Advancing liberty one post at a time
GOP rising star Dan Crenshaw (R, TX) criticized the proposed 70% income tax rate by Dem rising star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, NY) was rebuffed by her and a swarm of her defenders.
Dem RS: 1, GOP RS: 0.
If Republicans can’t win on the tax issue, they are in trouble. They messed up on another pocketbook issue, healthcare.
Even when handed a gift in the form of a shortfall of income tax receipts in NY.
There she goes again. The new Lizzie Borden, also from Massachusetts.
This should be good. I’d love to hear the response from Sen. Warren’s and other Democratic constituencies. This will hit directly the most Democratic districts and states: California, Massachusetts, and New York. CA has Hollywood and Silicon Valley; MA has financial firms in Boston, as well as and IT and Biotech firms in the state; NY has financial firms and real estate firms in Manhattan. As well, Palm Beach County, FL is another Democratic stronghold — except for one Republican out of four who represent the county in the federal government.
Can you imagine the lobbying that would occur if this is seriously debated? The legislation would contain loopholes made specifically by Democrats to exclude their constituents, or at least minimize the taxation.
She is like a neglected child screaming for attention.
The Democrats are the Party of the Rich. They were swept into the House majority by a revolt of the elites. This party of Orange County, Westchester County, and Chicago’s North Shore is playing the part, wasting no time pushing policies to hand special tax breaks to their upper-middle-class constituents.
Consider Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. As the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, former chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and in the top 10 in seniority among Democrats, Lowey is among the most powerful members of Congress.
She has introduced two bills so far. One is the appropriations measure to reopen the government. The other is a major tax cut for the rich.
Lowey’s bill would undo exactly one part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: the limit on deductibility of state and local taxes, including property taxes. The law capped the state and local tax deduction, or SALT deduction, at $10,000.
That cap doesn’t affect most tax filers. If you claim the standard deduction, as most taxpayers do, you don’t benefit from the SALT deduction. Since tax reform nearly doubled the standard deduction, about 88 percent of all taxpayers will not itemize. If your state and local taxes are at or below $10,000 per year, you also aren’t affected by the cap.
The cap on the SALT deduction mostly cut into the tax breaks of high earners in high-tax places.
It appears, though, that he wasn’t aware of a concept known as the Laffer Curve (or, like some folks on the left, maybe he simply didn’t care).
. . .
The Liberal government’s tax on Canada’s top 1 per cent failed to produce the promised billions in new revenue in its first year, as high-income earners actually paid $4.6-billion less in federal taxes. …The latest available tax records show that revenue
from Canadians earning about $140,000 or more – which had previously been the fourth and highest tax bracket – dropped by $4.6-billion in 2016, the first full year that the Liberal tax changes were in effect. Further, 30,340 fewer Canadians reported incomes in that range for 2016 compared with the year before. …The new top bracket with a 33-per-cent tax rate was predicted to raise about $3-billion a year in new revenue…
Funny how that works.
“Where do we have tariffs?” President Trump asked on October 25, 2018.
Ryan Bourne:
One obvious answer is on imported clothing and footwear, where tariffs are both substantial and hit low-income consumers hard.
The United States raised $33.1 billion in tariff revenue in 2017, but $14 billion of that came from tariffs on apparel and footwear alone. These items account for 4.6 percent of the value of U.S. imports, but 42 percent of duties paid. That means while the average effective tariff rate for U.S. imports overall is just over 1.4 percent, rates for apparel and footwear are 13.7 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively.
On a day when an editorial in the venerable Chicago Tribune newspaper is making national news for pleading with Illinois lawmakers to clean up the state’s fiscal mess, it’s a good time for Florida to count its blessings.
. . .
Right now, on the basis of its solvency in five separate categories, Florida ranks 4th among U.S. states for fiscal health, behind only Nebraska, South Dakota and Tennessee.
. . .
Illinois, on the other hand, ranks 50th — dead last and apparently in real trouble.
To be sure, fiscal policy at the state level is only one measure of economic health. Economic regulations, personal safety, rights also matter. Local government activity has an impact as well. Several localities raised taxes to pay for increased teacher pay and more police. Unfortunately, higher pay does not equate higher student competency.
It is scary that a far-left candidate for governor lost his race by a few thousand votes out of millions cast. Even with a GOP legislature, the governor controls a vast bureaucracy with which to implement policy.
One thing on the docket is for state-level elected officials need to write the regulations on marijuana legalization.
Why? They can no longer on their tax bill deduct state and local taxes and other perks from their sport. Well, those deductions were subsidies from other taxpayers. And that makes the tax code fairer and flatter and less distortionary.
Anyone who supports those tax deductions is defending regressive taxes.
Following up on my post yesterday about France being the top taxed country in the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), the ever resourceful fiscal economist Dan Mitchell dives deeper into the data, including a table that compares the taxes AND spending as a percentage of GDP.
The US ranks in the lower percentages than most countries on both scales. Lower means lower tax and spending levels as a percentage of GDP. This is a positive development in my book because the government wastes a lot of resources and is less efficient. Dan also explains that. How does a government provide necessary services efficiently and effectively but keeps the politics and feeding of bureaucracy?
WSJ via Stephen Green:
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s annual review of taxes in its 36 members published on Wednesday showed the French government’s tax revenues were the equivalent of 46.2% of economic output, up from 45.5% in 2016 and 43.4% in 2000. The Danish government’s tax take, which was the highest among OECD members between 2002 and 2016, fell to 46% of gross domestic product from 46.2% in the previous year and 46.9% in 2000.
The U.S. government’s tax revenues also rose relative to the size of the economy as a result of a one-off tax on accumulated profits earned by American businesses overseas. But at 27.1% of GDP, only five countries had a lower tax take: Mexico, Turkey, Chile, South Korea and Ireland.
This is misleading. Taxes may be lower but the real burden is government spending because the spending must be paid for out of taxes eventually. So if tax rates are low but budget deficits continue, that excess spending must be paid for in the future. What good is that? It helps politicians now because they don’t have to raise taxes now or cut spending now. Its still socialism.
President Trump:
….I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN
Tariffs are a tax paid by Americans on stuff they buy overseas, not the foreigners who are selling the stuff.
According to the President, the federal government is “taking in $billions”, but only because Americans are paying the tax. This is a total backfire on the Administration’s part.
As bad, there is no “raid”. The buying and selling is voluntary. Americans are deciding to buy from overseas. That is not a raid on the wealth of a nation.
Epic fail.
UPDATE: Dan Mitchell weighs in.
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