Former Senator Judd Gregg articulates an evolving Republican position on debt and taxes

As Tax Rascal predicted, the super committee’s negotiations failed. After months of dramatic, closed-door democracy, the panel of twelve congressmen came up empty handed.

No one was surprised.

Still, it may not have been all in vain. Of notable significance, not to say a foreshadowing of a potential sea change in Republican fiscal policy, was republican senators Toomey and Hensarling’s willingness to “raise revenue” – aka raise taxes…

And alarm bells of change are now sounding from other corners too.

Judd Gregg, a former Republican governor and senator who served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee from 2005 to 2007, has been articulating an evolving … Read more...

The super committee deadline draws near. Congress looks no closer to a compromise

The drama on Capital Hill ratchets up this week as the super committee nears the November 23 deadline by which time it must come up with $1.2 trillion in savings.

The latest development comes as Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, a Republican on the super committee, offers up a GOP plan to raise $290 billion in taxes over the next ten years. That’s not a typo: a Republican senator proposes to raise taxes.

His plan cuts deductions for mortgage interest, charitable donations, and state and local taxes, targeting those who itemize deductions for a tax hike. Hardest hit will be taxpayers in the top two income brackets, those … Read more...

President Obama introduces his deficit-reduction plan

Who knows what might have caused the president to shift gears? Perhaps it was because he was twice rebuffed by the permatan Speaker of the House, the right honorable John Boehner of Virginia, during the course of the budget talks in July. Perhaps it was Mr. Boehner’s very public smack down, the next month, of Mr. Obama’s request to present his jobs bill to a joint session of congress on the 7th of September.

That last one surely must have stung. Especially as the proposed date was unceremoniously pushed forward because it happened to clash with a scheduled debate of the current crop of GOP … Read more...

Via TaxProf, I found this article suggesting that we audit all high-ranking politicians political figures. Not to be vindictive — or not just, anyway — but because people take cues from politicians on how to behave, and incidents like the Daschle tax affair make people less likely to take taxes seriously.

This doesn’t just have the obvious effect of streamlining the nomination process by digging dirt in advance. And it’s also not just a way to keep politicians honest about the favors they’re getting from — and doing for — their friends.

Nope, it’s actually based on a legitimate study, which showed that people cheat less on their taxes when they think others cheat less, too.

The great … Read more...

Today’s taxosphere focused on some pretty surprising political developments. After a landslide Presidential victory and a strong showing in Congressional elections, Democrats are considering — cuts on income taxes and corporate taxes. Or are they?

• Via TaxProf, I found this incredible story of a UK government tax service that was shut down when twelve million users had their data compromised due to a single lost memory card this aptly demonstrates that it’s always important to know you can trust the tax services you work with (if you’re given a choice, of course).
• Russ Fox is disappointed in the election, which he views as bad for the country but good for the tax-preparing business.
  

  We will have a Congress