Both McCain (GOP) and Clinton (Dem) have called for a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax – or a gas tax holiday – for the summer in response to higher gas prices. Obama has so far not endorsed such a move. There is currently a 18.4 cent federal tax imposed on each gallon of…
This week – in the midst of a busy tax season – I wrote a guest post for One Vote Matters. It’s a quick and dirty summary of where the presidential candidates stand on tax issues. You can read the entire post here.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has released his tax return for the 2007 tax year showing that together with his wife, the Obamas earned $4.2 million. A whopping $4 million of that income was in the form of royalties from the sale of his books. Other income includes Obama’s Senate salary of $157,102 and $103,633…
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has released seven years of his tax individual returns this week. The Obama family reported income of $1.65 million in 2005 and nearly $1 million in 2006. During that same period, the family made $137,622 in charitable donations. Prior to 2005, the family seems to have a different financial picture….
If you had asked me, before today, what the single most important issue would be in the upcoming presidential election, I would have said the economy, hands down. For purposes of the election, it’s more important to voters than Iraq, than health care, than the environment (though clearly those issues are intertwined with the economy)….
It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! The IRS has become more aggressive during this election year about enforcing the prohibition against politicking by tax exempt organizations. To date, the IRS has made inquiries into charitable organizations who have supported or opposed candidates including Obama, Romney and Huckabee. Is this good policy – or is the…
No, not that man upstairs. I mean Seth P. Waxman, a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Waxman’s firm has agreed to represent the United Church of Christ on a pro bono basis during the IRS investigation of the church’s tax-exempt status. The entire denomination’s status is at risk due to the IRS…
The IRS is serious about the rules which prohibit non-profit organizations, including churches, from supporting candidates or political parties. Just a few week after the IRS mailed a lengthy letter to First Baptist Church of Buena Park pastor Wiley S. Drake advising that he was being investigated for his 2007 support of presidential hopeful Mike…
Barack Obama has entered the discussion about economic aid to avert a potential recession by announcing his own version of a stimulus plan. Not surprisingly, it is very close to the plan already touted by Democrats. Obama’s plan would allow each worker in the US a $250 tax credit to offset payroll (Social Security) tax…
It seems that nobody really knows what to do about Social Security. Or maybe it’s that lots of folks do really know, but nobody has the guts to do it… At any rate, presidential candidate Barack Obama and other Democratic presidential candidates have previously indicated that something needs to happen to save Social Security. Initially,…