Eric Nalder has written a fascinating series on boating tax loopholes. Via taxprof.
Category: Taxes
PWC Summary of the Recent Tax Cut Bill/Giveaway
Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) recently published a 14 page pdf summary of the recent big corporation tax cut/giveaway. 170K PDF
WSJ on City Spending Growth
The Wisconsin State Journal Editorial Page on Alder Zach Brandon’s view of the Mayor’s proposed 3.6% spending increase:
It’s the spirit that counts: Madison Ald. Zach Brandon wants his City Council colleagues to break with their time-honored tradition of soaking the taxpayers for a few dollars more.
Brandon is developing a list of spending items that could be cut from the Madison city budget, saving taxpayers more than $2 million. But what he proposes isn’t as important as the underlying goal: Reversing the council’s longstandin g profligacy.
Brandon, who pushed a package of cuts last year along with a spending cap that went nowhere, this time believes he can strong-arm council members with a political pledge to put a lid on city spending. He has dropped his red “tax cap” baseball- hat publicity gimmick for a modest pledge he’s circulating to council members. Brandon, of the Southwest Side’s 7th District, wants each council member to promise not to increase city spending beyond the $192.5 million that Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has already proposed. If they want to add a few dollars for a pet project, they need to subtract the money from another item in the budget.
Nobelist Edward Prescott’s views on Tax Cuts
An intresting yin to the professor’s yang on the Bush Tax Cuts:
Russ Wiles:
Prescott, speaking from Minnesota, where he advises the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, described Kerry’s plan to roll back tax cuts for top wage-earners as counterproductive.
“The idea that you can increase taxes and stimulate the economy is pretty damn stupid,” he said.
Bush’s campaign on Monday released a letter signed by Prescott and five other Nobel laureates critical of Kerry’s proposal to roll back tax reductions for families earning $200,000 or more.
In The Republic interview, he said such a policy would discourage people from working.
“It’s easy to get over $200,000 in income with two wage earners in a household,” Prescott said. “We want those highly educated, talented people to work.”
Prescott also gave Bush the nod on another controversial campaign issue, dismissing Kerry’s claims that outsourcing of jobs is damaging the economy. . . . Prescott also backed the idea, espoused by Bush, to reform Social Security by allowing some workers to place a portion of their payroll taxes into private savings accounts.
Personally, I’d rather see a more straightforward approach to taxes, than the ongoing deals with special interest groups that Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl supported recently. via instapundit
2 Shipbuilders Get Big Breaks in New Tax Bill
As always, the rest of us get to pay. Evidently our senators, Russ Feingold (Yes) and Herb Kohl (“Present”) support these very narrow non populist measures. Edmund Andrews:
Under the bill, Navy shipbuilders would be allowed to once again defer paying most federal income taxes on a project until the contract was completed. Because it takes about five years to build an aircraft carrier and three years to build a destroyer, the shipyards would be able to delay their tax bills for years, allowing more opportunity to offset taxes against future losses.
….
“This provision takes dramatic steps to remedy the inequity of how naval shipbuilders pay their taxes,” Ms. Snowe said in a statement last week, just after House and Senate negotiators agreed to include the provision in a broader bill that would shower $140 billion in tax cuts across almost every segment of industry.
But critics said the provision would not create jobs, the stated intention of the tax bill, because employment at naval shipyards is determined almost entirely by federal spending on ships and submarines rather than by tax incentives.
“We’re not going to buy any more war boats if we give them a tax incentive,” said Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice, a liberal research group here that has long scrutinized corporate tax practices. “We’re going to buy more boats if the government decides we need more boats.”
Business School Professors “Pen” a note on the Economy to President Bush
An Open Letter to the President
These folks raise some useful points. The problem is not only with Bush. Interestingly, last week, Russ Feingold voted FOR one of the biggest tax giveaways…. (Kohl voted present).
The tax system is a complete mess and ripe for reform. Thinking of a solution, go read Mitch Kapor’s recent piece on our current political situation.
Fred Mohs on Property Tax Exemptions
The local papers have been full of troubling news about the budgets for the city, county and public schools. The sheriff needs more deputies, drug and alcohol treatment centers are left unfunded, park and sanitation workers are cut, West High School does not have money to put on its fall play, fourth grade strings are in jeopardy and fees for doing everything are up across the board.
At the same time, a growing number of Madisonians have managed to live in properties that are tax exempt. A report produced by the Madison Assessor’s Office indicates that the self-reported value of retirement home parcels is $25.1 million and that other tax exempt housing has a value of $64.3 million, for a total self-reported value of $89.4 million.
Mayor’s Comments on Tax Increase
Mayor Dave sent a letter in response to my recent post on his proposed budget that would raise property taxes 5.4%:
Dear Mr. Zellmer:
Thank you for your recent letter regarding the City budget. I, too, am concerned about the rising pressure on property taxes.
In my 2005 budget, I am proposing City spending increases of 3.6 percent, which is comparable to inflation plus City growth. In fact, the increase would be only 1.8 percent if we excluded four major items over which we have little or no control: rising fuel costs, health insurance for our employees, pension fund payments, and debt services.
Yet despite our responsible approach to spending, taxes go up at a much greaterrate than spending increases. The reason is declining and stagnant state aid programs. If state aids had just kept pace with inflation over the past two years, taxes on the average home would be $66.00 lower. Ultimately, the solution to high property taxes is not to gut City services, but to convince the Legislature to
fully fund state aid programs.
State and federal funds ultimately originate in the same pocketbook as property taxes…….
Tax Bill helped Chinese Ceiling Fan Manufacturers
Russ Feingold voted Yes and Herb Kohl voted “present”!
The recent tax giveaway also helped Chinese Ceiling Fan Manufacturers according to Edmund Andrews.
I remain puzzled as to why Russ Feingold would support this. Herb Kohl’s vote is simply amazing. I think we should all pay taxes at the 5.25% rate major corporations won in this legislation.
Winners & Losers in Monday’s Tax Bill
Taxprof parses the winners (professional sports team owners) and losers (hollywood, to some degree). I’m still mystified as to our Senators votes: Feingold: Yes and Kohl “Present”.