Tag Archive for tax

Don’t Get Sick!

November 3, 2017 Comments Off on Don’t Get Sick!

I’m sorry.  I usually try to avoid politics. But something is greatly bothering me. It relates to all those people who are in the middle–not super rich or super poor, just trying to make ends meet for their families.

Our lawmakers are trying to revise the health care system, and, in the process, are making it so a whole bunch of people can’t afford insurance. Not poor enough for subsidies and not rich enough to afford high insurance prices and co-pays without sacrificing other necessities. At the same time, they’re proposing to “improve” the income tax system by doing away with medical deductions.  Talk about being hit in two directions at once!

I’m concerned.  No, I’m worried.  Who will protect our vulnerable sick citizens

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Splish-Splash Gate

July 11, 2017 Comments Off on Splish-Splash Gate

Is anyone else bothered by all the Trump brand water bottles at every seat during government meetings?  They’re clear as, well, water, in pictures all over the media.  I’m irritated by the fact that taxpayers are forced to buy a Trump product and that this product gets frequent, free, valuable advertising.

On the lighter side: There was Watergate, then Whitewater. Could this be Splish-Splash Gate?  Consider President Trump’s normal demeanor in light of the lyrics to the old Bobby Darin song “Splish Spash.”

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Cheating Employers Cost Us All Money

June 13, 2017 Comments Off on Cheating Employers Cost Us All Money

Sure, I know that  some people are underpaid, but what does that have to do with me?  Lots, according to an Economic Policy Report survey titled “Raising America’s Pay.”   The study found that low-wage workers are cheated out of $1,500,000,000 (a LOT of zeroes!) per year due to labor violations.  That’s 1/4 of a full-time worker’s weekly earnings.  The amount stolen from workers adds up to more than the total for items stolen during auto thefts, robberies, and burglaries in the U.S.

This theft impacts all of us., in terms of taxes and other factors that affect the economies of state and local governments.  Additionally, if  employers get away with underpaying some people, it affects other workers by causing wages to decrease.  Also, if these people were paid what they’re owed, the poverty level would drop by about 6%.

Read more details at “Employers Steal Billions from Workers’ Paychecks Each Year.”

 

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Where Did All My Tax Money Go?

April 18, 2017 Comments Off on Where Did All My Tax Money Go?

Why the &%#*@#!!! do I have to pay Uncle Sam so much in taxes?!  This is a common outcry today, the deadline for filing for 2016.  I got to thinking, if I paid less–or nothing–what would I be willing to give up?  What would not make an important impact on me, my family, and the people of my community?  Food for thought for you, too.  Take a look at the breakdown for federal spending in 2015 and decide for yourself.

 

 

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Don’t Be Charitable to Scammers

December 15, 2014 Comments Off on Don’t Be Charitable to Scammers

You may be tempted to give in to charitable appeals between now and Dec. 31, the deadline to claim them on your 2014 taxes.  But be sure those donations do some real good for real people rather than enriching scam artists or CEOs.  Clark Howard offers some tips:

  • Don’t give cash. Legitimate charities will take a check.
  • Don’t give out your credit card, bank account or personal information to telemarketers. If you want to donate, initiate the call yourself.
  • Don’t fall for Internet appeals if the cause does not look legitimate and doesn’t check out. Make sure to do your research!
  • Expect specific information. Ask what kind of relief this organization is going to provide. Don’t accept vague explanations.
  • Check out the charity with national, state, and local authorities. Established charities register with the Internal Revenue Service. You can search for specific non-profit organizations on the IRS website: irs.gov.
  • Beware of newly formed organizations. If the charity is new, you may have to rely on your relationship with the company or sponsor of the organization to determine whether you trust the group.
  • Report abuses to the nearest Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General’s office. Both are listed in local telephone directories. You can also report abuses to the National Fraud Information Center at (800) 876-7060. NFIC also has a web-based complaint form at www.fraud.org.

And here’s one of my own:  Check to see how much of your donation will go to charitable work as compared to administrative costs (including CEOs) and fundraising costs.  Look them up at www.CharityNavigator.org or the Better Business Bureau site www.BBB.give.org.

For more tips on donating, check out Clark’s Donation Guide.

 

 

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Walmart’s Great Deal

December 9, 2014 2 comments

As you shop for Christmas and Hanukkah gifts, you’ll likely think of the great deals Walmart has.  Personally, I do as well on prices and better on quality elsewhere if I shop carefully and take advantage of coupons and sales.  That’s good, because my conscience won’t let me shop at Walmart.

It’s a matter of respect and concern for their workers.  Their mistreatment is a matter of record.  I’ve read the news stories and investigative reports from reputable news agencies: hiring the undocumented and locking them up in stores (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4146540/ns/business-us_business/t/suit-wal-mart-locked-janitors-stores/#.VHoEIzHF-So); hiring people with the promise of benefits, then as the corporate profits skyrocket, cutting those benefits (http://dailydigestnews.com/2014/10/profit-behemoth-wal-mart-cuts-benefits-raisies-healthcare-costs-for-part-time-workers/), knowing that most of their employees depend on their jobs to keep just this side of the poverty level; hiring the undocumented and making them work in harsh conditions, without overtime or even a day off (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/05/us/illegally-in-us-and-never-a-day-off-at-wal-mart.html); and practicing intimidation, discrimination, careless pollution, tax avoidance, and bribery (http://www.corp-research.org/wal-mart).

I agree that Walmart has great deals, but for the corporation, not for the workers.  So I take my wallet elsewhere.

 

 

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Fewer Taxes for Corporations?

November 14, 2014 Comments Off on Fewer Taxes for Corporations?

Poor FedEx, Amazon, Ikea, Pepsi, JP Morgan, Proctor and Gamble.  They feel they pay too much in taxes.  So they keep searching for ways around paying.  Now, thanks to Luxembourg, they and other corporations have a new path to minimizing their taxes.

That bothers me on so many levels.  The more people (yes, the courts have declared that a corporation is a person) who don’t pay their fair share of taxes, the more the rest of us have to pay if we want adequate basic services.  It means that people in poverty have less chance at life-sustaining jobs, therefore slimmer chances of lifting themselves up into a better life.  It means higher profits for corporations but not lower prices for us.

Get details about this new corporate tax break at the Sum of Us website.

 

 

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American Trivia: Getting Around a Tax

November 3, 2014 Comments Off on American Trivia: Getting Around a Tax

To begin this otherwise serious political week, here’s a bit of American historical trivia you might enjoy.  See if you are playing with a full deck.

Card games have always been an American pastime.  ‘Way back, some politicians decided that cards should be taxed—but only (politician logic here) the ace of spades. Of course, people can always find a way around paying taxes, as they did in this situation: they bought decks with only 51 cards (no ace of spades).  Trouble is, how many games can be played with only 51?  Not many.  True card-players thought this was absurd, that the people pulling this tax ploy were stupid or dumb—because they weren’t “playing with a full deck.”

Like the politicians who dreamed up that tax in the first place….????

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Anti-Anti?

September 22, 2014 2 comments

It’s a little confusing, but it had to happen–pendulums being pendulums.  It seems that people are discovering that all those tax cuts and breaks for the wealthy are destroying their middle-class everyday services, such as police and fire protection, schools, and libraries.  They want those services and are willing to pay for them.

This is leading to a new attitude: anti-anti tax cuts.  It’s so serious in Kansas, a staunch Republican state, that people are saying they’re ready to vote in a Democrat for Governor so they have a chance at recovering the services they want and need.  Kansas farmers are really upset, but many other citizens are also watching their state go broke.  They see less and less money coming into the coffers while all the belts have been tightened so far they’re binding up people’s vital internal organs.

The anti-anti tax cut attitude is spreading.  It will be interesting to see how many of the 30 states currently with Republican governors stay Republican after the next election or if that party decides it would be wise to pull back on their current tax stance.

 

 

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Walgreens, Say it Ain’t So!

July 28, 2014 2 comments

I’ve been happy with my friendly local Walgreens.  It’s near-by, I get some good deals on their sales, and the people there are friendly.  Now I learn that they’re taking their Medicare/Medicaid earnings (masking up 1/4 of their income) and my dollars and fleeing the scene.  They’re one of the latest companies to take advantage of “tax inversion.”  That is, they’ll not touch our familiar Walgreens stores but move their corporate headquarters to a tax-haven, a place that allows them to avoid paying U.S. tax on the U.S. money we gave them. It’s a nice little loophole for them and other corporations, but it cheats our economy out of funds that pay for our government, military, health, safety, and safety nets.

Read more in the Chicago Sun-Times article “Walgreens: The tax-dodger on the corner.”

If this bothers you, inform Walgreens CEO and President Gregory Wassen.  Sign the petition at the Credo Mobilize site.  If enough Walgreens custormers let him know of our disapproval, he may very well calculate how many customers–and how much financial loss–he’ll face and decide to do the right thing.

 

 

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