Happy Tax Freedom Day!
Ok, Connecticut you get to start working for your family and yourself today. Today is Tax Freedom Day, it’s the day where you’ve finally worked enough to pay all your Federal, State and Local taxes.
We in Connecticut have the honour of working longer than any other state in the Union to pay our fair share. We work till May 08th.
How ironic that Tax Freedom Day and the end of the CT Legislature Session coincide. Coincidence? I think NOT!
Other states where citizens wait unusually long for Tax Freedom Day® are California (April 30), Washington (April 29), Massachusetts (April 28), Maryland (April 28), Minnesota (April 27), and Florida and Hawaii on April 26.
Wow, we work a whole WEEK longer than our closest competitor California! Ouch!
Tax Freedom Day is calculated by adding up the cost of government than dividing by the number of citizens and days in the year.
In 2008, Americans will work 74 days to afford t
heir federal taxes and 39 more days to pay state and local taxes. Meanwhile, buying food requires 35 days of work, clothing 13 days, and housing 60 days. Other major categories are health and medical care (50 days), transportation (29 days), and recreation (21 days).
We work for the Government longer than we work for food! And Health Care!
Hmmm, maybe we wouldn’t need Universal Health Care if the Government wasn’t so greedy!
As I’ve said before, Connecticut residents don’t study that pie chart to closely, you see it is for citizens of average states.
“Government continues to dominate the American taxpayer’s budget,” said Tax Foundation president Scott Hodge. “Americans will still spend more on taxes in 2008 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.”
The Government never does without, they never cut or scale back at best they just slow the growth of all that “needed” spending.
The Man Who Would Be King
Speaker of the House Jim Amann is retiring to pursue the Governorship. Normally I welcome liberals tilting at windmills but this time less so. His most likely replacement Rep. Chris Donovan of Meriden has a resume that strikes fear in to the hearts of taxpayers through out the land.
From myleftwingnut.com
Trained as a social worker, he has worked for the CT Citizen Action Group and the Service Employees International Union. He is now a labor organizer at the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges.
The CBIA gives him a rating of 22% out of 100% and the AFL-CIO gives him a 90% out of 100%.
Sounds like a plan to me!
Trained as a social worker and works as a Labor Organizer. I took some heat a few months ago making the pitch for a living wage for Legislators, this guy is the poster boy of why we need professionals running the state not just hobbyists.
It is in every non-profits best interest to allow their employees to run for public office. Non-profits funds come from government and when your guys are on the inside, life can be good.
I’d say the Congress of CT Community Colleges hit a home run.
It is not as much in the best interests of businesses to allow their income generating employees to run for office. But maybe this needs to change. Maybe CT businesses and businesses throughout the USA need to run candidates for public office, they can run on a pro-business platform. Would they not be under just a little pressure to their employers for special favors?
Of course not. Who would suggest such a thing?
CT Top Ten In Foreclosures
Given the gross financial mis-management of Connecticut does this come as a surprise?
Beat businesses out of the state, the financial engine of all our wealth.
Squeeze taxpayers with the highest taxes in the land.
Refuse to acknowledge the economic reality by lowering taxes and spending and at some point the peasants just can’t carry the manor anymore.
The other states among the top 10 with the highest foreclosure rates were Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
We need to be afraid, this will depress our housing values and put economic stress of those of us who are financially stable for the moment.
Don’t forget if you try to leave CT, there is the “Leaving CT Tax”, the real estate conveyance fee.
We just can’t keep doing business as usual in CT. It is not working. Change must happen. A good start to change would be changing our elected employees for new ones.
Let’s Kill A Growing Industry Providing New Jobs
Not only new jobs but we are a world leader in this new aviation segment. Which to certain Government leaders is just a new opportunity to raise taxes.
I’m talking about the new very light jet market. A number of airframers, Cessna, Piper, Eclipse, Cirrus and many other smaller players are rushing to market these small 4 to 6 seater jets. The airlines have done such a great job of alienating their core business group, specifically the business traveler a whole new industry is being created.
These small jets can get in and out of small airport which are less congested and apparently something like 80% of American business is within 1/2 hour car ride of a small airport. Leave when you want, don’t get strip searched, no lines, no crowds and only fly with people you know. And carry all the toothpaste you want on board!
For the business traveler the very light jets represent a way to do business faster and more efficiently. Hey what more reasons do you need to raise taxes? Works for me. Let’s nip that growing segment right at the boarding gate.
And by the way, Pratt is supplying engines to this new segment and a number of other small manufacturers in CT are supplying various electronic and mechanical parts.
From Bloomberg.com
U.S. Private-Jet Fuel Taxes Rise 65% in Senate Accord (Update2)
By John HughesApril 25 (Bloomberg) — U.S. business-jet owners would pay 65 percent more in fuel taxes to finance federal air-traffic control upgrades, under an agreement among Senate leaders.
The levy would increase to 36 cents a gallon from 21.8 cents now, under the accord announced in a statement today in Washington by Senator Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat. Airline passenger fees and taxes wouldn’t rise, he said.
The agreement between Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate aviation subcommittee, and Montana Democrat Max Baucus, who runs the Senate Finance Committee, ends a seven-month standoff that stalled an aviation-funding bill. Today’s deal clears the way for an April 28 vote to bring the bill to the full Senate.
Rockefeller wanted to double fuel taxes for corporate aircraft while cutting fees for airlines, which he said paid disproportionately for aviation services. Instead, he settled for the smaller boost, so that small-jet owners will pay 5 percent of federal aviation costs, up from 3 percent.
The business traveler is the airlines most profitable customer and treated the most poorly. We make reservations often just 2 days in advance, pay full price and get middle seats, while all around us other passengers have paid 1/2 of our ticket price and get better seats. We can’t work at the seats, our laptop screens won’t fit and we are stuffed in to undersized no elbow room slots that pretty effectively prevent all work other than the reading of reports.
The very light jet segment is a direct threat to the airlines and now Senator Rockeffer comes to their rescue. Business engineering by means of taxation policy.
Milestone, 70,000th Visitor
A milestone here at the CtTaxed headquarters. We have reached our 70,000th visitor from somewhere deep in Pennsylvania.
Lately more and more of our readership is non-Connecticut based. Especially for articles on National politics with the keyword “Obama”. Only glad to help!
I will continue a heavy Connecticut focus, I was born here, I live here and I work here and I can’t give up on my beloved Connecticut. Besides, my wife won’t move.
And telling people I am a conservative blogger in Connecticut always gets a laugh, “you mean there are conservatives in Connecticut?”. Would not get the same yuk yuk, if I lived in New Hampshire.
Our google page rank of 5.0 out of 10.0 indicates we are getting some serious page placements on the google search engine.
A recent highlight was receiving an email from Chris Muir of DaybyDayCartoon.com.
A daily read for me, especially since Cox and Forkum are no longer active.
The local election season is heating up and I hope to make some elected employees somewhat uncomfortable.
To all that visit a deep thank you and please come back frequently and often.
And to the regular reader in Fort Rucker, MOTHER RUCKER! Home of Army Aviation! Craziest golf cart ride I ever got was from a returning Kiowa pilot from Iraq giving me a lift from the flight line to the office. Never knew golf carts could get that much air.
Taxpayer Bill Of Rights
With the elections looming it is time to frame the debate.
I’ll be emailing this Bill of Rights to all running for office and asking them to take the pledge, the results will be posted and have a special link on this website. Including all those who did not respond.
Clearly our Government is badly mis-managing our economy and driving businesses out, and if there is one overriding Law of Economics they our elected employees must understand, our wealth is drived from business.
Without business there are no wages/salaries, no taxes and no funds to run government. The evidence of the failure of Government is clear.
Businesses and our youth are leaving.
We now depend on immigration to prop our economy up.
Use the “Contact Your Rep/Senator” link and email this to your Rep/Senator and let them know they need to take the pledge.
We must take our Government back. Our Government has clearly demonstrated a gross incompetence on fiscal matters. They treat our state like their own private social experiment. We have had it.
1) Right Of Referendum
The citizens shall have the right by petition to create and change existing laws.
2) Spending Cap
Spending shall not be increased such that total spending is greater than 3% of the citizens wealth. This includes all expenditures of state government including all those off budget items.
3) Read The Bill
All bills shall be posted in their entirely on the Internet for at least one week prior to voting. Any changes made to the bill after the one week period has started shall require a new one week period to be started. This will prevent those 2 AM budget buster bills where all sorts of stuff gets thrown in. This essentially takes away the excuse, “I got it 5 minutes before the vote, I didn’t know …… was in it”. This forces our government to work responsibly and get it’s work done in an effective manner. There could be a clause allowing for emergency bills given a natural disaster or war if the Governor declares it.
4) Right Of Public Comment On Potential Laws
In conjunction with the posting of bills at least one week prior to voting. The public shall be allowed to publicly comment on the Internet, on the same website and linked to the posted bill.
5 ) Right Of Recall
The citizens shall have the right by petition to call for a new election of any elected official. Hear that Iowian Senator Dodd?
6) GAAP
The state shall conduct accounting by Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAPP).
I miss Ella Grasso.
Obama’s Willful Disregard Of The Facts Or Poor Command Of Economics
Manufacturing employment did hit a peak and then begin a steady decline. The problem is that the peak was in 1979, 15 years before NAFTA came into force.
The long-term decline of American manufacturing jobs has much more to do with technological change than with trade. We’re producing more stuff with fewer workers.
But is there any harm if someone decides to run the same old Washington textbook campaign, take a few shortcuts of reasoning, and hold NAFTA responsible for the pain of displaced workers? There is. It offers false hope. It leads beleaguered citizens to think that a U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA would make their lives better, when it would almost certainly make their lives worse.
Much has been made of Obama’s troubles with answering economics questions during the last debate. I think his “problems’ are perfectly understandable, if your mindset is one of Marxist orientation you do have trouble answering questions about Capital Gains and Payroll taxes.
Just remember the next time we have a economic meltdown, Obama’s background is Community Organizer. Next time we are attacked, just remember Obama’s background is Community Organizer.
Obama’s comments about bitter rural folks clutching their guns on the way to church is not surprising, what is surprising is how a politician would believe they could pander to one crowd half a country away and not expect it to reverberate back to those rural churching going gun clutching folks.
Politicians know how to speak to a crowd, Hillary puts on a southern drawl and Oprah does her Black Southern Preacher thing when introducing Obama. But how can a politician expect to lead the country if he or she delivers speeches that are divisive?
The shine is off Obama, his halo has been turned off and I gotta believe the democrats are wondering how the heck they got in this mess again.
Time for the adults to step in.
Obama also needs to check who he is running against, last time I check GW was not running, to me the first sign a candidate is having message trouble is when they run against imaginary enemies.
A Study On Getting Old People To Leave Connecticut
New Jersey tried a Millionaire’s Tax, only problem is they, the Millionaires moved. Funny thing about the
well to do, they have the resources to move. They tend not to be tied to a physical locale as wage or salary earners are.
“People picked up and moved,” Jack Meola, a tax attorney and partner at Amper Politziner & Mattia says of the New Jersey experience. “The rich are the most mobile people in the world. I have clients with no state domicile. They’re doing business all over the world. They’ve put their homes in trusts, so they personally have no jurisdiction. One client lives on a boat. Most move to nontaxing jurisdictions, like Las Vegas and Florida.”
These mobile individuals set up trusts so that when their businesses are sold, they don’t feel a tax pinch.
For the state, the effort backfires, he notes. Diminishing populations of wealthy individuals result in a trickle-down effect that builds pressure on low-income people to carry the tax impact.
In Connecticut, this has been proposed and in the silly season (state government in session) may be re-proposed especially at 2:00 AM, but we are smarter than New Jersey, you see our Millionaire’s Tax will re-define a Millionaire down to the ~200K$ / year.
Hah! How smart are we!
But in this land (state) of highest taxation, we are already voting with our feet. Our native population is down, and we rely on Asians and Indians to prop up our sagging human stock. We are facing a financial wave of elderly costs as the baby boomers retire and a diminishing population native borns to bear it. Not all baby boomers make 109$ Million on the book and lecture circuit. The financial burden on those who have stayed will increase.
As our state population ages, we can only hope they the aged leave. I suggest a study commission at the state level, “A Study On Getting Old People To Leave Connecticut”, that way the democrat controlled state government will at least have the cover of an official study to hide their policies.
First recommendation would be to repeal the “Leaving Connecticut Tax”, other wise known as the Real Estate Conveyance Tax.
Delivery Tax, Millionaire’s Tax, Gross Receipts Tax, Gas Tax, Leaving Connecticut Tax, Business Entity Tax.
How tiresome is this? Very.
Forcing Businesses Out Of State
The insidious thing about a delivery tax is that it just keeps giving or taking. Especially if your supplier or customer is based in Connecticut.
The Delivery Tax penalizes Connecticut based companies from doing business with other Connecticut based companies and will force work out of the state.
Consider the following.
If I buy and order a part, under this tax I would pay for delivery and the subsequent tax on that delivery once it enters Connecticut.
Once I process those raw materials and ship them to my customer, my customer would have to cover my previous delivery tax on the raw materials, this puts Connecticut based companies at a disadvantage with the known sane world.
If my customer is Connecticut based THEN another delivery tax is assessed, which my customer has to pay also. Essentially my Connecticut based customer is paying delivery tax twice.
Subsequently if I buy from a Connecticut based supplier I get double whacked. I pay for delivery to my supplier then delivery to me and then delivery to my customer. In this case my Connecticut based customer would get triple whacked. Actually they would not, they would be long gone.
I run a business in Connecticut, I have always tried to do business with other Connecticut based businesses, this tax would penalize my company for doing business with Connecticut companies and force me to push work outside of the state. It would force me not to bring raw materials in to the state and to have those raw materials processed out of state. Hard to run a manufacturing business when you don’t want to bring the material to your facility.
The contract manufacturers I deal with, win and lose contracts sometimes on pennies a unit. These companies are constantly aware that China and India are breathing down their necks.
Typically stateside companies are competitive up to a certain volume level. Above which it makes economic sense to move the manufacturing offshore. That magic number varies with industry. But typically with printed circuit boards and similar items once you reach 5,000 to 10,000 you are starting to look offshore. And there are many brokerage companies that will smooth the process for you.
This tax would essentially lower that volume level, at which you go overseas. Instead of 5,000 units it may be 3,000 units. This lowers the available work and volume of work available to Connecticut businesses.
Practically speaking this tax would be very difficult to calculate and collect. Would the UPS company charge me differently if I am one mile further down the road than his/her previous delivery? Or would there be just one massive general surcharge, the same for all?
In a time with record business closures, this proposal is really stupid. It betrays a fundamental lack of basic understanding of business. Really calls in to question, no essentially proves the people who suggested this tax are not fit to serve.
Get Back To Work, More Taxes To Pay
Three states will have to wait until May to celebrate their state-specific Tax
Freedom Days: Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. Although they have high state-local taxes too, the main culprit is the progressive federal income tax. States with large metropolitan areas offer higher-paying jobs, and as a result, many of the citizens earn enough to pay income tax at the highest rates—currently 25%, 28%, 33% and 35%. If those rates rise, as they are scheduled to do in 2011, these states will bear the brunt. (are you sure you want to vote Obama? He’s promised to do this.)
Other states where citizens wait unusually long for Tax Freedom Day® are California (April 30), Washington (April 29), Massachusetts (April 28), Maryland (April 28), Minnesota (April 27), and Florida and Hawaii on April 26.
But no state works longer for taxes than Connecticut. None. Connecticut works till May 8th.
So, congrads for filing your Federal and State Income taxes, but please get back to work. Most of the nation is counting on you for their livelihood.
Other fun facts.
“Government continues to dominate the American taxpayer’s budget,” said Tax Foundation president Scott Hodge. “Americans will still spend more on taxes in 2008 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.”
In 2008, Americans will work 74 days to afford their federal taxes and 39 more days to pay state and local taxes. Meanwhile, buying food requires 35 days of work, clothing 13 days, and housing 60 days. Other major categories are health and medical care (50 days), transportation (29 days), and recreation (21 days).
Oh, Connecticut residents, don’t get to familiar with that pie chart. You see, it’s for the average citizen of the USA, your share of the tax pie is much much larger.
Think about it, “Americans will still spend more on taxes in 2008 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.”
Gosh! Does that not seem out of wack? Like who works for who here?
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