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Amazon vs. City Hall
By Jeff Clark, BIG GOLD
My local newspaper ran a story about the escalating battle between Amazon.com and the state of California. At issue is the collection of sales tax: Governor Jerry Brown signed a law requiring online retailers to collect state sales tax on purchases made by CA residents.
Before the ink dried on the legislation, Amazon severed ties with its estimated 10,000 affiliates in CA. These are – or were – small businesses that earned commissions on customers who clicked through their website to the online bookseller.
The immediate effect, of course, is not an increase but a reduction in tax revenue for the state, due to the loss of taxable income from the affiliates. And Amazon isn’t the only company that’s taken action; Overstock.com is doing the same thing, as well as others that don’t make the news. As usual, the government overlooked the unintended consequences of their legislation. Continue reading
No Way Out
By Doug Casey, Casey Research
I really dislike sounding inflammatory. Saying that things are going to go terribly wrong runs a risk of being classed with those who think the world will end in December 2012 because of something Nostradamus or the Bible says, or because that’s what the Mayan calendar predicts.
This is different. In the real world, cause has effect. Nobody has a crystal ball, but a good economist (there are some, though very few, in existence) can definitely pinpoint causes and estimate not only what their immediate and direct effects are likely to be (that’s not hard; a smart kid can usually do that) but the indirect and delayed effects.
In the first half of this year, people were looking at the U.S. economy and seeing that some things were better. Auto sales were up – because of the wasteful Cash for Clunkers program. Home sales were up – because of the $8,000 credit and distressed pricing. Employment was up – partly because of Census hiring, and partly because hundreds of billions have been thrown at the economy. The recovery impresses me as a charade.
Time to Go Global
By Chris Wood, Editor, Casey Research
Here at Casey Research, we really don’t enjoy being a buzz-kill. It’s just that we think it’s more important for investors to be well informed about the reality in which we find ourselves today than it is to be happy-go-lucky all the time.
The good news is that when the stuff hits the fan, as it has for going on two years now, it opens up a number of unexpected opportunities for profit. Even in the hairiest situations, there are ways to protect yourself.
Having said that, let’s start with the bad news… Continue reading
Six Months Until the Largest Tax Hikes in History
From Americans for Tax Reform:
By Ryan Ellis
In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:
First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief
In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011. Continue reading
Taxes and More Government Oppression
How the Government Tries to Fleece You and What You Can Do About It
By David Galland, Managing Director, Casey Research
After a relaxing Thanksgiving break, I anticipated to return to work in a lighter frame of mind. However, the following item from FOX News crushed that hope right away:
Lawmakers Propose ‘War Surtax’ to Pay for Troop Increase in Afghanistan
Two top Democrats say they want to impose a new tax on the wealthy to finance any increase in U.S. troops for the Afghanistan war. Continue reading
Lower Your Taxes-Big Time
The first chapter of Lower Your Taxes- Big Time is titled “Why You would be Brain Dead Not to Start a Home-Based Business (if you don’t already have one). I personally have had my own business for years and thought I was pretty good at finding the deductions I was entitled to, but I was amazed at the deductions that I was missing! This book literally doubled the amount of deductions I was legally able to claim for last year!
Now is the perfect time to begin racking up the deductions for next year! It is even possible that after reading this book you might want to file an amended return and get back a few thousand extra dollars from last year!
Either way I strongly recommend that you get this book Lower Your Taxes-Big Time!
You can order it from Amazon Here Lower Your Taxes – Big Time!
The time to begin your Tax Planning is now while you have time to make the changes necessary. If you wait until the last minute you will end up with questionable or illegal deductions. However if you begin planning now, You can do things legally and create a “bulletproof” tax reduction strategy!
Tim McMahon, Editor
