The Tax Preparation Blog

Posts Tagged ‘politics’

Question: Can anyone give me a website that would tell me how the federal government spends our income tax dollars?

Charts and graphs showing how much is spent on social services, department of defense…etc., would be helpful.

Answer: search federal budget…

US Government Spending: History, Facts and Charts of Spending, Taxes and Debt, Federal, State and Local, Election 2012 Special Edition US Government Spending is a penetrating historical panorama of government in the United States. Using data from the US Office of Management and Budget and the US Census Bureau, it delivers engaging charts about the great sweep of government activities: spending, taxes, and debt. You can look at current spending and taxes, recent trends in the past two decades, and a historical view going back to t…

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Stocks notch modest gains ahead of employment data

Investors’ cautious optimism about the job market gave stocks a modest lift Thursday, one day before the government’s report on December employment.

Paul Ryan: We need to cut spending! Holy Cow! A novel idea in Washington.

Question: Why do people believe Obama will raise taxes for the majority of Americans? ?

He has explained himself clearly several times. Independent institutions have backed this claim as well. Here is a chart from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center which does a direct comparison.

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/images/2008/06/12/wsj_tax_chart.gif

Here is the full report:

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/urlprint.cfm?ID=411749

So, where does the confusion come from? Let’s make this challenging and see if we can get some serious answers/thoughts into this one.

Answer: Here is the big difference: According to the analysis, McCain and Obama both promise to keep the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for people under $200K, but Obama will repeal those cuts for people over $200K. IF that is true, then lower income may get more money back under Obama’s policy. That brings up an issue of class warfare and unfair taxation (top 1% already pay 40% of taxes), but we’ll leave that for another day. The big problem I have is that I don’t believe Obama will actually keep the tax cuts for incomes under $200K. The numbers only work if he keeps that promise and I see no reason to believe him. Bill Clinton lied about tax cuts in his campaign and actually raised taxes on the middle class in ’93. So why would I believe another Democrat that promises tax cuts? Can you name me one time in Obama’s life when he proposed or voted for a tax cut at any level? No you can’t, so why would I believe him now? Obama is promising $800 billion in new spending, the only way to pay for this is by raising taxes. If he gets into office he will pull a Bill Clinton and lie “I tried hard to get you that tax cut, but we just can’t afford it right now”.
Even if, by some miracle, Obama did cut taxes, it will be offset by the massive inflation caused by his insane economic policies (windfall profits tax, no-drilling, regulating energy, regulating health care, raising minimum wage, killing NAFTA, etc.).
Any way you look at it Obama will take money out of your pocket, either through taxes or through inflation.

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Democrats and Republicans – Rhetoric and Reality: Comparing the Voters in Statistics and Anecdotes $24.95 Drawing on authoritative nationwide surveys and a wide range of quips and quotes, the author outlines the profiles of the average Republican and Democrat. Their lifestyles, ethics, intelligence, and achievements are detailed in a multitude of charts and statistics. A recognized whistleblower who identified $2BN in false Social Security claims, the author pokes fun while poking holes in our prejudi…

The Estate and Gift Tax Map $19.00 This Map is intended as a tool for self-study of the estate and gift tax provisions in the Internal Revenue Code. It visually synthesizes and combines the concepts, presenting them in a clear and logical way with the objective of guiding readers through the dense and often confusing provisions that have perplexed students and practitioners alike….

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Audit: Meriden finishes year in the black

MERIDEN – The city generated less tax revenue than budgeted for in the 2008-09 fiscal year, but was still able to finish the fiscal year with a slight surplus, according to the city’s annual audit.

WWE, TNA, & ECW Table Montage

A secondary impact of property tax relief–rent control (Working papers / School of Public Administration) …

Tenth Tax Institute: Lawyer-Acountant Tax Planning for 1958 …

Equality in California school finance: Impacts of alternatives on taxpayers (Working paper / School of Public Administration) …

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Valley congressional battle may get ugly

It’s been a little more than a week since George Radanovich announced he would retire from Congress, and already three high-profile, politically viable Republicans are looking to replace him.

Islamic Law, Administration & Public Finance: Ramzi Rouighi

Question: how will HMRC know if i am in the UK or abroad?

if i work abroad i should pay income tax unless i spend less then 6 months in UK. If I claim it was 2 not 6 months, how can HMRC or anyone prove it is not true?

are similar law/rules applicable in 21st century or just a history?

Answer: HMRC does not have to prove anything – the onus is on the taxpayer to prove that his returns are correct. In the absence of stamps in your passport, you might produce evidence from an overseas employer, rent or utility bills, travel documents or other correspondence.

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Let bankers do their job in 2010 | Angela Knight

I suspect that not many of us will be sorry to say goodbye to 2009. 2010 is not going to be easy, but it can be a year in which the UK is honest about our economic problems and start to address them.M…

30 facts you didn’t know about USA

Question: Taxes on unearned income?

I’ll start by saying that I don’t know much about taxes and I’m preparing to file on my own for the first time (in the United States).

I have been looking tonight and it seems that interest earned in a simple high-yield savings account counts as unearned income. I have found charts that give the tax brackets for earned income, but can’t find anything about unearned income.

Is unearned income taxed? If so, can someone point me to the chart so that I can calculate it for myself? Is it just a flat rate?

Thanks.

Answer: Unearned income is fully taxable. How it’s taxed depends upon the type of unearned income but interest is taxed as ordinary income. Enter it on the Interest Income line on your tax return. That’s line 8a on Form 1040.

Whether or not any tax will be due will depend upon many factors such as your marital status, other income, residency status for tax purposes, number of dependents, etc. Without that information it’s not possible to say what the tax in your case will be, if any is due at all.

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QuickBooks for Mac 2012 $129.50 Easily manage your businessProductInformationQuickBooks for Mac 2012 is small business accounting that lets youorganize your finances all in once place so you can quickly find whatyou need.  Easily create invoices and track your businesssales and expenses – and get reliable records for tax time. QuickBooks for Mac 2012 is set up in minutes and is easy tolearn and use along with looking a…

QuickBooks for Mac 2012 [Download] $131.23 New to QuickBooks? Find out why QuickBooks is the #1 best selling small business accounting software1. Built for your Mac Synchronize contacts with Address Book so you never have to enter an address or phone number twice2 Add reminders to iCal so you can be reminded to print invoices and checks or to pay bills in one consolidated calendar 2 Protect important data by backing up files to MobileMe…

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US stocks notch modest gains

NEW YORK: Investors’ cautious optimism about the job market gave U.S. stocks a modest lift Thursday, one day before the government’s report on December employment. Stocks closed mostly higher after ma…

McCain’s tax plan is better than Obama’s as long as you…