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I'm all for lower rates and eliminating deductions (fewer deductions less room for loopholes.) Let's not kid ourselves, though. The real poison coursing through the economy are Federally imposed costs and regulations imposed on states and busnesses. These costs, such as the new health care insurance requirements, and propose EPA CO2 regs, aren't defined as tax deductions 2012es, but have the same effect on the pocket book. They fly under the radar by not appearing on the 1040 so we don't realize More

State tax credits, and the recent federal tax capital gains tax rate 2012 gains exclusion for qualified small business stock for investments made during 2010 and 2011 have not, in my opinion, done much to increase the amount of angel investing. What continues to help, IMO, is the lower, 15% tax rate on long term capital gains, together with the extension of this rate to carried interests. Mr. Romney and other investors have benefited from these incentives, and one must still choose a successful More

All current employees in agriculture are covered with workers comp, unemployment, pay into SS and Medicare, and have irs withholding calculator taken from their wages. There are records as well. The problem is, the illegal workers have fraudulent identifications. To what extent is an employer responsible (or capable) of ensuring that a worker is legal? In the past when an employer has assumed someone was illegal, like when their SS number did not match, they have been open to a discrimination lawsuit More

Jeff, a little FYI. We know when something's going to happen, we just don't know where. If the tension on the plates hadn't been relieved here in Japan, it would've been relieved somewhere else along the faultline. Could've been much further north, or farther south, near tokyo. We just don't know. Stretch out a rubber band, jeff. Keep stretching it until it breaks. After enough broken car tax bands, you'll have an idea of how far you can pull it before it breaks... but you'll be no closer to predicting More

Peggy, I think you should remind readers of how enamored you were 2 years ago with Obama, how you were mesmerized by his panache and writing style, how you only 'saw' him but failed to 'analyze' him (which is quite a fumble for a political analyst to make). You're hoping for humility from Obama, but he's too small and arrogant to feel or show it. I'm hoping that you're bigger than he. And quite frankly, I find it more than a little ironic that you're self-unaware enough to call Palin a nincompoop More

Helmut - You should ask for a refund on that tinfoil hat: It's either blocking your hearing and eyesight or it's causing massive memory loss. America's Second Great Depression was, according to Ben Bernanke (your hero's Chairman of the Federal Reserve), quite clearly showed that it's roots directly attributable to 1994 when will i get my tax refund Bill Clinton appointed Jaime Gorelick to run Fannie Mae and Franklin Raines to run Freddie Mac with the instructions to 'go forth and guarantee every More

I really do not understand what you think should be done about the pensions promised to and accepted in good faith by public employees. These employees have fulfilled their part of the contract and worked for however many years and in many cases, such as teachers in IL and MA, relinquished their social security tax rate security benefits. The money that would have gone to social security was instead to be put toward their pensions. What do you think they should now be told? Do you realize that More

IIt seems to me Mr. Inskeep has made a solid case for terminating public funding for NPR.NPR's quality is such that it has captured a broad base of listeners that spans the poliitcal spectrum. Why would an entity that has grown to become so successful require public funding? NPR has grown up and it is time to leave the nest. I am a conserative who listens to NPR. When the IRS stops withholding money from my paycheck to support NPR, I will seriously consider my firs withholding calculatort ever More

One problem with open carry is that if someone has the intent to do harm or damage, you have made yourself the first target. Concealed carry leaves the would be assailant in doubt. Example. In a midwestern community, a crazed citizen with exaggerated grievances attacked a city council tax bands meeting, shooting and killing the mayor and several council members, and wounding several others. Two armed police officers were the first two victims of this murderous maniac. He ambushed them, killed them, More

I ordered a small appliance for Christmas from Best Buy, only to discover afterwards it would not come even close to on time. (We're talking a month late.) Ordered it on Amazon for the same price (maybe just slightly more) and it was at my door in 2 days. I called Best Buy to cancel the order. There was absolutely no way the representative could cancel it, even though it was at least 3 weeks from being shipped. (It was in how they had setup their ordering system with drop ship vendors.) She happily More