Free Republic

On Tuesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted that President Joe Biden’s tariffs won’t cause any meaningful price increases for typical families and responded to a question on her criticism of the Trump tariffs as “taxes on consumers” by stating that Biden’s tariffs are different because they’re “are a targeted group of strategic sectors where we have developed a real overdependence on China.” Yellen said that with the Biden tariff regime, “I don’t think that anything will occur here that would be noticeable to the typical American family. Mainly, these tariff increases serve to protect firms and workers that...

In today’s edition of Getting What You Vote For, the dummies in California are about to get hit with a 50 cent per gallon gas tax. Remember, California voters have handed the Democrat party full power over the former Golden State. Democrats run everything from the governorship on down. Democrats not only hold majorities in the state legislature, they hold veto-proof majorities. In other words… Republicans are powerless in California. And so… According to Triple-A, the average cost of a gallon of gas in California today is $5.29. That’s nearly $1.70 more than the national average. In some parts of...

Arcane tax rules based on carbonation levels are flattening the growth of America's craft cider industry. America's tax code is notoriously convoluted, but the complexity really sparkles when it comes to the federal government's approach to alcohol taxation. Wine, beer, and liquor are all subject to varying tax rates based on intricate calculations, but the so-called "bubble tax" for hard cider is the star of this regulatory circus. Unbeknownst to most Americans, the tax rate for alcoholic cider is based on, among other things, the amount of carbonation the drink contains. Yes, America technically already has a carbon tax and...

President Biden wants to let the tax rate cuts that President Trump and Republicans passed without Democrat support, in 2017. Biden and others continue to intentionally lie that the tax cuts "cost" the government $2 trillion and increased the debt and deficit. That essentially was the prediction of Congressional Budget Office. The problem is predictions are not facts. Here are the facts that show that the government has collected a huge amount of additional revenues after the tax cuts were passed, and additional revenues do not cause increased debt. The problem is that the government is spending more. Individual income...

Joe Biden has pledged to ensure that Trump’s tax reform expires next year. While many have already pointed out that this will mean a significant tax increase for most Americans, few have noticed that it will also mean a windfall for Biden’s political donors, in the millions of dollars. A key feature of the Trump tax reform, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), was to limit the state and local tax (SALT) deduction to $10,000. Previously, ultra-high-income earners in high-tax states could use this unlimited deduction to reduce their taxable income by millions of dollars. This...

The latest Trustees Report projects the Social Security retirement trust fund will run out of money by 2033. The trust fund has been bleeding cash since 2018, and it's getting worse every year. Congress has several options to mitigate the potential benefit cuts facing 70 million retirees. There might only be enough funds to pay out 79% of retirement benefits unless Congress acts. Retirees could be in for a rude awakening in the near future unless Congress makes some changes to Social Security. The most recent Social Security Trustees Report indicated the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund will...

EXCLUSIVE — Ohio Senate hopeful Bernie Moreno said he will push for pro-family economic policies should he make it to Capitol Hill, citing declining birthrates in the United States. Moreno, a 57-year-old car dealership owner, is hoping to unseat incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in Ohio’s competitive Senate race. The race is listed by the Cook Political Report as a toss-up, meaning it is a crucial race for Republicans hoping to retake the Senate in November. During an interview this week with the Washington Examiner, Moreno painted himself as a pro-family Republican eager to get to Washington, D.C., and push...

Warren Buffett, the billionaire Oracle of Omaha, says that Washington will likely "take a larger percentage of what we own ... Joe Biden .. won't push to extend the Trump tax cuts next year ... if Congress fails to extend the Trump-era tax cuts, it means an average American family of four making $75,000 will get hit with a $1,500 tax increase. “Main Street businesses will face a 43.4 percent tax rate” and “working parents will suffer from a Child Tax Credit slashed in half” along with the standard deduction every taxpayer is due. Remember Biden's promise not to raise...

As a seasoned restaurant consultant deeply entrenched in the industry, I've got my finger on the pulse of what's happening. Running a restaurant has always been a tough gig. Everyone seems to think their family recipe will turn into a gold mine, but sadly, it's not just about the quality of Grandma's lasagna. There are myriad challenges to navigate in this business. From securing the right location and talent to nailing down a winning concept, dealing with everything from theft to insurance, not to mention the endless stream of fees, licenses, and paperwork, the restaurant industry can nickel and dime...

I doubt if Biden really understands what he is saying. He simply reads (badly) off a teleprompter. Biden has repeatedly claimed that no new taxes on anyone making less than $400,000. Remember, he has repeatedly said “You have my word as a Biden.” Which is worthless, by the way. There are TWO taxes that are hitting people making under $400,000 per year. First, the INFLATION tax coming from Biden’s/Congresses spending binge, The Fed printing gobs of money, and insane regulations. Biden and his mouthpieces like Karine Jean Pierre (KJP) claim that Biden inherited inflation from Trump. FALSE. Inflation was only...

Move over California and New York, a new state is in contention for the 'most dysfunctional' in America. Illinois is grappling with a string of issues which have triggered a rise in residents departing the state. The state has struggled to add jobs and its public pension debt has ballooned to nearly $150 billion. Meanwhile, its population has declined, hurting tax income.

If Joe Biden is successful in passing his massive capital gains tax rate hike, Americans in 11 states will next year be paying over 50 percent of some of the profits when they sell off their assets to the government. The president's 2025 budget proposal includes increasing the top marginal rate on long-term capital gains dividends to 44.6 percent mark, which is the highest ever since the tax was implemented a century ago. The current rate sits below 25 percent - so the increase represents a significant hike.

The Biden administration’s analysis of its revenue proposals for fiscal year 2025 argues targeted tax hikes that disproportionately affect white people would ease racial wealth inequality. Increasing taxes on capital gains and income-based wealth would reduce racial wealth inequality for black and Hispanic families, the Treasury Department outlined in the analysis published in mid-March. The Treasury points out that white families disproportionately hold assets subject to capital gains tax or are in a higher tax bracket, meaning a hike in those taxes would benefit black and Hispanic families. (RELATED: US Economic Growth Slows Down Massively, Well Below Expectations) The Biden...

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein dismissed concerns that the economy is under-performing, saying "I can't get myself worked up over mere statistics in the GDP or CPI. Folks don't eat the GDP. The CPI includes volatile components like food, energy, and housing. If we exclude the price spikes in these areas inflation doesn't look so bad." "A key strength that our Republican critics overlook is that government spending remains robust," Bernstein added. "Under Bidenomics we're not at the mercy of private sector investments for economic growth. Their anti-social quest for increased profits is supplanted by a...

Biden is again on a tax-raising rampage. He proposes to increase income taxes by nearly $5 trillion for corporations. Increasing the corporate income tax rate to 28% (from 21%) will be a great driver of negative effects on the U.S. economy, reducing long-run GDP by 0.9%, the capital stock by 1.7%, wages by 0.8%, and full-time jobs by 192,000. Additionally, Biden's new tax proposals include increasing the recently enacted corporate alternative minimum tax rate from 15% to 21% and denying business deductions for employee compensation above $1 million.Biden proposes an increase of the corporate income tax that's a higher tax...

Finland’s Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is questioning a government proposal to raise the VAT value-added tax on sweets and chocolate. The THL, a Finnish research and development institute which is attached to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, announced that it did not agree with the decision to raise the tax from 14 to 25.5 percent. Talking to STT, the Finnish news agency, a senior THL investigator Heli Kuusipalo explained that the institute would prefer to see a sugar taxation system that was health-based rather than a direct VAT hike. The higher the sugar content in any...

In a recent interview with MSNBC, Galloway discussed the current challenges facing young adults, remarking, “For the first time in our nation's history, a 30-year-old man or woman isn't doing as well as his or her parents were at 30, that is the social compact breaking down.” According to a 2016 study from Harvard-based research initiative Opportunity Insights, over 90% of children born in the 1940s grew up to earn more than their parents at age 30. However, for children born in the 1980s, only half managed to outearn their parents. Galloway, said the economy is "purposely" transferring money to...

resident Biden's latest proposal to hike the top capital gains tax rate to its highest level in more than a century is facing heavy criticism from experts who warn such an action could significantly harm the U.S. economy. According to a report issued by the Treasury Department, led by Secretary Janet Yellen, the president's proposed fiscal year 2025 budget would increase the top marginal rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends to a staggering 44.6%. A capital gains tax hike of that magnitude would take the rate to its highest level since it was first introduced in the early...

The concept of tolling drivers entering the state of Massachusetts has angered some Americans - including local politicians. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, 49, was among those to speak out, after the idea was floated last week by Bay State Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt. The Republican slammed the prospective guidance as ' yet another way to unnecessarily take [citizens'] money,' this time by taxing them at the state border.

resident Biden vowed Friday that former President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts would lapse next year if he’s re-elected and “stay expired” — meaning higher taxes for middle class and low-income Americans — prompting a hasty walk-back by aides. Biden, 81, lambasted Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which permanently lowered corporate taxes from 35% to 21% and temporarily lowered personal income tax rates through 2025, as a giveaway to the rich in a speech to electrical union members in Washington. “[Trump] was proud, very proud of his $2 trillion tax cut when he was president that overwhelmingly benefited...