Taxation

The Evil of Property Taxes

by Laurence M. Vance December 4, 2024

There were more than 140 ballot measures in 41 states during the election last month. While all eyes were on the ballot measures relating to abortion and marijuana, there were 10 ballot measures in eight states relating in some way to property taxes, and one more is coming up in an election in Louisiana on December 7. There were ballot ...

The Harris Hidden Tax Hike

by Laurence M. Vance September 3, 2024

Now that Kamala Harris is the official Democratic candidate for president, a look at her tax proposals is in order. According to a Harris-Walz press release that lays out her agenda to lower costs for American families, some of the tax proposals are: Tax incentive for homebuilders who build starter homes sold to first-time homebuyers.

Why Not Eliminate Taxes on All Income?

by Laurence M. Vance July 2, 2024

During a campaign stop in Nevada early last month, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised that if elected, there would be no more federal tax on tips. Said Trump: “For those hotel workers and people that get tips, you’re going to be very happy, because when I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes ...

The Flat Tax Revisited Yet Again

by Laurence M. Vance May 3, 2024

Tax season ended last month, but talk of tax reform is still very much with us. Many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that the Republican-controlled Congress passed, and President Trump signed into law, in 2017 will expire at the end of 2025, along with other temporary tax provisions not enacted by the TCJA—commonly known as “tax ...

It’s Not Just Liberals Who Are Clamoring for Tax Increases

by Laurence M. Vance February 2, 2024

President Biden’s proposed fiscal year 2024 budget called for an increase in the top marginal tax rate from 37 to 39.6 percent and a 25 percent minimum tax on Americans with wealth exceeding $100 million. But it’s not just liberals who are clamoring for tax increases. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is a right-leaning think tank in Washington, ...

School Choice and American Taxpayers

by Laurence M. Vance November 10, 2023

Conservative and libertarian proponents of “school choice,” that is, government-provided educational vouchers that allow low-income parents to send their children to the school of their choice — which usually means private schools that they would otherwise not be able to afford — now generally make only two arguments in defense of government-provided educational vouchers. They used to maintain that a ...

“Tax Expenditures” Is a Misnomer

by Laurence M. Vance August 1, 2023

The April 18 deadline for Americans to file their 2022 income tax returns had hardly passed before House Republicans began to talk about reviving three tax breaks for businesses that had lapsed or begun to phrase out under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that the Republican-controlled Congress passed, and President Trump signed into law, in 2017. The TCJA The ...

Libertarian Plan to Simplify Taxpaying Misses the Mark

by Laurence M. Vance May 15, 2023

Another April 15 has come and gone. The inaugural and dreaded Tax Day initially fell on March 1, 1914. There was no withholding tax, so the full amount of federal taxes owed by individuals was payable on Tax Day. In 1919, the date was moved to March 15, and in 1955, the date was moved again to April 15. This year, ...

How Not to Abolish the Income Tax

by Laurence M. Vance May 1, 2023

Throughout this country’s history, Americans have always paid taxes of various kinds. But no matter what kind, all taxation is theft. Everyone but a criminal obtains his income voluntarily. He either sells some good or service or he receives some kind of  stipend or gift But as explained by the Austrian economist Murray Rothbard (1926–1995): Only the State ...

No One Should Have His Tax Returns Released

by Laurence M. Vance January 9, 2023

House Democrats finally obtained former president Donald Trump’s tax returns and promptly released them to the public. No one should have his tax returns released: not presidents, not politicians, not celebrities, not sports figures, not cab drivers. Released was nearly 6,000 pages of six years of individual and business income tax returns for the years 2015 through 2020. The

Biden’s Bloated IRS Will Skewer Taxpayers

by James Bovard December 1, 2022

The Internal Revenue Service is perhaps the ultimate sacred cow in Washington. It is the “goose that lays the golden eggs” for the city’s power and prestige, delivering trillions of dollars to politicians to work miracles (or at least get reelected). When criticism erupted over the 87,000 new revenooers to be hired thanks to Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, Washington’s ...

Is Elon Musk Paying His Fair Share?

by Laurence M. Vance February 1, 2022

According to Forbes magazine, “The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755—660 more than a year ago. Of those, a record-high 493 were new to the list—roughly one every 17 hours, including 210 from China and Hong Kong. Another 250 who’d fallen off in the past ...