IRS Launching ‘Bizarre’ New Punishment for Small Businesses

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Most IRS guidance documents make for poor pleasure reading. Then again, most IRS guidance doesn’t effectively impose a retroactive tax on small business owners merely for having a family. IRS Notice 2021-49, issued on August 4, includes a bizarre interpretation of the law that will effectively raise taxes for business owners with close relatives, even if their family members have no involvement in the company.

A core goal of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed early on in the pandemic was to assist businesses in keeping employees on their payroll even as they dealt with the economic effects of lockdowns. Part of the plan was the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), which provides a tax credit against employer payroll tax liabilities.

By the time the ERTC is set to expire at the end of 2021 (though the bipartisan infrastructure bill would end eligibility earlier, at the end of September), the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that employers will have claimed just under $36 billion as a result of it. But if the IRS gets its way, business owners, especially those owning smaller businesses, will owe a lot of that back.

That’s because the IRS somehow managed to conclude, through ridiculous mental gymnastics, that wages paid to business owners are ineligible for ERTC if that owner has a sibling, parents, or children. No, not immediate family members who are involved in the business in any way — simply the existence of familial bonds at all is sufficient to disqualify business owners from claiming the ERTC on their own wages. Keep in mind that, under Notice 2021-49, business owners are still perfectly free to claim the ERTC on wages paid to themselves so long as they lack these familial ties.

Here’s how the IRS arrived where it did. The CARES Act used legal eligibility requirements laid out in the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which disallows the credit for wages paid to close relatives and to any individual controlling more than 50 percent of the business in question. Business ownership shares are determined by Section 267 of the Internal Revenue Code, which counts shares owned by close relatives of the majority owner as being owned by the majority owner themselves, in order to prevent abuse by shifting shares to close relatives. (Read more from “IRS Launching ‘Bizarre’ New Punishment for Small Businesses” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

Black CA Gubernatorial Recall Election Candidate Accused of Being ‘a Soldier for White Supremacy’

/0 Comments/in , /by

In an opinion piece published by theGrio, writer and podcaster Touré asserts that conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, who is currently running in California’s gubernatorial recall election, is a “a soldier for white supremacy.”

Touré says that the candidate “is, like so many Republicans, espousing a heartless, anti-Black agenda that would be devastating for millions of Black people,” and the “agenda relies on the notion that Black people are lazy and without character and that the poor’s biggest problem is help from the state.”

If elected, Elder would become the Golden State’s first black governor.

Here’s more from Touré’s piece published on theGrio:

Elder is a soldier for white supremacy. He’s providing cover for racists, using his skin to deflect charges that they are racist. He’s helping racists seem less racist as they push ideas that would be devastating to Black people — and are built on lies about Black people. When people tell you that Black people cannot be racist, tell them that they are wrong. Black people like Larry Elder are the voice of racist ideas, they are helping racists do their work, and therefore they too are racist.

(Read more from “Black CA Gubernatorial Recall Election Candidate Accused of Being ‘a Soldier for White Supremacy'” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/28294545841

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

Report: Christian Flight Attendants Fired by Alaska Airlines for Religious Beliefs

/1 Comment/in , , , /by

Alaska Airlines has been accused by two former employees of anti-religious discrimination after the corporation fired them for asking questions about the company’s promotion of the Equality Act, an issue the company itself had proposed for discussion on a type of chat forum.

According to First Liberty Institute, the formal complaints have been filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and charge the company discriminated against the two flight attendants because of their “Christian beliefs.”

The former employees’ union is also named, as it was accused of joining in the company’s agenda against the employees. . .

According to the Heritage Foundation, the proposed legislation would penalize Americans who don’t affirm gender ideology, compel individuals to speak messages with which they disagree, would close down charities unless they relinquished their religion, allow for males who call themselves females to participate in sports events designated for girls or women, would coerce medical professionals to perform body-mutilating surgeries when told to, would jeopardize parental rights and “enable sexual assault.” . . .

Two individuals, both employed by the airline at the time, accepted the company’s invitation to comment and raised various questions about the company’s support and the bill itself. (Read more from “Report: Christian Flight Attendants Fired for Religious Beliefs” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

COVID-Sniffing Dogs at Miami Airport Have 99 Percent Accuracy

/0 Comments/in , /by

Two COVID-sniffing dogs in Miami International Airport’s latest pilot program are reportedly more than 99 percent accurate at detecting the virus in their training.

Last week, a pair of dogs, named Cobra and One Betta, who were trained at the Forensic and Justice Center at Florida International University, began a 30-day program where they would detect COVID-19 among airport employees and alert when the virus is detected in a sniff test.

“We trained these dogs just using face coverings from patients, who, at a hospital, have COVID and those who do not,” Florida International University’s Kenneth Furton told CNN’s New Day on Monday.

Cobra and One Betta are able to sniff out the virus through the breath and sweat of an infected person due to metabolic changes caused by COVID. (Read more from “COVID-Sniffing Dogs at Miami Airport Have 99 Percent Accuracy” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

Trump Blasts Bush Over Capitol Riot Remark on 9/11

/0 Comments/in , /by

​Former President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at George W. Bush for his 9/11 20th anniversary speech in which he appeared to compare the Jan. 6 rioters to foreign terrorists, saying the 43rd president, who was in office when the 9/11 attacks happened, “shouldn’t be lecturing anybody!”

“​So interesting to watch former President Bush, who is responsible for getting us into the quicksand of the Middle East (and then not winning!), as he lectures us that terrorists on the ​’​right​’​ are a bigger problem than those from foreign countries that hate America, and that are pouring into our Country right now​,” Trump said in an emailed statement.​​​

“If that is so, why was he willing to spend trillions of dollars and be responsible for the death of perhaps millions of people? He shouldn’t be lecturing us about anything. The World Trade Center came down during his watch. Bush led a failed and uninspiring presidency. He shouldn’t be lecturing anybody!​,” he said.

Bush, speaking at the commemoration Saturday in Shanksville, Pa., where ​United ​​Flight 93 crashed, lamented the lack of unity in the US and made the comparison between the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 and terrorists abroad looking to attack America. (Read more from “Trump Blasts Bush Over Capitol Riot Remark on 9/11” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

Hear No Evil: White House Livestream Cuts Biden Mid-Sentence as He Goes off Script (VIDEO)

/0 Comments/in , , /by

An official White House livestream of President Joe Biden’s remarks was abruptly cut off mid-sentence on Monday — just days after a report revealed that some White House staffers have stopped listening to him speak in public for fear he’ll veer wildly off-message.

Biden was meeting with officials in Boise, Idaho, to discuss the wildfires raging across the western United States when he turned his attention to George Geissler of the National Association of State Foresters.

“Can I ask you a question?” Biden asked.

“Of course,” Geissler answered.

“One of the things that I’ve been working on with some others is —” Biden said before the audio and video coverage stopped without warning.

(Read more from “Hear No Evil: White House Livestream Cuts Biden Mid-Sentence as He Goes off Script” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

Navy Assistant Football Coach Fired for Refusing COVID Vaccine

/1 Comment/in , /by

Navy has fired assistant coach Billy Ray Stutzmann after he failed to abide by the Naval Academy Athletic Association’s policy regarding the COVID-19 vaccination. The policy requires all coaches and staff to be vaccinated against the virus. Stutzmann says he failed to receive a religious exemption that would have allowed him to stay unvaccinated.

The Pentagon announced in August that members of the United States military will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Based on my religious convictions, and after much thought and prayer, I am unable to follow the requirements of the Naval Academy’s COVID-19 policy, as it has changed these last few months,” he wrote on his Twitter account. “After applying for a religious exemption and attempting to further negotiate alternative working arrangements, I was ultimately relieved of my duties here at Navy. I continue to stand firm in my conviction of faith, but I understand and respect that each individual and institution has a choice on how they wish to manage these issues. I wish Navy football nothing by the best in the future.” (Read more from “Navy Assistant Football Coach Fired for Refusing COVID Vaccine” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

Socialist Status: AOC Wears ‘Tax the Rich’ Dress to Met Gala

/0 Comments/in , /by

. . .Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who is the face of the Democratic Socialists of America — showed up to the glitzy Met Gala wearing a political message seemingly aimed at her fellow partygoers.

Ocasio-Cortez wore a white gown by Brother Vellies with “Tax the Rich” in red letters splashed across her back and accessorized with a matching slogan on her bag to the America-themed ball.

The 31-year-old rep, who is the darling of the far left, could have found a more receptive audience to her sartorial statement at a workers rally. The Met Gala is an exclusive event, which is a parade of millionaire pop stars, wealthy actors, trust fund society swans and members of the gliteratti.

(Read more from “Socialist Status: AOC Wears ‘Tax the Rich’ Dress to Met Gala” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

COVID Horror as CT Scan Shows Swab Test Causes Man’s Brain to Leak for Nine Months

/0 Comments/in , /by

The man, from the Czech Republic, received a COVID-19 nasal swab test in March 2020 after close contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus. But after receiving a negative result, he is said to have experienced a runny nose from just his right nostril. This rare symptom, which the patient mistakenly thought was due to allergies, lasted for nine months before he went to see a doctor in December 2020.

But a CT scan of his skull showed that the man had a rare brain injury, according to a new report, published in the JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery,

He was diagnosed with a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak, a rare but serious condition in which the clear fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord leaks through a defect in the skull and out through the nose. . .

Reports state that, in this case, the man’s CSF leak was likely an extremely rare complication caused by the test.

The man had received a nasopharyngeal COVID-19 test from a healthcare worker. (Read more from “COVID Horror as CT Scan Shows Swab Test Causes Man’s Brain to Leak for Nine Months” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

Blinken Left Stammering Being Questioned About Alleged FBI Interview About Hunter Biden

/0 Comments/in , /by

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked Monday if he has been interviewed by the FBI since attaining his position.

Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry pressed Blinken about “documents to the FBI related to Hunter Biden, Burisma or the Blue State Strategies Corporation” during a House Foreign Affairs Committee about President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“A little off-topic here, but I think it is interesting. How long was your recent interview with the FBI and was it a deposition?” Perry asked Blinken.

Blinken responded by saying he does not know what Perry is referring to. He would not deny being interviewed by the FBI, saying it would be inappropriate to comment.

(Read more from “Blinken Left Stammering Being Questioned About Alleged FBI Interview About Hunter Biden” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.