Federal Tax Revenues Set Record Through May; Feds Still Running $436B Deficit June 12, 2014 – 11:20 AM\ By Terence P. Jeffrey\
( CNSNews.com) – Federal tax revenues continue to run at a record pace (in inflation-adjusted dollars) in fiscal 2014, as the federal government’s total receipts for the fiscal year closed May at an unprecedented $1,934,919,000,000, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement.
Despite record revenue, the federal government still ran a deficit of $436.382 billion in the first eight months of the fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, 2013 and will end on Sept. 30, 2014.
In the month of May alone, the federal government ran a deficit of $129.971 billion–bringing in $199.889 billion in revenue while spending $329.860 billion.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has estimated that in the full fiscal 2014, the federal government will collect $3.001721 trillion in taxes, spend $3.650526 trillion, running a deficit of $648.805 billion..
Obamacare Taxes: Next Filing Season Could Be “one of the most chaotic in years.” Posted by John Kartch on Tuesday, June 10th, 2014, 10:25 AM
Problems with a key component of Obamacare will lead to unpleasant surprises for Americans during the 2015 tax filing season, according to testimony from a top tax expert before the House Ways and Means subcommittees on Health and Oversight today.
“I am here today to tell you that the upcoming tax filing season has the potential to be one of the most chaotic in years,” said Ryan Ellis, an IRS Enrolled Agent and Tax Policy Director at Americans for Tax Reform.
According to the testimony:
“One of the key elements of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as “Obamacare,” is the creation of advanceable tax credits for the purchase of exchange health insurance plans.
Taxpayers applying for credit assistance must be evaluated by government entities ranging from the SSA to CMS to the IRS. The goal is to have an educated estimate, based on the most immediately-available government documents (e.g. prior year tax returns, etc.), of the taxpayer’s probable income for the year–which in turn determines the size of the tax credit.
In an effort to get this tax benefit out quickly, the estimated credit is advanced to the insurance company by the IRS, which applies it to customer premiums.
This is an important point—the money has left the IRS’ hands up to over a year before the taxpayer actually calculates his final credit amount. The insurance companies have collected it, and they are not required to pay it back.
Press reports this month indicated that the government was having a hard time doing all this, with 1.2 million of the 6 million federal exchange applicants having to be asked for additional income verification information from CMS. That is not surprising. Applicants are asked to complete a detailed, confusing twelve-page application which asks for income, family size, etc. It is rather like trying to fill out a 1040 on the fly. Added to this is the lack of employer reporting requirements and the failure to complete the back-end of the web site.
Inconsistencies–some of which are the result of failures of the healthcare.gov system, some of which are poor records from the government, and some of which are mistakes from the individual–are not surprising. But they are a problem. It is the middle of June, and many people have now been receiving inaccurate subsidies for six months. To the public’s knowledge, not a single advanced tax credit has been adjusted this year.
So what happens if the flawed, confusing process results in a tax credit larger than what the law calls for?
A hypothetical example might help illustrate: a health exchange customer selects an Obamacare exchange plan. The government estimates that this taxpayer will earn $30,000 this year, which makes her eligible for a $2000 tax credit. This $2000 is paid to the taxpayer’s insurance company to help with premiums.
The next spring, our customer/taxpayer is filling out her tax return. Unfortunately, the government estimated the taxpayer earned too little and paid too large a credit. She actually earned $40,000, and so only had a $1500 credit coming to her.
Depending on the taxpayer’s income level and availability of verified affordable workplace insurance, she will have to pay back much or all of the $500 overage to the IRS. This means skinnier refunds and maybe even liabilities, and it won’t be the taxpayer’s fault—it will be the government’s fault.
It is also inevitable that many people are receiving tax credits for which they are completely ineligible. The firewall of the offer of employer sponsored insurance is a new concept — tax preparers will have difficulty figuring out how it works in operation. There is virtually no way to catch it on the front end — but come tax filing season, many people will end up owing thousands of dollars, and it will be a complete surprise.”
This Graphic On People Moving Due to Taxes Is Essential Viewing For Every Politician In America
The question of whether taxes affect behavior has long been debated by economists and ignored by most politicians.
This graphic by How Money Walks answers the question. The sourcedata- from the IRS- shows the changes in each state’s total adjusted gross income of taxpayers who’ve moved either in or out.
The states with the highest income taxes have had a net loss in taxpayer AGI of $107 billion, and the the states with no income tax have had a net gain of $146 billion. In other words, there’s been an exodus from high tax states to those with no taxes. The ultimate voting right: with one’s feet.
The Ridgewood Taxpayers’ Association is looking to reactivate
The Ridgewood Taxpayers’ Association is a non-profit corporation organized in the state of New Jersey in 1993 .
The purposes of the Ridgewood Taxpayers’ Association are as follows :
*To monitor and analyze of the Village and Board of Education ;
*To provide recommendations to the Village and BOE on how to operate on a cost effective basis ;
*To monitor the actions taken by the state of New Jersey , Bergen County the BOE and any governmental entity which has or may have an impact on the taxes of the Village of Ridgewood ;
*To provide information to the citizens of the Village of Ridgewood on the operation of their government and costs associated therewith :
*To promote local, regional and state legislation for the fair taxation of Ridgewood residents ;
*To evaluate candidates for public office .
Membership is available to residents of Ridgewood or anyone who maintains a business address in the Village of Ridgewood .
The Ridgewood Taxpayers’ Association is looking for Board Members and those interested should email there resume and a short cover letter to: ridgewoodtaxpayersassoc@mail.com
Christie Embraces Irresponsible Spending says credit agencies are the ‘same group of folks who allowed the financial crisis to occur’
TRENTON – Don’t put too much stock in those Wall Street rating agency downgrades, says Gov. Chris Christie.
The governor, whose administration has been at the helm during six credit rating downgrades over the course of his tenure to date, says he’s not worried about additional downgrades. Christie said he finds it interesting they “continue to downgrade the people who try to act responsibly,” but added he doesn’t live in fear of rating agencies.
“No, I don’t fear it,” he said Wednesday during a Statehouse news conference.
“This is the same group of folks who allowed the financial crisis to occur,” he said, arguing they “sat on their hands collecting huge fees” from clients during the financial collapse and essentially got paid “to look the other way,” he said.
“I don’t know how much credibility these places have,” Christie said. (Arco/PolitickerNJ)
Its all about “fees” Christie changes course on fee hikes
Everything but spending cuts
MAY 12, 2014, 10:29 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, MAY 12, 2014, 10:29 PM
BY JOHN REITMEYER
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
THE RECORD
Two months ago, Governor Christie proposed a $34.4 billion budget, promising “no new taxes on the people of New Jersey.”
Now his administration is detailing nearly two dozen fees and fines that he wants increased — none of which was made public at the time.
The tax policy changes would increase revenue for five different state departments.
They include boosting the $2 fee added to motor vehicle fines to fund the state’s forensic DNA lab by 75 cents. The fingerprint fees for non-criminal background checks would go from $30 to $45.
Home improvement contractors would be forced to pay $110 instead of $90 to register with the state, and $90 instead of $75 to renew their registration.
The state’s Division Alcoholic Beverage Control, which regulates the sale of alcohol in New Jersey, would also increase fees across the board, according to Christie’s proposal.
For state taxpayers and businesses, the new fee and fine hikes — 23 in all, according to information made public last week by the state Department of Treasury — would mean giving more money to Trenton. But for Christie, a Republican seen as a possible contender for his party’s 2016 presidential nomination, the increases might pose a political problem.
He frequently and very publicly attacks Democrats for raising fees and taxes — including many of the same lawmakers he now needs to pass this budget.
And even as Democrats have questioned Christie’s proposal, which would bring in an estimated $32 million in new revenue, the governor is blaming the Democrats for having to hike the fees and fines in the first place.
“Quite frankly, I’ve had my teeth kicked in by this administration that we’ve raised taxes 115 times,” said Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge, when the issue came up during a meeting Thursday. “We’ve all been kicked around about how many taxes and fee increases we’ve voted on it recent years.”
After the meeting, Sarlo said it will take Republican votes to get the increases Christie wants adopted to balance his budget.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-changes-course-on-fee-hikes-1.1014656#sthash.YpAsjTuy.dpuf
Reader says Allowing people and companies to continue to deduct their donations allowed them to commit fraud for years without realizing it
The IRS site says that as of March 15, 2011, it revoked the tax-exempt status of organizations that had not filed for AT LEAST 3 consecutive years. Since taxes are not due until April, that means 2010 didn’t count. The three years would have been 2007-09. But there is no way of knowing when they last filed properly. Even RBSA may not know, since the CPA who fled without warning was apparently the only accountant in the state.
This is worse than sloppiness. Allowing people and companies to continue to deduct their donations allowed them to commit fraud for years without realizing it. A group too busy “helping the kids have fun” to control its finances should not be sitting on giant nest eggs.
The letter was sent to the Ridgewood News by email on Sunday afternoon, May 4. On Monday morning the paper called to confirm that I had sent it and wanted it published. I said yes.
Late Wednesday morning, the three candidates for council received an email message from Ed Virgin, editor of the paper, stating that the volume of letters this week had been so great that the usual noon (Wed.) deadline had had to be cut off a little early. However, he added, anything received before late Wednesday morning (May 7) would be published.
Well, mine wasn’t. Gee.
Too late now.
I called Ed but his phone message said he was out until Monday and not listening to voice mail. Thanks for your objectivity, local newspaper!
Here’s the letter:
RBSA Financial Practices Questioned
Ridgewood News readers deserve to know about an important issue raised at the League of Women Voters Candidates’ Debate on April 29 but omitted from last week’s article on that event (“Race for Two Seats Heats Up,” May 2).
According to public records, the Ridgewood Baseball and Softball Association failed to file federal tax returns for at least 3 consecutive years during Village Council candidate James Albano’s long and continuing tenure as RBSA president. As a result, the group’s tax-exempt status was revoked by the Internal Revenue Service on March 15, 2011.
This suggests that appropriate papers have not been filed for at least 7 or 8 years and that contributions have not been legally tax deductible for several years.
Questions emerge:
Why did this happen? Was it deliberate, or sloppy bookkeeping?
In either case, how might RBSA’s financial practices reflect on Mr. Albano’s ability to serve on the Village Council, which oversees a vastly larger budget?
How much money does the RBSA have and where does it go?
Since RBSA activities heavily use tax-supported fields owned by the Village and Board of Education, might an audit of RBSA’s financial records by the Village be warranted?
Were corporate and individual donors to RBSA informed in a timely way in 2011 and every year since that they could no longer deduct donations from their taxes without violating federal law?
Do any individuals profit from RBSA’s summer baseball clinics conducted on taxpayer-owned property? Might an expansion of the summer clinics be one reason RBSA has pushed so hard to flatten the Schedler property in exchange for a 90-foot baseball field that its neighbors and countless other residents adamantly do not want?
At the debate, Mr. Albano denied being “the sports candidate,” a term no one but him had used that night. Interestingly, a message sent to the RBSA email list last month under the subject line “Albano for Council!” by Gary Muzio, RBSA’s “2014 Commissioner” and a leader of the summer clinics, stated: “While he [Mr. Albano] is not just the ‘sports candidate,’ the issue of the badly needed 90′ field, along with an all purpose field (read: soccer & lax) at Schedler is certainly a timely issue here.”
The assumption that RBSA had tax-exempt status and was therefore prohibited from any political activity, including endorsing candidates for local elections, led to a simple search for confirmation on the excellent IRS website, which quickly revealed the March 2011 revocation.
Might RBSA therefore use its email list for political activity, after all? Consider another factor beyond IRS regulations. The Village and Board of Education, recognizing the RBSA as a nonprofit entity (is it so registered?), have granted it the privilege of being cosponsored by the Village Parks and Recreation Department and Community School. Is it appropriate for a Village/Board of Education-cosponsored athletic organization (given priority in the use of tax-supported fields) to endorse a candidate for public office?
US: Two Views of Declining Labor Force Participation
Ridgewood NJ, Here is an interesting economics view of the US labor force participation decline from head economist at Citi.
The interesting thing is that there are quite a few forces at work; older population, kids staying in school longer or going for higher degrees, women opting out, etc. Most important is the last point, the BLS projects it will continue to decline for another 10 years.
US: Two Views of Declining Labor Force Participation
1●It’s Temporary. Drop in labor force participation (LFPR) since 2007 reveals cyclical effect of unemployment previously masked by dominant demographics and too brief recessions. –Downturn in LFPR associated with surge in long-term unemployed –Correlation at state level between rising unemployment and falling LFPR. –Large increase in discouraged workers, non-participants who want a job. –Job-finding rates fell proportionately for recent and long-term jobless. ●Delayed response (increase) to falling unemployment implies that LFPR will rise strongly for several years after the economy reaches full employment.
2-●No, it’s Permanent. Major part of LFPR drop reflects mix of demographic, structural and other policy effects that may be only partially reversed over only a very long period. –Population shifting to less-attached cohorts, including older, still prime-age workers. –LFPR among prime-age women falling since 2000, high marginal tax rates at low incomes. –Rising education enrollment. –Accelerating trend in disabilities suggests more permanent hysteresis effect. –Recent declines in discouraged workers and ‘not in labor force who want a job’
BLS projects that LFPR will decline another 1.5 percentage points by 2022.
The ‘Cure’ for Climate Change Is Far Worse than the Disease Nicolas Loris May 6, 2014 at 8:18 pm
Manmade greenhouse gas emissions already are causing gloom and doom and adversely affecting our way of life. That’s the conclusion of the National Climate Assessment released today by the Obama administration. But before we trade our Buicks for bikes, it’s important to highlight the climate realities and show that the administration’s proposed policy solutions will drive up the cost of energy for Americans and have no meaningful impact on climate.
Although the planet has warmed over the past six decades and a broad consensus exists that part of that warming is attributed to manmade emissions, what we’re seeing and where we’re headed is not toward climate catastrophe. As my colleague David Kreutzer writes, the climate threats do not match up with reality. Sea levels are rising but not as fast as projected. There have been no significant trends for floods, droughts, hurricanes or tornadoes. Although the report does not address hurricanes, it does admit that “other trends in severe storms, including tornadoes, hail, and thunderstorms, are still uncertain.”
The report has a variety of serious problem. Many of the models the federal government relied on to promulgate these regulations projected a 0.3-degree Celsius warming over the past 17 years, when in reality no warming occurred (although CO2 emissions have increased). Since 2011, 16 experiments published in peer-reviewed literature found the equilibrium climate sensitivity (the effect that a doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would have), is 40 percent lower than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the NCA project. In other words, a lot of variability exists in projecting what impact increased GHGs will have on the planet, which has serious implications not just for future temperature projections but all the other scary scenarios NCA outlines.
What’s most troubling is, even if climate change were occurring at an unsustainable rate, the administration’s policy prescriptions will not fix anything but will further harm the economy. The proposed limits for carbon dioxide emissions essentially would prohibit the construction of new coal-fired power plants and force existing ones into early retirement, driving up the cost of energy on American families and businesses. Higher energy prices shrink production in consumption, resulting in less income for families, more people in the unemployment line and less economic growth. And even if we were to stop emitting greenhouse gas emissions entirely, we would not moderate the Earth’s temperature more than a few tenths of a degree Celsius by the end of the century.
Some of the NCA’s policy solutions are even more invasive. The report says greenhouse gas reductions is one of the co-benefits of replacing short vehicle commutes with biking or walking and reducing your red meat intake to reduce the amount of methane emitted from the animals we eat. Not that federal government nudging and taking away choice from consumers and businesses is new. Over several decades the Department of Energy now has set efficiency regulations for more than 50 commercial and industrial products, including everything from dehumidifiers to illuminated exit signs. DOE touts these regulations not only as ways to save energy and money for consumers but as greenhouse gas reducers as well.
What today’s report and the latest data show are that the cure for climate change, as envisioned by the Obama administration, is far worse than the disease. Congress needs to step up and stop the administration’s costly and ineffective solution to a non-problem.
Chris Christie in no position to slam Colorado on cannabis
Pity the poor saps who live in the beautiful Rocky Mountain State, where voters decided in a referendum that marijuana should be legal, beginning this year.
Now their quality of life has deteriorated, according to our governor.
“See if you want to live in a major city in Colorado, where there are head shops popping up on every corner, and people flying into your airport just to get high,” Chris Christie said on a radio show Monday. “To me, it’s not the quality of life we want to have here in the state of New Jersey. And there’s not tax revenue that’s worth that.”
Of course, if Christie were truly concerned about quality of life, he would not have sabotaged our medical marijuana program with his foot-dragging, as patients wallow in chronic pain.
A New Jersey lawmaker has proposed a bill that would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana like liquor, predicting we could raise $100 million a year in revenue. That’s certainly a big plus. Colorado collected more than $2 million in recreational pot taxes in January. (Star-Ledger Editorial Board)
Ridgewood set to introduce municipal budget with flat taxes
APRIL 21, 2014, 8:36 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 8:36 PM BY CHRIS HARRIS STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — For a second successive year, village property owners are likely to see no increase in their annual municipal taxes.
When it meets Wednesday night, the Village Council is expected to introduce a $46.4 million 2014 spending plan that once again keeps taxes flat.
During a budget session on Monday, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld said those living in homes with an average assessed value of $688,000 will pay $3,959 in taxes to support municipal services during this calendar year.
But Sonenfeld — recently installed as Ridgewood’s top administrator — stressed “longer-term conversations” need to happen to cut future operating costs while improving government services.
Sonenfeld said she cut as much from the budget as possible and that sweeping structural shifts were needed going forward.
The 2014 budget, she noted, includes expenses from 2013 not initially outlined in the budget adopted by the council a year ago.
Americans have earned enough to pay off the $4.5 trillion tax bill
Washington DC (Apr 21, 2014)—Tax Freedom Day is here! The date on which Americans have collectively earned enough income to pay off their total federal, state, and local tax bill arrives 3 days later than last year and 111 days into 2014, according the nonpartisan Tax Foundation’s annual report.
The study’s key findings include:
Tax Freedom Day is three days later than last year due mainly to the continuing economic recovery, which will boost federal tax revenue collected through the corporate, payroll, and individual income tax.
Americans will spend more on taxes in 2014 than they will on food, clothing, and housing combined.
Americans will pay $3 trillion in federal taxes and $1.5 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total bill of more than $4.5 trillion, or 30.2 percent of the nation’s income.
Americans will spend 42 days working to pay off income taxes, 15 days for excise taxes, and 11 days for property taxes. Click here for a full breakdown.
If you include annual federal borrowing, which represents future taxes owed, Tax Freedom Day would occur on May 6, 15 days later.
Tax Freedom Day is a significant date for taxpayers and lawmakers, because it represents how long Americans as a whole must work in order to pay the nation’s tax burden.
“Arguments can be made for why the collective tax bill is too high or too low, but in order to have an honest discussion, it’s important to understand where we stand,” said Tax Foundation Economist Kyle Pomerleau. “Tax Freedom Day gives us a vivid representation of how much we pay for the goods and services provided by governments at all levels.”
Historically, the date for Tax Freedom Day has fluctuated significantly. The earliest national Tax Freedom Day was in 1900 when Americans paid only 5.9% of their income in taxes, meaning the date came on January 22. A century later, the latest Tax Freedom Day was May 1, 2000—which means Americans paid 33.0% of their total income in taxes.
While the collective national date arrives today, each state’s total federal, state, and local tax burden varies greatly. The majority of states have already reached their Tax Freedom Days, but 15 states remain: New Jersey (May 9), Connecticut (May 9), and New York (May 4) will be the last to arrive. Louisiana, on the other hand, was the first state to arrive back on March 30.
Full report: Tax Freedom Day® 2014 is April 21, Three Days Later Than Last Year
Tax Revenues Hit Record for First Half of FY 2014
April 15, 2014 – 2:49 PM
By Ali Meyer
(CNSNews.com) — Inflation-adjusted federal tax revenues hit a record $1,320,793,000,000 in the first half of fiscal 2014, but the federal government still ran a $413,264,000,000 deficit during that time, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement for March.
Each month, the Treasury publishes the government’s “total receipts,” including all revenue from individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, social insurance and retirement taxes (including Social Security and Medicare taxes), unemployment insurance taxes, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, customs duties, and “miscellaneous receipts.”
Obamanomics: if you have money, the democrats want it.
In Case You Didn’t Notice
Happy New Year America
Here is what happened on January 1st 2014:
Top Income tax bracket went from 35% to 39.6%
Top Income payroll tax went from 37.4% to 52.2%
Capital Gains tax went from 15% to 28%
Dividends tax went from 15% to 39.6%
Estate tax went from 0% to 55%
Remember this fact: if you have money, the democrats want it.
These taxes were all passed with Democrat votes only no Republicans voted for these taxes!
These taxes were all passed under the affordable care act, aka Obamacare.
If you think that it is important that everyone in the U.S. should know this, please pass this on to everyone you know.
Wake up America !
