19. August 2013

Comments Off on The Marketplace Fairness Act is a Tax Increase and America hates it

The Marketplace Fairness Act is a Tax Increase and America hates it

Proponents of the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) say that it’s not a tax increase, but merely a change in who collects an existing tax.  That’s inaccurate.  It is both a change in who collects a tax as well as a tax increase.

A few questions for proponents of the MFA.

1. Will the MFA take more money out of people’s pockets and put more into government accounts?  That is, if the MFA becomes law, at the end of each year will consumers see more of their money go to government and less to themselves?

Answer:  Yes, state legislatures – the biggest proponents of the MFA – say it will increase the amount of taxes paid to them by citizens.

2. Are state and municipal governments planning on increasing government spending if the MFA passes?

Answer: Yes, governments are planning increases to government spending if the MFA passes.

3. If the MFA is not a tax increase, then why do states that do not want increased taxes say they will have to reduce other taxes to make it revenue neutral?

Answer: The MFA is not revenue neutral because it increases the amount of tax collected from people annually, so legislatures interested in keeping tax collections flat say they would have to lower other taxes to compensate for the increase the MFA brings.

Deciding to collect a tax that has never before been collected is a tax increase because it increases the amount of money that people pay to state governments and reduces the amount of money they get to keep in their own bank accounts.

Similarly, having a regulation in the law-books that is never enforced and largely unknown, then suddenly enforcing it en masse, is an increase in regulation because people’s lives are de facto more regulated.

It is disappointing to watch Congressmen who signed a pledge to not increase taxes argue that the MFA is not a tax increase while at the same time the state legislatures lobbying them are planning for increased tax receipts and spending on new government programs.

In the House of Representatives the MFA has 67 sponsors and cosponsors (42 Democrats, 25 Republicans).

Of the 25 Republicans, 24 of them signed the Americans for Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a document intended to commit politicians to not increase taxes.

Here are the Republican Representatives who signed a pledge to not increase your taxes but are sponsoring or co-sponsoring the MFA.

Aaron Schock
Ander Crenshaw
Austin Scott
Charles Dent
Christopher Gibson
Dennis Ross
Eric Crawford
Joe Barton
John Duncan
Kristi Noem
Lou Barletta
Mario Diaz-Balart
Mark Amodei
Michael Conaway
Michael Grimm
Morgan Griffith
Renee Ellmers
Scott Rigell
Spencer Bachus
Steve Stivers
Steve Womack (sponsor)
Ted Poe
Tim Griffin
Todd Young

Another disappointing aspect of the MFA is the number of Democrats that support it.  On the one hand, it’s understandable because the state governments that most live outside their means and are thus looking for more money are Democrat-controlled states.  These states legislatures are lobbying their Democratic reps fiercely.  On the other hand, sales taxes are generally unpopular with Democrats because they are regressive and burden the poor and lower-middle-classes disproportionately.  Sales taxes apply to consumption goods and the poor and middle class spend a greater percentage of their income on consumption goods than do the wealthy.

So on the one hand we have Republicans who have pledged to not raise taxes now pledging support to a tax increase, and on the other we have Democrats who have pledged to protect the poor and middle classes now pledging to levy a disproportionate burden on them by way of a tax that hits them hardest.

Now couple that with the fact that the Marketplace Fairness Act hurts small businesses, discouraging entrepreneurs and killing mom and pops at a time when our economy is fragile and in dire need of more independent businesses and the jobs that come with them.  Small business has traditionally provided the jobs that have led the emergence of every previous recession, but the MFA threatens their ability to do so.

Could you possibly write a worse law?

Who wrote this law anyway?  The sponsor of this bill, Steve Womack, represents the district where Walmart is headquartered.  He has been the champion of this bill and been working hand in hand with Walmart’s lobbyists to try and get it passed.  Walmart, the company responsible for putting more small businesses out of business than any in the history of the world, has a bought-and-paid-for Congressmen ready, willing, and able to do its bidding and try and put online small businesses out of business, just as it has done to physical mom and pops.

Ladies and gentlemen, your Big Government loving Small Business hating Congressmen at work.

The good news?  America sees this for what it is.  According to a recent Gallup poll, a large majority of American adults oppose the MFA, including 73 percent of adults between the ages of 18-29.  We and other Americans will see that politicians supporting the MFA are held accountable for their support of this law.

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26. April 2013

Comments Off on Say NO! The Internet Sales Tax is a Bad Tax, is Horrible Policy, is Hostile to Liberty, and Crushes Innovation

Say NO! The Internet Sales Tax is a Bad Tax, is Horrible Policy, is Hostile to Liberty, and Crushes Innovation

A tax that is so difficult to comply with, so convoluted and complex, that you have to exempt business selling under $1,000,000 from collecting and paying it is a BAD TAX and is BAD POLICY. Let your representatives know you oppose the online sales tax in its current form and that if they levy a tax, every company should have to collect it.

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10. July 2012

Comments Off on Washington Post: Job Creation During Obama’s Term Worse than It Looks

Washington Post: Job Creation During Obama’s Term Worse than It Looks

Unemployment at 8.1%? Not exactly, says the Washington Post. “If the same percentage of adults were in the workforce today as when Barack Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be 11.1 percent. If the percentage was where it was when George W. Bush took office, the unemployment rate would be 13.1 percent.” Oh, and […]

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18. January 2012

Comments Off on SOPA and PIPA Explained

SOPA and PIPA Explained

There has been a lot of attention given to two bills going through the US Senate  and House of Representatives. The Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) is being pushed through the House and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) is going through the Senate. Many executives at large corporations and other groups have been very outspoken […]

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13. December 2011

13 Comments

What is Big Government?

What is Big Government?

Big Government shouldn’t be confused with Government proper.  Government proper, limited in its power and scope to only those tasks which legitimately protect life, liberty, and property from fraud and criminality, is not Big Government.  It is the foundation of a free civilization. Here are some definitions of Big Government from a few online dictionaries. […]

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6. August 2011

Comments Off on She Speaks for All of Us – Standing Ovation!

She Speaks for All of Us – Standing Ovation!

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21. June 2011

Comments Off on NFIB and Senator Kyl Unveil Small Business Health Relief Act to Repeal Costly ObamaCare Mandates

NFIB and Senator Kyl Unveil Small Business Health Relief Act to Repeal Costly ObamaCare Mandates

Press release last month, but in case you missed it, have a read: WASHINGTON, D.C., Monday, May 23, 2011 — National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) president and CEO Dan Danner and small business owner Earl Hall joined U.S. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) today to unveil a bill that will address some of the most […]

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13. June 2011

Comments Off on Government Doing What It Does Best – Waste Your Money and Make Your Life Harder

Government Doing What It Does Best – Waste Your Money and Make Your Life Harder

Main Street creates approximately 70 percent of all jobs, yet the White House consistently and constantly acts against Main Street’s interests, making life harder and harder for small business.  A recent Op-Ed published at associatedcontent.com highlighted this.  Some excerpts: Complexities in the code and a labyrinth of rules to obtain credits mean tax compliance costs […]

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7. June 2011

Comments Off on Heads Up! Prepare Yourself for the Employer Mandate Penalties in the Healthcare Law

Heads Up! Prepare Yourself for the Employer Mandate Penalties in the Healthcare Law

The National Federation of Independent Businesses recently put out a primer for Small Business Owners that is worth your time so that you can start planning your risk mitigation strategies now. The businesses that face potential penalties are those with 50 or more full-timers or full-time equivalents (FTEs) as well as owners with multiple businesses […]

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20. January 2011

Comments Off on Job Killing Health Care Bill

Job Killing Health Care Bill

About a year ago, I submitted a suggestion to improve our health care delivery system and the financing of it.  In stead of a market driven system, we have forced upon us a government dictated system which will destroy health insurance companies and limit health care to Americans.  As I generate this submission, Congress is […]

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23. November 2010

Comments Off on Why Congressional Earmarks Have to Go

Why Congressional Earmarks Have to Go

Over at the Legal Insurrection blog (a wonderful blog that we’d suggest you read regularly) a poster suggests that people who oppose earmarks are “Sweating the Small Stuff“, writing: On one hand, the whole notion of earmarks and pork barrel spending encourages many impractical pet projects from doofy legislators. To see their ban would send […]

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4. October 2010

1 Comment

To be against free markets is to be against freedom, choice, prosperity, and service

People who say they don’t want free markets, or who say they want to reduce or eliminate competition, are really just people who want to eliminate the virtues of service, freedom, prosperity and choice. Competition is a by-product.  It’s not something desirable in itself – it’s just what happens when other desirable things happen. Competition […]

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23. June 2010

3 Comments

Yes, Big Business Is Over-Regulated, But It’s Also “Under”-Accountable and “Under”-Responsible

The BP Oil Spill prompted brilliant libertarian legal theorist Richard Epstein to remind us that the problem isn’t regulation, it’s government limits on liability (see op-ed at the Wall Street Journal).  Big Business doesn’t mind regulation, as long as it can put caps on it’s liabilities (see “Too Big to Fail” … ) A tough […]

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22. June 2010

1 Comment

The Moocher Index Tracks the Non-Poor that Receive Government Income Transfers

Dan Mitchell at the Cato Institute has put together a Moocher Index to track which states have the largest number of non-poor people receiving welfare. A few quick observations. Why is Vermont (by far) the state with the largest proportion of non-poor people signed up for welfare programs? I have no idea, but maybe this […]

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18. June 2010

Comments Off on So Why No Economic Recovery? Avaricious Government and Hesitant Entrepreneurs.

So Why No Economic Recovery? Avaricious Government and Hesitant Entrepreneurs.

The Federal Government’s wasteful spending, institutional meddling, and taxpayer plundering is giving us hesitant entrepreneurs. Robust job growth requires boldness and risk-taking in the private sector. What we have now is boldness and risk-taking in the public sector. It is loading as much debt onto the balance sheet as possible, and creating the predicate for […]

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17. June 2010

Comments Off on Great NFIB Report on how Obamacare Will Affect your Small Business

Great NFIB Report on how Obamacare Will Affect your Small Business

Too much great stuff to try and summarize here.  Just read it.  Full report available at this link (pdf). Also contains information on Cap and Tax and Labor Law changes being pursued. This Administration is BAD NEWS for Small Business.  Get informed by reading the report.  And then please share it with at least 5 […]

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16. June 2010

Comments Off on Art Laffer on the Coming Tax-Induced Crash of 2011

Art Laffer on the Coming Tax-Induced Crash of 2011

Art Laffer recently published an opinion in the Wall Street Journal titled “Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse” that is worth your time.  Tax increases are coming.  And it won’t be pretty. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the nine states without an income tax are growing far faster and attracting more people than are […]

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15. June 2010

Comments Off on Small Business Sentiment Slightly Up; However, Sales Volume and Profit Margins Stay Down

Small Business Sentiment Slightly Up; However, Sales Volume and Profit Margins Stay Down

A recent NFIB survey finds small business sentiment slightly improving, but also that most small businesses are losing sales and giving up profit margin to stay alive. U.S. small businesses are slightly more optimistic about their economic outlook than they have been in the last two years but are still not ready to expand staffs […]

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14. June 2010

1 Comment

Obama Administration Laying Groundwork for Takeover of Internet. No Joke.

President Obama and his FCC chairman Julius Genachowski couldn’t take over the Internet the first time they tried.  Ever since the DC Court of Appeals stopped them the first time they tried to take it (they said it was not the province of the Executive, but the Legislature, to determine whether or not the FCC […]

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11. June 2010

Comments Off on George Will Brings the Paddle Down on “Progressivism’s” Backside

George Will Brings the Paddle Down on “Progressivism’s” Backside

If you only read on thing this month, make it this article. Liberalism is, at heart, an impossible promise.   A promise that in aggregate the peoples of the world can consume more than they produce, that there is “such thing as a free lunch”.   Its ideal – the welfare state – is just as big […]

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7. June 2010

Comments Off on Public Employee Unions are Bad For Your Small Business

Public Employee Unions are Bad For Your Small Business

Public Employee Unions are bad for your local economy, bad for your small business, bad for your regulatory environment, and bad for your tax bill.  Public employees are often good people who want to make a positive impact on the word, but their unions are destructive, and their union involvement is killing America.  Taxpayers are saying […]

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