tax

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IRS Commish to Rich Tax Cheats: Pay Up

Danny Werfel says agency is taking new measures to make sure everyone pays their fair share

(Newser) - IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel has a message for high-wealth tax cheats who are shorting the government: Pay your fair share so "others aren't shouldering the burden of funding our government." Werfel, who hits the one-year mark at the helm of the IRS this month, said in a...

If You Live Alone, Your 'Freedom Comes With a Cost'

Renting a home solo in a more expensive US city could cost you thousands more in 'singles tax'

(Newser) - There are definitely benefits to living by yourself: no messy roommates, privacy, staying up as late as you want without worrying about keeping anyone else up. But every pro has its con, and in this case, a big drawback if you're a solo renter in the US is what...

Warren to Unveil 'Ultra-Millionaire' Tax

Mass. senator wants 2% tax on net worth above $50M, 3% above $1B

(Newser) - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn't alone in wanting more taxes on the wealthy. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is expected to propose an "ultra-millionaire" tax, the brain child of University of California-Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, reports Politico . It would impose a 2% tax on each dollar of net...

Why an NYC Pharmacy Imposed a 7% Man Tax

Owner is charging women less and paying the difference

(Newser) - To all the women living in Manhattan, now might be an economically sensible time to head over to SoHo and stock up on all your feminine products, because neighborhood pharmacy Thompson Chemists just might be waiving your 7% "pink tax." Owner Jolie Alony tells Gothamist that she wants...

Dancers Groove to Protest Wash. State's Dance Tax

Washington state has had tax law since 1960s

(Newser) - How to fight a dance tax? Dance, of course. That's what dozens did in Washington state yesterday to protest a decades-old state tax on dance venues, the AP reports. Lawmakers are considering a repeal of the tax, and protesters on the steps of the state Capitol danced everything from...

To Dodge Ticket Tax, Theater Sells Admission Carrots

Spanish media dub it the 'Carrot Rebellion'

(Newser) - When new austerity measures in Spain bumped the tax on theater tickets to 21% over the summer, Quim Marcé figured his theater in the small town of Bescanó would go under. Then he had an idea: Why not sell carrots, plentiful in the farmland that surrounds the village, instead of...

France's 75% Tax Could Push Rich Into Mass Exodus

Rich thinking of leaving if 75% tax rate is passed

(Newser) - France's new Socialist president wants to tax any income above €1 million ($1.24 million) per year at 75%—but if the plan is passed, France could see a mass exodus of its wealthiest residents. Rich residents are calling lawyers, asking if they should consider leaving the country...

Sorry, Olympic Medalists Don't Deserve Tax Break

Last thing our tax code needs is yet another loophole: Conor Friedersdorf

(Newser) - Marco Rubio claims he wants to simplify the tax code—so why in the world is he calling for Olympians not to be taxed on their winnings? Such a plan "is a perfect example of why the tax code is a complicated and burdensome mess," writes Conor Friedersdorf...

Texas Court Upholds $5 Strip Club Entrance Fee

Judges say small charge not an improper restriction on nude dancing

(Newser) - Texans headed to a strip club tonight will indeed have to pay a $5 entrance fee. The state's all-Republican Supreme Court overruled lower courts today and deemed the so-called "pole tax" constitutional, the AP reports . The fee has been levied since 2007 on clubs that both serve booze...

Mass. City to Pay Stipend to Married Gay Workers

Because gay couples face a tax heterosexual couples don't

(Newser) - Some public employees with a same-sex spouse in Massachusetts face a federal income tax their heterosexual counterparts don’t have to pay—so the city of Cambridge is making up the difference. In the city, 22 public workers have put their spouses on their employer-provided health plan. But since the...

Federal Taxes at Lowest Level Since 1950

But rates will increase in the coming years

(Newser) - Griping about high taxes? Not so fast: Federal tax bills are at historic lows this year, and for the third consecutive year, families and businesses will pay less than they did under George W Bush. The government’s take—as a share of the national economy—is its lowest since...

Swiss Village: Pay Dog Tax, or We Kill Fido

That's one way to get residents to pay...

(Newser) - Don’t want to pay your dog tax? Then your dog will be executed—at least, that’s how one Swiss village is handling the problem. A Reconvilier official says the town—population 2,245 humans, 280 canines—can legally kill a dog if its owner doesn’t cough up...

Senate Screw Up Derails Food Safety Bill

House set to send the bill back

(Newser) - House Democrats plan to spike the food safety bill their Senate counterparts trumpeted about passing yesterday , arguing that the upper chamber has stepped on its constitutional authority to create new taxes. The Senate bill includes a set of fees that are classified as revenue raisers, which are technically considered taxes,...

Capitol Hill Workers Owed $9.3M in Back Taxes in 2009

They should be fired, critics say

(Newser) - The IRS doesn't have to go far to track down tax scofflaws: Capital Hill employees owed $9.3 million in overdue taxes at the end of last year, reports the Washington Post . And while their debt is only a sliver of the $1 billion owed by all federal workers, according...

Taxman Traps Crocodile Dundee Down Under

Paul Hogan grounded until bill settled

(Newser) - Australian tax officials have their jaws around Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan and they won't let go. Hogan, now a Los Angeles resident, returned to Australia for his mother's funeral last week and authorities issued an order barring him from leaving the country again until he pays a multimillion-dollar tax...

Wall Street May Fight Tax All the Way to Supreme Court

Lobbyists argue that it's unconstitutional to target big banks

(Newser) - Wall Street’s main lobbying firm has hired a big-time Supreme Court litigator to look into bringing a federal case against the Obama administration’s proposed big-bank tax, arguing that it is unconstitutional. The group sent an email to legal departments across Wall Street saying that the tax could be...

Obama Pitches Borrowing Tax on Top 50 Banks

Would raise $90B, discourage excessive risk, boost little guys

(Newser) - Barack Obama will propose a new tax on Wall Street’s biggest banks today, in an effort to recoup losses from the bailout, give smaller banks a boost against the behemoths, and curb the excessive risk-taking that caused the financial melt-down. The firms, 50 big-time banks, insurers and traders, would...

Obama Budget Likely to Include Bank Fees

Aims to recoup bailout losses, avoid passing along to customers

(Newser) - The Obama administration will likely include a provision in next month’s budget that imposes fees on banks in an effort to make back some of the taxpayer money lost on the bailout and close the record deficit. Politico has it that a transaction tax is not on the table;...

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