Tax Reform

[DCHeather]

Ok...this needs to stop. Period. Complete BS. Watch the entire thing.

http://www.wthr.com/video?autoStart=tru ... 6vBDzkdCQE.


And no I am not anti-immigrant, I am anti-fraud.

[HatterDon]

I'd delete this comment if I had a clue how to do it.

Please see real comment below

[HatterDon]

Ok...this needs to stop. Period. Complete BS. Watch the entire thing.

http://www.wthr.com/video?autoStart=tru ... 6vBDzkdCQE.


And no I am not anti-immigrant, I am anti-fraud.

Senator, I sent the video to the professional tax preparer I sleep with and she replied with this comment:

Whoever has collected this kind of money had help from a dishonest tax preparer, because people with ITINs have to follow the same rules for Child Tax Credit/Additional Child Tax Credit as everyone else.

In other words the story here should be that a local tax preparer is defrauding the government rather than the existence of a "tax loophole" to be exploited by illegal aliens.

[DCHeather]

I was thinking the same thing as your wife at first. I didn't really trust the tax prep guy that helps illegals purposely fill out a fraudulent tax return. I kept thinking he must be desperate to keep his job at one of those local tax prep places where they have poor souls dressed up as the Statue of Liberty flipping a cardboard sign up in the air (the ones that promise you the biggest tax refunds). But at the same time wanted to expose his company's fraud practices. And that's why I wasn't taking the video completely serious until they interviewed the IRS Inspector General. It's a bigger problem than one dishonest tax preparer. If I heard right, they're estimating that roughly 2 million undocumented workers claiming Additional Child Tax Credits to the tune of $4.2 billion? That's a pretty big fraud problem to be ignoring while waiting around for Congress to pass a law to allow them (the IRS) to do something about it.

[Clevelandmo]

I believe the IRS is focusing on catching tax fraud among those in the top income bracket at the moment. I think the estimate for annual total tax fraud is in excess of $300 billion. So this fraud by illegals represents a little over 1% of the total tax fraud. But that's big government for you. Lets have government handle more things, so they can hire more people they can never fire, so they can make more rules and make things such a mess that we have to spend more to fix it.

With all the reports of tax fraud by the wealthy, with reports of tax evasion by business owners who hide some of their income, and with reports of companies like GE not paying any taxes a few years back, it is no wonder that people, especially poor people, justify their own tax fraud.

What I would like to know is why this report just focuses on illegals/immigrants. If these people are getting child tax credits for which they dont legally qualify, surely legal residents are doing the same thing - listing children that dont live with them. I mean it's no easier for an illegal immigrant to do this than a legal resident is it? Maybe it's easier to track them as a group or something? I guess maybe that means it might be easier to crack down on illegals as a group, but it is probably just for sensational headlines.

Anyway, why this is obviously tax fraud, a lot of these illegals are sending money home to support families, and they are actually doing work in this country which is probably saving us money in the cost of products/services. I cant get myself too worked up over that guy in the trailer park. The real problem here is we just need to deal with the entire problem of illegal immigration in a better manner.

And dont worry, I'm paying enough taxes for all these guys. My property taxes alone could probably handle the mortgage for an entire trailer park.

[DCHeather]

It may be a small amount of the fraud, but it seems so obvious to someone that looks at the return that it's far from accurate. Really...20 nieces and nephews live at the residence? Seriously, they need an act of congress to use common sense? I can't remember how we claim our little one as a dependent on our tax form, but I believe we need to put his DOB and SS# on there. My husband insists on his family's accountant to file our tax returns. But I'm inclined to believe it's not as easy for someone who just listing a child's name and relationship on their return to claim the credit.

I think that's what bugs me the most about the story. The IRS knows it's happening, it's obvious and blatant...yet send out refund checks sometimes in excess of $25,000? FFS.

[Clevelandmo]

It may be a small amount of the fraud, but it seems so obvious to someone that looks at the return that it's far from accurate. Really...20 nieces and nephews live at the residence? Seriously, they need an act of congress to use common sense? I can't remember how we claim our little one as a dependent on our tax form, but I believe we need to put his DOB and SS# on there. My husband insists on his family's accountant to file our tax returns. But I'm inclined to believe it's not as easy for someone who just listing a child's name and relationship on their return to claim the credit.

I think that's what bugs me the most about the story. The IRS knows it's happening, it's obvious and blatant...yet send out refund checks sometimes in excess of $25,000? FFS.

All I can say is I'm glad you're pissed off about it. I'm already pissed off about too many things; I need some help.

[pettyfog]

Keynes Addiction

Someone said 'all politics is local' and indeed it does start locally... and ends up manifested with local outrage.

But it carries down from the very top.

Every time you see a 'Tax Reform' package purporting to fix inequities and injustices, you see a few clauses in there that favor the 'friends of...'. Most often those who make their living preparing taxes and litigating tax law. You think it's an accident that Joel Hyatt -H&R Block, Hyatt Legal Services- is a Liberal.. or is that 'Progressive'?
And after all the years of trying to make sure the 'one percent pays their share' how is it exactly that wasnt fixed long ago? Hmmmm?
My long term outrage at how the economy works bears very much on taxes and government manipulation of the economy and it started in the first few months of my one year in college.. when Keynesian economics was presented.
I realized I was not suited for academia when I realized I would have to listen to drivel like:
'You reduce inflation by raising interest rates and taxes.'

Indeed that's true.. if all you care about is the next two years. But when you carry those forward for more than a few business cycles and especially union contracts {remember that was the sixties} you find all you did was push inflation forward.

It seemed to me that anyone with a least degree of common sense should know that everyone is going to at least TRY to get theirs back.

You have to remember that Keynsianism DOES provide effective short term tweaks. If it didnt, it wouldnt still be around. But it also encourages market manipulation by those entrusted to promote good for all by manipulating for gain.
What economic model was used to promote the 1999 CRA? ANd the subsequent housing bust.. Keynes. See how we fixed the mortgage problem? By keeping at the same thing that caused it in the first place.

And it's self-perpetuating. When you try to fix an economy distorted by Keynes, you have to go slow. Being an addiction, withdrawing from Keynsian situation, where we borrow one third of our federal budget, must be carefully done.

So it REALLY pisses me off when I see bullshit like this:
Why Don’t Republicans Mind When Romney Talks Keynesian?

Romney: Well because, if you take a trillion dollars for instance, out of the first year of the federal budget, that would shrink GDP over 5%. That is by definition throwing us into recession or depression. So I’m not going to do that, of course.

Chait notes, bemusedly, that this deviation from orthodoxy has provoked no outrage on the right, which to him is further proof of just how cynical the Republican anti-Keynesian stance really is:

So Mitt tells the TRUTH. And people with the least degree of common sense understand that.. and it's used AGAINST him? And them?



This is why I despise 'Liberals'. Either they are too stupid to be allowed to write that BS.. or they are evil in intent. You tell me.

The bottom line is that Keynesian Economics not only lends itself to Central Planning, but REQUIRES Central Planning to fix the results of applying Keynsian Economics