Page 288 – Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Australia Caught Fudging The Truth While Trying to Defend Its Failed Plain Packaging Scheme

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:March 28, 2016
Post category:Drew Johnson Plain Packaging Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This article appaeared in The Daily Caller on March 25, 2016 When my niece, Averie, was about 7 years old, my family tried to teach her how to play Monopoly. As the game went on, she grew confused and frustrated. She didn’t have as many properties or as much money as the rest of us, and she couldn’t quite grasp the rules. So she decided to make up her own. She ransacked the bank, stole everyone else’s houses and hotels, moved other people’s game pieces where she though they should go and, at one point, tried to stuff the dice up her nose. It’s one thing for a frustrated kid to make up some new rules when a game isn’t going her way. It’s quite another when a major nation does it. Yet, that’s exactly what Australia did last month when it released a report attempting to claim victory for its foolish, freedom-crushing plain packaging regulations on tobacco products.

The Left Is Already Pushing The New Solar Jobs 'Report' As Good News. Don't Buy It.

Post author:David Williams
Post published:March 25, 2016
Post category:Energy Solar Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This article appeared in Independent Journal Review on March 13, 2016 When you’re on a mission to secure government favors needed to prop up costly, inefficient, taxpayer-funded boondoggles, you may be inclined to manipulate economic figures. You also might be inclined to convince the public and the news media that these figures flow from a detached, objective analysis when in fact they are produced by advocates with a vested interest in public policy choices. This is clearly what happened in the latest annual Solar Jobs Census from the Solar Foundation, which concluded that the solar industry is contributing to “robust” U.S. job growth, and left-leaning outlets are already starting to champion the report as evidence that we the solar industry is booming and merits further investment. Don’t buy it. The Solar Energy Industries Association is the trade association tasked with promoting the development and expansion of solar power, predominately staffed by former solar company and trade association lobbyists with ties to government solar advocacy programs. So let’s all agree here that they are not exactly objective.

Venue Reform Gets A Boost in the Senate

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:March 24, 2016
Post category:Congress Michi Iljazi Patents Senate Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The clock continues to run on the short calendar that Congress made for itself in 2016. But, that doesn’t mean that important issues should be put on the shelf. One major issue that Congress can still make an impact on is patent litigation reform. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has been advocating for reform in this area for years now, and Congress has made some progress with the introduction of bills in the House and Senate. Even though there may be difference of opinion in some areas of patent reform, one specific area that there seems to be genuine agreement on when it comes to patent litigation reform is the need for reform in where patent cases are heard. More commonly known as “venue reform,” the place where a case is heard is a real problem.

TPA Supports the Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act of 2016

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:March 22, 2016
Post category:Appropriations Budget Congress House Michi Iljazi Spending Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The national debt continues to grow, currently at $19 trillion, and Congress still hasn’t figured out how to get to serious spending reduction. Loosening spending caps and consistent failures to move back to regular order for the appropriations process are part of the real problems why Washington can’t get the budget under control. However, spending on unauthorized programs is also a problem. Today, there is more than $300 billion annually being spent on programs that aren’t authorized by Congress. This week on the TPA podcast, Chair of the Republican Conference Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wash.) joined the show to talk about her new legislation to solve the problem of unauthorized spending (click here to listen). Congresswoman McMorris-Rodgers’ legislation, the Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act of 2016, would put in place mechanisms for imposing cuts on programs not authorized and eventually letting them sunset. TPA supports this legislation and that is why we joined with National Taxpayers Union and other groups on a coalition letter expressing our support. Click "read more" below to read the full letter

Budget Proposals Offer Ideas for Ways Forward on Balancing the Budget

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:March 21, 2016
Post category:Appropriations Budget Congress Debt Defense Deficit House Michi Iljazi Spending Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This is the time of year when Congress begins work on a budget for the coming fiscal year, and last week marked the introduction of a pair of budget proposals from the both the House GOP and the Republican Study Committee (RSC). Both proposals are far better than President Obama’s eighth and final budget (click here to read more) released in late January. Each of the proposals released last week lay out a structure for a budget that will be balanced over the next decade by implementing spending cuts and enacting a series of reforms on spending programs and entitlements.

America Says "No" to New Oil Taxes

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:March 18, 2016
Post category:Budget Drew Johnson Energy Natural Gas Oil Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This article originally appeared on MinuteManNewsCenter.com on March 15, 2016 Americans today are relieved to be paying less than $2 for a gallon of gas. President Obama, though, thinks that’s just not enough. In his recent budget request to Congress, the president proposed a $10.25-per-barrel fee on crude oil to fund transportation projects. If implemented, this new tax would paralyze the economy, undermine our competitiveness in the global energy market, and raise prices at the pump by more than 10 percent. The timing of the president’s proposal couldn’t be worse. The oil industry supports 9.8 million jobs in the United States and accounts for 8 percent of the economy. It’s suffering from its worst financial crisis in 25 years thanks to a 70 percent drop in the price of crude oil over the past year and a half. Consequently, energy companies have had no choice but to let people go. Shell has cut its workforce by 10,000. BP recently announced it will eliminate 3,000 jobs. Haliburton has laid off 22,000 workers since the beginning of 2015.

TPA Signs Coalition Letter Urging Death Tax Repeal Vote in the Senate

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:March 17, 2016
Post category:Congress Michi Iljazi Senate Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

One of our nation’s founders, Benjamin Franklin, is credited with saying, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” But who thought that combining the two would be good policy? The first time the government imposed a form of the Death Tax was back in the late 1700s with the Stamp Act. A century later the tax was used to help finance the Civil War (as an inheritance tax). And then again in 1916 when the Revenue Act became law (ushering in income tax), the estate tax (aka the “Death Tax”) came with it. Like before, when conflict arose in World War I (WWI), the tax became the vehicle for revenue generation. However unlike the previous two, the post –WWI Death tax was not repealed and is the foundation for what is in the current tax code. There has been momentum to repeal the Death Tax, and the broad coalition fighting for repeal continues to grow in size and diversity. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) recently signed onto a letter sent by the Family Businesses Coalition to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urging action in the Senate to repeal the Death Tax. The House has already acted on Death Tax repeal by passing the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015, sponsored by current House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas). The time for the Senate to act is now and there is legislation ready to be brought to the floor, S. 860, sponsored by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). It is important to get a repeal bill of the Death Tax onto the President’s desk sooner rather than later. Click 'read more' below to see the full letter

LEADS Act Awaiting Action as Privacy Concerns Mount

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:March 15, 2016
Post category:Congress Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)Michi Iljazi Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The intersection of issues can be found in places you never expect, but sometimes it is right there in plain sight. Privacy concerns have been gaining momentum over the last few years with major stories that have broken on government surveillance, data breaches, and terrorism. While disagreements on how to proceed on many of these issues become even more complicated as events take over the narrative, privacy remains a priority for all individuals and that privacy extends to taxpayers, consumers and businesses. One thing that Washington can do to help alleviate the concerns that many have when it comes to their privacy is to pass the Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act (LEADS Act). The legislation was introduced by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), and Chris Coons (D-Conn.), and would provide better tools for the United States government to obtain needed information abroad in criminal pursuits, but at the same ensure privacy protections for Americans while respecting the laws of other countries.

Tax Reform Key to Vibrant NH Business Environment

Post author:David Williams
Post published:March 14, 2016
Post category:Congress Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This article appeared in the New Hampshire Union Leader on March 6, 2016 According to exit polls, the economy remains a top concern with three-quarters of both Democrats and Republicans expressing concern. As well it should be. While recent jobs reports provided some encouraging news for the nation, more must be done before we can turn the page on a chapter of recent history marked by anemic growth and a sluggish economic outlook. One of the biggest warning signs of a sputtering economy was a disappointing 0.7 percent growth in the economy in the last quarter of 2015. If President Obama truly wants to leave a legacy behind and remove obstacles in the way of a healthy, vibrant business environment (as he pledged in his State of the Union address), he and his Capitol Hill counterparts have a golden opportunity to make real progress toward that goal by passing comprehensive tax reform. The U.S. tax code has become a complicated mess of loopholes, selective exemptions and sky-high rates. In fact, the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the world at more than 39 percent, putting our competitiveness at risk. Meanwhile, the average tax rate worldwide has fallen seven points to under 23 percent.

To Fix Our Broken Tax System, Sunset the Tax Code

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:March 11, 2016
Post category:Congress Michi Iljazi Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

IRS Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Tax reform is critical to ensuring our economy recovers from the sluggish growth it has been experiencing. Real individual and corporate tax reform will boost the middle class and encourage more business investment at home. President Obama, members of the House and Senate, groups like the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), and individual Americans have all weighed in on how to get tax reform done. There is agreement that the code needs to be overhauled. There is also agreement that the corporate tax rate is too high. There is now a new path forward with legislation in the House that guarantees something will be done when it comes to fixing our broken tax code. H.R. 27, the Tax Code Termination Act, introduced by House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), puts in place a blueprint to get rid of the current code, have a timetable for a new code to be approved, and then have that new code ultimately adopted.