I often say that the stock market is not the economy. That’s been especially apparent in 2020 as indicators like unemployment rates, consumer confidence, and durable goods orders have painted a grim picture of the economy even as the stock market has continued to climb. That doesn’t feel like it makes sense. So, folks have…
Since the pandemic, there has been a lot of uncertainty about the economy, especially for taxpayers and business owners. But as governments seek to make up lost revenue, that raises concerns about tax compliance. An easy target? Sales tax. There has been and probably will continue to be a shift in the economy and tax…
Guest post by Bryan W. Lillard: The way to cure this mess is simple. First get rid of all Free Trade agreements. Put a import tax on everything that comes into the country. I heard a Constitution lawyer say this. The Founding Fathers wanted this. To keep the burden of Government off the Citizens. If…
As I have done for the past few years, I’ll be turning over the reins at taxgirl to my readers for the last week in August. Last year, pieces focused on the expiring Bush tax cuts (like this one and this one); in 2009, I asked readers what kind of tax reform ideas they wanted…
Last night, the President delivered his annual State of the Union speech to members of Congress and to the nation. The text follows below but here are a few notable observations: The speech, as written, is 6,830 words in length and ran for 61 minutes during delivery. The word “economy was used 7 times and…
New Jersey taxpayers bear one of the highest state and local tax burdens in the country, a fact that wasn’t lost on voters in the most recent gubernatorial election. Residents generally took some solace in the fact that they receive, on average, a significant amount of services from the government (including well-funded and high-performing public…
Interesting reading from CNN this morning that indicates that the housing market might be steadying: Existing home sales rebound in August – Sep. 23, 2010. This is clearly impossible. I mean, I’ve been reading propaganda from the National Association of Realtors articles for months now that absolutely, positively indicated that without additional housing tax credits…
Where were you on December 1, 2007? It’s one of those dates that you’re likely not to remember. But according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, that’s about when the recession really started. If you believe that we’re still in a recession (and most economists seem to), that makes 34 months. We’ve had stimulus…
This week, I’ve asked readers to chime in on the Bush tax cuts. This guest post is courtesy of Michael Rozbruch, IRS Problem Solver and Tax Relief Blogger (for more on the topic, see the original post): Tax cuts can actually be a good thing for the economy; they just have to be able to…
If Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) gets his way, the cost of calling for tech support is going up. Under a new proposal, US companies would be taxed 25 cents per call outsourced to a foreign call center; there would be no fee for calls transferred to a call center inside the US. The bill would…