As most sport fans know our professional sports players pay Federal Income Tax. They also pay State Tax. However did you know they pay the STATE TAX to the state they earn the money in. Not necessarily their home state. Let’s say a Eli Manning plays a game at Indianapolis. The money he earned for that game is taxed by the state of Indiana. (I can only assume local city, county, etc. taxes are also collected). Can you imagine the tax nightmare? Does he have to prepare a tax form for every state he earns money. Does this include personal appearances also? But here comes the rub. I recently read..Pius Heinz, a German poker player won $8,715,636.oo in the WORLD SERIES OF POKER, in Las Vegas TAX FREE !!!! Martin Stazko of the Czech Republic the second place finisher won $5,433,080.oo. Neither of these men will pay tax on any of this 14 million plus earnings. However third place winner, Ben Lamb a resident of the good old USA will have to pay approximately $1,524,011.oo on his $4,021039.oo Fourth place finisher Mark Gianetti, another USA Citizen won $3,012,700.oo but will have to surrender $1,524,642.oo to the Federal Government. Granted the 2 nd place winner will have to pay taxes in his native Czech Republic. Due to Germany’s tax exempt gambling law, Herr Heinz will pay NO TAXES. That is almost $14 million of U.S. Currency leaving the country, with no return to our treasury. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this? I sure do. This Is How I See It. Views: 891
Tag: Taxes
Parents Must Pay For Bus Ride To School
Franklin Township in central Indiana sold school buses to an independent firm for $1. Now parents of the children in this district have a choice to make. Take them to school, and pick them up. (Which would have been impossible for me as a working single parent). Let them walk in the dark of the morning. Dark because Supreme Ruler Mitch Daniels, deemed Indiana, a state which lines up in the CENTRAL time zone, observe ATLANTIC time (AKA Eastern DAYLIGHT SAVINGS time). Which puts Indiana residents 2 hours ahead of the sun. Thus children walking in the dark to school. Or, PAY about $475.oo a year for the first student in the family, with a discount for other children of the family. From what I read a family of 2 students will pay $900.oo So, the way I figure it the rest of the families students ride for $425.oo each. That means a family who is either living on unemployment, or welfare, or working and earning the minimum wage will really have little choice, but to make them walk, and risk being kidnapped. Hit by a car or truck or/and harmed in some way. Heck it would be a drain on any family. By the time you clothe, and pay at least a couple of dollars for school lunches, extra curricular fees, and book rentals. Plus the BUS fee of approximately $50.oo, per sport, per student participant imposed on them. This all started when the Franklin Township school board decided they wanted more money than was available and wanted to raise taxes. The referendum was voted down. So, it seems to me their reaction, was an immature…We’ll make you pay one way or the other! Other schools, faced the same cost cutting measures, and most have met the cuts needed without any repercussions. The most penalties, school districts have made is a modest bus fee for sports, and extra curricular activities. But in some areas the business people have donated the money to cover those fees. A pride in their communities. Some schools/sports are putting on charity events to cover these costs. These are public schools using tax payer money. What effect will this have on the community? Will people move away? Will business close due to lack of customers, or workforce. With a drop in enrollment also comes a drop in state funds. The formula is so convoluted, I’m surprised a lawyer can figure it out. But the way it seems to me, a smaller school get less money from the state than a larger school. (Which seems a little unfair). Each day or part thereof missed by a student equals a deduction in the amount received by that school. I’ve rambled on too long. What it appears we have here is a very greedy school system which has little empathy with the well being of the community children and a lust for more money. It would serve them right if everyone moved out of their district, (which I know they either can’t or won’t). I believe it is time for the voters, community leaders, and parents, take back the school system. It seems apparent to me the school board has no concern about their students. Will the harm the children face walking to school in the dark. Or the hardship put on families affect the members. Probably not. The only thing that will affect them is a loss of MONIES. Could this happen to your children? Is your community next? That Is How I See It. have been Views: 143
Legalize Marijuana?
Legalize marijuana or not legalize marijuana. That is the question. We have heard this argument for many years. Does it really matter? I must admit I have never tried it so maybe I fail to see the advantage, or disadvantage here. From what I understand drugs like marijuana have been used in many different rites during the course of our history. The American Indian supposedly used this or a similar drug in some of their ceremonial rites. The tribes of Africa used similar drugs for the same reason. For all I know our forefathers may have participated in this type of rites, or maybe even recreational purposes. Perhaps the medicinal uses were known way back when. I remember hearing of our ancestors, and even royalty abroad having snuff boxes. (And it wasn’t for tobacco snuff). No! I don’t know the answer. What I do know is this. If it is legalized, our Government will be able to get a piece of the action, (money) . The cost will most likely go down. Thus crime created by trying to get marijuana should go down. I suppose these would all be pluses, and I can’t really think of any minuses; other than there will always be those who have no legal claim to buy marijuana. Also if it is legalized, will growers be monitored like the existing drug companies, like Eli-Lily. If it is legalized will insurance companies pay for it. How much more will this cost us, the consumer in increased insurance premiums. And how will it affect hiring practices of business. There is mass impacts involved here. I’m sure more than I can foresee. Finally let me insert my personal observation. People already take legal drugs, illegally. I know of one young lady who stole a doctors prescription pad, and wrote her own prescriptions. This was many years ago, and the doctors signature would be impressed on the sheets below it. Do doctors now take measures to prevent this? I also know of people who will steal a relatives much needed medication out of their medicine cabinet. Without regard to the relatives health. I also know peoples homes are broken into for the purpose of finding legal drugs. Legal or not people will get their hands on them and use them illegally. MOOT POINT. Does it really matter if it is or is not legal. The government will benefit by getting a portion of the proceeds. That Is How I See It. more than involved Views: 209
Obama’s Administration Other Face
As most of you know, for years the war of State Vs Religion has been waged. With the leadership, or backing, however you see it; of the aclu, (Anti Christian Lawyers Union), God is slowly being removed from the USA. The USA was founded on a basis of “FREEDOM OF RELIGION” as I have stated in other posts. (See “Hope You Had A Happy 4th). Our current president (I use the lower case here, as I find it very hard to respect the man elected to lead us). Mr. Obama claims to be a Christian, but actions speak louder than words. (You have all heard that before). What brought about this posting? I was just made aware that, this administration which has had it’s share, or more, of anti Christian moves; HOWEVER, has given $770,000,000.oo to reconstruct Moslem Mosques, in the Middle East. Am I the only one who has a problem with this? This administration with a leader with Muslim ties, an administration who continues to back the loss of our freedoms, an administration that misinterprets, our Constitution, and insists on NO support of any kind of religion, will give this huge amount to support the Muslim religion in foreign countries. We are also supporting them by building their INTERNET system. This is fine with me. I just wonder what the rogue muslims, (note no capital here either, as I do not believe them to be devout muslims), will do with internet access. As an American, I have no problem with Muslims in general, just as I have no problem with the Jews. We all believe in the same GOD, we just have different views of our Messiah, (if you will). Do you see a the other face of our administration? No religion, in USA, Support religion in other countries. They justify this action as “….building foreign relations…” That Is How I See It find find find Views: 614
Cop Paid For Viewing Child Porn
Illinois State cop, (now RETIRED), was arrested and convicted of “viewing child porn; while on duty, and using his state issued laptop computer. I know some government employees get in trouble, maybe even fired for viewing personal emails, on the job. Even in the business world, people are fired for using company computers for personal business on company time. They call this THEFT of time. Anyway what we have here is a blatant misuse of taxpayer time and money. WHY did he turn to child pornography while on duty? Because, he said “I was bored.” So he paid $99 a month for a subscription to the porn site. Used STATE owned property while in a STATE owned vehicle, while receiving a STATE wage; to get his jollies looking at innocent little children doing whatever. Of course he was found guilty. This man who we look to as an example, received the following sentence. Sixty (60) days in jail. Thirty (30) months probation. A fine of $2000.oo, and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. THIS is CHILD PORNOGRAPHY folks!!!!. not just your usual smut. Do we have a double standard here? I read of one man charged with distributing Child Pornography, received a 40 year sentence. I agree they are not exactly the same, and the distributor should probably receive more time. But is there that much difference? I think he gets to keep his retirement benefits. From what I could gather there was no mention of this. Oh, yes. He is said to be set free in 4 weeks. Time served, and good time, being subtracted from the 60 days. Just another example of how our police state works. Police are not held to the same standards as you or I. However let us not forget. Police are supposed to be respected, and set the example. I’ll bet the good people of Illinois are not so happy to see their tax dollars at work this way. Do you think a non-government official would receive this light a sentence. NO! I don’t. That Is How I See It. know some Views: 493
Foreclosures Down
Government reports FORECLOSURES are down for the seventh straight month. Well that makes sense. After all the foreclosures began, what, 3 years ago at extremely high rates. The wealthy bought these foreclosures for pennies on the dollar. Three years of foreclosures, eventually the supply of houses to foreclose on has to drop. After 3 years of foreclosures we are probably getting down the the last of the people who still have jobs, and are able to make their payments. Let me point out that not all foreclosures were due to the actual mortgage payment. Many were due to our government greed. Like my house the government raised my taxable property value to twice the actual market value. Which meant I was paying 12.85 times more than my neighbors. I was told the reason my taxes were so much higher is because my house is brick. Not a brick facade, but 3 brick thick. This raised my mortgage payments by over $250.00 a month. Now my Income did not match that kind of increase. Eventually my attorneys, advised me to spend the money for an independent appraisal. This showed the true market value. I took it to the clerks office for an appeal. I won and they finally lowered my tax value to my market value. I was still paying more than my neighbors. Then a year ago,, they finally reached the levels my neighbors were paying. But now with property values falling all around. (In fact our county government raised our tax rate because the property values had fallen so much. But my house remained the same as 3 years ago when they agreed to the independent appraisal value. So my property tax is on the rise. (good thing I always pay extra to my escrow account), But back to the foreclosures, the report said that ONLY 69,532 houses were foreclosed last month. Isn’t that still quite a few houses. Fewer houses to foreclose equals fewer foreclosures. Now that the wealthy have the foreclosed houses, they are more people are renting. According to the recent report I read RENTS, are rising more than the cost of owning a house which is finally falling. We’ll just have to see where this trend takes us. Sorry if this was hard to follow. BUT anyway That Is How I See It. more than Views: 99
Dollars equal Taxes
Have any of you considered how much tax is generated by a single dollar bill over it’s life? If anyone knows will you please let men know? Say I make $1 a day. Out of this dollar I pay taxes. First right off the top is Federal Income Tax, FICA, State Income tax, and Local Option tax. I’m probably forgetting something here (remember I haven’t had a check in 3 years now. Then we have State sales tax, property tax, excise tax, wheel tax, we pay sales tax on anything we buy except some food. We have gas tax, NOT just STATE, FEDERAL, (don’t forget the sales tax here too) and we have road tax. There are probably, I’ll bet taxes we do not know we pay. So now you take all these taxes on my dollar, multiply it by everyone who gets my dollar. Because they have to pay these same taxes. You know I think could retire on the tax that only one dollar makes. That Is How I See It. they have Views: 150
Property Tax Capped? Raise Rates
Our state implemented a 1.1% cap on property taxes about 3 years ago. The 1.1% is of appraised value. (You have to watch what the governments appraised value is. The last time they appraised my property at 2 times the market value. I had to pay for a private appraisal, and file for a hearing to get the proper appraised value). Anyhow, the people were happy with the cap. After all the government had previously did away with business inventory tax, not to mention the tax abatement that big business received. Finally, We The People, were receiving some relief from the higher taxes we were paying to offset the breaks business was getting. WRONG!! it was just announced in our local paper the County Government has decided, (now get this). Due to the many foreclosed homes, and the decreased value of property, it is deemed necessary to raise the tax rate. That means the assessed value tax stays at 1.1% we just pay a higher rate on that 1.1%. We were paying “$ X” per $1000,oo appraised value. Now we will pay #$ 2X” per $1000.oo appraised value. “Gotcha again” says the Government. That Is How I See It. Views: 130
State Looks to Raise Gas Tax
Our state. like most states, is looking for more money. With our unemployment above 9%. Where do you go. The solution they think of is raising GAS TAX. Earlier our Government was telling us to combat high prices drive less. Then we had the clunker thing. (All that accomplished was taking many a vehicle the lower income people could afford to buy and do necessary travel), out of service. Now Our State Servants, have an attitude of: if we need money add taxes, or increase taxes, or somehow get the people pay for it. An Aside here. I just looked and our Servants in the state capital make in excess of $30,000 a year for about 2 months of service. Not bad for a part time job. Any way now with less gas sales due to the economy, and as I see it Price Gouging by the greedy oil companies. Price in our state is now, as I write, is $3.55 9/10 a gallon for regular. We pay sales tax on gas at the rate of 7% (supposedly pre-tax STATE and Federal), we don’t know for sure as it is figured in at the pump. We presently pay 18% a gallon State tax. With 18.4% Federal tax. I’m not a mathematician so I won’t TAX my brain to figure out what the untaxed price of gasoline is. Just guessing total tax Federal what 65 cents, a gal. and about the same for State. That takes the price to what about $2.25 per gal. which would make us paying about 15 cents per gallon sales tax. Hmmm. Looks to me like the Government is making more per gallon than the dealer. So right now it appears that our State government is making about 80 cents a gallon from taxes. That with no expenses. I say no expenses but the dealer gets maybe a penny or two for collecting the sales tax. Will our state be satisfied making $1.00 a gallon. That would be about a 20 cent hike in taxes. Like I said our state likes taxes. You pay tax on everything you buy, rent, use, sell, earn, we even pay sales tax on every game we bowl. Use less gas. Pay more taxes per gallon. Combat greedy oil companies use less gas, they raise their price so they can live the high life at our expense. To me we taxpayers are in a no win situation. Government and Oil Companies are going to maintain their profits plus, regardless of the hardship it brings the people. Perhaps the hardest people hit by this is the people out of work and the retired person who has lost his savings due to the economy. For these people it is like locking them in their homes. Limited income will only stretch so far. When gas prices rise, so do prices of food, and about everything else. The increased cost of production and transportation has to be absorbed somewhere, (we the consumers). Oh and a bonus for the STATE increased price means more sales tax money. That Is How I See It. Views: 143
New Car or Old Car
My newest vehicle, other than my motorcycle, and project sports car. My daily driver is a 1995 Ford Explorer. I don’t know how many miles it has on it. The odometer doesn’t work. It had 150,000 miles on it when I bought it 3 years ago. I know I average 20 miles a gallon with it. I chase my kids and their kids in sports. I bought the Explorer 3 years ago, and have put about 75,000 miles on it. I paid $1500.00 for it then. I pay the minimum in my state for license. We have an excise tax added to plate cost each year, until the vehicle is X years old or bottoms out on value. I pay only for Liability Insurance. The insured value would be less than I paid for it. I don’t count in the usual expected expenses for maintenance. Tires, Oil Change, etc. These things come whether you have a new car or old. I was fortunate that that the Explorer had been taken care of and had no rust, or excessive wear on the interior. I subscribe to these beliefs as far as vehicles are concerned. A vehicle is to get me from point A to point B. Do I need a new car for this? NO! If I were to buy a new car, (and I have had a couple. Three to be Exact. the last one I had one year, before I got laid off, seems my vehicle had already lost 50% of what I paid for it. I was able to keep it with the help of my brother. Do I want to take that kind of loss again. No way. If I were to buy a new vehicle payments would run, probably between $250-$350 a month. that would be a minimum of $3,000.00 a year in payments. for about 5 or 6 years. So I figure if I can keep my Explorer on the road for $2000.00 a year I am ahead of the game. Knock on wood I have had to spend $0, beyond the usual maintenance costs for the these 3 years. So at $500 a year ($1500 divided by 3 years equals $500 a year). Well as you can see I have thus far save $2500.00 a year on payments alone. That is $7,500.00 I have saved. I know most of you think you have to have a new car for appearance sake, or mistakenly think you will spend more for maintenance. Think of it this way If you had an older vehicle YOU would still have put more money in your pocket. I had a cousin who only bought a new car every ten years. But he could afford it. By buying only every ten years he was able to pay cash. Pretending to make payments.(putting the money aside), he was able to take his family on many fulfilled vacations with the extra money. Why Buy a New Car when an Older one is just as good at getting you from Point A to Point B, at a huge savings. That Is How I See It, Views: 312
