More on Taxes on Tax Day.

Just two - like they say about some poker hands, "read em' and weep."

Nonpayers Complicate Republican Effort At Overhaul of U.S. Tax Code
By Richard Rubin

More than 45 percent of U.S. households won’t owe federal income taxes for 2010. That stems from decades of tax cuts and, in the minds of some Republican lawmakers, it’s also a problem.

Policies designed to ease the tax burden of lower-income Americans and offer targeted tax incentives have pushed millions of people off the income tax rolls. That has bolstered an argument that these households don’t have enough of a stake in the political system because they don’t pay income taxes.

“As a matter of fairness, wouldn’t it make more sense if all citizens paid at least something in income taxes?” asked Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, at a March 30 hearing. “I am convinced that it would help us in our fight against excessive federal spending. You get a lot of takers when you ask people if they want more of something and you tell them it’s free.”

Requiring everyone to pay some income taxes could shift more of the burden onto low-income workers at a time when income and wealth are more concentrated at the top of the economic scale. It would also come as Democrats are trying to allow income tax rates for the top two brackets to rise.

“Just as a political matter, it’s really hard to make somebody who’s paying nothing pay something,” said Bruce Bartlett, an economist who worked for Republican presidents and who has been critical of recent Republican policies. “It’s easier to get people who are paying something to pay more.”
Why People Don’t Pay

Lawmakers often cite a 47 percent nonpayer figure from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington, which it calculated for tax year 2009, said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the center. The figure declined to 45 percent in 2010, and a comparable figure for 2011 is not yet available. It’s likely to be lower, because the $400 per person Making Work Pay income tax credit from the 2009 stimulus law expired at the end of 2010.

Any attempt to add people to the income tax rolls requires examining the reasons why some people don’t pay.

Nonpayers typically have low incomes or are retired and living off their savings. In tax year 2010, a married couple with two children earning $26,000 would pay no income taxes because of the standard deduction and personal exemptions.

Beyond that threshold, the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit and other similar provisions can generate tax refunds for people who pay no income taxes. The introduction of the 10 percent bottom tax bracket as part of the 2001 income tax cuts sought by President George W. Bush also pushed people outside the income tax system.

Read the rest of this article here.

And now for an example of only one pair of taxpayers who pay nothing. In this case, however, they are providing a service to the community. I think this is a rare exception of those who pay no taxes.

Five little Wards are IRS darlings
BY JOSH SHAFFER

SMITHFIELD -- This morning, when she kisses all five of her beautiful deductibles on the cheek, straps on their backpacks and nudges them out the door for the school bus, Thelma Ward will relax and wait for her reward in the mailbox - all $54,242.


This year, the federal government is sending her family such a whopping refund that it has turned her and her husband, David, into nationwide tax celebrities, landing them on CNN with all of their adopted children.

When her accountants did the ciphering, they figured the calculator was broken, maybe adding an extra zero. They even sent the Wards home to Smithfield while they totaled the gigantic sum another 10 times.

But it's true. Five figures. All at once. The reason: a change in the tax law allows credits for special-needs adopted children - which the Wards pack into three of their four bedrooms - to be collected as a cash payment even if no taxes are owed. And it's retroactive, H&R Block explained to Thelma.

"I said, 'For real, girl?'" recalled Ward, 44. "I just started shouting. The pictures on the wall were turning sideways."

The Wards are a religious couple. They don't expect compensation for good deeds. But it's hard not to see a greater hand at work here. For months the world has reeled at the idea that General Electric paid no income taxes - which doesn't appear to be true - but to say the very least, the government has been good to them.

Read more here.

Tithing and taxes

I have heard this said before but Jay Tea at Wizbang had a very good take on it.

How Much Is Enough?
Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders (Socialist-VT) held forth for hours on the floor of the Senate, giving full voice to the leftist ideals of shared sacrifice, shared burdens, shared wealth -- basically, the idea that nothing is yours, but everything is ours. In the midst of his assault on individual rights and individualism, he posed an interesting question: how much money is enough for people to make and keep? At what point is someone "rich enough?"


Interesting thought. Let's turn it around: how much money is enough for the government to take from someone? At what point has someone contributed their "fair share" in taxes, fees, duties, and all those other euphemisms for "the government wants your money."

I have some very devout Christian friends. They tithe to their Church -- 10%. Sometimes it's a struggle for them, but they do their best to live up to what they see as their duty to God.

If God can get by on 10%, why should the government need more? The government just has one country; God has the entire universe. And, it can be argued, has a hell of a lot more responsibility than the government.

(Just don't try to vote Him out of office. It was tried once, and didn't end well.)

There is more, go here to read the rest.

Tax Refunds for Illegals? What about illegal do they not understand?

This is from Gateway Pundit, and by the way, Gateway has moved to rightnetwork.com

NY Advocacy Group Helps Illegal Aliens Get Tax Refunds
by Jim Hoft

The Neighborhood Economic Development Agency, an advocacy group in New York, is helping illegal aliens recoup tax refunds.
The Daily News reported:

A Manhattan group is helping illegal immigrants recoup unclaimed state tax refunds – even if they used fake Social Security numbers to work.

The Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project got back thousands for a dozen undocumented New Yorkers who overpaid.

One bodega worker from Jackson Heights had been paying taxes since 2002 but never got a refund – until the group helped him get back $670 from his 2008 return.

“It really helped – we have two young kids,” said his wife, who says they pay taxes because “it’s the right thing to do.”
(ed.note: this is one of the most pitiful statements I've ever heard, does she not realize what Undocumented or illegal means? It seems as though she actually has very good intentions.)

Thousands more could be due a windfall from the Department of Taxation and Finance.

“We’ve been getting calls from people who say they’ve been filing taxes for more than 10 years, and they’ve never gotten a refund,” said Deyanira Del Rio, the advocacy group’s associate director.

Since 1996, a growing number of undocumented immigrants have filed taxes using a special ID number, without alerting immigration officials.

Taxing relief that replaces income -logical?

I think it is, if it is replacing  what you would be making with a job or business. This is from Fox News

IRS May Tax Payments to Gulf Coast Victims

NEW ORLEANS — Out-of-work Gulf Coast shrimper Todd Pellegal spent his first $2,500 check from BP quickly, paying off bills and buying groceries for his family.

He never even considered putting some of it away for taxes.

Now he's among the people up and down the Gulf Coast reeling from the oil spill disaster who are surprised — and frustrated — to find out the Internal Revenue Service may take a chunk of the payments BP PLC is providing to help them stay afloat.

Many were already angry about how long the oil giant took to cut the checks. So when they got the money — generally about a few thousand dollars each so far — they spent it fast.

"If they're going to pay you a lump sum, like for a year, then bam, take the taxes out of the check," said Pellegal, of Boothville, La. "But a little bit at a time, they shouldn't."

Accountants have been trying to nail down the implications for thousands of taxpayers after President Barack Obama said BP would create a $20 billion disaster fund and provide another $100 million for oil workers who lose their jobs because of the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read the rest here and tell me what you think. 

I have known many people in that area who do not declare all the money they make by shrimping, oystering, and some of the tourist related business.  I am not painting all with a broad brush, but the people who are writing the checks know they must have proof of how much was actually made.  I have a hunch some people are going to be shorted because they have left half their income as unreported to avoid taxes on it. They are the same people who are going to be incensed on being taxed on money they are given for relief, even though it is replacing previously earned income.

More Jobs Lost - another "Who Knew?" moment

Sorry if I sound blaise about this but it just makes me think the media are such fools. They follow the party line of the Democrats and then when it doesn't pan out they are SHOCKED! SHOCKED! SHOCKED!

Of course more people are being laid off, of course foreclosures are on the rise.  We all wish it wasn't so but what is happening to change the facts?  Nothing. Nada. When business keeps getting beat up by the current congress and president why should they plan on expansion, hiring more workers or anything else but pulling in like a turtle and hunkering down?  When businesses are promised nothing but more regulation, more taxes why should they expland? 

We need someone with business experience at the helm and in congress.  This just isn't working out for us.  How about you?

Parallels in the Whiskey rebellion?

D J Drummond has blogged about the Whiskey Rebellion at the Wizbang Blog. It's called  The Whiskey Boys and is an interesting post historically and also for its possible parallels to our current administration.
It's a long blog post and needs to be read in its entirety so I  won't copy any of it here.
Go to it and read it, I think you will enjoy it, I did.

The IRS and Healthcare

A Reuters report:

IRS could tap refunds for health insurance penalties

IRS cannot use levies, seizures, criminal sanctions (RC says "if that's the case why bother with checking? Answer: read further for the real disclosure")

IRS chief: Republican estimate for new hires "made up" (RC:"oh, yeah?")

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) - The Internal Revenue Service could tap individual tax returns to collect fines against people who fail to buy health insurance as required under recently enacted healthcare legislation, the U.S. tax commissioner said on Monday.

Most individuals are required to get health insurance under the new law, or face penalties that would be phased in over time. By 2016, people without coverage could see fines of 2 percent of their income. (RC I guess fines are not levies)

Subsidies would help poorer people buy coverage, and states would set up exchanges to allow individuals and small groups shop for insurance.

People who do not comply would be levied penalties, and if they don't pay them the penalties could be taken out of their tax refunds. (RC: hmmm... if it comes out of your refund it must be some sort of tax)

Read it all, I'm sure you can find more to criticize as I did.

BE SURE TO VOTE

I got this in an email today. I'm in an RV park in Effingham, IL with cable and wifi so am checking up on many, many emails. THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT TO PASS ON.

Please pass onto your home owner friends......

On November 3rd, there will be Propositions 1, 2, and 3 allowing the State of Texas to start taxing Residential Homeowners. So if you own a home, and these laws are passed, you will be taxed by the State.

I received a flyer from the Secretary of State, Hope Andrade, listing the Propositions that are up for election in November. I called to question them before sending this message out to my homeowner friends.

PLEASE VOTE "NO" to Prop. 2 and 3 (HJR 36) unless you want to pay taxes to the State also for owning a home.

Proposition 2: The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the ad valor em taxation of a residence homestead solely on the basis of the property's value as a residence homestead".

Proposition 3: The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: The constitutional amendment providing the uniform standards and procedures for the appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes".

http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/2009novballotexp.shtml

Thank you.

You Know how I Admire Victor Davis Hanson

In fact I admire him so much I am not even going to quote here... I want you to read it all for yourself. This man is very wise. His latest:
What We Are Learning About the Era of Obama
Now, click on it and go read it.

Please Read, Print, Study and Consider changes or additions

Dick Hoese has written a petition he would like to have everyone in our group study, comment, correct or add on to at our next meeting, Aug 17th. Don Durand has also sent it around in an email. Here is the Petition:

ENFORCEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION IS A CO-EQUAL RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SUPREME COURT, THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH AND THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH. THEREFORE:

The undersigned members of the Rockport Conservatives are committed to:

No more stealing of taxpayer money to fund or enable unconstitutional projects. Anyone in doubt after reading the constitution can read the Federalist Papers and other writings of the period. The Supreme Court is only the temporary, not final, determinant, of constitutionality.

No more stealing of taxpayer money to fund or enable social engineering, no matter how reasonable it appears. Work to retire all such programs.

No more stealing of taxpayer money to fund or enable projects that are in conflict with state and local rights. Work to retire all such programs.

No more bribery of states and local interests with the threat of withholding or providing federal (taxpayer) funds.

No more passing of legislation, amendments, appointments and regulations without reading and understanding them. If not, vote no. The same applies to producing extensive, contradictory, and confusing language.

All legislation, amendments, appointments and regulations must state their constitutional basis, by specific reference to the article(s).

No more talk of a floating or changing constitution. If you want to do something unconstitutional change it by a lawful process. Challenge all parties who deny us enforcement of the constitution.

If you are consistent with these articles in your practice, see to it that others are also, subject to your powers and explanations.

When someone lies, say so, no matter their position.

If you do not understand the constitution, we will explain it or guide you to sources.

Of Course it will Raises Taxes

"Representative Charles Rangel of New York, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee, was asked on CBS’s “Face the Nation” whether a health-care revamping could be achieved without significantly raising taxes. “Well, no,” said Mr. Rangel, a Democrat of New York" via Instapundit.