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$2,446,920,000,000: Federal Taxes Set Record Through June; $16,451 per U.S. Worker—Feds Still Run $313B Deficit

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The federal government raked in a record of approximately $2,446,920,000,000 in tax revenues through the first nine months of fiscal 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014 through the end of June), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released today . . .

It is also up about $178,156,270,000 in constant 2015 dollars from the $2,268,763,730,000 in revenue (in inflation-adjusted 2015 dollars) that the Treasury raked in during the first nine months of fiscal 2014.

Despite the record tax revenues of $2,446,920,000,000 in the first nine months of this fiscal year, the government spent $2,760,301,000,000 during those nine months, and, thus, ran up a deficit of $313,381,000,000 during the period.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, total seasonally adjusted employment in the United States in June (including both full and part-time workers) was 148,739,000. That means that the federal tax haul so far this fiscal year has equaled $16,451 for every person in the United States with a job.

In 2012, President Barack Obama struck a deal with Republicans in Congress to enact legislation that increased taxes. That included increasing the top income tax rate from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, increasing the top tax rate on dividends and capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent, and phasing out personal exemptions and deductions starting at an annual income level of $250,000. (Read more from “$2,446,920,000,000: Federal Taxes Set Record Through June; $16,451 per U.S. Worker—Feds Still Run $313B Deficit” HERE)

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Feds Set Tax Haul Record: $472B in One Month

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6ec0257a52dcff056c0f6a70670014a4_c0-217-5184-3238_s561x327The federal government set a record tax haul in April, taking in nearly a half-trillion dollars in one month alone, according to Congressional Budget Office statistics released Thursday.

April is always a busy month with the tax deadline on April 15, but this year’s haul was historic, totaling $472 billion, far outstripping the previous monthly record, set last April, of $414 billion.

Spending, meanwhile, was a more modest $317 billion, leaving the government with a surplus for that one month of $155 billion — also a record.

Despite that good month, the government is likely to run a deficit when the entire fiscal year is taken into account. But it will probably be smaller than last year’s deficit, and will be the lowest since President Obama took office . . .

“Receipts for the first seven months of fiscal year 2015 totaled $1,892 billion, CBO estimates — $155 billion more than receipts in the same period last year. That increase is roughly $40 billion larger than what CBO expected when it published its March 2015 report,” the nonpartisan agency said in its report. (Read more from “Feds Set Tax Haul Record: $472B in One Month” HERE)

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Obama Admin. Rewarding Illegal Aliens with Tens of Thousands in Earned Income Tax Credits

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By Daniel Halper. President Barack Obama has promoted his recent executive action on immigration by arguing that he’s only deferring action – holding off on enforcement of the current immigration laws until an immigration reform he approves of passes Congress. But that’s not really true; in fact there’s a way for illegal immigrants immediately to receive “amnesty bonuses,” as Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska terms it.

Here’s how. A recent Homeland Security Committee hearing on immigration revealed an alarming consequence of President Obama’s executive amnesty—that illegal immigrants with deferred status may be able to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Moreover, this person, who is here in the U.S. unlawfully, could be able to file an amended tax return for up to the last three tax years, possibly receiving upwards of $24,000 in tax credits.

The discovery was made by Eileen J. O’Connor, a tax lawyer and the former head of the tax division of the United States Department of Justice, who used her congressional testimony in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee to explain it. “The law makes a social security number a requirement of eligibility to receive the earned income credit,” O’Connor explained.

“But in 1999, the Chief Counsel’s office of IRS ruled (in a non-binding, non-precedential way, but no one but the IRS pays attention to those disclaimers) that when a person receives a social security number, he can file amended returns to claim the credit for the three preceding years during which he did not. The logic is puzzling: the credit is not available if you don’t have a social security number, but you can receive it retroactively for years during which you did not qualify for it because you didn’t have a social security number.”

Senator Sasse, who along with Senator Ron Johnson has written a letter addressed to the inspector general of the U.S. Treasury Department, has released a statement commenting on the “amnesty bonuses.” (Read more about Obama rewarding illegal aliens HERE)

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As Employment Increases For Foreign-Workers, it Decreases For Native-Born Americans

By Caroline May. In the months and years since the recession began in December 2007, foreign-born workers have experienced a net increase in employment, while native-born Americans have experienced a net loss.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released updated employment data Friday.

The new BLS figures reveal that since the start of the recession in 2007 — which is said to have ended in June 2009 — the number of foreign workers employed in the United States rose by 1.7 million.

In December 2007 the number of foreign-born workers was 22,810,000 by January 2009 the number has increased to 24,553,000.

Meanwhile the number of American-born workers employed decreased by 1.5 million, from 123,524,000 to 121,999,000. (Read more from this story HERE)

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IRS Knowingly Hired, Rehired Tax Cheats, Employees With ‘Performance’ Issues

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Photo Credit: Washington Times By Stephen Dinan. The IRS rehired hundreds of employees who had prior records of bad performance at the agency, including 141 former workers who had botched their own tax returns and others who had used their positions to peek at private tax information, the agency’s inspector general said in a report released Thursday.

Five IRS employees were rehired even though the agency knew they had intentionally failed to file their taxes within the last two years, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said. Of the employees with prior problems, nearly 20 percent of them had more problems after they were rehired.

In another instance, an employee who has taken eight weeks of unauthorized vacation and whose previous manager had written a note explicitly stating “do not rehire,” was nonetheless rehired.

“Rehiring prior employees with known conduct and performance issues presents increased risk to the IRS and taxpayers,” Mr. George said.

Most rehired employees don’t have any problems, and the IRS does a good job of weeding out those with criminal records or history of drug use, but the agency doesn’t give much credence to the workers’ rule-breaking during their previous stints at the IRS. (Read more about how the IRS rehired tax cheats HERE)

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IRS Took Cash, Asked Questions Later

By Robert O’ Harrow Jr. The Internal Revenue Service has routinely seized bank accounts from individuals in recent years without proof of criminal wrongdoing — and only then asked the account owners about allegations of suspicious activity.

From 2005 to 2012, the IRS took almost a quarter-billion dollars in more than 2,500 cases, using authorities under federal asset forfeiture law. That’s the finding of a new study by the Institute for Justice, a libertarian-leaning civil liberties group. The group’s study, “Seize First, Question Later,” focuses on IRS enforcement of a law that prohibits “structuring,” a type of banking activity intended to launder ill-gotten money or hide the source of funds.

Civil asset forfeiture efforts by local, state and federal authorities have come under fire in recent months. Critics across the political spectrum say that civil seizures are often unfair and an abuse of police power. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Obama Kills Tax Cut Because It Didn’t Help His Illegals

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

By Neil Munro.

President Barack Obama quietly killed a draft tax-cut because the GOP leadership wouldn’t agree to his demand that valuable tax breaks be given to millions of illegal immigrants, according to a Politico article about the secret negotiations.

Just before Thanksgiving, “the deal fell apart just as it seemed to be coming together… [because] Republicans worried undocumented immigrants targeted by [Obama’s Nov. 21 amnesty] would begin claiming the credits,” Politico reported.

The GOP leadership’s reluctance to award tax-breaks to illegals suggests top leaders may use the required December budget bill to deny funds to operate Obama’s promised amnesty. So far, GOP leaders have not said if they will block the amnesty funds — despite growing GOP grassroots pressure — partly because Democrats are threatening to block the complete budget if the amnesty is blocked.

The now-dead tax bill, dubbed the “tax extenders package,” is a grab-bag of tax breaks that are usually passed late in every congressional session. If the bill is not passed, businesses and voters will both face tax increases.

This year’s draft bill was expanded to include more tax-breaks for businesses, and was reputedly valued at more than $400 billion over 10 years.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: Newscom

Photo Credit: Newscom

The 10 Steps America Should Take on Immigration Reform

By David Inserra.

President Obama’s executive action on immigration further damages our malfunctioning immigration system and, more importantly, threatens to upend our entire governing system.

The president’s program shreds the rule of law and encourages even more illegal immigration. Moreover, Obama is abandoning his oath of office to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

Obama’s own words condemn his actions: On at least a dozen occasions over the last six years, he has unequivocally denied having the constitutional power to do what he just announced he will do.

As a counter to the president’s lawless, administrative amnesty for as many as 5 million illegal immigrants, The Heritage Foundation recently outlined a far different approach: a 10-step checklist for what the executive branch should do to repair and revitalize America’s immigration system.

1) Rescind those instruments of executive policy making that directly contradict the stated goals, spirit and letter of our laws.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

LUIS GUTIERREZ: ‘MY RESPONSIBILITY’ TO REGISTER AS MANY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AS I CAN FOR EXEC AMNESTY

By Tony Lee.

On Tuesday, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) said it is now his goal and “responsibility” to register as many illegal immigrants as he can for President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty.

He appeared on MSNBC before he joined Obama at a Polish community center in Chicago to help explain why amnesty “is important for America.” Gutierrez said that after demanding that Obama enact a broad executive amnesty, it is “my responsibility, now that he has done the executive action, to sign up as many people as possible.” He said he would be going around the country signing up illegal immigrants and allowing them to pre-register for executive amnesty when the applications become available in six months.

Read more from this story HERE.

Al Sharpton Subject to $4.5 Million in Current State and Federal Tax Liens

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Photo Credit: KITV

Photo Credit: KITV

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton sharply denounced an extensive New York Times report that he and his companies are subject to $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens.

The MSNBC host said in a press conference Wednesday that the $4.5 million was the original figure he was ordered to pay back in 2008, but that he has been making regular payments since then and the amount is now less.

Sharpton did not give the outstanding balance owed by him and his for-profit companies –Raw Talent and Revals Communications.

Rather, he focused his remarks on how much money his nonprofit group, the National Action Network, has paid back. The liens against that organization, however, were not lumped into the $4.5 million figure reported by the Times.

The Times reported that Sharpton is still liable for personal federal tax liens of more than $3 million, and state tax liens of $777,657. The companies owe another $717,329 on state and federal tax liens.

Read more from this story HERE.

West Virginia to Remove Words ‘Husband’ and ‘Wife’ From All State Tax Forms

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Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

In the wake of two federal court rulings striking down West Virginia’s marriage protection amendment, which had previously defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman, the state tax department has announced starting next year, it will remove the words “husband” and “wife” from all tax forms and informational materials, replacing them with the more gender-neutral “spouse.”

Until then, the agency says same-sex couples can use the current tax forms with the understanding that a married household may have two “husbands” or two “wives” under the new definition of marriage in the state.

According to a notice issued October 14, the tax department has revised its definitions of “spouse,” “husband,” and “wife” to include individuals who are “married” to a person of the same sex.

“The term ‘marriage’ includes marriage between individuals of the same sex, lawfully married under the law of any domestic or foreign jurisdiction having legal authority to sanction marriages,” the notice read. “Beginning with Tax Year 2014, West Virginia Personal Income Tax returns reflecting a married status that are filed by lawfully married individuals will be processed without regard to the gender or sexual orientation of the married partners.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Colorado Residents Get A "Marijuana Tax" Refund

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Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

Thanks to TABOR, Colorado’s taxpayer bill-of-rights law, tax revenue that comes in over a certain threshold is mandated to be returned to the taxpayers. Colorado is expecting excess revenue this year, as Governor John Hickenlooper has said, and a rebate will be in order.

Why? Well, partly because taxes raised from the sale of marijuana have fueled the government’s coffers above and beyond what had been expected:

Gov. John Hickenlooper’s proposed $26.8 billion Colorado budget, unveiled Monday afternoon, includes two rebates for taxpayers.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Makes Top Five for Business Tax Climate

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Executive Summary

The Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index enables business leaders, government policymakers, and taxpayers to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much is collected in taxes by state governments, the Index is designed to show how well states structure their tax systems, and provides a road-map to improving these structures.

The 10 best states in this year’s Index are:

1. Wyoming
2. South Dakota
3. Nevada
4. Alaska
5. Florida
6. Montana
7. New Hampshire
8. Indiana
9. Utah
10. Texas

The absence of a major tax is a common factor among many of the top ten states. Property taxes and unemployment insurance taxes are levied in every state, but there are several states that do without one or more of the major taxes: the corporate tax, the individual income tax, or the sales tax. Wyoming, Nevada, and South Dakota have no corporate or individual income tax; Alaska has no individual income or state-level sales tax; Florida has no individual income tax; and New Hampshire and Montana have no sales tax.

But this does not mean that a state cannot rank in the top ten while still levying all the major taxes. Indiana and Utah, for example, have all the major tax types, but levy them with low rates on broad bases.

Can IRS Collect Obamacare Taxes When It Can’t Handle Tax Complaints?

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Photo Credit: APThe Internal Revenue Service is on the hot seat again as federal auditors blast the agency for not responding to taxpayer complaints in a timely manner.

The latest report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reveals that between 2012 and 2013, the IRS failed to address at least 47 percent of complaints filed against tax preparers. The report also said that another 49 percent of the complaints sat unaddressed for at least two months.

This is significant auditors said because “the burden on taxpayers can include receiving an incorrect refund amount or even owing the IRS penalties and interest.”

There’s even more at stake than delays in handling complaints. This is the second scathing report in less than a month to question the agency’s productivity and work quality. In August, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said the IRS was struggling to collect a new tax that’s critical to financing the president’s health care law; auditors say the IRS’s flawed collecting process is allowing it to raise only three-quarters or so of the revenue that was originally expected.

The IRS had originally estimated that the tax would bring in about $1.2 billion in the second and third quarters of 2013 – but it’s only received $913.4 million.

Read more from this story HERE.