Category Archives: Taxes

12/13/21

The Inflation, CPI, PPI, Earnings Boogie

I think everyone in the United States understands we have entered a period of increasing prices — inflation. Nobody thinks it is actually going to be transitory.

Even the Biden admin says it’s going to be here through the end of 2023 after suggesting it would magically disappear by the end of 2021. Nay, not so.

Those who are students of the economy will fairly point at the extraordinarily naïve energy policy actions of the Biden admin as a trigger point or at least a milestone.

Nobody has missed that the price of gasoline has doubled since Joe Biden took office.

Glendale, California

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12/9/20

How Does Texas Do It?

Texans voted for a constitutional ban against imposing a state income tax in an election held in November 2019. The situation until then had been murky on the issue of a personal income tax relying upon something called the “Bob Bullock Amendment” which allowed the Legislature to set a personal income tax, but only if voters approved it via a statewide referendum and if the new revenue was used exclusively for school property tax cuts and education programs.

Which leads us to the question — how does Texas fund itself?

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12/6/20

Who Actually Pays Corporate Income Taxes?

I am chatting the other day with a chap in the aftermath of the election and how he sees the implication of future tax increases on the country. He is a smart chap with an MBA from a fine school and he is a wizard businessman, but he is a liberal.

We get focused on the issue of corporate taxes and he says, “I get it that corporations really don’t pay those taxes.” He looks at me with his chin out like he is bluffing at Texas Hold ‘Em and thinks that makes him look confident.

I smile because it is a new thought he has never expressed before, so I say, “How so?” And he explains it thusly.

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07/19/20

#DefundStupid — Hunting Billionaires

Pal sends me an article wherein it is revealed that the irrepressible AOC — Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, not the Admiral Overseas Corporation — is encouraging a billionaire hunt to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (Fredo’s older brother).

AOC, member in good standing of the Democratic Socialists of America and The Squad, a virulent progressive in her own right, author and sponsor of the Green New Deal, key adviser to Candidate Joe Biden, wants to tax New York State billionaires — of which there are apparently one hundred and eighteen.

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07/28/19

Tech, Taxes, Tariffs, Trade — And French Wine

France has imposed/threatened a “digital services tax” on the likes of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google — all American companies.

The tax is 3% of gross revenues from digital services earned in France, but only for companies with more than 25MM Euros in French revenue and 750MM Euros in worldwide gross revenue. The tax money goes to France.

When you work through the math it puts a bullseye on Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google while giving a pass to many European companies who collectively are just as big as these digital behemoths. This is not an accident.

This tax was discussed for some time period, but its enactment caught a lot of folks by surprise. One who was not caught by surprise was President Donald J Trump.

President Trump had spoken to the French President Emmanuel Macron cautioning him that such a tax would be met with an American response.

Image result for images macron

President Trump, in his inimitable fashion said, “Don’t do it because if you do it, I’m going to tax your wine.” Macron blew him off. French wine is a huge industry.

The French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, sniffing at the ruffian DJ Trump, suggested that taxes and tariffs were completely unrelated. Good luck with that, Bruno.

Taxes and tariffs are core elements of trade while technology, digital services are a critical element of American commerce.

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04/21/17

The Tax Code

The Tax Code, Big Red? Really? Come on, can’t you come up with something better than The Tax Code?

Big Red Car here getting over the Easter holiday. Yes, I know, a little slow on the uptake. Tell me about it. Too much chocolate, I think.

So, the Trump administration is going to tackle the Tax Code, y’all. [The House Republicans did such a crackerjack job on Obamacare, no? Haha. Maybe they get it together next week. We’ll see. Clowns.]

So how did we get into this mess, you ask? [I know you didn’t actually ask, play along. Please.]

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