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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (290612)	2/2/2009 4:32:52 PM
From: Peter Dierks	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793964

The New Poor Tax Congress's latest money grab will leave you fuming FEBRUARY 1, 2009, 10:43 P.M. ET Congress is moving so fast and furious that it's impossible to keep up. But we didn't want to miss telling you about the tax increase on the poor and middle class that Congress is about to pass without a whit of media attention. We mean the tax increase on smokers that is part of the new children's health-care subsidy bill. To finance this $73 billion entitlement expansion over 10 years, the bill imposes an additional federal tax of 61 cents per cigarette pack, from 39 cents today. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, 96% of America's 25 million smokers make less than $150,000 a year. The Tax Foundation estimates that 99% of the smokers who will pay the new tax make less than $250,000, which is the income below which President Obama promised would see no tax increase. "No other federal tax hurts the poor more than the cigarette tax," says the Tax Foundation. These are the same folks the Obama Administration wants to help by raising the amount of the earned-income tax credit, but wait. A 61-cent cigarette tax hike is the equivalent of a 25% cut in that tax credit for some low-income families. So the politicians give these families money with one hand and take it back with the other. Oh, and there's another problem. The number of smokers keeps falling, but health-care costs keep rising. So paying for the biggest new health-care expansion in years with a declining revenue source is a guarantee of future red ink that will increase pressure for higher income taxes too. Just ask the politicians in Maryland, who doubled their cigarette tax two years ago to finance a new health-care program. That has led to 25% less tobacco revenue than expected because of declining sales, so the program is already in the red after its first year. But hey, it's the thought that counts. online.wsj.com

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (290612)	2/2/2009 5:05:52 PM
From: mph	5 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793964

Tax Cheats Don't Play well Among Americans [Does this mean they agree with Slow Joe?] businessweek.com Survey: Tax cheats don't play well among Americans By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER Nearly nine in 10 Americans say it is "not at all" acceptable to cheat on your taxes -- a sticky issue for an Obama administration that has nominated two Cabinet officials with tax troubles. The annual survey released Monday by the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board found that only 9 percent of respondents thought it was ever OK to cheat on their taxes. Eighty-nine percent said it was never OK. Although the survey was conducted in late August, its release comes as Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's nominee to be Health and Human Services secretary, has acknowledged failing to pay more than $120,000 in taxes. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was confirmed to that post by the Senate last week, had similar problems on a smaller scale. Daschle said Monday that he's "deeply embarrassed and disappointed" about his failure to pay the taxes from 2005 through 2007. He settled his tax bill last month, after Obama announced that Daschle would be nominated for the Cabinet post. It remains to be seen whether Daschle's tax problems will derail his nomination. The survey shows that American attitudes toward tax cheats have been relatively unchanged this decade. The survey did not ask respondents whether they ever cheated on their taxes. The overall tax payment compliance rate has hovered around 85 percent for decades, according to IRS statistics. The survey indicated that 72 percent agreed that it is "every American's civic duty to pay their fair share of taxes." Sixty-seven percent said everyone who cheats on their taxes should be held accountable. The national telephone survey of 1,005 adults was conducted from Aug. 22-24. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The IRS Oversight Board is an independent agency that offers guidance and oversight to the IRS. Joelle Jordan, a spokeswoman for the board, said the survey is released every February when interest is high because of tax season. <snip!>