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[IndeedProceed]

Interceptor - every political post you make is: Democrats will do the right thing, but will Republicans? I can respond with: No Boehner will eventually get a compromise, but will Obama? It doesn't add anything.

Here's some insight into why Obama MAY NOT be able to get compromise from his own side: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/111312-633331-liberals-willing-to-send-country-off-fiscal-cliff.htm

Basically they have structural political advantages and can blame Republicans for any problems (and their media advantage will do the rest.)

Are you guys having a partisan-off?

The biggest problem I see is Norquist's pledge, and that seems to be in decline as a possible hurdle going forward. Less than 40 in the Senate and fewer than 218 in the House.

Seems like the time should be right for both parties to play nice for a year and a half.

[Interceptor]

Interceptor - every political post you make is: Democrats will do the right thing, but will Republicans?

What can I say? Reality has a well-known liberal bias. Republicans are trying to force things into law, which they don't actually have the votes for.

Here's some insight into why Obama MAY NOT be able to get compromise from his own side: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/111312-633331-liberals-willing-to-send-country-off-fiscal-cliff.htm

Basically they have structural political advantages and can blame Republicans for any problems (and their media advantage will do the rest.)

As evidence that Obama can't get a compromise from his own side, this article lists a fusillade of people who are neither Congressmen nor Senators. There is also no impending election, as we just had one.

We can have a discussion about Paul Krugman's point (which essentially comes down to "no more blackmail"), but we can't have a discussion about Krugman's vote, since he doesn't have one.

[Donoghus]

Interceptor - every political post you make is: Democrats will do the right thing, but will Republicans? I can respond with: No Boehner will eventually get a compromise, but will Obama? It doesn't add anything.

Here's some insight into why Obama MAY NOT be able to get compromise from his own side: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/111312-633331-liberals-willing-to-send-country-off-fiscal-cliff.htm

Basically they have structural political advantages and can blame Republicans for any problems (and their media advantage will do the rest.)

Are you guys having a partisan-off?

The biggest problem I see is Norquist's pledge, and that seems to be in decline as a possible hurdle going forward. Less than 40 in the Senate and fewer than 218 in the House.

Seems like the time should be right for both parties to play nice for a year and a half.

I sure as heck Norquist's pledge becomes irrelevant.

That thing has been detrimental as heck to this country, IMO.

[LooseCannon]

Democrats can just let the Bush tax cuts expire.  Republicans have the option of fighting that on behalf of millionaires or agreeing to accept that peacefully and winning some concessions on other issues in exchange for not being a nuisance.

Since Democrats control the White House and half of Congress, I'd suggest a fair compromise is probably somewhat to the left of center rather than right down the middle.

To get some of those entitlement cuts that Republicans desperately want, I think they should be required to agree to limit defense spending beyond the sequestration cuts.  What's more likely, Obama getting a few Senate Democrats to accept changes to Medicare or Boehner getting a few House Republicans to accept deeper national security spending cuts?

[Interceptor]

^ That's basically the argument. The Democrats can leave this one to inertia, if they want.

The "fiscal cliff" isn't actually a cliff at all. This isn't like the debt ceiling, where there were immediate and predictable consequences to missing the deadline. The economic damage from letting this bomb go off, will take time to accumulate, and at any time they can reverse it by coming to an agreement on taxes/spending. The politics of this one favor the Democrats.


This actually impacts me personally.... the IRS is dragging its feet on a lot of tax-related things that normally come out this time of year, because of the uncertainty of the 2013 tax situation. I'm looking at a lot of extra work in terms of software changes once they come to an agreement. 

[D.o.s.]

The House Republicans don't really have enough leverage to force a real stand off, and they can't "do nothing" because then all the tax cuts (for all tax brackets) will expire at the same time--which seems to elicit "this is a bad thing" responses from every economist I've read, regardless of affiliation.

[nickagneta]

I think it behooves the RNC to tell their people to compromise quickly on this and allow just the Bush cuts to expire on those making above a certain level($150K or $250K).

The Bush tax cuts expire and they do not have the power to stop that.

Most Americans(I have seen polls with numbers as high as 70%) are for tax increases for the $250K+ income bracket.

Compromising on this saves tax increases on most Americans and the Republicans can at the very least twist it that they were responsible for stopping those increases and that it was the Democrats that wanted to increase taxes on everyone. Or they can give in and get some entitlement spending cuts that would make their base extremely happy.

Heck a freeze on Medicaid spending for the next 4 years would make me happy. Drug testing on Medicaid recipients would also make me happy. A tripling of the funds to investigate Medicaid fraud would make me happy(this funding usually produces more fraud savings than money spent on the funding in the first place). I also know this is a big one but, I think the easiest way to investigate Medicaid fraud is through medical records. I think Medicaid recipients should release all medical records to the government. If the government is paying the bill, why shouldn't they have access to the records to investigate fraud?

[Rondo2287]

I think it behooves the RNC to tell their people to compromise quickly on this and allow just the Bush cuts to expire on those making above a certain level($150K or $250K).

The Bush tax cuts expire and they do not have the power to stop that.

Most Americans(I have seen polls with numbers as high as 70%) are for tax increases for the $250K+ income bracket.

Compromising on this saves tax increases on most Americans and the Republicans can at the very least twist it that they were responsible for stopping those increases and that it was the Democrats that wanted to increase taxes on everyone. Or they can give in and get some entitlement spending cuts that would make their base extremely happy.

Heck a freeze on Medicaid spending for the next 4 years would make me happy. Drug testing on Medicaid recipients would also make me happy. A tripling of the funds to investigate Medicaid fraud would make me happy(this funding usually produces more fraud savings than money spent on the funding in the first place). I also know this is a big one but, I think the easiest way to investigate Medicaid fraud is through medical records. I think Medicaid recipients should release all medical records to the government. If the government is paying the bill, why shouldn't they have access to the records to investigate fraud?

I'm in favor of people making over 250K getting a tax incease if  their income doesnt come through pass through entities or as a result of sole proprietorships.

Basically, tax the fatcats on wall stret.  Don't tax those that put themselves on the line to start a company.

[nickagneta]

I think it behooves the RNC to tell their people to compromise quickly on this and allow just the Bush cuts to expire on those making above a certain level($150K or $250K).

The Bush tax cuts expire and they do not have the power to stop that.

Most Americans(I have seen polls with numbers as high as 70%) are for tax increases for the $250K+ income bracket.

Compromising on this saves tax increases on most Americans and the Republicans can at the very least twist it that they were responsible for stopping those increases and that it was the Democrats that wanted to increase taxes on everyone. Or they can give in and get some entitlement spending cuts that would make their base extremely happy.

Heck a freeze on Medicaid spending for the next 4 years would make me happy. Drug testing on Medicaid recipients would also make me happy. A tripling of the funds to investigate Medicaid fraud would make me happy(this funding usually produces more fraud savings than money spent on the funding in the first place). I also know this is a big one but, I think the easiest way to investigate Medicaid fraud is through medical records. I think Medicaid recipients should release all medical records to the government. If the government is paying the bill, why shouldn't they have access to the records to investigate fraud?

I'm in favor of people making over 250L getting a tax incease if  their income doesnt come through pass through entities or as a result of sole proprietorships.

Basically, tax the fatcats on wall stret.  Don't tax those that put themselves on the line to start a company.

Here's the problem I have with this.

If you own or have owned a small business then you know there is a ton of ways to hide income. Parts of your mortgage becomes business related, you cars become business related, your vacations become business related, your credit card bills become business related, furniture bought for your home becomes office furniture, etc, etc.

There's a ton of ways of doing it.


If you're a smart business owner you are doing this. If you have a great business and are a smart business owner and are making over $250K per year, you are already hiding more income than the measly 5% tax increase is going to cost you.

If you make over $250K as a small business owner chances are you are really making a lot more than that.

Just pay the tax.

[Rondo2287]

I think it behooves the RNC to tell their people to compromise quickly on this and allow just the Bush cuts to expire on those making above a certain level($150K or $250K).

The Bush tax cuts expire and they do not have the power to stop that.

Most Americans(I have seen polls with numbers as high as 70%) are for tax increases for the $250K+ income bracket.

Compromising on this saves tax increases on most Americans and the Republicans can at the very least twist it that they were responsible for stopping those increases and that it was the Democrats that wanted to increase taxes on everyone. Or they can give in and get some entitlement spending cuts that would make their base extremely happy.

Heck a freeze on Medicaid spending for the next 4 years would make me happy. Drug testing on Medicaid recipients would also make me happy. A tripling of the funds to investigate Medicaid fraud would make me happy(this funding usually produces more fraud savings than money spent on the funding in the first place). I also know this is a big one but, I think the easiest way to investigate Medicaid fraud is through medical records. I think Medicaid recipients should release all medical records to the government. If the government is paying the bill, why shouldn't they have access to the records to investigate fraud?

I'm in favor of people making over 250L getting a tax incease if  their income doesnt come through pass through entities or as a result of sole proprietorships.

Basically, tax the fatcats on wall stret.  Don't tax those that put themselves on the line to start a company.

Here's the problem I have with this.

If you own or have owned a small business then you know there is a ton of ways to hide income. Parts of your mortgage becomes business related, you cars become business related, your vacations become business related, your credit card bills become business related, furniture bought for your home becomes office furniture, etc, etc.

There's a ton of ways of doing it.


If you're a smart business owner you are doing this. If you have a great business and are a smart business owner and are making over $250K per year, you are already hiding more income than the measly 5% tax increase is going to cost you.

If you make over $250K as a small business owner chances are you are really making a lot more than that.

Just pay the tax.

Well ya, but the second you check off "home office" on your taxes you become infinitely more likely to be audited. Its one of the big IRS red flags.  I see what you mean Nick and I agree with it, I guess I just figured that kind of tax evasion wasnt as prevalent because of the liklihood for an audit, maybe I overestimated the IRS.

But to a certain extent those people that put themselves at risk deserve some tax breaks in my opinion.  Not to the extent that you are describing but they do deserve some.

[Cman]

Also, it is important to note that it is the *income* above certain thresholds that is subject to the tax increase, so someone making, say, $300K will continue to get the tax break on $250K of his income, and pay slightly higher taxes on $50K of his income.

[Chris]

I think it behooves the RNC to tell their people to compromise quickly on this and allow just the Bush cuts to expire on those making above a certain level($150K or $250K).

The Bush tax cuts expire and they do not have the power to stop that.

Most Americans(I have seen polls with numbers as high as 70%) are for tax increases for the $250K+ income bracket.

Compromising on this saves tax increases on most Americans and the Republicans can at the very least twist it that they were responsible for stopping those increases and that it was the Democrats that wanted to increase taxes on everyone. Or they can give in and get some entitlement spending cuts that would make their base extremely happy.

Heck a freeze on Medicaid spending for the next 4 years would make me happy. Drug testing on Medicaid recipients would also make me happy. A tripling of the funds to investigate Medicaid fraud would make me happy(this funding usually produces more fraud savings than money spent on the funding in the first place). I also know this is a big one but, I think the easiest way to investigate Medicaid fraud is through medical records. I think Medicaid recipients should release all medical records to the government. If the government is paying the bill, why shouldn't they have access to the records to investigate fraud?

I'm in favor of people making over 250K getting a tax incease if  their income doesnt come through pass through entities or as a result of sole proprietorships.

Basically, tax the fatcats on wall stret.  Don't tax those that put themselves on the line to start a company.

OK, question.  Are employee salaries and benefits fully deductable for sole proprietorships?

[Cman]

BTW, here is a list of CEOs that want to see tax revenue increases tied to spending cuts:

Bill Ackman, Founder & CEO, Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P.
Samuel R. Allen, Chairman & CEO, Deere & Company
Richard Anderson, Chief Executive Office, Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corp.
Doug Bergeron, CEO, VeriFone Systems, Inc.
Mark Bertolini, Chairman, CEO & President, Aetna, Inc.
Leon Black, Chairman & CEO, Apollo Global Management, LLC
Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman & CEO, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Glenn Britt, Chairman & CEO, Time Warner Cable Inc.
Greg Brown, Chairman & CEO, Motorola Solutions, Inc.
Nicholas Calio, President & CEO, Airlines for America
Russell Carson, Co-Founder & Gen. Partner, Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe
Marc Casper, President & CEO, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
John Chambers, Chairman, President & CEO, Cisco Systems, Inc.
David Cote, Chairman & CEO, Honeywell International Inc.
Alexander Cutler, Chairman & CEO, Eaton Corp.
Richard Daly, CEO, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
D. Scott Davis, Chairman & CEO, United Parcel Service, Inc.
Steven A. Denning, Chairman, General Atlantic, LLC
Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Scott Donnelly, Chairman, President & CEO, Textron Inc.
Craig Duchossois, CEO, The Duchossois Group, Inc.
Brian Duperreault, President & CEO, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.
Larry D. Fink, Chairman & CEO, BlackRock, Inc.
Martin L. Flanagan, President & CEO, Invesco Ltd.
James Frank, President & CEO, Wheels, Inc.
Kenneth Frazier, Chairman, President & CEO, Merck & Co., Inc.
Paul Fribourg, Chairman, President & CEO, Continental Grain Company
Daniel Fulton, President & CEO, Weyerhaeuser Company
Robert Gasser, President & CEO, Investment Technology Group, Inc.
Donald Gogel, Chairman & CEO, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC
Evan Greenberg, Chairman, President & CEO, ACE Limited
Executive Council, Alcoa Inc.
Jack Leslie, Jr., Chairman, Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Robin Lineberger, CEO, Deloitte Federal Government Services
Andrew Liveris, Chairman, President & CEO, The Dow Chemical Company
Gary Loveman, Chairman, President & CEO, Caesars Entertainment Corp.
Eugene Ludwig, Founder & CEO, Promontory Financial Group
Terry Lundgren, Chairman, President & CEO, Macy's, Inc.
Frederick C. Maynard, III, Managing Director, HarbourVest Partners, LLC
Lowell McAdam, Chairman & CEO, Verizon Communications Inc.
Michael McCallister, Chairman & CEO, Humana Inc.
William McCracken, Chief Executive Officer, CA Technologies, Inc.
John McGlade, Chairman, President & CEO, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
W. James McNerney, Jr., Chairman, President & CEO, The Boeing Company
Thomas L. Monahan, III, Chairman & CEO, The Corporate Executive Board Company
Robert Moritz, Chairman & Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Brian T. Moynihan, President & CEO, Bank of America Corporation
Duncan L. Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer, NYSE Euronext
Douglas Oberhelman, Chairman & CEO, Caterpillar Inc.
Joe Payne, Chairman & CEO, Eloqua
George Paz, Chairman, President & CEO, Express Scripts, Inc.
Joseph Plumeri, II, Chairman & CEO, Willis Group Holdings plc
Thomas J. Quinlan III, President & CEO, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company
Walter Rakowich, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Prologis, Inc.
W. Russell Ramsey, Chairman, President & CEO, Ramsey Asset Management
James Robinson, III, Founding General Partner, RRE Investors, LLC
Brian Rogers, Chairman & Chief Investment Officer, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.
Tom Rogers, CEO & President, TiVo, Inc.
Steven Roth, Chairman, Vornado Realty Trust
Edward Rust, Jr., Chairman, President & CEO, State Farm Mutual
Gregg M. Sherrill, Chairman & CEO, Tenneco, Inc.
Arne M. Sorenson, President & CEO, Marriott International, Inc.
Jerry Speyer, Chairman & Co-CEO, Tishman Speyer
Paul Stebbins, Executive Chairman, World Fuel Services Corporation
Randall Stephenson, Chairman & CEO, AT&T Inc.
Linda Stewart, President & CEO, Interaction Associates
Thomas F. Steyer, Founder & Senior Managing Member, Farallon Capital Mgmt., LLC
Andrew Tisch, Co-Chairman of the Board, Loews Corp.
James Tisch, President & CEO, Loews Corp.
Frits van Paasschen, President & CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Mark Walsh, Chairman & CEO, GeniusRocket
Gregory Wasson, President & CEO, Walgreen Co.
Wendell Weeks, Chairman & CEO, Corning Inc.
Michael White, Chairman, President & CEO, DIRECTV
Robert Wilmers, Chairman & CEO, M&T Bank
Thomas Wilson, Chairman, President & CEO, The Allstate Corporation

http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/25/news/economy/ceos-taxes-debt/index.html?iid=EL

[InfiniteMH]

President's press conference starting now

[Rondo2287]

I think it behooves the RNC to tell their people to compromise quickly on this and allow just the Bush cuts to expire on those making above a certain level($150K or $250K).

The Bush tax cuts expire and they do not have the power to stop that.

Most Americans(I have seen polls with numbers as high as 70%) are for tax increases for the $250K+ income bracket.

Compromising on this saves tax increases on most Americans and the Republicans can at the very least twist it that they were responsible for stopping those increases and that it was the Democrats that wanted to increase taxes on everyone. Or they can give in and get some entitlement spending cuts that would make their base extremely happy.

Heck a freeze on Medicaid spending for the next 4 years would make me happy. Drug testing on Medicaid recipients would also make me happy. A tripling of the funds to investigate Medicaid fraud would make me happy(this funding usually produces more fraud savings than money spent on the funding in the first place). I also know this is a big one but, I think the easiest way to investigate Medicaid fraud is through medical records. I think Medicaid recipients should release all medical records to the government. If the government is paying the bill, why shouldn't they have access to the records to investigate fraud?

I'm in favor of people making over 250K getting a tax incease if  their income doesnt come through pass through entities or as a result of sole proprietorships.

Basically, tax the fatcats on wall stret.  Don't tax those that put themselves on the line to start a company.

OK, question.  Are employee salaries and benefits fully deductable for sole proprietorships?

I believe so since they are a trade and business expense.  But they have to be reasonable, for instance the owner of a sole proprietorship can't pay his 4 year old son 65K to be a janitor to lower Net Income.