Archive for Tax Hikes

Pritzker Seeks $898 Million In Tax Hikes For Illinoisans

Pritzker Seeks $898 Million In Tax Hikes For Illinoisans

According to the information posted at the Illinois Policy Organization:

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will set another state record if his $52.7 billion budget for 2025 is passed. He described it as “tight” as well as “focused and disciplined.”

But it relies on $898 million in new taxes. It is nearly $13 billion more than the state budget when he took office.

So, yes, it’s focused and disciplined – as much as sailors on leave.

Here’s a look at the details, winners, losers and those who will be left wounded.

Revenue

Illinoisans should be most cautious of the call for massive tax hikes, $898 million to be exact, on corporations, retailers, sportsbooks and even individual taxpayers. While the governor specifically singled out his proposals to create a state-level child tax credit and eliminate the state’s grocery tax – revenue that goes entirely to local governments – in his address Feb. 21, he failed to mention that in total his series of proposals would substantially raise taxes for Illinoisans.

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Written by | Posted in Tax Hikes • TaxConnections

The Biden Tax Hike Will Likely Exceed $7 Trillion: Increases Taxes On Middle Class, Small Businesses And Families

The Biden Tax Hike Will Likely Exceed $7 Trillion

President Biden’s Budget Shows He Will Let Middle Class Tax Cuts Expire

Hidden inside President Biden’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Budget is the revelation that he will increase taxes by a whopping $7 trillion, thanks to a range of tax increases and the expiration of Republicans’ 2017 tax reform. Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) outlined a list of the biggest tax increases, saying:

“President Biden’s $7 trillion tax increase on small businesses and families means fewer jobs, higher prices, and handing our competitive advantage to China. Far from going after the wealthy, these are tax hikes that hit workers, mom-and-pop business owners, seniors nearing retirement, and family farms and ranches. And with the IRS getting another $104 billion and an expanded ability to approve penalties, Democrats will be on the fast track to collect your life savings.”

The Details:

President Biden Quietly Pledges to Let Trump Tax Cuts Expire

  • Even as the President claims he will not allow the middle-class tax cuts in the 2017 tax reform to expire, his budget fails to show any plan to stop the increases and spends as though they don’t exist anymore.
  • That’s approximately $2 trillion in new taxes on top of the nearly $5 trillion explicitly included in this budget.

Sending Jobs and Companies Overseas with Higher Business Taxes than China

  • Increasing the corporate tax rate to one of the highest in the world would put America at a disadvantage in attracting investment and jobs.
  • As much as 75 percent of the burden of corporate tax increases falls on American workers and consumers in the form of lower wages and higher prices according to recent economic studies.

Global Tax Surrender Allows Foreign Governments To Take American Tax Dollars

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Written by | Posted in Tax Hikes • Ways And Means Committee

Why Does An Economist Want To Raise Taxes To 70% – 80%?

Why Does An Economist Want To Raise Taxes To 70% – 80% ?(Using Celebrities And Athletes To Do So)

On January 6, 2021, TaxConnections posted our research of an Economist educating students on the importance of raising taxes to 70% – 80%. Fast forward a few years and we see taxes being raised by State Governors throughout the US to pay for services these states cannot afford. We want to remind you who is behind the new generation of education on tax hikes.

There is a Master Class being marketed to new generations of students online. This course teaches students they should rely on the government to take care of people; and raise taxes to 70% to 80%. The Master Class is taught by Economist Paul Krugman who states in the course preview  “When you are trying to be doing tax policy, the first thing you want to ask is, how much money do we need? How big a government do we want?” Klugman states “We need a tax system that collects a lot of money.”

What the Master Class does is use celebrities and famous athletes to communicate this message to a new generation of youthful taxpayers. The course promotes itself as learning from the world’s best entrepreneurs. It is using celebrities to motivate their students thinking to rely on the government. Take time to learn what Nobel Prize winning Economists like Paul Krugman is teaching in the Video: Understanding Taxes.  Look on Wikipedia to see who funded Master Class. It was Yanka Industries, and if you look deeper The Walt Disney Company is also investing in educating our kids:

MasterClass raised $100 million in a Series E investment round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. Other investors include Owl Ventures, 01 Advisors and previous backers NEA, IVP, Atomico and NextEquity. This latest capital infusion “puts us on the IPO path,” says co-founder and CEO David Rogier. May 21, 2020

Read these links for more background information:

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/masterclass-seeks-funding-at-about-800-million-value-1.1431280

https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-cand-3_21-cv-04553

https://www.masterclass.com/find-my-classes/results?categories=70%2C133%2C148&wq=t&subcategories=76%2C137%2C152

TaxConnections Asks Tax Eagles To Look Out For Taxpayers

TaxConnections asks our tax professional community to have their voices be heard. TaxConnections provides a non – partisan platform for all voices on tax issues. We need your “eagle expert eyes” to stay on top of tax rules and regulations the public may not be aware of right now. Many tax professionals find clients caught in tax matters that had little transparency until the tax issue arose.

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Written by | Posted in Tax Hikes • TaxConnections

Illinois Governor Pritzkers’ $899 Million Tax Hikes On Individuals And Businesses

Illinois Governor Pritzkers' $899 Million In Tax Hikes On Individuals And Businesses

According to an article posted on www.illinoispolicy.org here is  a breakdown of Governor Pritzkers tax hikes on the citizens of Illinois.

“Here’s the breakdown of Pritzker’s $898 million in tax hikes on businesses and individuals:

  • Extending the cap on net operating losses. This would result in a $526 million tax hike for companies. Only two other states – Pennsylvania and New Hampshire – place caps on the amount of net operating losses a business can claim. Illinois’ corporate income tax rate is also the second-highest in the nation.
  • Increasing the sports gambling tax rate from 15% to 35%. Estimated to bring in an additional $200 million.
  • Capping the retailer’s discount on sales and use taxes to generate an extra $186 million. This is essentially a corporate tax hike on any business that sells a product that’s subjected to the sales tax, whether it’s Barnes & Noble or your local independent bookstore.
  • $93 million hidden individual income tax hike. This move will reduce the value of Illinois’ standard income tax exemption, subjecting an additional $225 of income to taxation per taxpayer and dependent. After years of rampant inflation, Pritzker is shortchanging the inflation adjustment on the state’s standard exemption for individual income taxes. By limiting the growth in the value of this exemption, Illinois taxpayers are facing a $93 million income tax hike. This tax increase would disproportionately fall on lower-income earners who receive a larger tax break from the exemption than higher-income earners.   

Pritzker’s $898 million in tax hikes bring in just enough to cover the growth (not total spending) for pensions and government worker health insurance. The total cost for these two items alone cost nearly $13 billion.”
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Written by | Posted in Sanctuary City Chicago • Tax Hikes

President Biden Budget Proposes Another 4.7 Trillion In Taxes

President Biden Proposes 4.7 TRILLION in Tax Hikes

According to the organization, Americans for Tax Reform, there are 4.7 TRILLION proposed new taxes in President Biden’s FY 2024 Budget Proposal. This comes after the $700 BILLION in tax increases in the so called Inflation Reduction Act approved by both parties. When you read the Highlights on the ATR post, you will discover these new tax hikes include:
– Highest Personal Income Tax Rate Since 1986 (combined Federal Tax rate of 45%)
– Highest Capital Gains Tax Since 1978. A rate over twice as high as China’s capital gains tax rate.(nearly doubles rate from 20% to 39%)
– Corporate Tax Rate Higher than Communist China. (A 31% increase, from 21% to 28%)
– Unconstitutional Wealth Tax on Unrealized Gains
– Quadrupled Tax on Stock Buybacks. This tax will hit every American with a 401K or IRA or union pension.
– $31 Billion Tax on American Energy
– 32% Increase to Medicare Taxes
– Carried Interest Tax on Capital Gains
– $23 Billion Retirement Tax
– $24 Billion Cryptocurrency Tax
– Real Estate Tax Hike (wants to end 1031 Like-Kind Exchanges)
– Doubles the Global Minimum Tax (Global Intangible Low-Tax Income (GILTI) from on U.S. multinational corporations from 10.5 to 21 percent, which after the disallowance of foreign tax credits would provide a top rate of 26.25 percent)

ATR and writer Mike Palicz did a great job summing up what they have discovered so far. We highly recommend you read this article at Americans For Tax Reform.

Written by | Posted in President Biden • Tax Hikes

What Is The Purpose Of An Omnibus Bill? Learn How U.S. Taxpayers 1.5T Money Is Being Spent In New Omnibus Bill

U.S. Congress Passes 1.5 Trillion Omnibus Bill

According to Google, “An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a legislature but packages together several measures into one or combines diverse subjects. Because of their large size and scope, omnibus bills limit opportunities for debate and scrutiny.”

According to the Tax Policy Center, on March 10, 2022, The House passed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package after pulling $15.6 billion in pandemic relief from the bill. The measure includes no tax provisions. The House also passed yet another temporary spending bill to keep the government running for another week. Without action, the federal government would have partially shut-down last Friday. It is not clear when the Senate will vote on either bill.

According to an article in Wolters Kluwer on March 11, 2022, the US Senate joined the US House of Representatives in passing the 1.5 Trillion Omnibus spending Bill providing additional IRS Funding “Extenders And Other Tax Provisions Are Not Included”.

According to Americans For Tax Reform, Americans must now pay for the following pork barrel earmarks:

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Written by | Posted in Omnibus Bill • Tax Hikes

Job-Killing Tax Hikes Will Hurt Middle Class, Help China

Job-Killing Tax Hikes Will Hurt Middle Class, Help China

U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, delivered remarks on the Senate Floor on the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion reckless tax-and-spending bill.  In his speech, Crapo says the efforts to reimagine America by imposing crippling tax hikes will stunt our economic recovery, further impede labor markets, and punish low-and-middle-income workers with higher prices for everyday goods and services.

On business tax hikes:  

A higher corporate tax rate would result in lower wages and reduced benefits; hit the nest eggs of everyone saving for retirement; and force consumers to pay more for everyday necessities. 

Hiking the rate indisputably hits the middle class.  Estimates suggest workers shoulder up to 70 percent of the corporate tax burden.   

And a recent analysis performed by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation says the burden on over 98 percent of Americans who make less than $500,000 a year increases over time.  Let me make that clear: 98 percent of the increase that is felt by labor, falls on those making less than $500,000 per year, and the vast majority of that on those making less than $400,000 per year.   

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Written by | Posted in Tax Hikes • U.S. Senate Committee On Finance

Tax Hikes And 2020 Election Results

Tax Increases And Elections Results

The Tax Foundation does an excellent job of tracking State and Local Tax Ballot Measures. They are the nations leading tax policy organization providing research and insightful analysis. The Tax Foundation tracks the results of each state ballot measure and offers analysis on the most notable ballot measures including Arizona Proposition 208, Colorado Proposition 116, Illinois Graduated Income Tax Amendment, property tax changes in California and Colorado, excise tax changes in Arizona, Colorado and Montana, and New Jersey and South Dakota Amendments to mention a few.

Taxes are the most prevalent means of raising revenue to fund state and federal government. With all these measures on the ballot it is clear that one thing is for certain and that is taxing taxpayers to raise revenue.

Go this this link to see the U.S. State results on the ballot measures.

Written by | Posted in State Tax Increases • Tax Hikes • TaxConnections