Americans for Tax Reform RSS

Dear Congress: ARE YOU CRAZY?????

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:51:45 -0500

The following chain-email seems to be doing the rounds quite a bit today. And I think it sums the situation up perfectly: A message to the Administration: The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775 - you’ve had 234 years to get it right; it’s broke. Social Security was established in 1935 - you’ve had 74 years to get it right; it’s broke. Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - you’ve had 71 years to get it right; it’s broke. The “War on Poverty” started in 1964 - you’ve had 45 years to get it right. $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to “the poor”; it hasn’t worked and our entire country is broke. Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - you’ve had 44 years to get it right; they’re both broke. Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - you’ve had 39 years to get it right; it’s broke. Trillions of dollars were spent in the massive political payoffs called TARP, the “Stimulus,” the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009…. none show any signs of working, although ACORN appears to have found a new source: the American taxpayer. And finally, to set a new record: “Cash for Clunkers” was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009! It took cars (that were the best some people could afford) and replaced them with high-priced and less-affordable cars, mostly Japanese. A good percentage of the profits went out of the country. And the American taxpayers take the hit for Congress’s generosity in burning three billion more of our dollars on failed experiments. So, with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that “services” you shove down our throats are failing faster and deeper, you want Americans to believe you can be trusted with a government-run health care system- 20% of our entire economy??? With all due respect, Are you crazy? Or do you think the American people are? (H/T Think Free)

A Taxing Taste Of Things To Come

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:47:59 -0500

A taste of things to come if the Administration's plans to radically hike taxes is implemented comes from the high-taxing United Kingdom, where a financial services consulting firm in London has just released a survey with the stunning finding that one-fifth of entrepreneurs are thinking of escaping the county because of punitive taxes — particularly the new top tax rate of 50 percent. Tax-news.com reported: The results of a new survey suggest that one-fifth of UK-based entrepreneurs earning more than GBP150,000 are planning to flee Britain in search of countries with more favorable tax rates. The poll of more than 300 entrepreneurs by business advisors Tenon also found that many more may follow in an attempt to escape the 50% rate of income tax, due to be introduced from next April on annual incomes above GBP150,000, with nearly half of the respondents (48%) still deciding what action to take. …Tenon points out that in the last month, high profile names such as the actor Sir Michael Caine and the artist Tracey Emin have threatened to change their tax residency to countries with more favorable tax rates. Popular locations for redomiciling include Monte Carlo, Guernsey, Liechtenstein, and the Cayman Islands. Andy Raynor, Chief Executive of Tenon Group, noted that entrepreneurs are showing their disapproval of the tax measures by “letting their feet do the talking.” (H/T Cato@Liberty)

Senate Health Bill Raises Taxes On Special Needs Kids and Their Families

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:01:07 -0500

There are 18 separate tax hikes in the Reid-Obama healthcare bill. One of them caps the amount that can be deferred in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) at $2500 per year (a similar provision was included in the Pelosi-Obama health bill and written about by Congressman Cathy McMorris-Rogers, R-Was., for National Review Online). There is currently no limit to how much can be saved, though all monies must be used by the end of the year. Employers may put a cap in place for their employees, but this would put a cap in federal tax law for the first time. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), 30 million American families use an FSA. For most people, the $2500 cap won’t be noticed. FSAs tend to be used for things like small deductibles, co-payments, eyeglasses, over-the-counter medicines, and laser eye surgery. The amount deferred in the typical FSA is probably much less than $2500 today There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly-cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education. According to IRS Publication 502, Medical Expenses: You can include in medical expenses fees you pay on a doctor's recommendation for a child's tutoring by a teacher who is specially trained and qualified to work with children who have learning disabilities caused by mental or physical impairments, including nervous system disorders. You can include in medical expenses the cost (tuition, meals, and lodging) of attending a school that furnishes special education to help a child to overcome learning disabilities. A doctor must recommend that the child attend the school. Overcoming the learning disabilities must be a principal reason for attending the school, and any ordinary education received must be incidental to the special education provided. Special education include teaching Braille to a visually impaired person; teaching lip reading to a hearing-impaired person, or giving remedial language training to correct a condition caused by a birth defect. PDF Version

ATR and CFA Endorse House GOP "Doc Fix" Alternative

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:15:39 -0500

CFA and ATR have sent a letter in support of the House GOP alternative to Rep. Dingell's "Doc Fix" shenanigans. From our letter: Unlike H.R. 3961, the so-called “Doc Fix” bill sponsored by Rep. John Dingell, (D-Mich.), the Republican alternative is shenanigan-free, and would provide for fair physician reimbursement while being fully paid-for by cutting wasteful spending. Just like the Senate bill Sen. Reid tried and failed to pass through the Senate last month, Rep. Dingell’s bill is nothing but a poorly veiled attempt to sneak past taxpayers a massive healthcare-related cost. Honest accounting would have meant that this cost should have been part of the estimate for the already outrageously expensive government health bill passed by the House. By contrast, the Republican alternative would ensure that physicians are appropriately compensated while including reforms that would fully offset the cost of the bill. Taxpayers are already struggling to make ends meet, and should not be forced to shoulder yet another costly burden. Only a fully-offset “Doc Fix” bill can be considered responsible, and we consequently urge you to support the Republican motion to recommit and reject Rep. Dingell’s Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act.

Yet Another Obama Appointee Is a Tax Hypocrite

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:58:38 -0500

It looks like yet another Obama Treasury Department nominee has tax problems: Lael Brainerd, who is nominated to be Assistant Treasury Secretary for International Affairs. The tax flubs include: late payments on DC unemployment tax hiring a possibly illegal alien late property tax payments improperly claiming a home office deduction Once again, we see an Obama nominee (at Treasury, no less) not paying her taxes. This is the same crowd who wants to raise our taxes by hundreds of billions per year.

Unions & Health Bureaucrats Gang Up To Deny Treatment

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:13:26 -0500

Reason reports on this story I missed when it first came out from the UK, where paramedics fighting to save a nine year old road accident v ictim were told that union regulations meant the closest crew could not be called upon for backup for another 20 minutes. The Daily Echo reported that: "Lifesavers at a crash scene in Upton were told they would have to wait for a crew nearly 20 minutes away because paramedics in Poole still had a few minutes left on their break. A paramedic, who asked not be named, said: “It’s the way things are going. Things are happening just down the road and they are not sending the nearest crew. “There is not one member of the ambulance service who would not go, but we have to be given two 30-minute meal breaks and we can’t be interrupted. It’s just a joke.” Of course, bureaucrats defended their deal with unions and refusing to send help, saying: "In line with national guidelines negotiated and agreed by Unison, which must be adhered to by all ambulance trusts nationally under the Agenda for Change scheme, it is important that all staff have dedicated 30 minute rest breaks, which cannot be interrupted" It's just mind-boggling. It really is.

ATR Will Rate a Vote Against Moving to Proceed to Reid Health Bill

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:33:21 -0500

This week, the United States Senate will be voting on a motion to proceed to consideration of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) healthcare bill. This bill would increase taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade, saddle future generations with another unfunded entitlement, and destroy private sector health insurance. A vote to proceed with this deeply-flawed legislation is tantamount to a vote in support of the bill. A VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION TO PROCEED IS A VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE BILL. For that reason, Americans for Tax Reform WILL RATE a vote against moving to proceed in our annual “Hero of the Taxpayer” Congressional scorecard. PDF Version