Taxation

The Implications of Revenue-Neutral Tax Reform

by Laurence M. Vance May 8, 2014

Tax season is over, but tax-reform proposals are perennial. America’s current income-tax system was inaugurated in 1913 with the adoption of the Sixteenth Amendment. It began quite modestly, with a 1 percent tax on income above $3,000 ($4,000 for married couples). A series of surcharges up to 6 percent were applied to higher incomes, with the maximum rate being 7 ...

The Libertarian Angle: Income Taxation

by Future of Freedom Foundation March 31, 2014

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman discuss the history of the income tax and its impact on the liberty of the U.S. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.

Winning an Olympic Medal Can Be a Taxing Experience

by Laurence M. Vance March 6, 2014

Although the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi have ended, some U.S. athletes will be reminded of their participation come tax time next year. Twenty-eight American athletes won an Olympic medal in the Sochi games (9 gold, 7 silver, and 12 bronze). Their margin of victory in many events was only a few seconds or points. But for most of ...

TGIF: Lysander Spooner on the National Debt

by Sheldon Richman September 27, 2013

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew says if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling — or, as I call it, the debt sky, because apparently the sky is the limit — the government won’t be able to pay all its bills starting October 17. The Congressional Budget Office says that dire condition won’t set in until sometime ...

The Sordid History of IRS Political Abuse

by James Bovard September 1, 2013

The power to tax has long conferred the power to destroy one’s political opponents. When the latest IRS politicization scandal erupted in May, many commentators talked as if the abuses were a novelty in American history. But, as David Burnham noted in his masterful 1990 book, A Law Unto Itself: The IRS and the Abuse of Power, “In almost ...

FFF Webinar: The Income Tax (audio)

by Sheldon Richman June 21, 2013

On June 19, 2013, FFF vice president and editor Sheldon Richman hosted a free, interactive online webinar entitled “The Income Tax." The webinar was an interactive experience with Sheldon and particiapants. Download the audio. Subscribe to FFF Podcasts.

Will the Rich Stick Around to Be Soaked?

by Wendy McElroy June 1, 2013

On December 8, the website Breitbart heralded, “Despite Tax Increase, California State Revenues in Freefall.” In the November state elections, a successful Proposition 30 imposed a 13.3 percent tax rate on income over $1,000,000 — an increase of 29.13 percent and the highest state tax rate in the nation. The predicted tax revenue was hailed as a way to ...

Abolish the IRS — and the Income Tax with It

by Sheldon Richman May 16, 2013

The Internal Revenue Service has been caught engaging in political profiling while processing applications for tax-exempt status. In this case it was against organizations with “tea-party” or “patriot ” in their names and other right-wing groups. Next time it could be libertarian or left-wing antiwar and pro-civil-liberties groups. No dissenter can ever rest assured he is safe from the 

All Taxation Is Theft

by Laurence M. Vance April 3, 2013

Portuguese When it comes to governments the world over, bad economic policies usually beget more bad economic policies. That is especially true when it comes to taxes. The eyes not just of Europe but of the world were on Cyprus recently when, as part of a proposed bailout package, ordinary bank depositors were to be taxed ...

California: Remember the Taxes You Didn’t Owe? Surprise!

by Wendy McElroy February 27, 2013

California cannot chase business away fast enough, it seems: high taxes, cap-and-trade, voracious unions, bankrupt cities, and now retroactive taxation. Shortly before the Christmas holidays and oh so quietly, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) rescinded a tax break that dated back to 1993. The Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exclusion allowed small businesses and investors who met certain conditions ...

The One Good Thing That Happened During Obama’s First Term

by Laurence M. Vance January 23, 2013

It has been said that every president makes you nostalgic for his predecessor. This has been true since John Adams signed into law the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. But since the election of Barack Obama in 2008, I think I have heard it said more often than usual. Although I am not the least bit nostalgic for any ...

Tax-Raising Insanity

by Scott McPherson December 10, 2012

It’s an overused expression, but the fact remains that doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results truly is insanity. The amount of trust people put in “public servants” is one such example. Even worse is the public’s continued willingness to grant politicians and bureaucrats the means by which our own impoverishment is furthered. I’m speaking ...