Tax // Current TV

Merry Christmas, Douglas Bruce. And many more.

Then yesterday, Christmas came early in the form of this headline, which Brian noted:... more

hoosierdaddy
added this
1 month ago
|
0 comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders: Congress works very well for the top 1 percent

By Eric W. Dolan Thursday, December 22, 2011 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on... more

KB723
added this
1 month ago
|
29 comments

Rich Liberals Unwilling to give their own money to the Government

CarlosBobthe3rd
added this
1 month ago
|
0 comments

Corporate Taxpayers and Corporate Tax Dodgers 2008-2010

Earlier this year, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett made headlines by... more

BKsaysAction
added this
3 months ago
|
11 comments

An Answer to Prop 13

Many people [including #SFMayor candidates] who haven’t owned a home for more... more

baghdadbythebay
added this
4 months ago
|
0 comments

DENMARK Levies worlds first FAT Tax... just on foods for now.

Denmark on Saturday became the first country in the world to impose a fat tax after a... more

LOrion
added this
4 months ago
|
1 comment

Smart and Funny Political News Satire: What's Next? Bachmann/Palin Jello Wrestling? Ironic News Report, Sept. 12, 2011

The Ironic News Report is a satirical news parody that skewers politics and current... more

IronicNewsReport
added this
5 months ago
|
0 comments

Tax Exemptions: The Business of Religion

I have dozens of theist friends. Our discussions are generally polite and lean toward... more

omnipotentpoobah
added this
5 months ago
|
0 comments

Overseas tax havens

American companies are finding new overseas tax havens to legally protect some of... more

11dim
added this
6 months ago
|
0 comments

President Obama Has Now Signed the Debt Bill

. CNN's Headline... Debt deal done ... for now . 11:00AM PT .

EthicalVegan
added this
6 months ago
|
81 comments

"The War On YOU!" They're Ripping Your Insides Out...

"Let the word go forth from Washington! The corporate rulers occupying our... more

COMMONSENSEFORCOMMONGOOD_COM
added this
6 months ago
|
2 comments

Only Sanders, Nelson, & Manchin vote against Public Services cuts!

Storm the Capitol! The treason in Washington is ongoing, despite 75% of the... more

COMMONSENSEFORCOMMONGOOD_COM
added this
6 months ago
|
2 comments

Taxes: If They Do the Crime, Make Them Do the Time

Americans like to trumpet the belief that we’re a “nation of laws”.... more

omnipotentpoobah
added this
8 months ago
|
0 comments

FinMin arms fight over tax refunds

http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-finmin-arms-fight-over-tax-refun... more

shital123
added this
9 months ago
|
0 comments

When battlelines are drawn, pull out the red pencils

PLEASE READ

chrisntom
added this
9 months ago
|
0 comments

TAX YOU, "WHO", MORE FOR TRANSPORTATION ?

Wake me from this twilight zone nightmare, please ?!? Considering the high price that... more

COMMONSENSEFORCOMMONGOOD_COM
added this
9 months ago
|
0 comments

8 SMART ways to lower your tax liability

has been observed that most investors who do tax saving near closing of the financial... more

shital123
added this
9 months ago
|
0 comments

Republicans Won't Fund Enforcement Though Policing Tax Evasion Could Save Billions

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) admitted on Monday that the federal government is in serious need of extra revenue. But since taking control of the House in January, Republican lawmakers have scuttled proposals that could reap billions in added government revenue by better policing tax evasion, saying government tax collectors should make better use of existing resources in this era of fiscal constraint.

The U.S. government loses around $300 billion in revenue each year because of tax cheats, some of whom hide their earnings in offshore accounts or disguise them using complicated business structures, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Since 2001, tax evasion has cost as much as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush tax cuts and the 2009 stimulus combined, according to the financial-services analysis firm The Motley Fool.

In February, the Obama administration requested $339.3 million in additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service in 2012 to chase this costly tax evasion. According to the IRS, that extra funding would be paid back twice over with the additional revenue brought in through enforcement.

Most outside economists agree.

"There is no question that the IRS agents are able to produce enough extra revenue to be a good return on that investment," said Wayne Angell, a conservative economist who is a former governor of the Federal Reserve Board and has previously worked for Bear Stearns.

Yet instead of supporting increased enforcement, the GOP has been trying to cut IRS funding. In March, the House GOP sought to strip $600 million from the IRS budget as part of the continuing budget resolution. IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman told a house subcommittee those cuts would cost the government $4 billion in lost revenue. The final budget deal left the tax collection agency's annualized budget unchanged at $12.1 billion, $486 million less than the Obama administration had requested.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said the agency could better enforce tax dodgers without additional funds, mentioning a controversial private debt collection program that was defunded in 2009. "The IRS killed one of the most efficient and effective programs to collect back taxes just as the program was taking off," Grassley said in a statement emailed to The Huffington Post. "The IRS, like other federal agencies, has room to cut waste and work smarter."

But, Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.) said Republican efforts to slash IRS funding were a perfect example of the broader GOP strategy of "cut first, think later."

"Cutting IRS enforcement funding to reduce spending is like cutting off your nose to spite your face," Serrano said. "If tax cheats are allowed to run with their money without fear of an IRS agent catching them, the deficit will inevitably grow."

Republicans will try to cut the agency's budget again for fiscal year 2012, according to the Associated Press. The Obama administration has requested $244 million in additional IRS funding in 2012 to better investigate offshore tax evasion, spot corporate and high-wealth tax scofflaws and implement enacted legislation. The IRS estimates that these initiatives could generate $646 million in new revenue by the end of next year and projects that if begun in 2012 they could yield $1.3 billion in additional revenue in 2014.

Republicans have also said that increased IRS funding does not always greater revenue gains. Michelle Dimarob, a spokeswoman for the House Ways and Means Committee chaired by Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), noted that IRS enforcement-derived revenue went up by more than 17 percent in 2007, even though the agency's budget remained at 2006 levels. That year, the agency's enforcement revenue hit $59.2 billion, with a budget of $10.6 billion. In contrast, Dimarob said, the IRS collected only $57.6 billion in enforcement revenue in 2010, with a $12.1 billion budget.

David Cay Johnston, who teaches tax law at Syracuse University law and business schools, said cutting IRS funding would increase the deficit. But more importantly, he said, it would encourage lawless behavior by the most sophisticated tax cheats, who know how to circumvent a cursory audit.

"Here's the real question to ask: The Internal Revenue Service is the money-making division of the government. It's the sales department. Why would you cut your sales force when you have the budget constraints that we do?" said Johnston, who in 2001 won a Pulitzer Prize for his New York Times coverage of the U.S. tax code. "It is astonishing to me that people who want law and order on other issues want to handcuff the tax police.House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) admitted on Monday that the federal government is... more

wayseeker
added this
10 months ago
|
3 comments

10 Common Reasons Houses Don’t Sell Quickly

When a home doesn’t sell, there can be a number of reasons why, or there could... more

AngelAlina
added this
10 months ago
|
0 comments

Weekly Audit: The Shocking Truth About Taxes

By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger The super rich are different from... more

MediaConsortium
added this
10 months ago
|
0 comments

select your country

Community Spotlight

TAGS

tagged w/ Tax

top videos

find current on tv

find current online

recent comments

© 2012 Current TV, LLC All Rights Reserved

the basics

follow us online

tools

stay in touch

© 2012 Current TV, LLC
All Rights Reserved