Congressman Harper on The Morning Show WMOX-Meridian (Video)

Congressman Harper talks taxes, Obamacare and more.

www.ustream.tv/recorded/10175666

Congressman Harper says new job numbers report is "very disappointing"

Congressman Gregg Harper

U.S. Representative Gregg Harper issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the economy shed 95,000 jobs in the month of September.

“Over 18 months ago, American citizens were promised that unemployment would not surpass eight percent if the President’s trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ plan were to become law. Sadly, Mississippi has lost 30,800 jobs since this promise was made.

“Republicans understand that the federal government does not create jobs, businesses do. This is why we urged the Democratic leadership to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts before leaving Washington for the November elections. If the current tax rates are not extended by January 1, 2011, small businesses owners that pay in the 35 percent tax bracket will pay 39.6 percent. To boot, individuals that file in the lowest tax bracket will be subject a 50 percent tax increase, with their rate rising from 10 to 15 percent.

“The federal government should lend a hand to America’s employers, not weigh them down with more heavy tax increases. Today’s report of 95,000 more jobs lost in our country is very disappointing.”

Madison County Schools get boost, may get to keep some teaching positions open.

School district enjoys one-time ‘windfall’

Madison County schools may be able to keep several teaching positions next fall because of a nearly $260,000 one-time windfall.

Leavitt Tube, LLC, owes back taxes dating to 2003. Tax assessor Gerald Barber said an oversight led to the company not paying taxes on its buildings and grounds after a 10-year tax exemption lapsed.

School Superintendent Mike Kent welcomed the good news.

Earlier this month, Kent told The Clarion-Ledger that the district might have to eliminate 40 teaching units to balance the upcoming budget because of cutbacks from the state.

In addition to the back taxes, Barber says the school district can expect Leavitt Tube to pay its yearly taxes from now on. The annual amount, over the past seven years, has ranged from $31,199 to $49,628.

Mississippi Business Journal

Democrats Have Increased Taxes by $670 Billion and Counting…

List Includes 14 Tax Hikes Totaling Over $316 Billion on Middle Class Families.

Since January of 2009, President Obama and Congressional Democrats have enacted into law gross tax increases totaling more than $670 billion, or more than $2,100 for every man, woman and child in the United States. The list of tax increases includes at least 14 violations of the President’s pledge not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than $200,000 for singles and $250,000 for married couples.



TAX INCREASES ENACTED

•New tax on individuals who do not purchase government approved health insurance

•New tax on employers who fail to fully comply with government health insurance mandates*

•New 40% excise tax on certain high cost health plans *

•New ban on the purchase of over the counter drugs using funds from FSAs, HSAs and HRAs*

•Increase the Medicare tax on wages and self employment income by 0.9% and impose a new 3.8% surtax on certain investment income (for individuals over $200,000 and couples over $250,000)

•Increase, from 7.5% to 10% of income, the threshold after which individuals can deduct out of pocket medical expenses*

•Impose a new $2,500 annual cap on FSA contributions *

•New annual tax on health insurance *

•New annual tax on brand name pharmaceuticals *

•New 2.3% excise tax on certain medical devices *

•New 10% tax on indoor UV tanning services *

•New tax on insured and self insured health plans *

•Double the penalty for non qualified HSA distributions *

•Eliminate the deduction for expenses allocable to Medicare Part D subsidy

•Limit the deduction for compensation to officers, employees and directors of certain health insurance providers

•Require information reporting on payments to corporations

•Impose additional requirements for section 501(c)(3) hospitals

•Make “black liquor” ineligible for cellulosic biofuel producer credit

•Codify economic substance doctrine and impose penalties for underpayments

•Tobacco tax increase and expanded enforcement authority*

•Repeal guidance allowing certain taxpayers to claim losses of an acquired corporation

•Federal Unemployment surtaxes extended through June 2011 *

•Delay of rules to reduce the double taxation of worldwide American employers until 2018 (worldwide interest allocation)

•Delay of rules to reduce the double taxation of worldwide American employers until 2021 (worldwide interest allocation)

TOTAL = $670.341 BILLION AND COUNTING…

*VIOLATES PRESIDENT’S PLEDGE TO NOT INCREASE TAXES ON MIDDLE CLASS

Click here to see a breakdown of the numbers from the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee

Regulating the "Rocky Mountain High"

Wonder what John Denver would think about all this? And in a town named Fruita no less!

In Colorado town, vote on sales tax for marijuana

The Associated Press

FRUITA, Colo. -- Voters in the western Colorado town of Fruita are deciding whether to make their town the first in the state to tax medical marijuana.

The City Council decided to ask voters Tuesday whether to impose a 5 percent sales tax on medical marijuana to help the town of about 11,000 cover costs of regulating dispensaries.

City Manager Clint Kinney says the town estimates the most it could possibly generate from the tax is $100,000. Only one application to open a dispensary is pending.

A voter-approved amendment to the Colorado constitution allows limited marijuana use for certain medical conditions but doesn't regulate dispensaries.

Fruita's rules include background checks for dispensary owners.

IRS to Enforce Health Reform

The Internal Revenue Service will function as the government’s chief enforcer for health care reform, monitoring both businesses and individuals to certify whether they have the insurance coverage the government requires.

The tax collection agency will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the individual and employer insurance mandates which form the backbone of the Democrats’ hard-won reforms.

The bill states that the purpose of the mandates is to regulate “economic and financial decisions about how and when health care is paid for, and when health insurance is purchased.”

The mandates require that all Americans carry a minimum level of health insurance or pay a separate tax for every month they are without such coverage. All employers with 50 employers or more will also be required to provide their employees with that same minimum level of coverage.

While that minimum level of coverage will be defined at a later date by the Department of Health and Human Services, it will be the responsibility of the IRS to monitor individuals and employers and to punish those who do not comply.

Under the bill, which passed despite bipartisan opposition March 21, starting in 2014 the IRS would be responsible for monitoring which employers are complying with the mandate and which ones are not. The IRS would begin such monitoring of individuals’ health insurance status in 2014 as well.

The IRS would monitor individuals and businesses’ health insurance statuses through the mandatory reporting the bill requires. Under the law, every individual and most businesses are required to report to the IRS, on their tax returns, whether they have purchased or provided the required level of coverage and disclose to the IRS which months, if any, in which they failed to do so.

Using this information, the IRS would then determine whether an employer or individual falls under the mandate, which contains exceptions for religious conscience, hardship, incarcerated persons, and members of Indian tribes.

If either an individual or a business has failed to comply with this mandate for any month out of the year, they are required to pay a separate tax to the IRS. For individuals this is a maximum of $750 per person (up to $2,250 per household) and $750 per uncovered employee for businesses.

Because these penalties would each apply on a monthly basis, individuals and employers would have to pay 1/12th of the maximum penalties for each month they failed to comply with the mandates.

In order to carry out its new monitoring and enforcement duties, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the IRS will need $10 billion in additional funds, funds which were not made available under the health reform bill.

An analysis done by Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee estimated that this $10 billion could go to fund an additional 16,500 new IRS agents and other personnel to monitor and enforce the new mandates.

“[T]he IRS could add more than 16,500 additional agents, auditors, examiners, and administrative support personnel to enforce large portions of the nation’s health insurance system,” the report said.

The IRS will also be in charge of collecting the new taxes on high cost insurance plans and on so-called unearned income from couples making over $250,000 per year and single filers making over $200,000 per year.

Both of these provisions could be modified should the Senate approve a budget reconciliation measure the House also passed March 21. Whichever final form they take, they are both direct taxes and thus will be directly administered by the IRS.

Because these new mandates and taxes are under the purview of the IRS, taxpayers and businesses could incur additional penalties normally reserved for normal income tax cheats, paying fees over and above those for not complying with Congress’ new mandates.

The IRS currently charges potentially hefty penalties for, among other things, filing false or fraudulent returns, filing late returns, and failure to pay a tax on time.

Taxpayers and businesses could be hit with these extra penalties because they are required to use their tax returns to prove to the IRS that they are complying with the mandates and because they will have to pay any tax penalties to that agency as well.

CNS News