Tax Guru – Ker$tetter Letter

Cattle Rushed to Market as the Price of Beef Soars – This is excellent news for cattle ranchers, including many of our clients and neighbors. Most people have no appreciation for how risky farming is. I can’t think of any other occupation that is so much at the mercy of elements completely out of one’s control, such as the weather and world commodity markets.

Iraq Has a Flat Tax. We Don’t. Why? – Good question.

Call for Increased Tax Shelter Penalties – Buying scam tax shelters should get people in trouble. There are plenty of easy common sense steps to reduce taxes, such as using C corps, that breaking the law can’t be condoned, even by someone as anti-tax as I am.

N.Y.C. is capital of taxes. State & local levies here highest in U.S. – It should be no surprise that the PRC is in second place.

More retirees still paying mortgages – This is actually a good thing. Owning a home free and clear, yet having no cash with which to play is not a good way for seniors to spend their golden years. They have no obligation of any kind to preserve all of their wealth for their kids and should be enjoying the fruits of their labors and investments while they are still alive.

Tax refunds expected to jump 27% – Those refund checks should give Bush a big boost in popularity and counter the DemonRats’ rants that the tax cuts need to be repealed.

Restraining federal spending – He agrees with my contention that term limits are required to prevent ever more of these unaccountable spending sprees.

Passing down wealth – It’s good to see that more people are spending their kids’ inheritances. That’s how I’ve always believed it should be.

Bush Is Said to Weigh Changes to the Tax Code – Exempting investment income from taxation makes perfect sense from a capitalist free market perspective. However, in the real world of “Hate the Rich” that is so pervasive in our society, it will be a very tough sell. The most likely scenario is an exemption just for those people whose income falls below some arbitrary level, as is done with dozens of other tax breaks.

Dealers, drivers riding high on SUV tax loophole – people are often asking if there is a single handy list of vehicles weighing more than 6,000 pounds. I have never seen one. However, most manufacturers have at least one SUV or truck exceeding that limit. Dealers will be all too glad to point them out to you. You can even splurge on something like this bulletproof Cadillac. This article doesn’t say how much it weighs; but with all of that armor, it must be well over the magic 6,000 pound threshold.

Schwarzenegger prepares to undo Davis actions – It will be as close as Arnold can get in regard to imitating the time travel exploits of his Terminator character.

Torturous state-local fiscal relationship reaching climax – It’s been 25 years since Proposition 13, and they’re still whining about not being able to adjust to its restrictions on excessive property taxation.

Double Taxation of Savings in the Crosshairs – Unfortunately, this idea will be pilloried with the same mantra of the left, “tax cuts for the evil rich” because under their view of the world only the wealthiest scum can afford to put money into savings accounts.

Betting on Gambling is a Risky Wager – As many people have noted, lotteries and other forms of gambling are nothing more than a tax on stupid people.

Man Asks To Buy 7 Million Lottery Tickets – Back when the PRC started its lottery, I wrote an article on how, even if a person could guarantee being a winner by buying every single combination, it would still be a stupid move. The tickets have to be bought with real money today, while the winnings are paid out over 20 or more years. Anyone with that kind of money would have to be a moron to make such an “investment.”

The Clinton Snipe Hunt. Twenty years later, Arkansas is still poor. – Here in Arkansas, they have always said “Thank God for Mississippi” as an explanation for our being the 49th ranked state in terms of education quality. Billary Clinton forced through the biggest tax increase in state history to raise it from 49th to 49th. Of course, as they did while in the White House, they took credit for their intentions. With liberals, results are never important; only intentions.

What Company Benefits Will You Need Next Year?

There actually is an alternative political party that beleives in less government spending.

Arnold to repeal auto fee Monday – Retroactive to October 1, effectively canceling out this bit of damage caused by Grey-Out Doofus.

Graydon “Quadrillion” Carter, Vanity Fair’s editor, is so bad he makes Krugman look good. – Since the level of most American’s education of how economics works is (by design) so low, the masses believe the outright lies told by the elite media, such as that tax cuts cause deficits.