by Linda Beale Misleading Tax Rhetoric Abounds I got the same piece of mail that my colleague and fellow blogger Jim Maule got–a disturbingly misleading rant trying to make a case for zero taxation of unearned income. I started to write a post about it, since this is the kind of material that gets my […]
by Linda Beale U.S. Chamber and corporations fighting for low preferential capital gains rates A coalition of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and large multinational corporations such as Altria Group Inc. and Excel Energy Inc. is trying to pressure Congress to retain the extraordinarily low current tax rates on unearned income that will expire at […]
by Linda Beale The 1% are the only beneficiaries of Greek austerity, not ordinary Greeks An interesting post over on Naked Capitalism on the Greek austerity measures being demanded by the EU leaders (Germany, mostly) and the IMF: Marshal Auerback: Greece and the Rape by the Rentiers (Feb. 10, 2012). The austerity demands, in order […]
by Linda Beale Finance moves transportation bill–revenue sources at issue Senate Finance committee approved on a 17-6 vote the transportation financing proposal (13 Dems and 5 GOP voting yes; the GOP were Snowe, Crapo, Roberts and Thune).The GOP –Jon Kyl a favorite spokesperson–claimed that the Committee’s rush had “lost the opportunity to have a truly […]
by Linda Beale Why we don’t need corporate tax “overhaul” GOP poormouthing on behalf of rich corporate allies(Part I in a series) These days, one hears a great deal from politicians on the right about how a corporate tax “overhaul” is needed because our taxes are “too complex” and/or “too anti-competitive” or because our tax […]
by Linda Beale Obama’s State of the Union vs Romney’s Tax Returns Obama took the high ground in his state of the union address, where he pointedly noted the importance of applying fair tax rules to ensure that millionaires pay taxes at rates more similar to those paid by secretaries and firefighters. He wants a […]
by Linda Beale Gingrich’s 2010 Tax Return: what it does (and doesn’t) tell us In last Thursday’s debate, Newt Gingrich released his 2010 Gingrich Foundation tax return and the Gingrich Joint Tax return. See Kim Dixon & Marcus Stern, Gingrich tax return out, but much remains unseen, Reuters (Jan. 20, 2012); Paul West, Gingrich tax […]
by Linda Beale Romney to release tax returns Tuesday (finally) Romney’s bitter loss to Newt Gingrich in the Republican primary in South Carolina demonstrated that playing the patrician elite above the fray has its limits as a campaign strategy. Romney’s strategists had apparently thought that they could get away with not releasing tax returns–at least […]
by Linda Beale Romney Reveals His Tax Rate Is ‘Probably Closer to 15 Percent Source for this article: Emily Friedman, Romney Reveals His Tax Rate Is ‘Probably Closer to 15 Percent’”, ABC News, Jan. 17, 2012. At a press conference following the GOP debate last night, GOP presumed favored candidate Mitt Romney acknowledged for the first […]
by Linda Beale Offshored Assets still in IRS cross-hairs but new disclosure program available As most who follow the issues are aware, the IRS has been focusing for some time on the foreign bank accounts of US taxpayers. The big break came when the IRS was able to get some data from UBS, including information […]