Thread: Going Galt: Tax hikes have consequences

(Un)Happy Tax Day! Just let this graphic from the Tax Foundation sink in. What would you have purchased with all of that tax money?

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Illegal Aliens Claim Billions in Fraudulent Tax Credits Every Year; IRS Knows and ALLOWS It

By Brian Hayes on April 15, 2014

Whew. You finally got your taxes done. Well consider this…

Illegal aliens across America are committing fraud by filing tax returns with an IRS “ITIN” number, and listing children as dependents who live in MEXICO — or who do not even exist at all.

This fraud is costing taxpayers an insane $4.2 BILLION every year. In addition, many of these are felony crimes.

Worst of all your Federal government knows all ab0ut it — yet does nothing to stop it.

Once again it seems illegal aliens have more rights than you do.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=SrSHB0OfGf8

As you consider the insanity of this, you are probably wondering why the Congress has not immediately stopped this outrage once it came to light.

Some have tried. As recently as this past January, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) tried to restore cuts to the pensions of wounded veterans that was disgracefully put in the 2014 budget — by eliminating this outrageous “loophole” for illegal aliens. http://toprightnews.com/?p=746

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid killed the vote on Sessions’ amendment, and then worked out a deal with GOP leader Mitch McConnell to leave the veterans’ cuts — and the illegal aliens’ tax bonanza — in place.

http://toprightnews.com/?p=1790

NOT A NEW PROBLEM ...

Subject: Indianapolis TV … Channel 13, WTHR – Tax Loophole for Illegals

Contact your Congressperson and Senator and ASK THEM why this is being tolerated!

You may not read my political email ……. But you really should read this one. This tax loophole dips right into YOUR pocket defrauding you ….. The Honest taxpayer.

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS, but it is true!!

Watch the newscast video and stay calm! http://www.wthr.com/video?clipId=7054149&autostart=true

Please pass this on to other honest tax payers!!

Tax Credits for Illegal Immigrants
Posted on May 11, 2012

Q: Does the IRS pay billions in tax refunds to workers who are in the U.S. illegally?

A: Yes. The Treasury Department’s Inspector General determined that $4.2 billion was paid in 2010, up from less than $1 billion in 2005. Leading Democrats are resisting a bill that would stop future payments.

This is a rare case of an Internet rumor with some substance to it. In fact, it’s shaping up as a major dogfight in Congress. At issue here are the federal child tax credits that can be claimed by persons with dependent children under age 17. Some Democrats are already defending these child tax credit payments that have gone to those without a valid Social Security number, accusing Republicans who want to end them of a heartless attack on children.

Several different versions of this viral email all cite a recent investigative story by an Indianapolis television station, but WTHR-TV is far from the first to notice. The Washington Post and others reported on this last year when the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration issued a report on July 7, 2011.

The title of the report summed up the IG’s finding: “Individuals Who Are Not Authorized to Work in the United States Were Paid $4.2 Billion in Refundable Credits.”

The credits currently amount to $1,000 per child, and they are “refundable,” meaning that parents may receive refunds even when they do not owe any tax.

The IG report stated that more than 2.3 million persons who did not have Social Security numbers valid for working in the U.S. got an average of roughly $1,800 each in 2010 in child tax credit refunds. That included 9,000 illegal immigrants who each got a total of $10,000 or more by retroactively claiming credits for tax years prior to 2010.

How This Happened

Here we should explain that the IRS routinely seeks to collect both federal income taxes and federal payroll taxes from illegal immigrants, who are required to pay regardless of their immigration status. Because such workers don’t qualify for a valid Social Security number, the IRS issues a nine-digit Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. An ITIN doesn’t authorize the user to work legally in the U.S., and doesn’t entitle him or her to Social Security benefits.

But in addition to collecting taxes, the IRS has increasingly been making payments to low-income workers who pay no federal income tax but qualify for “refundable” credits. Generally, illegal immigrants don’t qualify for Social Security, Medicare or other federal benefits, except for emergency medical treatment in hospitals. And since passage of the 1996 welfare reform law, they have been ineligible for the refundable portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit as well.

At that time, Congress required that a valid Social Security number be filed for those claiming the EITC, and that requirement saved an estimated $300 million a year. But Congress did not enact a similar requirement when it created the child tax credit, which went into effect in tax year 1998 at $400 per child, and was increased to $500 the following year.

Initially the credit wasn’t refundable in most cases (only for families who had three or more children and who also met certain income tests). So the issue of illegal workers claiming credits did not arise at first. But the 2001 Bush tax cuts made more parents eligible for refundable credits, and increased the amount in steps to $1,000 per child.

So by 2005, the recent IG report said, 796,000 persons without valid Social Security numbers claimed refundable child credits totaling $924 million, and in 2008, these claims had risen to 1,526,276 persons claiming $2.1 billion in refunds.

Finally, President Obama’s 2009 stimulus measure made temporary changes that had the effect of allowing more parents to claim the refundable credits, or claim greater amounts. And the total grew the following year to the $4.2 billion cited by the IG. Those “temporary” changes now have been extended at least through 2012 by the bill Obama signed in December 2010, which also extended the Bush tax cuts and enacted additional economic stimulus measures including a reduction in federal payroll taxes.

What’s to Be Done?

Release of the IG report last year sparked a Republican effort to stop the payments, and an emotional opposition to that effort from Democrats. They argue that the beneficiaries of the credits are in effect the U.S.-born children of the low-income parents who claim the credits.

The effort to stop the payments is also opposed by the National Council of La Raza. In a statement issued in January, it said: “More than 4 million Latino children and their families would face greater hunger, poverty, and other severe hardships if this proposal is enacted.”

Nevertheless, a House bill by Texas Republican Sam Johnson (H.R. 1956) had collected 60 GOP cosponsors as of May 10. It would require that at least one parent file a valid Social Security number to collect a refundable child tax credit. A similar provision reached the House Ways and Means Committee April 18. Committee members approved it by a party-line vote of 22 to 12, with only Republicans voting for and only Democrats voting against it.

During the committee markup, Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia spoke emotionally against the measure and said it “attacks our nation’s children. Our children! The little ones, the innocent ones.”

He argued that those who benefit are “American children,” even though the ones who claim the credit are their working parents.

Rep. Lewis, April 18 2012 : The benefits go to the United States citizen children. My God! Listen! . . . [T]he question must be raised, where is our concern? Where is our compassion? Where is our heart? Where is our soul?

Lewis isn’t entirely correct: Non-citizen children can qualify if they are legally residents and have at least an ITIN. And the requirements aren’t vigorously enforced. The IG report said the IRS management doesn’t demand that parents submit documentation to prove that the children they are claiming actually reside in the U.S., something the IG recommended and IRS management said it lacked legal authority to do. So it is at least possible that some refunds are being paid based on children who aren’t citizens, or who aren’t even living in the U.S.

Also during the Ways and Means markup, Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey said the measure would save only “a very small amount of money” compared with the entire federal budget. It’s true that it wouldn’t save $4.2 billion a year, the figure cited by the IG, at least by official scoring of congressional tax experts. The nonpartisan staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation projected that the proposal would reduce federal outlays by $1 billion in 2014, and $7.6 billion over 10 years.

In reality, the savings likely would be larger, however. The JCT projection assumes (as it is required to do) that tax law remains otherwise unchanged. And under current law, the child tax credit is set to fall to $500 in 2013, and the “temporary” liberalization initiated by the 2009 stimulus measure is also set to expire. The savings would be higher if Congress continues the credit at $1,000 per child, as Democrats and Republicans have agreed to do in the past.

Not all Democrats defend the payments. In the Senate, Claire McCaskill of Missouri called the IG report “alarming” and asked the IRS to act. “While the total amount of payments to unauthorized workers is enormous, the trend lines are even more disturbing,” McCaskill wrote in a letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman on Sept. 7, 2011. “Wrongful payments of refundable tax credits, should be easy to identify and stop. The law is clear that individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States are not entitled to public benefits.”

But McCaskill is in a tough reelection fight in a conservative state, and other Senate Democrats are not so eager to go after the payments. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid is publicly opposed, for one. “I just think the child tax credit is working just fine and there’s no need to punish children,’’ Reid told The Associated Press in early February.

– Brooks Jackson

Sources

Internal Revenue Service, “Child Tax Credit” Publication 972. Accessed 11 May 2012.

“13 Investigates Tax Loophole.” WTHR-TV. 26 Apr 2012.

Rein, Lisa. “Undocumented workers got billions from IRS in tax credits, audit finds” Washington Post. 2 Sep 2011.

Hirsch, Michelle. “IRS Is Paying Illegal Immigrants Billions of Dollars” The Fiscal Times. 2 Sep 2011.

U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “Individuals Who Are Not Authorized to Work in the United States Were Paid $4.2 Billion in Refundable Credits” 7 Jul 2011.

Congressional Budget Office. “Federal Budgetary Implications of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996” Dec 1996.

Esenwein, Gregg A. “The Child Tax Credit” Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. 31 Jul 2007.

Internal Revenue Service. “ARRA and the Additional Child Tax Credit” 31 Oct 2011.

National Council of La Raza. “Latinos Oppose Changes to Child Tax Credit Fact Sheet. 30 Jan 2012.

Govtrack.us “H.R. 1956: Refundable Child Tax Credit Eligibility Verification Reform Act.” Accessed 11 May 2012.

U.S. House of Representatives, Ways and Means Committee. “Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Social Security Number Requirements for Refundable Portion of the Child Tax Credit” 18 Apr 2012.

U.S. Congress, Ways and Means Committee. “Rep. Lewis on Child Tax Credit” YouTube video posted by committee Democrats. 18 Apr 2012.

U.S. Congress, Ways and Means Committee. “Rep. Pascrell on Child Tax Credit” YouTube video posted by committee Democrats. 18 Apr 2012, posted 19 Apr 2012.

U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation. “Description Of The Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating To Social Security Number Requirements For The Refundable Portion Of The Child Tax Credit” 17 Apr 2012.

McCaskill, Sen. Claire. Letter to Douglas Shulman, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service. 7 Sep 2011.

Taylor, Andrew. “Payroll tax negotiations off to slow start” The Associated Press. 2 Feb 2012.

http://www.factcheck.org/2012/05/tax...al-immigrants/

Austin Taxpayers Are Dumbfounded That They Have To Pay For the Services They Voted For
By Michael Hausam

TThis year’s property tax bills for residents of Austin, Texas, have arrived and homeowners are not happy. Property taxes, along with real estate values, are dramatically higher, and concerns about affordability are making waves in the community.

One of the concerns is that the property tax system itself is to blame. The assertion is that homeowners have been unfairly burdened by the increased taxes as a result of burgeoning property values.

But there is more going on than just a dysfunctional tax system. Residents have voted for a bunch of stuff that costs money and now they’re getting billed for it. One homeowner, completely missing the irony of the words coming out of his mouth, said:

I’m at the breaking point.

It’s not because I don’t like paying taxes.

I have voted for every park, every library, all the school improvements, for light rail, for anything that will make this city better.

But now I can’t afford to live here anymore. I’ll protest my appraisal notice, but that’s not enough. Someone needs to step in and address the big picture.

Turns out, you can’t have your park, library, school improvements, light rail and not pay for them, too.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/1444...y-stuff-voted/

comments

Stupid is as stupid does...Liberalism is all about spending other people's money...until you realize that it's your money you're spending and the tax bill comes due...you got what you wanted now you have to pay for it. Shut up and live with it or move.

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Well this is just hysterical! Those not from Texas probably don't know that Austin I a little blue dot in the center of a very big red state! It is heavily populated by progressive liberals that live in a world of unicorns and paisley skies! So they vote "yes" on all these propositions to make their little island an even greater paradise!.... But now they're all shocked when the "bill" comes due! Time for a dose of reality!

APPLIES TO ALL POLITICIANS

The definition of the word conundrum is � something that is puzzling or confusing.

Here are six conundrums of socialism in the United States of America:


1. America is capitalist and greedy - yet half of the population is subsidized.

2. Half of the population is subsidized - yet they think they are victims.

3. They think they are victims - yet their representatives run the government.

4. Their representatives run the government - yet the poor keep getting poorer.

5. The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.

6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they want America to be more like those other countries.

Think about it! That, my friends, pretty much sums up the USA in the 21st century.

Makes you wonder who is doing the math.

These three, short sentences tell you a lot about the direction of our current government and cultural environment:

1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.

Funny how that works.

And here's another one worth considering...

2. Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money. How come we never hear about welfare or food stamps running out of money? What's interesting is the first group "worked for" their money, but the second didn't. Think about it.....

and last but not least,

3. Why are we cutting benefits for our veterans, no pay raises for our military and cutting our army to a level lower than before WWII, but we are not stopping the payments or benefits to illegal aliens.

Am I the only one missing something?

This Letter from Ayn Rand Shows a Niece ‘Tough Love’ for Wanting $25. It Will Have Parents Cheering.
By Kyle Becker (1 day ago) | Culture



Ayn Rand. Two of the most divisive words in all of modern literature and philosophy. Her sweeping novel Atlas Shrugged, a dystopian work written 50 years ago, continues to have many prescient observers seeing parallels with a modern America that is going off the rails. Atlas is still an international bestseller – whether or not one has read it and enjoyed it (and more than likely, didn’t read it – still don’t like it).

Wherever one might stand on Rand’s “Objectivist” philosophy, it is the mark of intellectual cowardice to condemn ideas without a fair hearing.

For all the caterwauling about Rand’s “cold” ideology, and the inevitable misinterpretation that her ideal world is a loveless one driven only by achievement, Rand is able to display what she means by “tough love” as evidenced by a letter to a 17-year-old niece requesting a loan of $25 that was printed in a collection Letters of Ayn Rand.

The letter, reprinted in a piece by Distractify, illustrates a point-of-view that many parents who are raising young people nowadays might find really appealing:

To Connie Papurt, AR’s niece, a daughter of Frank’s sister, Agnes Papurt
May 22, 1949

Dear Connie:

You are very young, so I don’t know whether you realize the seriousness of your action in writing to me for money. Since I don’t know you at all, I am going to put you to a test.

If you really want to borrow $25 from me, I will take a chance on finding out what kind of person you are. You want to borrow the money until your graduation. I will do better than that. I will make it easier for you to repay the debt, but on condition that you understand and accept it as a strict and serious business deal. Before you borrow it, I want you to think it over very carefully.

Here are my conditions: If I send you the $25, I will give you a year to repay it. I will give you six months after your graduation to get settled in a job. Then, you will start repaying the money in installments: you will send me $5 on January 15, 1950, and $4 on the 15th of every month after that; the last installment will be on June 15, 1950—and that will repay the total.

Are you willing to do it?

Here is what I want you to think over: Once you get a job, there will always be many things which you will need and on which you might prefer to spend your money, rather than repay a debt. I want you to decide now, in advance, as an honest and responsible person, whether you will be willing and able to repay this money, no matter what happens, as an obligation above and ahead of any other expense.

I want you to understand right now that I will not accept any excuse—except a serious illness. If you become ill, then I will give you an extension of time—but for no other reason. If, when the debt becomes due, you tell me that you can’t pay me because you needed a new pair of shoes or a new coat or you gave the money to somebody in the family who needed it more than I do—then I will consider you as an embezzler. No, I won’t send a policeman after you, but I will write you off as a rotten person and I will never speak or write to you again.

Now I will tell you why I am so serious and severe about this. I despise irresponsible people. I don’t want to deal with them or help them in any way. An irresponsible person is a person who makes vague promises, then breaks his word, blames it on circumstances and expects other people to forgive it. A responsible person does not make a promise without thinking of all the consequences and being prepared to meet them.

You want $25 for the purpose of buying a dress; you tell me that you will get a job and be able to repay me. That’s fine and I am willing to help you, if that is exactly what you mean. But if what you mean is: give me the money now and I will repay it if I don’t change my mind about it—then the deal is off. If I keep my part of the deal, you must keep yours, just exactly as agreed, no matter what happens.

I was very badly disappointed in Mimi and Marna [Docky]. When I first met Mimi, she asked me to give her money for the purpose of taking an art course. I gave her the money, but she did not take the art course. I supported Marna for a year—for the purpose of helping her to finish high school. She did not finish high school. I will take a chance on you, because I don’t want to blame you for the actions of your sisters. But I want you to show me that you are a better kind of person.

I will tell you the reasons for the conditions I make: I think that the person who asks and expects other people to give him money, instead of earning it, is the most rotten person on earth. I would like to teach you, if I can, very early in life, the idea of a self-respecting, self-supporting, responsible, capitalistic person. If you borrow money and repay it, it is the best training in responsibility that you can ever have.

I want you to drop—if you have it in your mind—the idea that you are entitled to take money or support from me, just because we happen to be relatives. I want you to understand very clearly, right now, when you are young, that no honest person believes that he is obliged to support his relatives. I don’t believe it and will not do it. I cannot like you or want to help you without reason, just because you need the help. That is not a good reason. But you can earn my liking, my interest and my help by showing me that you are a good person.

Now think this over and let me know whether you want to borrow the money on my conditions and whether you give me your word of honor to observe the conditions. If you do, I will send you the money. If you don’t understand me, if you think that I am a hard, cruel, rich old woman and you don’t approve of my ideas—well, you don’t have to approve, but then you must not ask me for help.

I will wait to hear from you, and if I find out that you are my kind of person, then I hope that this will be the beginning of a real friendship between us, which would please me very much.

Your aunt,

While some prefer to dismiss Rand as a “crazy-ass aunt,” there are plenty of parents who are witnessing the irrational self-exploration that has driven millions of young people to rack up exorbitant student loans, only to find a job market non-conducive to achieving their dreams.

Whether or not one chalks this dire situation up to the eternal wiles of youth, or misguided state intervention churning out a miseducated “intellectual proletariat” ill-prepared for the demands of real life, is left up to the reader to decide.

http://www.ijreview.com/2015/01/2337...rents-cheering