MetaFilter posts tagged with taxes

How will the jobless afford such a thing?

IvoShandor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:57:18 -0800

Lawmakers attempt to target elective cosmetic surgery to pay for health reform in the United States. Simply an inviting target? The idea isn't that new, it was shelved once before. Now it's back. There is opposition as botox sales have already been dropping off.

Get a dog, save on your taxes?

lovermont — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:29:32 -0800

On July 31 of this year, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) introduced H.R. 3501, a bill aimed at granting tax deductions to owners of companion animals. Known as the HAPPY Act — Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years — it would create a deduction of up to $3,500 on federal tax returns for the care of "qualified" pets, defined as "legally owned, domesticated, and live animals." As of yet, there are no co-sponsors. So did McCotter introduce the bill due to being a genuine supporter of animal protections, or is this one Republican's way of trying to ensure taxpayers get to keep more of their money? Either way, the ASPCA approves, as do actors Leo Grillo and Robert Davi. via

You must be THIS TALL to file a W-2

Kadin2048 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:16:15 -0800

Economists Matthew Weinzierl (HBS) and Gregory Mankiw (Harvard) make a utilitarian case for a height tax. "Our research shows that, according to a conventional utilitarian calculus, the optimal height levy is sizeable. We calculate optimal taxes for adult white males in the US, whom we divide into three height groups – tall (above 72 inches), medium (between 70 and 72 inches), and short (below 70 inches). The optimal average tax on the tall is about 7.1% of the average tall income, while the average tax on the medium is about 3.8% of average medium income. These taxes pay for an average transfer to the short of more than 13% of average short income. Expressed in a more tangible way… [a] tall person making $50,000 should pay about $4,500 more in taxes than a short person making the same income."

Ayn Rand Made Her Do It

Xurando — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:40:50 -0800

Whoopi Doesn't Want To Be Overtaxed. Is she Going Galt?

Tax Trouble at Treasury

Slap Factory — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:28:13 -0800

Timothy Geithner is an experienced financial leader (previously). He is President Obama's pick to run the Treasury Department, which includes the Internal Revenue Service. The problem is that Mr. Geithner did not pay more than $30,000 in taxes, even his employer reminded him to do so. Now his nomination may be in jeopardy. Is Mr. Geithner the new Zoe Baird?

Death and Taxes: 2009

Knappster — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:25:10 -0800

"Death and Taxes: 2009" is a representational poster of the federal discretionary budget; the amount of money that is spent at the discretion of your elected representatives in Congress. Basically, your federal income taxes. (prev iou sly)

Ron Paul '08: So sayeth the Lord.

god hates math — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:06:51 -0800

The Alliance Defense Fund is organizing Pulpit Freedom Sunday, urging Pastors to explicitly endorse Presidential candidates in violation of IRS rules governing the non-profit status of religious organizations.

Stories of where US stimulus checks are going

ThePinkSuperhero — Sat, 31 May 2008 17:35:38 -0800

HowISpentMyStimulus.com In January, Congress approved $152 billion in economic stimulus checks for millions of American households, intended to boost the economy and avert a recession. Just how this money will be spent remains to be seen. We hope this website helps shed some light on where the stimulus money is going.

Government spending and tax levels

russilwvong — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:18:50 -0800

Want to know how government spending and taxation levels have gone up or down over the last 20 years, and how they compare with other countries? The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has a handy set of tables (Excel, HTML-ized by Google): total spending, total revenues, fiscal surplus or deficit (Norway's surplus is 17% of GDP). Part of the statistical tables for the semi-annual OECD Outlook.

Death and Taxes 2008

konolia — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:41:37 -0800

The Entire Federal Government in Six Square Feet

Now my advice for those who die, declare the pennies on your eyes.

psmealey — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 05:24:07 -0800

Tax Info for Musicians. Musicians and taxes don’t seem to mix very well. Taxes and administrating the business of music are often last on the list of concerns for the working musician. The above link gives some helpful tips on what to look for and some simple dos and don'ts. Also, here's some information on the often confusing Section 179 Deduction and a list of common deductible business expenses

Too tall!

Pants! — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 19:52:42 -0800

Moreover, based on the empirical distribution of height and wages, the optimal height tax is substantial: a tall person earning $50,000 should pay about $4,500 more in taxes (pdf) than a short person earning the same income. Draw what inferences you will.

Economic Consequences

homunculus — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:35:28 -0800

The Economic Consequences of Mr. Bush. "The next president will have to deal with yet another crippling legacy of George W. Bush: the economy. A Nobel laureate, Joseph E. Stiglitz, sees a generation-long struggle to recoup." [Via Firedoglake.]

Treasury: Income Mobility Substantial. Pew: But Not Enough.

shivohum — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:22:53 -0800

A new U.S. Treasury Report (press release) reports that tax returns from 1996 to 2005 show that income mobility in the U.S. is "considerable," with rising earnings, and top earners who often stumble. The WSJ crows. Pew releases its own research (reports, press release) on income inequality today with a multi-decade outlook, but summarizes the findings as that American families' income mobility is still highly dependent on their parents' position. Forbes and a The New Republic blog try to reconcile the reports. Meanwhile, blacks appear to be downwardly mobile.

Infrastructure Report Card

homunculus — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:15:25 -0800

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) published their latest Infrastructure Report Card in 2005. America's infrastructure got a D. The ASCE estimate that it will cost $1.6 trillion over a five-year period to bring the nation's infrastructure to good condition. They also have a Critical Infrastructure blog. [Via Gristmill.]

Zombie Joseph Beuys Recommends: The Tax Code

ourobouros — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 07:40:43 -0800

For each occupation, an illustration. For some months, Dorothy of Cat and Girl has been riffing on the Schedule C Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes Table. The list is full of odd associations. Why, for instance is "Offices of Podiatrists" illustrated with a Starfleet officer? There's gotta be a story there.

public assets and infrastructure go private--and we pay

amberglow — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 16:49:13 -0800

Roads To Riches (or We've Got a Bridge in Brooklyn to Sell You--Seriously) -- Why investors are clamoring to take over America's highways, bridges, and airports—and why the public should be nervous.--...a slew of Wall Street firms—Goldman, Morgan Stanley, the Carlyle Group, Citigroup, and many others—is piling into infrastructure ... Assets sold now could change hands many times over the next 50 years, with each new buyer feeling increasing pressure to make the deal work financially. It's hardly a stretch to imagine service suffering in such a scenario; already, the record in the U.S. has been spotty. ...

Who's your (tax) daddy

RandlePatrickMcMurphy — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:23:05 -0800

Single largest taxpayer in... This comment highlighted that: The club is the largest single taxpayer in Hong Kong. It paid HK$12.4bn in 2005-06 - about 8.6% of all taxes collected by the government - on turnover of HK$98.9bn. In Virginia and lots of other places its a power company. In the Chinese province of Yiwu its a market specializing in counterfeit goods. Citigroup in South Dakota. Pemex in Mexico. A cell phone company in Afghanistan. A gold mining company in Indonesia... and Guatemala. MIT in Cambridge. And the US? Some say its the government itself. This 1999 posting inconclusively points the smoking gun at... ... and in your piece of the world?

The Economics of Fat

monju_bosatsu — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 08:10:29 -0800

Cheap Donuts and Expensive Broccoli: the Effect of Relative Prices on Obesity. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the period 1982-1996, we find that individual BMI measures, as well as the likelihood of being overweight or obese, exhibit a statistically significant positive correlation with the prices of healthful relative to unhealthful foods.

We already have a flat tax?

knave — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:41:39 -0800

US TaxFilter: Your real tax rate: 40%.
"In a study for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Boston University economists Laurence J. Kotlikoff and David Rapson have found that our all-in marginal tax rate is 40%, give or take a bit. Yes, you read that right: 40%." The table at the end is telling.

Renewable Energy Incentives

alms — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 11:21:08 -0800

Want to increase your energy efficiency and use more renewable energy? Want to install solar panels on your roof, buy a hybrid car, put in new storm windows, or make any number of other green improvements to your home or business? Want to save money doing it? DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Just click on your state and take it from there.

Drug Tax Stamps

TheOnlyCoolTim — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 08:55:23 -0800

Many people want to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana and other drugs, however, few know that many U.S. states are content simply to tax. In fact, even the federal government wants a share (middle of p. 89 of the PDF), and used tax stamps in early prohibition, but only the states have recently issued issued cool stamps (be sure to click "exhibit"). The point, of course, is not to actually tax the drugs, but to penalize the drug dealers for tax evasion as well as drug sales. They have brought in some money, though. A few interesting state government pages: Conecticut, Nebraska, North Carolina and their tax return form, and Kansas.

July 4 might be Independence Day in another way, too

Gyan — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 22:55:04 -0800

Cost of Government Day - "n. the date of the calendar year, counting from January 1, on which the average American has earned enough in cumulative gross income to pay for his or her share of government spending (total federal, state, and local) plus the cost of regulation."

We're coming to your town, we'll drag your budget down

EatTheWeak — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 14:54:51 -0800

On November 7th, Americans have much to decide. While the two major parties joust for control of the Senate and House, many a ballot initiative does not recieve the scutiny required. Consider Oregon's Rainy Day Amendment, Arizona's HOPE Amendment, California's Protect Our Homes Initiative or Idaho's Proposition 2. Examine the Taxpayer Bill of Rights in Maine and Proposal 6 in Michigan - weigh them against three bills in Montana. [more inside]

If you drive a car, I'll tax the...gas?

joshuaconner — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 01:32:33 -0800

Thomas Friedman:

The First Law of Petropolitics, in short, argues that the price of oil and the pace of freedom operate in an inverse correlation. As the price of oil goes up in what I call petroauthoritarian states—like Iran, Sudan, Venezuela—the pace of freedom goes down. These regimes can afford to be less responsive to their people and outside pressure. And as the price of oil goes down, the pace of freedom goes up because these regimes have to open up to the world if they want to deliver for their people, and they have to empower their people more.

But how to lower oil prices and help freedom on its proverbial march? Many, from Alan Greenspan to Andrew Sullivan to Ray Magliozzi from Car Talk think the answer may be to . . . raise the gas tax? The Pigou Club is an ever-updated list of economists, politicians and others who have advocated Pigouvian (or is it Pigovian?) taxes to not only lower oil prices, but reduce greenhouse gases, fix the federal deficit and strengthen our national security. Though some remain more than a little hesitant to jump on the bandwagon and others remain skeptical that the movement is anything more than "just talk," this could be an idea whose time has come, especially since the gas tax isn't as regressive one would think.