Category: Taxes
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Economic Reality of a Wealth Tax / Economics / Taxes
Proponents of big government, from both the left and right, share one important trait; namely, both spend their waking hours dreaming up new schemes to tax wealth. Only a blind, deaf and dumb observer of economic imbalance would deny that the massive accumulation of worldly assets into the hands of the smallest number of robber barons in all of history is at the core of most social unrest and global instability. However, adopting a Marxist outlook on the evils of the bourgeoisie simply confuses the nature of the financial magnates, while blaming the hard pressed merchant class for conducting beneficial business. Creation of tangible wealth is the greatest achievement in the uplifting and improvement of the human condition, when that stream of riches flows between and among entrepreneurs and business proprietors.
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Wednesday, September 03, 2014
I Didn’t Believe the IRS Anyway / Politics / Taxes
Lois Lerner’s emails are back from the dead—sort of. The former IRS official’s BlackBerry, however, is still long gone. The IRS intentionally destroyed it in June 2012 (after congressional staffers interviewed Lerner about the IRS targeting conservative groups) as the Deputy Assistant Chief Counsel acknowledged in a recent sworn declaration.
We’ve all met someone we just don’t trust but don’t know why. There’s often a pretty good reason to feel that way.
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Saturday, August 30, 2014
Corporations Join Droves of Americans Renouncing US Citizenship / Politics / Taxes
Nick Giambruno writes: Don't be surprised to lose if you don't make an effort at being competitive.
And if you go out of your way to make yourself less competitive, expect to lose.
If that sounds like simple common sense, that's because it is.
But it's also exactly what the US has been doing for years-enacting tax policies that sabotage its global economic competitiveness.
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Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Only the Powerful Get Tax Cuts / Politics / Taxes
Crosby Kemper writes: Ninety-seven years ago, a small but ruthlessly determined band of revolutionaries set out to prove that it would be possible to achieve material happiness— and social justice — by replacing free markets with economic planning.
In his classic work Socialism, produced in 1922, just five years after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, Ludwig von Mises predicted the failure of Soviet communism. He pointed out that the planners would be flying blind — lacking the vital information that comes from free-market pricing. In his words, the marketplace acts as “a daily referendum of what is to be produced and who is to produce it.”
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Thursday, May 29, 2014
The End of Federal Taxation as We Know It / Politics / Taxes
The way we tax is obsolete.
It’s safe to say, in the century since the federal income tax was instated, the system has become broken. The complex, voluminous tax code (included in the 70,000+ page CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter) needs a revolutionary overhaul.
The current system doesn’t raise nearly enough money, Social Security is nearing insolvency, the administrative cost is exorbitant, and economic growth is actually impeded.
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Friday, May 23, 2014
U.S. Crusade to Extort Tax - Credit Suisse Admits Guilt For Money Laundering / Politics / Taxes
As Credit Suisse (CS) pled guilty for conspiring to aid US tax evasion and swallowed $2.6 billion in fines in federal court in Alexandria, Va., Eric Holder sensed the historic moment he oversaw - a new precedent for US extortion. UBS paid "only" $885 million when it misrepresented mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble. Surely, as CS swallows these new fines, banks the world over are shuddering.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
FATCA Causing Chaos Worldwide For Americans / Politics / Taxes
The Illegitimate Revenue Agency (IRS) has just announced that the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has been postponed from July 1, 2014 until January 1, 2016.
This is good news in many ways for both those with assets that they wish to internationalize as well as for the dollar and US banking system itself but in many ways the damage has already been done.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Puerto Rico’s Stunning New Tax Advantages / Politics / Taxes
By Nick Giambruno, Senior Editor, International Man
Chances are that you have heard something about the stunning new laws in Puerto Rico that give unbelievable tax benefits for mainland Americans who move to the island. Benefits that are so incredible that many at first thought they were simply too good to be true… but they most certainly are not.
With strategies that purport to legally allow US citizens to avoid having to pay taxes, the first thing that usually comes to mind is some sort of cockamamie scheme. This is because the US government is no slouch when it comes to shaking down its citizens. It’s mind-boggling expenditures necessitate this. It would be dangerously foolish in the extreme to think you could slip one past them.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Puerto Rico Is the Only Way to Escape US Taxes / Personal_Finance / Taxes
By Nick Giambruno, Senior Editor, International Man
When I hear about strategies that purport to legally allow US citizens to avoid having to pay income taxes, the first thing that usually comes to mind is that it is some sort of cockamamie scheme.
This is because the US government is no slouch when it comes to shaking down its citizens for every penny. The mind-boggling spending on welfare and warfare policies necessitates this. It would be dangerously foolish in the extreme to think you could slip one past them.
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Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Social Security, U.S. Treasury Stealing Every Last Penny From Americans / Politics / Taxes
All of a sudden the government lays claims to your savings. They can't prove you owe them a dime, but you're deprived due process. The legal bills become overwhelming, and so you let your money be stolen. You simply have no choice.
Sound outlandish? It's not. Not in the "Land of the Free" at least.
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Wednesday, April 09, 2014
Peter Schiff Goes to Puerto Rico / Politics / Taxes
By Nick Giambruno
It’s been a little over a year since I sat down with Peter Schiff at his house in Connecticut to discuss the importance of international diversification. Since then, the options available to take protective measures have declined in many ways, especially as the destructive FATCA law comes into force.
While some doors have closed, others have opened. And perhaps one of the most significant new opportunities in the world today is the tax incentives in Puerto Rico.
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Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Governments Worldwide Adopting FATCA Style Legislation / Politics / Taxes
It seems the US has created a new model for the world of draconian taxes and penalties. New powers at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in Britain allow the body to "raid the bank accounts" of anyone who owes more than £1,000 in tax or tax credits. Under the new system, HMRC would have the power to seize money from bank accounts after they contacted the debtor several times.
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Monday, January 27, 2014
Labour 50p Tax Rate Shows Labour Wants Every Street to Become Benefits Street / Politics / Taxes
The Labour party appears hell bent on putting the UK economy back into reverse gear, back to where it was during the worst economic collapse since the great depression, back to a state that had the annual budget deficit soaring towards £200 billion per year that manifested itself in an over 5% official inflation rate (Real 8%) as its primary strategy for winning elections is to bribe 80% of voters through means of benefits payments such as housing benefits and tax credits and thus have a vested interest in the expansion of Labours welfare state all the way towards an inevitable hyperinflationary collapse.
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Friday, January 24, 2014
Americans Can Still Benefit from Tax Havens / Personal_Finance / Taxes
By Nick Giambruno, Senior Editor, International Man
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”–Benjamin Franklin
You are technically a slave when 100% of the fruits of your labor is taxed or otherwise confiscated by force. So, at what percentage are you not a slave?
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Tuesday, January 21, 2014
What Does It Take to Be in the Top 1 Percent? Not As Much As You Think / Politics / Taxes
When you think of the top 1 percent of all income earners in American households, how much do you think this group rakes in? Millions? Tens of millions? What about the top 10 percent or even top 20 percent?You might be surprised to learn that the top 20 percent of income earners bring in a household income of just over $100,000. The top 10 percent of earners have a household income of more than $148,687. To be considered in the top 1 percent, household income is at least $521,411.
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Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Corporate Taxes in America / Politics / Taxes
Raising them should be a national imperative. Corporations should pay their fair share. Not according to Laurence Kotlikoff.
He’s a right-wing economist. He’s a corporatist writ large. He claims abolishing corporate taxes will create jobs.
Doing so requires dropping money on Main Street. Get it in people’s pockets directly. Do it by cutting their taxes.
Guarantee a living wage. Support worker-friendly legislation. Restore their bargaining power with management.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Five Personal Finance Moves to Make Before 2014 / Personal_Finance / Taxes
While it's tempting to slip into an eggnog stupor from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day, there are five items we should all check off our to-do lists before the ball drops on 2014.
Review your loss carryforward numbers. If you have any capital loss carryforward from previous years, now is a good time to take some profits. You can take your gains and offset them against your carryforward, plus $3,000. Who knows when our desperate government will still demand its share of our gains via taxes but leave us alone to cover our losses? Offset those carryforward losses and take some profits where it makes sense to do so.
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Monday, December 09, 2013
The A to Z of HMRC Tax Self-Assessment for 2014 / Personal_Finance / Taxes
Doug Barden writes: Do you earn an income through freelance work? Are you a company director? If you are self-employed, every year you need to complete a tax return for HM Revenue & Customs.You have to showcase your income and capital gains, and you can claim certain allowances and reliefs.
It’s important that you understand everything you need to know about self-assessment in order to avoid any penalties from the taxman.
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Thursday, December 05, 2013
Taxes Don’t Matter… Until They Do / Politics / Taxes
Since the latter part of 2008, the yield on cash has been so low that sheltering it from taxes didn't seem to matter. But if—as we expect—high rates of price inflation are waiting in the not-too-distant future, then sheltering interest income will be very important.
There may be lag time, but interest rates generally track the rate of inflation. So if inflation returns to a 1970s-like 14%, a one-year CD might yield near 15%. Don't get too excited. The real, after-inflation return would still be in the 1% neighborhood, but you would be taxed on the full 15%. So much for your windfall! No one wants to pay taxes on a real yield of 14%, let alone 14% in phantom income. In this high-inflation world, enjoying the safety and readiness of a cash reserve would be painfully expensive. Unless, of course, you could shelter your interest income from taxes.
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Tuesday, November 12, 2013
How to Prepare for the 17% "Supertax" / Politics / Taxes
Peter Krauth writes: "You never let a serious crisis go to waste... It's an opportunity to do things you could not do before." -Rahm Emanuel
The once unthinkable is quickly becoming probable.
At some point in the next few years, your assets could well become the target of a "Supertax" as high as 17%.
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