Page 285 – Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The FCC's Privacy Docket and the Case of the Missing Comments

Post author:David Williams
Post published:May 16, 2016
Post category:Internet Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently involved in several complex and controversial rulemaking proceedings, including rules proposed to require broad opt-in requirements for the use and sharing of data by Internet service providers. But as the privacy proposal’s comment period reaches its final two weeks, the comment docket remains questionably empty. This might make a good plot for a spy thriller, but for taxpayers and people who submitted comments, this is a travesty and an embarrassment for the FCC. In a letter sent to the FCC this week, Protect Internet Freedom questioned thousands of missing comments it says its supporters have filed into the docket that take issue with the FCC’s current privacy rulemaking proposal. FCC docket 16-106 currently shows just 28 filings, while the group says more than 2,200 comments have been submitted to the ECFS, the FCC’s online comment platform. As Protect Internet Freedom’s counsel notes in their letter to the FCC, several comments submitted even have FCC status numbers showing they had been received, but had yet to be posted.

TPA Joins Broad Coalition Urging Congress to Reform EPA Ozone Standard

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:May 13, 2016
Post category:Congress Environmental Protection Agency Michi Iljazi Regulation Taxpayers Protection Alliance

As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues their war on the private sector, it is becoming more clear everyday that the agency only cares about promulgating rules instead working with the good faith actors in the business community to put forth solutions that balance the needs of our environment, as well as the sustained growth of the economy. Taxpayers Protection Alliance has been a vocal critic of the policies that EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has enacted, noting that many of these policies will bring the same result: hindering growth in the energy sector. It is with that in mind that TPA joined Americans for Prosperity in a coalition of 60 organizations to send this letter House and Senate leaders urging them to take action to reform the EPA’s Ozone Standard, known as National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Click 'read more' below to see the full letter

The FDA Shows, Once Again, That Government Values Regulation Over Innovation

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:May 11, 2016
Post category:E-Cigarettes Food and Drug Administration Michi Iljazi Regulation Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Time and again we see some of the best ideas come from those who are willing to invest their own time and resources to create, improve, and perfect the next great product or trend. Vaping is a great example of that and one of the fastest growing industries today in the market. Whether it’s new customers or those who have been a traditional tobacco user who want to try something new, the number of those using vaping products continues to increase as more choices become available in the market. Unfortunately, government regulators may have just stopped the industry dead in their tracks.

TPA Releases Statement on USPS Second Quarter Report Showing $2 Billion Loss

Post author:David Williams
Post published:May 10, 2016
Post category:Congress Taxpayers Protection Alliance

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) expressed concern about the continuing financial death spiral of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Today’s reported second quarter loss of $2 billion indicates that it’s business as usual when it comes to USPS’s fiscal predicaments. The $2 billion loss for this period adds to the mountain of debt that the Postal Service has amassed. USPS has lost $36.6 billion in the last five years and has $116 billion more in unfunded liabilities on its books when also taking into account a $15 billion liability with the U.S. Treasury. As a part of this, USPS is neglecting to pay its $1.4 billion retiree benefits payment for the quarter despite the agency's legal obligation to do so. TPA is also concerned that taxpayers will be asked to bail out the agency should their financial situation worsen, which becomes an even greater possibility with each multi-billion dollar quarterly loss.

Jeopardizing U.S. Jobs with Tax and Environmental Policies

Post author:David Williams
Post published:May 9, 2016
Post category:Clean Power Plan Coal Environmental Protection Agency Oil Regulation Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This op-ed orignally appeared in Inside Sources on May 3, 2016 The court battle over the Environmental Protection Agency’s “breathtaking expansion” of its powers with the Clean Power Plan also means a renewed spotlight on the Obama administration’s tax and environmental policies and the chilling effect they will have on American jobs and growth. The CPP, the administration’s “signature” climate change policy that regulates power plant carbon emissions, has been challenged by West Virginia and dozens of other states. Although she subsequently disavowed her own statement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton best articulated the aim of that policy when she said, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” Forced to comment on the Clinton assessment, EPA chief Gina McCarthy declined to repudiate it, asserting awkwardly, “It’s certainly not good for anybody to be out of work in an economy. … I do not agree that anyone in the United States of America should go without a job.” It’s a statement marinated in irony, considering McCarthy and the Obama administration advocate continuously for tax and environmental policies that will crush American energy industry jobs, inflate the already swollen ranks of the unemployed, and raise energy costs for the entire nation.

Here is my second stock photo attempt, just in time for tax season. This one didn't require any expensive props either but I did have to use my son's glue stick to hold the sheets together. Feel free to use this image, just link to www.SeniorLiving.Org

TPA Joins Coalition Urging Congress to Make Free File Program Permanent

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:May 6, 2016
Post category:Congress Michi Iljazi Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Now that Tax Day 2016 is over, taxpayers can relax for at list a little while. However, before you know it, tax season will creep up once again and everyone will be looking to make sure they are checking all the right boxes when they file their tax returns. Tax complexity has been a major issue and it has cost taxpayers time and a great deal of money, as evidenced by a recent study from the National Taxpayers Union. One current program, the Free File program, has been able to save taxpayers time and money through a public-private partnership that makes filing taxes a great deal less stressful for tens of millions of Americans. As Senator Elizabeth Warren attempts to hand tax-filing services entirely to the Internal Revenue Service (what a great idea that would be), the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) joined Americans for Tax Reform on a coalition letter urging Congress to make the Free File program permanent. Click 'read more' below to see the full letter

Obama Fiduciary Rule Will Crush Middle Class Savers

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:May 5, 2016
Post category:Financial Services Regulation

Alexander Hendrie is the Federal Affairs Manager at Americans for Tax Reform, this post originally appeared on ATR.org Last month, the Obama Department of Labor released the final version of the fiduciary rule, a regulation spanning more than a thousand pages that will curtail the ability of financial advisors to give advice to IRA and 401(k) holders. Supporters of the rule claim it is necessary to ensure savers receive the best possible advice, however the final product is so complex and burdensome that millions will inevitably be locked out from receiving the guidance they need. Through this regulation, the federal government is essentially moving to exert close control over the retirement saving decisions of Americans across the country. In response to this encroachment, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a resolution under the Congressional Review Act to block this new rule, led by Congressmen Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), by Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.).

The UN Must Stop Silencing The Media And Stifling Press Freedom

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:May 3, 2016
Post category:Drew Johnson Free Speech Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This article appeared in The Daily Caller on April 29, 2016 Tuesday, May 3, marks the United Nations’ annual World Press Freedom Day. The event is intended to celebrate the media’s vital role in a free society and encourage a free press in countries where that right is under attack. Unfortunately, however, the UN has no business hosting such an event. The organization has proven disturbingly hypocritical on the issue of press freedom, frequently engaging in extraordinary measures to silence the media and stifle the press’ ability to cover UN proceedings.

Tax Day Is Over, But the Public’s Desire for Tax Reform Remains

Post author:David Williams
Post published:May 2, 2016
Post category:Congress Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This article appeared in Inside Sources on April 20, 2016 Whew! Another Tax Day has come and gone. Even though Americans had three extra days to finish their taxes, that added time didn’t do much to alleviate the stress of filling out taxes. Even when you are expected to get money back from the government, it seems like the entire process is a continuous series of hurdles that people are being forced to jump over in order to get their own money back. And, as this tax day gets further behind us, the need for tax reform continues to grow and people from all walks of life and political persuasions agree that tax reform is critical.

TPA Joins Legal Battle Over South Dakota Internet Sales Tax Law

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:April 29, 2016
Post category:Internet Michi Iljazi Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Taxpayers Protection Alliance Joins NetChoice/ACMA Amicus Brief Against Internet Sales Tax Law in South Dakota TPA Signs Onto Legal Challenge Calling SB 106 “Blatantly Unconstitutional” (Washington) – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) was proud to be a part of a new legal challenge to South Dakota’s Internet sales tax law, SB 106, signed into law on March 22, 2016 by Governor Dennis Daugaard (D). The Amicus Brief, filed this morning by NetChoice and the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA), asserts that Internet sales tax mandate in SB 106 forcing out-of-state sellers to collect South Dakota sales tax is, “an unconstitutional expansion of state tax powers and directly conflicts with precedent set by the Supreme Court of the United States.”