Chances are, if you're living in one of America's worst states for sales taxes, you already know because you feel it every time you shop. The Tax Foundation recently released its ranking of sales taxes in America for 2024, and the states with the five highest sales tax rates were: California: 7.25% Tennesee: 7.00% Rhode Island: 7.00% Mississippi: 7.00% Indiana: 7.00% The five states with the lowest rates all have no state sales tax. Those include (in alphabetical order): Alaska Delaware Montana New Hampshire Oregon But what may surprise some readers is … [Read more...]
New Rule Could Put Contractors on the Payroll
David Harrison and Preetika Rana of The Wall Street Journal are reporting that a new Biden administration rule could impose stricter tests for Uber, Lyft, and others to classify workers as contractors. They write: The Biden administration issued a new rule Tuesday intended to put more contractors on company payrolls, a change that could reverberate across a range of industries, including healthcare, restaurants, construction and transportation. The rule, which will go into effect in March, would impose a stricter test to determine whether companies can classify their workers as independent … [Read more...]
It’s California vs. Florida in the Big State Debate
On Thursday, November 30, Fox News and the station's primetime personality, Sean Hannity, will host a debate between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Isabella Simonetti explains the debate in The Wall Street Journal, writing: They aren’t running against each other. Still, Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom will take their fiery feud to Fox News this week in a debate moderated by Sean Hannity, offering up a head-to-head that stretches the boundaries of traditional political programming. After trading barbs in the media for more than a year over issues from … [Read more...]
Can the Supreme Court Stop Wealth Taxes Before They Start?
You probably haven't heard of Moore v. United States, a little-known case working its way through the courts that could have major implications for America's savers and business owners. The case revolves around the government's power to tax unrealized gains. These are gains on assets that an owner hasn't locked in yet, and which could disappear with any swing in the market. Tobias Burns and Zach Schonfeld report in The Hill, writing [Your Survival Guy's emphasis in bold]: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in early December on a case that has the potential to broadly reshape the U.S. … [Read more...]
Migration
You may have noticed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is leaving Washington state for Florida. Pay no attention to the change in Washington State's tax on capital gains. He just wants to be closer to family. Sure. Washington’s legislature passed a new cap gains tax (Engrossed Substitute S.B. 5096), which was signed by Gov. Inslee on May 4, 2021, and took effect in Jan of this year. Capital gains that exceed $250,000 will be taxed at 7%. It used to be a tax-free transaction. Welcome to Miami! Action Line: Money travels to where it’s respected. If you're looking for respect for your … [Read more...]
Let the Market Work: Shut Down the Government
At his blog, johnstossel.com, John Stossel wonders why so many "useless Cabinet departments" are kept operating. He says they should be shut down, and suggests the government "let the market work." He writes: This week Republicans and Democrats got together to avert a government shutdown. Too bad. There’s so much that ought to be shut down. Useless Cabinet departments, for example, like Housing and Urban Development, Labor and Agriculture. Agriculture employs almost 100,000 people. Why? Independent farmers grow our food. They don’t need a giant department. Let’s get rid of the … [Read more...]
Hey, Where’s Everyone Going? Follow the Money Kid
If you want to know what’s going on in the world, just follow the money. That’s what I do. Take a look at the money exodus from states that treat residents like piggy banks. Remember, money travels to where it’s well treated. Just follow the money. If this was forwarded to you. Join the club. Sign Up here for my weekly email. Art Laffer and Stephen Moore, co-founders of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, share the numbers in this WSJ piece (abridged): Lawmakers in California, Illinois, New York and Washington state have proposed new taxes on wealth, and higher income taxes for the … [Read more...]
Welcome to Hotel California, Where You Can Never Leave
Leave it to California to sap the wealth from the successful. You can add New York, Illinois, Maryland, Hawaii, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Washington to the list too. You know from my Super States ranking where your money will be treated with more respect than it is by these money grabbers. I’ve never been a fan of letting taxes wag the dog but what we’re seeing is more than taxes, it’s about taking away your freedom. Now politicians in California want to emulate the famous Eagles tune, "Hotel California," and not allow even those who leave the state to escape its draconian … [Read more...]
Vanguard’s Year-end Tax Surprise
Originally posted December 12, 2022. With bonds on pace to have their worst year on record and the broad-based stock indices that most professional investors follow down double digits YTD, one would think 2022 would be a non-event for capital gains taxes. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for many investors who own open-end mutual funds. Many open-end mutual funds are distributing substantial capital gains this year despite racking up significant losses for investors. Even Vanguard, arguably the most investor-friendly mutual fund shop, is saddling investors with substantial capital … [Read more...]
The IRS Is Putting Its New Army to Work
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board explains that the IRS will be putting its new army of 87,000 employees to work, turning out the pockets of regular Americans searching for their unreported side hustle incomes. They write: There’s a new job for those 87,000 new employees at the Internal Revenue Service, and it isn’t chasing billionaires. It’s digging around to discover if you reported that extra $600 you made from selling grandma’s heirlooms at your garage sale. The IRS is reminding Americans that the reporting rules have changed for payment-card and third-party payment network … [Read more...]
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