Tag: taxes

Governments Are Parasites, They Produce No Value, Just Consume It

The war in Ukraine is an example of this: It is to the advantage of the major players on both “sides” to keep the war going on for as long as possible, while keeping the heads of the mafias (Obama, Putin) in their places of power. Biden, and now Harris (both obvious puppets, whose puppeteer is Obama) have always talked about keeping Ukraine “in the fight” – but not winning the war. Doing the latter means the game ends and the opportunities for both mafias to suck money out of the populations on which they are parasites ends as well – in Russia, by outright theft (Shoigu just won top honors in this competition), and in America/the “West” by fraud (those $1000 toilet seats and trillion dollar “defense” budgets – with “national security” to cover up the crime ). War is the ultimate consumer economy – materiel and troops are consumed and destroyed, producing a need to supply more, which is a way to increase profits, and decrease the number of people in the lower classes who can suck up government money – or keep their own. As General Smedley Butler (USMC – Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children) once said, “War is a racket” – https://ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.pdf – nearly a century ago, and it’s still true. Putin does still have competent generals to head things up that he hasn’t outright killed like Prigozhin and Utkin – Popov and Strelkov are in jail, someplace, and Surovikin is wandering around in the wilds of Africa – but they’d finish the war and the carnival of greed, theft, and fraud, and that just can’t be allowed to happen… He did shitcan Gerasimov, the incompetence just became too blatant and out in the open – and so Putin is anxiously casting about for “generals” whose incompetence isn’t at the star level of Gerasimov… the idea is to keep the game going, because that’s where the money is, as Willie Sutton, the famous bank robber, put it so long ago.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were kept going for twenty years, but never won, even though that was fully possible in both places – and quickly. If you look at Sun Tzu, it’s obvious that sending over 150,000 troops would never win the war – it would have taken ten times that number – and that’s obvious to me and Niall Ferguson, as I said in a conversation with a friend 15 years ago. “Mission creep” just means that the usual games are being played, the goal is to keep the game going for as long as the host populations ( the populations that feed the parasitical governments) can be convinced to stand for it.

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5 Years of Chicago Police Misconduct Cost Taxpayers Almost $400 Million

Over the past five years, Chicago taxpayers have forked over nearly $400 million to resolve lawsuits stemming from officer misconduct, according to a new analysis of city data. While around 1,300 police officers were named in the lawsuits, just 200 were responsible for more than 40 percent of the total cost. 

This week, Chicago PBS station WTTW released the results of an extensive analysis of Chicago police misconduct lawsuits. The investigation, which covered payouts from 2019 to 2023, found that city taxpayers footed the bill for $384.2 million in settlements, damages, lawyer fees, and other payouts. Repeat offenders—200 of them—were named in lawsuits that made up $164.3 million of the cost. In total, the city paid to resolve 539 lawsuits over the period studied.

WTTW’s analysis also found that a single officer, Sgt. Jerald Williams, was responsible for a staggering $1.4 million in lawsuit payouts, including $850,000 awarded to a victim whom Williams “slammed…to the pavement” after being stopped for drinking in 2019. 

The city should have known that Williams was a liability. According to WTTW, he’s had 22 misconduct complaints filed against him throughout his career. Police department officials had recommended his suspension several times for using unnecessary force.

Despite the serious—and expensive—misconduct allegation against Williams, he was promoted and given a raise just a year after the suit that named him was resolved, according to WTTW. 

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Nebraska Bill To Levy 30% Tax On Consumable Hemp Products Advances Out Of Committee

A legislative committee in Nebraska has advanced a sweeping tax bill that would, among other changes, impose a 30 percent sales tax on “consumable hemp” and CBD products. The proposal, broadly aimed at providing property tax relief, will now be considered by the full legislature.

On Monday, lawmakers on the Revenue Committee passed the bill, LB 34, on a 6–1 vote. The tax package combines various proposals that have been introduced during the state’s special legislative session, called by Gov. Jim Pillen (R) last month to deal with the property tax issue.

As approved by the committee, the bill would set a 30 percent sales tax on “consumable hemp products,” defined as finished products that contain hemp and that contain no more than 0.3 percent THC. Hemp products made from stalks or seed—that is, for fiber or food use—would not be included in the definition, nor would pharmaceuticals approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Revenue Committee chair Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R), who has played a central role in the tax discussion, first introduced the 30 percent hemp tax two weeks ago, in an earlier bill she sponsored. A separate proposal she introduced during the regular legislative session would have taxed consumable hemp and CBD at 100 percent, a rate that was later reduced to 25 percent before the underlying bill fizzled out.

“The 100% tax was unworkable for CBD companies in our state. They were concerned it would drive them out of business,” Sen. Anna Wishart (D), who’s backed past efforts to end marijuana prohibition in the state, told Marijuana Moment in an email at the time. “In talking with representatives from a group of CBD companies in the state, I worked with them and other senators to negotiate the tax down to 25%.”

The rate is now at 30 percent in the bill moving to the floor.

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VP Kamala Harris Cast Tie-Breaking Vote to Let IRS Track Workers’ Tips so They Can Be Taxed

Vice President Kamala Harris — who on Saturday copied a campaign promise first announced by former President Donald Trump to eliminate taxes on tips — voted in 2022 to pass legislation that allowed the IRS to track down workers’ tips so that they could be taxed.

On August 7, 2022, Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act that provided $80 billion in additional funding to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which then got to work cracking down on the service industry’s reporting of tips so that they could be taxed.

“Two years ago today, I proudly cast the tie-breaking vote to pass our Inflation Reduction Act,” Harris’s Facebook account reminded the public on Wednesday, sharing a video of the vice president voting to pass the legislation.

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We are wasting $2 trillion a year chasing ‘green’ fantasies

Despite much hype, the much-vaunted green energy transition away from fossil fuels isn’t happening.

Achieving a meaningful shift with current policies turns out to be unaffordable. We need to drastically change policy direction. 

Globally, we are already spending almost $2 trillion annually to try to force an energy transition. Over the past decade, solar and wind energy use have increased to their highest-ever levels.

But it hasn’t reduced fossil fuels — on the contrary, we have added even more fossil fuels over the same time. 

Countless studies show that when societies add more renewable energy, most of it never replaces coal, gas or oil. It simply adds to energy consumption. Recent research shows that for every six units of new green energy, less than one unit displaces any fossil fuel. Analysis in the United States shows that renewable energy subsidies simply lead to more overall energy being used.

In other words, policies meant to boost green energy are leading to more emissions.

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US To Release $3.5 Billion in Military Assistance for Israel

The State Department is set to release $3.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing to Israel. The massive transfer of funds comes as the White House is asking Israel to investigate claims of rape in its detention centers for Palestinians.

CNN reported speaking with multiple officials who confirmed the funds will be released. The money was allocated by Congress in the $95 billion foreign military aid bill that included $61 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.

Foreign Military Financing (FMF) is a State Department program that gives US taxpayer dollars to foreign governments to purchase weapons from American arms dealers. However, Tel Aviv is allowed to use some of the FMF funds on Israeli-made weapons.

As the funds are used to contract with arms deals, the weapons are typically not delivered immediately.

Israel is heavily dependent on the US to arm its military, giving Washington significant leverage over Tel Aviv. Over the ten-month Israeli onslaught in Gaza, the White House has resisted domestic pressure to condition arm sales to Israel.

The release of funds will likely be viewed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a green light for Israel to continue its brutal treatment of the Palestinians.

One point where the White House could have used the FMF funds as leverage is to push Israel to investigate the rape occurring in its detention facilities. Late last month, Israeli military police arrested several soldiers accused of using sodomy as a means of torture that left the victim bleeding and unable to walk.

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Kamala’s VP Wannabe Tim Walz Levied WHOPPING 95% Tax on Zyn.

Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), tapped as Kamala Harris‘s running mate in the upcoming presidential election, approved an astonishing 95 percent tax on Zyn, the popular tobacco-free nicotine product, in the North Star State this year. Previously, the tax on “moist snuff” did not include Zyn, as it contains no tobacco, but the law was amended to gouge users of Zyn and “similar tobacco-free product[s] containing nicotine” in May.

The tax on cigars, including premium cigars, smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes, and vapor products in Minnesota is also set at 95 percent.

As Governor, Walz has created a new payroll tax, raised taxes on retail deliveries, motor vehicle sales, corporate income tax, and net investment income, and reduced itemized deductions. He also greenlit local sales and purchase taxes in the seven-county metro area surrounding the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

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Number of illegal cigarettes in Ireland hits 10 year high as one in five packs smuggled in

The level of illegal cigarettes in Ireland was at its highest level in over a decade last year with almost 1 in 5 packs smuggled into the country, according to research by Revenue.

However, there is no evidence of any counterfeit tobacco products being sold to consumers in the Republic.

The latest annual survey commissioned by the tax authorities to assess the scale of illegal tobacco products being sold in the Republic found 19% of cigarette packs analysed last year were classified as illegal. It is the highest rate since the annual survey was introduced in 2009 and up from 17% the previous year.

Revenue has estimated the potential loss to the Exchequer from the consumption of 32.9 million illegal cigarette packs last year is approximately €422 million – up €38 million on 2022 estimates.

However, the survey found that none of the illegal packs detected last year were counterfeit cigarettes. The figure for counterfeit tobacco products had peaked at 7% in 2021.

The survey showed 99% of illegal packs analysed in 2023 were categorised as “contraband” – normal commercial brands of cigarettes which were bought either duty paid or duty-free abroad and smuggled into Ireland. The remaining 1% of illegal packs were “illicit whites” which are classified as cigarettes manufactured for the sole purpose of being sold illegally in another market.

The level of cigarettes brought into the country from abroad by smokers for personal use was also at its highest ever rate last year. The survey found 15% of cigarette packs were legal but without duty paid in Ireland which indicates they were legally purchased in another jurisdiction and brought into Ireland by the smoker.

The rate had been below 10% for most of the past decade. “The 2023 results suggest that the prevalence of both illegal and legal non-Irish duty paid packs has increased in recent years,” said Revenue.

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Kentucky Governor Plans To Collect Sales Tax On Gold And Silver Despite New Law

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has decided he’s going to continue collecting sales tax on the sale of gold and silver despite a new law repealing the levy and an attorney general opinion calling his line-item veto of the provision unconstitutional.

Only five other states levy a sales tax on gold and silver.

Initially, Rep. Steven Doan and Rep. John Hodgson introduced a standalone bill to repeal the sales and use tax on gold and silver bullion. The provisions were later inserted into House Bill 8 (HB8), an omnibus revenue and tax bill. 

The provisions in HB8 define “bullion” as “bars, ingots, or coins, which are made of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or a combination of these metals, valued based on the content of the metal and not its form and used, or have been used, as a medium of exchange, security, or commodity by any state, the United States government, or a foreign nation.” Currency is defined as “a coin or currency made of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or other metal or paper money that is or has been used as legal tender and is sold based on its value as a collectible item rather than the value as a medium of exchange.”

The House passed the bill 87-9 and the Senate approved the measure 34-0.

Gov. Beshear signed the bill but used a line-item veto to strike out the sales tax exemption for gold and silver. 

“If you own gold, you can afford to pay sales tax,” Beshear wrote in his veto message. “Tangible goods are the primary basis of the sales tax.”

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US-Ukraine-Russian War: It’s About the Money

Well, “the cat is out of the bag, now.” Thanks to US Senator Lindsey Graham, everyone knows one of the more compelling reasons behind the Ukraine war with Russia. And it has little to do with Kiev’s “agency,” “democracy,” and “liberalism.” The latter are merely ‘talking points’ for public consumption – what Noam Chomsky and Ed Hermann called ‘manufactured consent’ in their 1988 seminal work on propaganda, Manufacturing Consent.

Lindsey Graham voiced out loud part of an agenda that is usually hidden from public view or the media – it isn’t talked about (admitted) openly. It’s a veritable “gold mine,” Graham confessed, and America can’t afford to lose control of it. Here’s the translation of Graham’s admission:

It’s About the Money.

Our reliably hawkish Republican Senator is well known for provocative statements. As early as 2022 (at the beginning of the Ukraine war) Graham was all in for regime change in Russia, when everyone else in the West was trying to downplay such a prospect. Moreover, he is quoted as saying at a press conference with Zylensky that “Russians are dying” in the war, while US aid was the “best money we’ve ever spent.”

But with the panache and subtlety of a train wreck the good senator created another stir recently, admitting on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” why Russia must not be allowed to prevail in Ukraine. The latter possesses $10 to $12 trillion worth of rich deposits of critical minerals.

Here are Senator Graham’s reasons justifying the necessity of Kiev (i.e. Washington) winning its fight with Moscow. First, the Kremlin’s access to these deposits would enrich Russia and allow via the Kremlin, China’s participation. Second, if Ukraine retains control over the minerals, it could be “the richest country in all of Europe” and “the best business partner we ever dreamed of.” Third, the outcome of the war in Ukraine is a “very big deal” for the US from an economic standpoint. Thus, Graham is saying that Ukraine’s war is “a war we can’t afford to lose.”

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