Today the Supreme Court has decided states are allowed to collect taxes from online retailers. Ten states already have laws requiring out of state sellers to notify buyers of taxes owed and to inform states of unpaid sales taxes. Retailers opposed the laws on the grounds that they had no presence in the states where taxes were being levied. In a 1992 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that companies with no physical presence in a state didn't need to collect that state's sales taxes. But now that online sales account for 10% of shopping, the old rule doesn't work anymore. The change in … [Read more...]

Whether Las Vegas real estate is in a bubble or not--this article leans towards not—Californians are finding greener pastures away from Gov. Brown’s reckless policies. As I’ve noted in the past, the direction of individual states is a geographical portrait of right vs. left (wrong) ideologies. Eli Segall writes from the Las Vegas Review-Journal: Las Vegas home prices are rising at one of the fastest clips in the country, with builders fetching record dollar amounts and resale values approaching prior highs. The growth is so fast that, according to a new report, prices here are the most … [Read more...]

I keep a regular eye on the way states treat their citizens. I regularly warn readers here to avoid those states papering over their structural problems with higher taxes and freedom-restricting regulations. At the same time I applaud those states where entrepreneurs and businesses are rewarded for their hard work and innovation with lower taxes and greater liberty. One thing that is upsetting to me and probably to most Americans is when a state uses its tax dollars to reward a specific group. Picking winners is not in a state's best interest, nor is it good for that state's citizens. … [Read more...]

If you have a few minutes I believe your time will be well spent reviewing this piece I posted back on February 16, 2018. During your working career you can make adjustments on the fly. Paychecks are still coming in, and you can cut some spending to shore up holes in your savings plan. But once you retire, there's no more income to offset any unexpected spending you may have done. That's why you must be acutely aware of how you position yourself and your money in retirement. After you have invested your money to best avoid risk, the biggest threat to your income is taxation. Retirees … [Read more...]

Who needs to redraw state lines when states can be gutted from the inside out? That’s exactly what’s happening across the country to blue states that have abused their power of taxation for far too long. As the story goes, it’s true that demographics favor Democrats but dig a little deeper and you see that it’s geography that favors Republicans. Look at the mass exodus from blue states such as California and the migration into states such as Texas, Arizona, and Tennessee or East-Cali as I like to call them. Or the blue states of New England and New York that consider Florida and the … [Read more...]

My take-away from this excellent piece by Joel Kotkin is that keeping more of your money matters. In other words, state taxes matter. Look at the magnetic pulling power of the three power states in the sun belt with no income taxes: Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. It turns out state lines can be re-drawn with the help of overbearing government excess. Because the new California is Texas and Tennessee, and the new New York/New England is Florida. Money travels to where it’s treated well. Just don’t tell the politicians. Kotkin writes in Forbes: Among the 71 largest metro areas, the biggest … [Read more...]

The city of Seattle, WA is considering the placement of a tax on big businesses that would charge them $0.26/hour per employee during the years of 2019 and 2020. The tax would then become a 0.7% payroll tax from 2021 onward. CNBC reports: Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy said on Wednesday it's "super dangerous" for Seattle to consider taxing large companies — and risk dampening job creation — to offset the effects of gentrification and homelessness. In particular, Jassy was critical of the proposed "head tax," which would apply to 585 businesses with $20 million or more in yearly … [Read more...]

The Washington D.C. rumor mill is predicting an effort by the GOP to pass what has come to be known as Tax Cut 2.0. Republicans want to make permanent the individual tax cuts enshrined in last year's tax reform, and to make additional tax cuts. To get the cuts passed though, the GOP will need buy-in from at least 9 Democrats. Bloomberg reports: Democrats have assailed the new law as a giveaway to corporations and the wealthy, and they’ve called for drastic changes. “I’m ready to have a discussion with them. They want to fix some problems in the tax law? I want to fix some problems in … [Read more...]

After capturing a capital gains tax break on the Goldman Sachs stock he was "forced" to sell when he joined government, and preventing the Trump administration from cutting the carried interest tax break, and shepherding through a tax break that would definitely help his former employer, Gary Cohn is leaving the White House. There have been many reasons rumored as the cause of Cohn's exit. The official story is that he's against the President's announced tariffs, and so wants nothing more to do with the administration. That may be true to an extent, but it seems like there's more. Some … [Read more...]

The tax reform law passed by Congress and signed by President Trump last year included a new rule that allowed businesses to immediately write off 100% of their asset purchases. The bill also allowed this treatment for used equipment that may have already been written off by another company. The WSJ reports that tax planners think companies may begin to shuffle around assets simply to take advantage of the tax treatment. Tax planners say the market for used equipment—including railcars, airplanes and industrial machines—is likely to heat up in the months ahead as firms try to take advantage … [Read more...]