tax policies

One of the great (so far) untold stories about the battle for the Senate involves Schumer's very explicit threat to Bernie Sanders to not interfere in primaries against his hand-picked candidates in 4 key states. The threat was loss of a good Senate committee chairmanship in 2017 if Bernie did anything to help progressives against Schumer's Wall Street-friendly picks in Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio.

Doesn't it feel as if we're intruding on a private moment between Little Eric and Daddy The Donald?by KenOkay, this isn't breaking news, and it's Trump-themed, despite my avowed preference for avoiding that whole subject.

Duffy reports a $1,222,995 war chest against Mary HoeftYou've heard about carried interest right? Do you understand what it is and why the carried interest tax loophole has to be shut down?

One proposal for Obama's Legacy Library, a building that won't build itself (view 1, discussed here). by Gaius PubliusTurns out that the president, currently Obama, acting alone, could personally end the egregious "hedge fund tax loophole," the one only a certain class of wealthy person qualifies for.

My accountant just e-mailed me that I'm not going to owe much on my taxes this year. Whew! But what a hassle the process is anyway! I think everyone agrees with that regardless of which political party you belong to. The Republican professional politician response though always involves killing the IRS and making it easier for the super-rich to cheat with even more alacrity than the already do.

In this instance, the big boys are all software companies (source; click to enlarge).by Gaius Publius“During the term of this agreement, the IRS will not compete with the Consortium ["of tax software companies"] in providing free, on-line tax return preparation and filing services to taxpayers.”     –IRS and Free File Alliance, LLC, Free On-Line“I’

The government could do most of this for you for free, then let you fill out the rest online.

All the Republican candidates' tax plans head in the same direction-- an upward redistribution of wealth for the rich. In other words, regardless of which Republican you pick, if he or she is elected to the White House, the rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer and the middle class will continue to disappear.

Today, The Economist took a helpful look at the American tax system-- short version: "American taxes are a mess"-- and at the Republican candidates' proposals to reform the system.

Earlier this evening, we looked at how the rich and politically-connected have used their wealth and power to lower their tax rates and we looked at a Robert Reich video about how they've undermined the concept of inheritance taxes.