Taxes
6/3/2008 | Economy, Oil and Gas, Taxes
GM to close 4 factories, may drop Hummer
MSNBC News
WILMINGTON, Del. - General Motors is closing four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicles. CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday before the automaker’s annual meeting in Delaware the plants to be closed are in Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wis.; and Toluca, Mexico. He also said the iconic Hummer brand will be reviewed and potentially sold or revamped.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedWard Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights InstituteWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyJames Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of CommerceColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingLowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security InstituteJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate5/13/2008 | Economy, Taxes
US has April surplus but budget strained
Yahoo Finance News
The US government posted a $US159.3 billion surplus in April, helped by the mid-month deadline for individuals meeting 2007 tax obligations, but it was down from the prior year's surplus, the Treasury Department reported on Monday. In April 2007, the surplus was $US177.7 billion. In the first seven months of fiscal 2008, which ends on September 30, the government's budget deficit swelled by 88.4 per cent to $US152.2 billion, from $US80.8 billion in the first seven months of fiscal 2007.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedWard Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights InstituteWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyJames Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of CommerceColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingLowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security InstituteJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate5/2/2008 | Economy, Taxes
States Aim To Tax Private Jets, Yachts
The Sun
The crowds at Maine’s lobster shacks may be a bit thinner this summer thanks to a round of tax bills the state is sending out to visitors who arrive by private plane or yacht. Some plane owners are looking at assessments of as much as $200,000 for bringing their aircraft to the state for short visits. The crackdown comes as a number of states, seeking more revenue amid an economic slowdown, are seeking to tax private planes and yachts that land or moor even on a temporary basis. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger recently made an unsuccessful attempt to do away with a tax break critics dubbed the “sloophole.” It allows California residents to avoid the use tax by keeping newly purchased planes and yachts out of state for 90 days. The “sloophole” does not apply to a more frequent import: automobiles.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedWard Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights InstituteWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyJames Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of CommerceColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingLowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security InstituteJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate5/1/2008 | Economy, Taxes
New Jersey Lawmakers Consider Tax On Fast Food
WCBS TV
WINDSOR, N.J. (CBS) ― The sputtering economy has caused an increase in prices of many staples including gasoline, rice, ice cream, even beer. Now some lawmakers in New Jersey are considering taking food taxes a step further and install a proverbial "sin" tax on fast food. Yes, the idea of marking up your favorite fast food burger or pack of fries is actually being tossed around, and it's not settling well with many residents. "They're taxing everything. Now you're gonna tax fast food? That's crazy," said Newark resident Miriam Robertson. Added Livingston resident Tina Abrahamian: "No one wants to be taxed. I mean, it's a necessity to eat and people need to eat and with everything skyrocketing, that's the last thing we want to tax."
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedWard Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights InstituteWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyJames Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of CommerceColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingLowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security InstituteJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate4/11/2008 | Economy, Taxes
Obama pushes bill to rein in lavish CEO pay
Reuters
INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will push on Friday for passage of a bill to put the huge pay packages of some U.S. corporate executives under greater scrutiny. The Illinois senator has introduced "say-on-pay" legislation that would give investors more of a voice in setting executive compensation packages. "We've seen what happens when CEOs are paid for doing a job no matter how bad a job they're doing. We can't afford to postpone reform any longer," Obama said in prepared remarks for delivery later on Friday.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedWard Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights InstituteWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyJames Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of CommerceColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingLowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security InstituteJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate4/9/2008 | Taxes
New tax bracket for Md. millionaires becomes law
The Baltimore Sun
It's quite an exclusive club, Maryland's new millionaires' tax bracket. A little more than 6,000 households statewide qualify for the distinction - more than 40 percent of whom reside in Montgomery County. It's a group that includes a Fortune 500 executive in Potomac, an energy company CEO in Roland Park and wealthy retirees with bayside estates in St. Michaels. Throw in some developers in Howard County, a growing corps of black entrepreneurs in Prince George's County and certain small businesses statewide. The Ravens' star middle linebacker would appear to be among the 16 percent of the club that lives in Baltimore County, No. 2 in the state for resident millionaires.
2/14/2008 | Healthcare, Taxes
Senior benefit costs up 24%
USA Today
The cost of government benefits for seniors soared to a record $27,289 per senior in 2007, according to a USA TODAY analysis. That's a 24% increase above the inflation rate since 2000. Medical costs are the biggest reason. Last year, for the first time, health care and nursing homes cost the government more than Social Security payments for seniors age 65 and older. The average Social Security benefit per senior in 2007 was $13,184. "We have a health care crisis. We don't have an entitlement crisis," says David Certner, legislative policy director of the AARP, which represents seniors. He says seniors shouldn't be blamed for the growing cost of government retirement programs. The federal government spent $952 billion in 2007 on elderly benefits, up from $601 billion in 2000. It's the biggest function of the federal government. States chipped in $27 billion more in 2007, mostly for nursing homes. All three major senior programs � Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid � experienced dramatically escalating costs that outstripped inflation and the growth in the senior population. Benefits per senior are soaring at a time when the senior population is not. The portion of the U.S. population ages 65 and older has been constant at 12% since 2000. The senior boom, however, starts big time in 2011, when the first baby boomers � 79 million people born between 1946 and 1964 � turn 65 and qualify for Medicare health insurance. The oldest baby boomers turn 62 this year and qualify for Social Security at reduced benefits.
1/18/2008 | Economy, Taxes
Bush considering $800 tax rebate to boost US economy
President George W. Bush's administration is considering an individual tax rebate of up to 800 dollars as a short term measure to help boost the sagging US economy, a media report said Friday. The Republican leader was to unveil a fiscal stimulus plan later Friday, amid grim economic news that has united lawmakers and the Federal Reserve chief on the need to revive flagging US growth. The White House has said Bush would propose policies, not dollar amounts, because details of the plan must be hammered out with the Democratic-controlled Congress. "Privately, the White House has discussed its support for a tax rebate of as much as 800 dollars for individual taxpayers, more than double the 300 dollar rebate featured in a 2001 effort to spur economic growth," the Wall Street Journal said. In a key concession to Democrats, the US administration appeared willing to accept stimulus legislation that does not include an extension of Bush's tax cuts, the Journal said.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedWard Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights InstituteWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyJames Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of CommerceColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingLowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security InstituteJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate