so this year. All seven income brackets will be adjusted, with the largest shift seen at the highest level of earnings. The top income tax rate, 37%, will apply to those who earn $578,125 ($693,750 for married couples filing jointly), a big increase from this year’s threshold of $539,900 for individuals. Those who no longer meet the cutoff for the highest rate will be taxed at the next level down, 35%, and so it goes down the line to the lowest tax rate, 10%. (For details on each level see Kiplinger.)

Axios explains why this happens: “The IRS adjusts tax brackets every year to ward off ‘bracket creep’—when your salary rises to keep up with inflation, propelling you into a higher tax bracket.” For example, someone earning $34,000 per year, if being taxed at the 1980 level, would be taxed at a 49% rate. But, per the Times, those whose salaries have been adjusted to match rising inflation (which is not the case for many in the US) won’t benefit from the adjusted tax rates. The inflation adjustments were not carried out prior to 1985. In addition, in 2023 the standard deduction will increase $900 from this year to $13,850 for individuals; for couples, it will go up $1,800, to $27,700. Other adjustments include benefits for tax-free public transit and parking costs, the worth of the earned-income tax credit, and estate tax changes.

Please stop helping us out.

Just once I would like to see a corporation pay some taxes….I know I know they are the highest taxed in the world (well that is the lie we are fed to make giving them hand-outs look magnanimous)….

If I pay 35% on my income so should the corporations….it is that simple.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Tax Day=Pay Day

Today is when most Americans learn if they owe or get a trefund from the IRS…..the tax reforms of 2017 screwed many Americans out of their deductions…..but as usual corporations get a pay day…..

M-IC will be the big winners on Tax Day……

In tax season, most of us think more about getting our forms in on time—and getting our refunds—than about where our tax dollars actually go.

It’s probably no surprise that a significant portion—24 cents out of every dollar—of your taxes go to the military. But where those dollars go from there should be a national scandal.

Out of those 24 cents, just 5 cents go to our troops. But 12 cents go to corporate military contractors.

For a country that claims to celebrate our troops, with holidays and yellow ribbons and patriotic displays of the flag, we sure don’t put our money where our mouth is. Every year for tax day, my organization looks at where our tax dollars go. And every year, far more money goes to Pentagon contractors than to our troops.

All told, the average taxpayer handed over $1,704 to Pentagon contractors last year, compared to $683 for military pay, housing, and other benefits (except military health care, which has its own agency). Still, the taxes we pay for military contractors are more than twice as much as the average contribution for veterans’ health and benefits ($833).

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/04/09/military-contractors-tax-day-pay-day
 
Me?  I broke even this year….I was lucky…..most Americans will not be that fortunate.
 
Little do we know…..nothing good has come out of these tax cuts…….especially for the revenue of the nation…..
 
The_Score-IRS_img
 
 
And believe it or not……the Trump tax cuts are popular only with the uber rich….go figure……

Multiple polls show a majority of Americans don’t think they got a tax cut at all — even though independent analyses show they did. And only around a third of the country approves of the legislation itself, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed by Congress at the end of 2017.

So as Trump moves closer to full-time reelection mode later this year, he will have to battle a stark reality: While his personal rating on the economy remains high, his signature legislative achievement is widely viewed as a political dud, one that has drawn special anger in places with high state and local taxes and pricey housing markets where deductions were limited to reduce the overall cost of the tax plan.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/15/donald-trump-tax-cuts-unpopular-1273469

Not to worry……this all comes around again next year.

 

Closing Thought–21Feb19

More Economic Bad news.

Remember that tax cut thing a year or so ago?

You should! Thanx to that piece of political theater will see most of us with smaller tax refunds.

Remember refunds?

That cash that you get back from the IRS because unlike the rich you paid your taxes…..well yours may well be lower than you anticipated…..

The IRS is out with early numbers on tax refunds in 2019, and people hoping for a bump under the new tax changes are being unpleasantly surprised. In the first week of the filing season, the average refund was $1,865, down about 8% from last year’s average of $2,035, reports Politico. That has left many wondering what happened to the “$4,000 raise” the White House promised families would receive under the tax overhaul. Short answer: People are confusing their refunds with their tax burden. Details:

  • An example: The Washington Post highlights the example of a middle-class New Jersey couple whose income didn’t change but who received $3,000 less this year. “It totally feels like a scam,” says John Prugh. “I did still get a small refund, but compared to what I was expecting from previous years, it was shock.”
  • Feeling the same: NBC News notes that the hashtag #GOPTaxScam has surfaced, with people who have gotten decent refunds for years unhappy to discover that they’re getting far less or are even required to pay.

  • The Issue: Financial experts explain that what these people are overlooking is that their overall tax burden went down; they likely got bigger paychecks during the year, even if they didn’t notice. “There’s a difference between taxes and your refund,” a senior research associate at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute tells the Post. “People generally got a piece of their tax cut last year gradually in the form of lower withholding on their paychecks.”
    Lost deductions: The tax law may have lowered tax rates and increased the standard deduction, but it also limited deductions for state and local taxes, per Yahoo Finance. In fact, the new tax code eliminates or modifies many long-used deductions, including those related to mortgage interest, student-loan interest, and moving expenses.
    It’s early: Tax-filing season runs through April 15, and it’s possible trends could change. In fact, people seem to be delaying filing, perhaps because of all the changes: The IRS received 16 million returns in the first week, which is down 12.4% from last year.
    They’re doing it wrong: Those who have traditionally gotten fat refund checks from the IRS may think it’s great, but it’s more likely a sign that they need to examine their withholdings. “A large refund from the IRS may seem like an advantage, but it isn’t the best or most effective use of your cash flow,” a rep from Robert W. Baird & Co. tells CNBC. “You’re basically giving the IRS an interest-free loan.”

Not to worry this is just another way of Making America Great Again.

Some things seldom change…..especially the lies about tax cuts……

Peace Out!

 

“It Costs How Much”?

I have spent most of the time here on this blog, IST, bitching about the waste of money by the government and the costs of all the wars we seem to want to fight.  My hope was people would see what I was saying and start demanding that their be my accountability by our elected governments, no matter which thief is elected….

A story is developing around the NDAA….that magic piece of legislation that makes our defense contractors rich by no amount of imagination….speaking of the cost of a pint of American blood or a pound of flesh…..

Congress wants every taxpayer to know just how much of their money went to wars over the last 15 years. Tucked into the annual defense authorization bill — expected to become law in coming days — is a provision requiring the Defense Secretary and Internal Revenue Service Commissioner  to post online all of the costs, “including the relevant legacy costs, to each American taxpayer of each of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.” –Military Times 

There is more……..

How much has the US spent on war since 9/11? That’s been a matter of major debate, with no real official figures on the matter, and estimates varying wildly from low-end reports on the cost of the literal deployments to much larger all-in figures covering the war and aftermath.

We’re going to finally get an official figure at some point soon, however, as the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has been revealed to include a provision requiring the Pentagon and the IRS to both figure out the overall cost of the wars and make that figure publicly available.

Like most NDAAs, the 3,000+ page 2017 version includes a massive number of requirements which were neither publicized before the fact, or indeed widely known once the bill had passed, with analysts still digging through it and finding new details.

Congressional estimates have put the Iraq and Afghan wars at $800 billion and $700 billion, respectively, while some analysts have suggested that once the costs for medical care for the massive number of wounded is factored in, the cost could be many trillions of dollars. The Pentagon and IRS may be in a better position to know for sure, and the pressure is certainly going to be on with this legislation for them to come clean about the matter.

(antiwar.com)

I will wait to see how far this goes…..I m not liking the chances that it will become known to us mere mortals anytime soon….that is unless we find another whistle-blower that will sack up and turn the info out.

One last thought…….

OpenSecrets.org’s Resources on Politically Active Tax-Exempt Groups – OpenSecrets Blog

Unless you are a hardcore stoner you are aware of the latest “scandal” making the rounds on the media outlets….the IRS targeting conserv non-profits……nothing new sports fans!  Nixon used the IRS to target “radical Left” organizations and I would bet he was not alone…

Anyway, how many people even know what the faux scandal is all about?  Answer–501(c)(4) or most commonly known as the social nonprofits.

I thought I would help my readers out and explain what the classification is all about……educate yourself and help defeat the misconceptions of the media and its ilk.

 

OpenSecrets.org’s Resources on Politically Active Tax-Exempt Groups – OpenSecrets Blog.

It’s All About Income

The war of words has begun, well, it never really stopped, but it is heating up…..the magic word of the day is…..TAXES!

Obama is making his case for the rich to pay a higher rate (I refuse to succumb to the norm of labeling it)……Mitt is all over the taxes thing with his proposal of helping the well off and it will create jobs and revive the economy (trickle down does not work….period.) and the pundits dance!

Yes, I am one of those people that want EVERYONE to pay their share of this government…..my idea is simple…$0-$50,000–none, $50,001-$1 million–20%, $1 million-up–30%…I know that this will never happen but it is a more fair rate than anything anyone is offering now….

But let’s talk about it—there is one conserv pundit that says the same thing every time he is in front of the camera…..50% of all Americans pay NO taxes……apparently he and I have difference of opinion on the word “pay”…..if you work and draw a paycheck you will pay taxes!….they may get some or all back at the end of the year but they pay into the tax structure with every paycheck…..And the workers pay check is their ‘income’, right?

Wait!  Let us define ‘income’…….Revenues of an individual or legal entity.

Income is usually generated through sale of merchandise for profit as well as from salaries or commissions for the performance of services.

Now this is where I have a problem……..any and all income should be taxed at the given rate…..and that includes the capital gain stuff….in my opinion if money is made, no matter how, and the money goes into a bank account to be used by the person for stuff….then it is income, just like my check that goes into the bank for my use is income so is ALL cash that is gain by some form of employment…..so if it is income then it should be taxed at the going rate I posted previously.

We can have a smaller government without screwing the entire country because some guy wants to be the King On The Hill…….