Deep dives into tax policy — the laws, proposals, and reforms shaping the tax code, explained without the jargon.
Senator McCain has – until now – included a promise to repeal the AMT in his economic plan. However, a few days ago, he introduced the idea of a phase out, rather than a repeal. In a June 10 speech, he said, “I will also propose … a phase-out of the Alternative Minimum Tax.” In…
Obama and McCain continue to battle it out about the issue that most Americans seems to care about right now: the economy. To hear each talk, it just can’t get much worse (can it?). McCain spins Obama’s tax proposal as “the biggest tax increase since World War II.” Obama compares McCain’s plan to that of…
The economic stimulus payments – which qualify more or less as “free money” from the government – pushed the federal budget deficit to an all-time high of $165.9 billion in May. The increase in the deficit includes $48 billion already paid out of the $168 billion planned payments for the economic stimulus plan. Receipts for…
Senate Republicans blocked a proposal today that would tax the windfall profits of the country’s largest oil companies. The GOP put together 43 votes, which left the Democrats 9 votes short of what they needed to break a filibuster and bring the proposal to a vote. Democrats had urged Congress to pass the bill, with…
This week, I happened to notice a series of ads running in my local paper (The Philadelphia Inquirer) for Derrie-Air airlines. There were two features that distinguished Derrie-Air from, say, USAirways and United. One was the method of determining fare: The magic comes from our one of a kind “Sliding Scale”—the more you weigh, the…
Quick: Who is most responsible for the Reagan tax cuts? Donald Regan, Secretary of the Treasury during Reagan’s administration? Nah, the real force behind the Economic Recovery Act of 1981 was Jodie Foster, according to Robert Mundell, Columbia University’s Nobel laureate economist. The Financial Times reports that Mundell cites the Oscar winning actress as most…
Australia is one of many countries taking aim at so-called “alcopops”, pre-mixed alcoholic drinks that tend to resemble sodas. Australia, like Germany before it, has imposed a tax increase on alcopops in an effort to decrease dangerous underage drinking. It is believed that underage drinkers tend to purchase more alcopops than older drinkers because of…
A new study suggests that Canadians may be in support of a “carbon tax” on activities that cause climate change. The McAllister Opinion Research survey, commissioned for the Pembina Institute, revealed that Canadians would not expect such a tax to offset current taxes and would, instead, prefer that the revenue be used to improve energy…
Fun Friday has wrapped up on the channel – there are lots of great posts about the price of gas and how it affects each of us. I hope you take the time to check out them out! How Many Miles to the Gallon is That? http://www.doingbizabroad.com/how-many-miles-to-the-gallon-is-that Toll Hopping at the Pump http://www.talkstocktrading.com/toll-hopping-on-the-weekend/ How Much…
The price of oil has increased, on average, $1/barrel over the past month. The result is that gas is likely to top $5/gallon at the pump this summer – compared to $2.80/gallon last year. What does this mean in pure dollars? According to the Energy Information Administration (from Department of Energy), the average American uses…