I filed my taxes this past weekend online through H&R Block and stumbled upon the Obamacare tax. The sly government gurus have gave it a warm fuzzy college theory name of “Shared Responsibility Payment”.
Remember, under collectivism, shared responsibility also involves shared misery.
Via The Payroll Blog
10 best business tax climates can be found in:
Wyoming
South Dakota
Nevada
Alaska
Florida
Washington
Montana
New Hampshire
Utah
Indiana
The worst tax climate states for small business, according to the report, are:
New York
California
Minnnesota
Wisconsin
North Carolina
Maryland
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New Jersey
Vermont
The Tax Foundation put together a chart showing how federal tax dollars were spent.
Compare that to 1962 federal spending
Tax filing season is underway so here is some basic information for deductions and tax credits. Read more at Forbes as they have a big list for all types of taxpayers.
Standard Deductions. The standard deduction rises to $6,200 for single taxpayers and married taxpayers filing separately. The standard deduction is $12,400 for married couples filing jointly and $9,100 for heads of household.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For 2014, the maximum EITC amount available is $3,304 for taxpayers filing jointly with one child; $5,460 for two children; $6,143 for three or more children and $496 for no children.
Child Tax Credit. For taxable years beginning in 2014, the value used to determine the amount of credit that may be refundable is $3,000 (the credit amount has not changed).
Kiddie Tax. For 2014, the threshold for the kiddie tax – meaning the amount a child can take home without paying any federal income tax – remains at $1,000.
With President Obama having a disastrous 4 years of losing Democrats in the House and Senate, he will now have to face his opponents in the federal budget ring. The media and his supporters have given him a pass on not getting a budget implemented in the last six years. This year will be different with the House/Senate being revamped with budget conscious members.
Rebecca Shabad at TheHill.com has an excellent timeline of what the President faces in the next coming months regarding the 2016 budget. I suggest taking a look at the article for the detailed write up after each date listed.
February 2: Obama’s budget deadline
February 27: DHS funding runs out
March 15: Debt limit suspension expires
April 1: GOP budget resolution?
September 30: Shutdown deadline
October 1: Fiscal 2016 begins
Tis the season for kids visiting Santa Claus at the mall or Santa being hired out for large Christmas parties. What is the pay for being ol’ St. Nick. Aol.com had one write up and found this:
First, the good news: The pay can be exceptional. A PayScale survey showed that Santas can earn up to $100 an hour. Amounts posted at RealSantas.com show even higher rates, $175 to $300 for the first hour for posing as Santa at private parties. Additional hours average $125 to $200 each.
Marketwatch found mall Santa’s get the shaft while others make the money:
Mall Santas have a far less lofty rate ranging between $10 and $40 per hour. Those offering private visits (no chimneys, please) might charge anywhere from $50 to $300 per hour. Typical Saint Nick earns more in six weeks than many consumers do in six months. A Santa might make $8,000 to $15,000 during the holiday season, and particularly talented ones can pull in as much as $80,000
Don’t just think Santa shows up without any effort either.
Many pay as much as $1,000 in tuition and other costs to receive specialized training at a professional Santa school. On the syllabus: Sign language, voice projection and storytelling, an immersion course in the six levels of child development and 30 different ways to work with a hesitant child.
With Detroit bankruptcy being approved just a few weeks ago look for many other municipalities and possibly states to use similar methods to fend off economically impossible to meet financial demands.
The next bankruptcy is best captured in the LA Times article entitled “California pension funds are running dry” :
The state’s pension goliath, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, had $281 billion to cover the benefits promised to 1.3 million workers and retirees in 2013. Yet it needed an additional $57 billion to meet future obligations.
The bill at the state teachers’ pension fund is even higher: It has an estimated shortfall of $70 billion.
Bankruptcy has already happened in some California towns.
Meanwhile, cash-strapped cities are facing escalating bills. Rising pension costs contributed to bankruptcies in Stockton, San Bernardino and Vallejo.
The man behind the transparency movement in California is state Controller John Chiang. He started a website tracking a towns finances for the public to see and it grew from there.
Stumbled upon some interesting data about buyers of farmland while researching farmland value. This comes from AgriNews:
One thing they have noticed, Aupperle said, is that more farmers are purchasing the land. During the first nine months of the year, 71 percent of the land was purchased by farmers or their families.
“Farming community has really stepped up, while outside investors seem to be waiting to see if a correction comes,” Aupperle said. “The farming community has a lot of money from remaining steady for two years and when investors come back, an upward trend should continue.
ObamaCare ads will now appear on 7-Eleven receipts at more than 7,000 stores nationwide as government health officials expand their outreach in the second year of healthcare sign-ups.
Information about ObamaCare sign-ups will appear on the bottom of receipts for anyone using a mobile payment company called PayNearMe, which allows bank-less customers to pay in stores like 7-Eleven and Family Dollar.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced the new partnership with the tech start-up PayNearMe on Thursday at a store in Washington, D.C.
“Putting these reminders at the bottom of PayNearMe receipts will help get health coverage information into the hands of traditionally hard-to-reach consumers,” HHS wrote in a statement.
The partnership will help HHS “reach financially underserved and other cash-preferring consumers,” the statement reads.
Hoosier Econ 