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Lies, damned lies, and the pledges of politicians:
Government is more of a threat to your wealth than ever
by Charles R. Wolpoff
There’s lots of talk in Washington about the possibility of a tax reduction package. And heck, we might even get one. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the benefits of any tax cut you get will most likely be offset by the wide variety of levies that governments here and around the globe are concocting.
Sure, conditions are much more amenable to a meaningful federal tax cut than even a few months ago. The surplus (supposedly) continues to grow. Alan Greenspan seems at last to have suspended a bit of his disbelief. Once he gave his tentative thumbs-up, it pulled the rug out from under the Democrats, who otherwise would have been willing to go to the mat opposing any tax cut.
Still, it’s unlikely that we’ll actually get useful tax reform — say an across-the-board rate cut or a repeal of the estate tax. Don’t hold your breath for any of this. Even if the estate tax repeal goes through, it would be phased in over a number of years. (If you drop dead now, it won’t do your heirs any good. Might as well live.)
Class envy is just too much of a political tool to be ignored by the closely divided Congress. Instead, we’re more likely to get bits and pieces of "targeted" tax relief so complex that any money saved will be eaten up by the extra accounting fees we fork over to our CPAs.
Think times are a-changing?
It’s called "fiscal Chicken Little-ism." Politicians recoil at every suggestion of lower taxes. Take the reaction of one Tennessee newspaper headline writer. In reaction to the 2000 edition of my State Tax Report, which rated Tennessee among the states with the lowest taxes, the headline read, "Are Tennessee’s taxes too low?"
In preparing the new edition of the State Tax Report, I’ve run into a number of new stealth tricks that governments have developed to take more of your money — with hardly anyone noticing.
One love
And the fifty states in this country are slouching toward the governmental Bethlehem of a single (high) tax system. States are engaged in a full-scale attack on the voters’ right to a low-tax environment.
For example, the euphemistically named Streamlined Sales Tax Project is the endeavor by nine states to get together and create a uniform sales tax — and you can bet it’ll be the low-tax states that raise their rates to match their high-tax neighbors, not the other way around.
What do you think is the single most ignored law in these United States? It’s the use tax. That’s the law that says you must pay a tax equal to your state’s sales tax if you buy something out-of-state and bring it back in. More and more states are trying to enforce that law — and are cooperating with each other in their efforts to fleece you better.
Taxing the Internet. In October 2001, the moratorium on taxing the Internet expires. Now what exactly does taxing the Internet mean? That’s the thing. There are all sorts of ways the federal government and states can milk this thing. And it will be at the expense of e-business, consumers, and the economy. You see, most politicians think like the one Nevada politician who said: "The state is entitled to this."
Out-of-control courts. And all along, we believed it was the legislature that had the taxing power. But court after court, from New Hampshire to New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Ohio, is forcing states to change their taxing systems — in effect imposing new taxes — generally because the present property tax system is deemed to be unfair. So the pressure is on New Hampshire to adopt an income tax, Ohio to adopt a statewide property tax, etc. All because of arrogant judges.
Truly new taxes. About eight states are sponsoring research into a tax imposed on motorists based on how much they use the highway system. No, we’re not talking simple tolls. We’re talking about tracking cars with Global Positioning System satellites to monitor use of the roads. California, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin are behind that one. The Federal Highway Administration is also a sponsor.
That’s why I’ve just updated the State Tax Report
Isn’t it great? The government tracking your every move? Stalin would be proud. It’s this kind of thinking that makes me take pleasure in exposing the lies told by the elected officials in your state capitals.
I’ve just concluded research for the 2001-02 edition of my State Tax Report... exposing a slew of new tax scams and rating all 50 states of the Union according to the burden of hidden and not-so-hidden taxes they impose on their residents. State officials and politicians hate me, judging by the acrid comments in the press.
But as one reader put it last year, this report can save you a bundle if you’re considering retiring or relocating anywhere in the United States. In the upcoming April edition of Taipan, I will introduce you to the 10 best and 10 worst states to live in for 2001. (Just make sure your subscription status is current!)
Check out the 247taxes Bureau of 247profits today for more income investing, tax, and privacy strateiges from Charlie Wolpoff.
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