Blog Post Round-Up

Blog Post Round-Up

• Stagnant U.S. Business Tax System Potentially Harmful to Competitiveness: A recent study shows that while America has left the major features of its business tax system unchanged over the past fifteen years, virtually all developed nations have lowered their corporate tax rates, potentially hurting the competitiveness of the United States.
• Higher Taxes, or Less Police and Fire Protection?: Several Indiana cities currently face some difficult budget decisions. While each city has numerous options to increase revenues or reduce expenditures, the "Washington Monument" strategy is being utilized by some local officials. Instead of looking for efficiency gains, officials simply threaten to cut or drastically reduce a service in attempts to muster support for budget increases. The National Park Service uses this strategy, suggesting it would have to reduce visiting hours at the Washington Monument without additional funding.
• Mississippi: Regressive is Regressive is Regressive: The editorial board supports the proposal to raise cigarette taxes by 32 cents, but argues for a $1 overall increase in the per-pack tax. The editorial also calls for grocery tax relief, citing the regressive nature of sales taxes. Unfortunately, cigarette taxes also place a disproportionate burden on the poor.
• The Internal Revenue Code Would Fit on Approx. 80 Rolls of Toilet Paper
• California Activist Proposes Wealth Tax and Probably Unconstitutional Exit Tax: Earlier this month, a California activist began gathering signatures to put a state wealth tax on the ballot.
• Major Party Conventions Partly Funded with Tax Dollars: The major party conventions (the Democratic one in Denver this week and the Republican one in Minneapolis next week) are in part taxpayer funded, to the tune of $17 million each (but not a major share of the total cost, which is mostly underwritten by sponsors). The funds come from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund checkoff box on the 1040 form, which we looked at in a piece earlier this summer.

Presidential Candidate Tax Plan Comparison
Be sure to check out our Presidential Candidate Tax Plan Comparison, newly updated for the post-primary general election. See how each of the candidates stand on income taxes, corporate taxes, tax reform, the estate tax, payroll taxes, the AMT, and capital gains and dividends taxes.

QuickBooks Chart of Accounts - Liability and Equity
Keep that CPA visor on for just a while longer! In my previous post, I explained the difference between the various types of accounts withing the asset section of the QuickBooks chart of accounts. This post will give you some additional insight on the liabilities and equity section.Let's begin...

Should Congress Limit Executive Compensation?
Compensation of executives is one of the most controversial topics in American business today.� It is also one of the most complicated issues due to the broad nature of executive responsibilities and the difficulties involved in measuring one person's achievements.� Congress has created numerous limits on tax deductions for executive pay and the SEC has asked companies to disclose�how their pay amounts are determined.� Should the government now establish a maximum wage?

Starting a Very Small Business - Part 7 - Independent Contractor or Employee?
As I have been talking with my sister Carol about setting up her small business (selling antiques/collectibles at an antique mall), we have talked about her "hiring" her daughter Cindy...