Repug tax cut

[boutons_deux]

GOP tax bill would end deduction for wildfire and earthquake victims — but not recent hurricane victims

The House Republican tax bill would eliminate the deduction for personal losses from wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters,

but keep the break for victims of the recent severe hurricanes.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270483&page=4

hmm, all the states that are most probable victims of hurricane disasters are Repug red states

[boutons_deux]

Congress Weighs Repeal of Tax Credit for Rare Disease Drugs

A decades-old tax credit designed to spur cures for rare diseases has been so successful that it’s now become a target in the House Republican tax plan.

The proposal under consideration would end the tax breaks for development of what are called orphan drugs.

Ending the credit used by big and small drug companies could save the government an estimated $54 billion over the next decade,

an effort to help offset some of the anticipated losses in revenue if other Republican tax cut provisions become law.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/h...er=rss&emc=rss

Repug philosophy,

"if govt actually does something good, that violates our philosophy, so we must stop govt from doing good. NOTHING good from come govt"

[Spurminator]

... he says like it's a bad thing.

[boutons_deux]

... he says like it's a bad thing.

It's the ONLY THING

[boutons_deux]

Repugs intend to cut the mandate

CBO: 13 Million More Uninsured By 2027 If Individual Mandate Repealed

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewir...0%28TPMNews%29

[boutons_deux]

Trash LOVES Goldman-Sacks corrupt, predatory millionaires

Big CEOs Are 'Most Excited' About Trump-GOP Tax Cuts, Brags Gary Con



President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser and former Goldman Sachs banker Gary Con dealt yet another blow to Republicans' claim that their tax plan will primarily benefit middle class Americans on Thursday,

the Americans who are "most excited" about the GOP's push for massive tax cuts are actually "big CEOs"—

a reversal from his claim just weeks ago that the wealthy "are not getting a tax cut under our plan."

prompting many to wonder whether he was actually "supposed to say that."

Con went on to claim against all evidence that "trickle-down economics" is "good for the economy"

and repeat the familiar line that the Trump administration and the GOP did not "set out to create a tax cut for the wealthy,"

implying that any tax cuts for the rich would be purely incidental.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/11/09/big-ceos-are-most-excited-about-trump-gop-tax-cuts-brags-gary-cohn

Holy , America is so ed.

[boutons_deux]

DelBene: A few questions: Will a teacher in my district who buys pens, pencils, paper for his students be able to deduct these costs from his tax plan under this plan?

GOP: Uh, H.R. 1 would repeal the above the line deduction for teacher expenses.

DelBene: Will a corporation that buys pens, pencils and paper from its workers be able to deduct those costs from its tax returns under this plan?

GOP: Uh, the general deduction for ordinary and necessary business expenses by any business en y is not changed. It need not be…

DelBene: So they would.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/201...am-in-the-dust

Corporations are people, but people aren't corporations.

[boutons_deux]

The Republican tax plan takes direct aim against disabled Americans

Under the Republicans’ tax proposal, disabled people—and other vulnerable communities—are set to shoulder a significantly greater responsibility for generating federal tax revenue, even as corporations get a substantial tax break. [...]

The provision that will have the most catastrophic effect on disabled people is

the removal of the deduction for out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Currently, if your out-of-pocket medical expenses exceed 10 percent of your adjusted gross income, you can deduct that from your tax bill.

In the Jobs and Tax Cuts Bill, that provision is excised completely.

So if you own a golf course, Republicans want to make sure your taxes are cut.

If you spend a sizable chunk of your income on medical expenses in order to, say, not die,

Republicans want to not only make sure the government doesn't give you the slightest bit of help with your health insurance,

they'll be taxing the money you spend on medical care as well.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1714304

[boutons_deux]

Key Contact With Russians and Stephen Miller, Papadop is demoted to Coffee boy

Papadopolous Lied About Russia To FBI To Protect Trump.

Trump had publicly denied that there had been any contact between his campaign and Russian officials, and Papadopoulos did not want to contradict the official line, the source said.

Papadopoulos met with the FBI agents investigating those alleged ties shortly thereafter, and he later acknowledged that he lied during that meeting about the timing of certain contacts.

According to federal court filings, Papadopoulos initially claimed his contacts with a professor who had deep ties in Russia “occurred before” he became an adviser to the campaign.

“In truth and in fact,” the filings read, “the professor only took interest in defendant Papadopoulos because of his status with the Campaign.”

Papadopoulos sent emails concerning Putin to at least seven campaign officials.

Clovis, as Trump national campaign co-chairman, encouraged Papadopoulos to fly to Russia to meet with agents of the Russian Foreign Ministry,

after being told that Russia had "dirt" on Clinton it wanted to share with Trump's campaign.[17][18][19][20]

This occurred before there was public knowledge of the hack of Democratic National Committee and of John Podesta's emails, both of which U.S. intelligence agencies believe were carried out by Russia.[21]

Between March and September 2016, Papadopoulos made at least six requests for Trump or representatives of his campaign to meet in Russia with Russian politicians.

In May, campaign chairman Paul Manafort forwarded one such request to his deputy Rick Gates, saying

"We need someone to communicate that [Trump] is not doing these trips. It should be someone low-level in the campaign so as not to send any signal."

Gates delegated the task to the campaign's correspondence coordinator, referring to him as "the person responding to all mail of non-importance."[18]

[T]he “low level volunteer” made several trips overseas throughout 2016, purportedly on behalf of the campaign, making appearances where he was introduced as a Trump adviser.

In April, he traveled to Israel to speak at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, an appearance arranged by the former Israeli ambassador to Greece.

In May, he met in Athens with the president of Greece. In September, he met with officials at the British Foreign Office in London.

During inaugural festivities, Papadopoulos met with advocates for Israeli settlements, telling them “We are looking forward to ushering in a new relationship with all of Israel.”

So this is someone who would have been privy to any matters of foreign policy that this Administration intended to implement. Certainly privy to anything involving their plans for Russia.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/201...tail=emaildkre

DEE ING LISHUS

[boutons_deux]

Reminder: Republicans Need 60 Votes to Pass Their Tax Plan

It’s obvious that these deficits aren’t going to suddenly stop in 2028.

That means the tax plan isn’t deficit-neutral after the ten-year window, and that means

Republicans will need 60 votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster. As far as I know, there are only two other options:

• Make the tax bill temporary and have it expire in 2028. That’s what George Bush did. But Republicans have said they don’t plan to do this, and making a business tax overhaul temporary is nuts anyway.
• Ignore the official estimates and simply declare the bill deficit neutral. However, this is tantamount to killing the filibuster: if the Senate can ignore CBO and JCT estimates, they can ignore the Senate parliamentarian too. That means future Senates can pass reconciliation instructions for pretty much anything and pass them with a simple majority.

The Capitol Hill press corps needs to push back on this and ask Republicans blunter questions about their plan.

Do they think they can round up eight Democratic votes?

Do they plan to have the bill expire in 2028?

Are they prepared to override CBO and JCT deficit estimates?

Do they plan to outright kill the filibuster?

If not, then what are they up to?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-dru...heir-tax-plan/

[boutons_deux]

Ugly Stuff: GOP Tax and Budget Plans Will Destroy Finances of Average Americans With Sick Elders or Family Members With Disabilities

Tax breaks for the rich, while the GOP targets healthcare safety nets for society's most vulnerable.

the GOP will stop at nothing to take away benefits from any person, in any state, who might vote blue.

Both chambers’ slightly differing proposals eliminate the current federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes,

hitting hard at blue high-tax states such as New York, New Jersey, Illinois and California,

and amounting to

a big transfer of wealth to lower-tax red-state America.

In addition, the mean-spirited and brazenly partisan fine print would deny deductions for fire and earthquake victims (California), but keep them for hurricane losses (Florida and Texas). (TGB: and LA, MS, GA, SC, NC)

the House bill’s proposal to end a federal income tax deduction for medical expenses if those costs exceed 10 percent of one's adjusted gross income.

Should that measure, or some version of it, emerge in the final bill—such as imposing a cap limiting deductions—it would be devastating to households with disabled family members or those who incur high medical costs, such as seniors or children.

“By taking away medical deductions from personal income taxes, the Republican proposal would hurt older citizens with greater medical needs, people with disabilities and chronic medical conditions, and families with children who have congenital or genetic disorders and disabilities,”

“Almost 8.8 million households claimed the medical deduction in 2015. The average deduction claimed was close to $10,000 and the cost of deducting long-term care could be ten times that amount.”

people who pay out-of-pocket for personal care assistants and durable medical equipment would be among those experiencing the most calamitous repercussions,”

https://www.alternet.org/economy/op-...s-have-sick-or

[boutons_deux]

Senate plans disastrous tax on vesting that could kill stock compensation

A proposed tax that charges people as their startup equity vests instead of when they cash it out and actually have money to pay the taxes could wreck how tech companies recruit talent.

a tax on stock options and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that applies as they vest, rather than using the existing scheme that taxes stock options when they’re exercised or when the underlying shares are released for RSUs.

As famed VC Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures explains,

“What this would mean is every month,

when your equity compensation vests a little bit,

you will owe taxes on it even though you can’t do anything with that equity compensation.

You can’t spend it, you can’t save it, you can’t invest it.

Because you don’t have it yet.”

The proposed tax could prevent wide swaths of tech employees from accepting stock options and RSUs. This breaks the whole incentive structure for top talent to take intense jobs at companies with a risk for failure because there’d no longer be the potential for massive upside.

Companies would have to shift to higher salaries and big bonuses to attract the best employees. But startups often don’t have the cash to do that.

In order to attract talent they rely on equity that’s free to dole out at the time and only worth a lot if the company succeeds.

This could push top product, design, engineering and sales people to work at bigger, established companies that can afford juicy salaries and bonuses.

And with fewer equity-made millionaires and billionaires, there will be fewer people investing in the next generation of startups.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/13/ta...8TechCrunch%29

Seems like something BigCorp would pay Senators to pass in order to protect BigCorp from startups.

[CosmicCowboy]

Senate plans disastrous tax on vesting that could kill stock compensation

A proposed tax that charges people as their startup equity vests instead of when they cash it out and actually have money to pay the taxes could wreck how tech companies recruit talent.

a tax on stock options and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that applies as they vest, rather than using the existing scheme that taxes stock options when they’re exercised or when the underlying shares are released for RSUs.

As famed VC Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures explains,

“What this would mean is every month,

when your equity compensation vests a little bit,

you will owe taxes on it even though you can’t do anything with that equity compensation.

You can’t spend it, you can’t save it, you can’t invest it.

Because you don’t have it yet.”

The proposed tax could prevent wide swaths of tech employees from accepting stock options and RSUs. This breaks the whole incentive structure for top talent to take intense jobs at companies with a risk for failure because there’d no longer be the potential for massive upside.

Companies would have to shift to higher salaries and big bonuses to attract the best employees. But startups often don’t have the cash to do that.

In order to attract talent they rely on equity that’s free to dole out at the time and only worth a lot if the company succeeds.

This could push top product, design, engineering and sales people to work at bigger, established companies that can afford juicy salaries and bonuses.

And with fewer equity-made millionaires and billionaires, there will be fewer people investing in the next generation of startups.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/13/ta...8TechCrunch%29

Seems like something BigCorp would pay Senators to pass in order to protect BigCorp from startups.

That ship has pretty much sailed anyway. Any tech startup that looks promising is immediately mirrored by google, facebook, amazon, etc that can throw more money at promising ideas than any startup. A lot of those startups are being crushed by mass. The days of jumping onboard a unicorn for a couple of years and getting to be a multi millionaire on the IPO are just about over.

[CosmicCowboy]

You guys remember that movie wher stallone woke up in the future and Taco Bell had won the "restaurant wars" and every restaurant was a Taco Bell? Thats where these huge tech companies are going. They can starve other supply businesses out. Amazon will be going into drugs next and CVS and Walgreens can kiss their asses goodbye.

[SnakeBoy]

You guys remember that movie wher stallone woke up in the future and Taco Bell had won the "restaurant wars" and every restaurant was a Taco Bell? Thats where these huge tech companies are going. They can starve other supply businesses out. Amazon will be going into drugs next and CVS and Walgreens can kiss their asses goodbye.

Yeah CVS is responding by starting a trial home delivery program but Amazon is going to kick their ass. The days are numbered for corporate brick & mortar stores in general.

[boutons_deux]

Bipartisan analysis: Senate bill would hike taxes for 13.8 million people

The assessment by Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation emerged as the Senate's tax-writing committee began wading through the measure, working toward the first major revamp of the tax system in some 30 years.

Overall, the legislation would deeply cut corporate taxes, double the standard deduction used by most Americans, and limit or repeal completely the federal deduction for state and local property, income and sales taxes.

"This bill is not a massive tax cut for the wealthy. ... This is not a big giveaway to corporations," Sen. Orrin Hatch LIE

The analysis found that the Senate measure would actually increase taxes in 2019 for 13.8 million households earning less than $200,000 a year.

That group, about 10 percent of all taxpayers, would face tax increases of $100 to $500 in 2019.

There also would be increases greater than $500 for a number of taxpayers, especially those with incomes between $75,000 and $200,000.

By 2025, 21.4 million households would have steeper tax bills.

The analysts previously found a similar magnitude of tax increases under the House bill.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...113-story.html

[boutons_deux]

Republicans Do Their Best To Lose Congress By Adding Obamacare Repeal To Tax Cuts For The Rich

Senate Republicans will add a measure that repeals the individual mandate and cost millions their health insurance to the already unpopular bill cutting taxes for the rich.One week ago, Republicans lost by 54 points on healthcare in Virginia, so their big answer is to double down:

Seung Min Kim
✔@seungminkim


GOP senators were told inside lunch that Finance Rs unanimously agreed to include mandate repeal in the latest version of the bill, I’m told.
1:05 PM - Nov 14, 2017

According to the CBO, 13 million people will lose their health insurance if the individual mandate is repealed.

The tax cut bill itself will automatically cut Medicare by $25 billion a year:

The absurdity has reached the point where it is almost like Republicans know they are losing Congress next year, so they are going to bundle all of their bad ideas into one bill before they are kicked out of office.

Only the most oblivious of political parties could respond to getting their asses kicked on healthcare by 54 points with a plan to take healthcare away from 13 million Americans.

It is almost like Republicans have given up and are trying to lose the 2018 election.

The addition of the individual mandate repeal to tax cuts for the wealthy is a giant middle finger to the American people.

The bad news for Congressional Republicans is that voters will get the final word next November.

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/11/...iticus+USA+%29

[boutons_deux]

Ivanka Trump's Clueless Defense of Tax Reform Almost Beggars Belief

The first daughter really thinks American families need more Mandarin tutors.

White House adviser Ivanka Trump said on Monday that Republicans were going to pass tax reform so that every family would have the opportunity to have a Mandarin Chinese language tutor like her children have.

“I’m very fortunate to be able to have a lot of help to be able to support me,” Ivanka Trump replied.

“Because I definitely could not have taught her how to do that.”

“And that’s what we’re trying to do with tax reform,

enable more working parents to be able to get the support that they need to be able to thrive as a family,” she added.

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-po...beggars-belief

goddamn, the whole ing Trash family is dumb as a bag of hammers

More H1b visas for the Chinese to teach American kids Mandarin.

[boutons_deux]

As if the Repug swamp gave if they shafted the clown they insulted HUD and blacks with

Ben Carson’s public housing plan would be crippled if the GOP’s tax bill passes

HUD Secretary Carson has touted a program that would be severely restricted by the House’s tax bill.

The GOP’s tax bill would severely curtail its own administration’s plan to solve the country’s $49 billion backlog of public housing repairs.

That estimate doesn’t include repairs related to damage from the recent hurricanes — repairs that could also face serious slowdowns if the House GOP’s plan passes.

The House tax plan would tax private activity bonds —

a tax-exempt funding mechanism that allows developers to borrow money for a host of projects, including affordable housing projects, at low-interest rates.

Lawmakers claim eliminating the exemption would save $38.9 billion (even as the tax bill would grow the deficit by an estimated $1.7 trillion).

But housing advocates warn taxing those bonds would make it unnecessarily

difficult to rebuild affordable housing,

including housing destroyed by the recent hurricanes, and

severely cripple the only program that has effectively addressed the backlog of essential repairs for America’s 1.1 million public housing units.

https://thinkprogress.org/gop-tax-bill-2dfd444b11b6/

[boutons_deux]

GOP Sneaks Creation of Fetal Personhood Into Tax Bill in Giant Giveaway to Anti-Choice Religious Right

The Supreme Court and states have rejected fetal personhood, but

Congress is slipping it into a college savings plan

https://www.alternet.org/right-wing/...eligious-right

It looks like the Repugs are stuffing so much non-tax cut into their oligarchy-fellating proposal that they really don't want it to pass, since these bull amendments rack up votes against the plan.

Repugs are going through the motions, pro forma, to pander to their base, then will blame failure on the legislators who vote against.

The oligarchy doesn't give a about fetal personhood or personal insurance mandate, or ANYTHING non-oligarchy.

They only want their tax cuts

[pgardn]

So we got Boots spamming sites with a very clear political agenda as always. I stopped reading long ago.

Two versions, admendments still being considered, different economists see different outcomes, a huge F'N mess to figure out.

Where is the Republican spammage? There is plenty out there.

[pgardn]

So here ya go:

Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have released versions of a tax bill. It’s virtually impossible to fully understand, let alone keep up with, the flood of proposals, amendments and analyses that continue to pour out. Here are some of the big-picture ideas to keep


At....

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...T.nav=top-news

A mess. There are so many graphical ways to represent this to make it look good or bad.

[dabom]

So here ya go:

Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have released versions of a tax bill. It’s virtually impossible to fully understand, let alone keep up with, the flood of proposals, amendments and analyses that continue to pour out. Here are some of the big-picture ideas to keep


At....

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...T.nav=top-news

A mess. There are so many graphical ways to represent this to make it look good or bad.

What do you think about trickle down economics?

[boutons_deux]

Robert Reich Destroys Conservative Stephen Moore's Corporate Tax Myth

It's just not true that cutting corporate taxes results in investment es.

“We did this in 2004, Steve Moore is acting like we didn’t have an experiment to test this theory.

Under the George W. Bush administration, we did have a repatriation, a tax holiday and what did corporations do with all that extra money?

Did they invest it?

Create more jobs?

No!” Reich rapidly explained.

“They just brought back their shares of stock,

pumped up share prices,

provided more executive pay to the top executives —

we’ve done it and we’ve seen that there are no results."

Moore was undeterred by the facts and carried on with his dubious economic position.

“Explain to me why it’s good for America that

we have a 40 percent tax rate way up here and the rest of the world is at 20 percent down here,”

he responded with gesticulation outside the camera frame. "It just doesn't work for America."

Reich shut that argument down.

“Well, it does because the effective tax rate — that is, what corporations are actually paying — is just about the same as other foreign corporations are paying."

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-po...orate-tax-myth


=======================

Mark Cuban says tax rates have almost no impact on investment

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-cuban/mark-cuban-says-tax-rates-have-almost-no-impact-on-investment-idUSKBN1DG0BJ
summary: oligarchy-fellating Repugs are LYING 100% about their tax cut

BigPharma was a big recipient of the $300B repatriated at 5% in 2004, then laid off 40K people. Job Creators!

and of course, corporate investments have wonderfully friendly tax treatment.

BigCorp tax receipts as percentage of total tax receipts are smaller percentage than in other industrial countries.

[boutons_deux]

The Repugs will have to limit their tax bill to 10 years, if they don't, they'll need 60 in the Senate to pass, which is impossible.

No reconciliation power play like the Repugs did in spring 2001, and then relaxed, went to sleep after they accomplished the main reason they wanted to run govt, as "chatter" about an attack, "planes into buildings", was ignored until 9/11.