Swiss Solutions

An impressive solution to poverty and entitlements from the Swiss was discussed in the New York Times column, It's the Economy.  Pushing people up, out of poverty, without incentivizing staying out of work makes a lot of sense, and I had no idea that this concept has been tried out in the US already, with positive results.  Not bad Swiss... not bad at all.

Ultrawealthy New Yorkers Under de Blasio

Image: seniorsforademocraticsociety.wordpress.com

The New York Times column, Common Sense, featured a piece on our new mayor, Bill de Blasio's plan to tax the rich to give to the poor, but brings up the ultrawealthy, who currently (under Bloomberg) have been lured to NYC by generous tax incentives and simply "park" their assets in the city.  Since the tax law says that those who spend more than half their year in NYC (or 183 days) have to pay city income tax, there are many who have offices (companies even) and apartments in the city, but due to their other homes (on Long Island, in Connecticut, in LA, in Aspen), can make sure not to be living in  the city more than 182 days.  This seems like a significant place of wealth that should be taxed to provide services for the rest of the city that supports that lifestyle.

Poverty Levels in America

Photo: Brenda Ann Kenneally, The New Yorker

 

The New York Times had a VERY interesting look at the poverty levels in America, misconceptions about those statistics, and what levels of support should be given to that very large sector of our population. 

Military Spending as a Percentage of GDP

Picture: PR Watch

The charts on page 6 of this article from the Council on Foreign Relations (Walker, Dinah. Trends in US Military Spending. Council on Foreign Relations, 2013; reproduced below) discuss military spending as a percentage of GDP for the last 80 years.  They look closer at the time after WWII and then even closer at the time after the Cold-War.  What I find most interesting is that it is so much lower than what I thought it would be.  And relative to how much was spent (percentage wise) in the 1940s, it is really incomparable.  I’m curious what those dollar figures are.

From Trends in US Military Spending  

Chart generated on WorldBank.org

But, looking at the data from the interactive World Bank site, I can see that relative to other countries, the US spending is higher than most.  For example, France spends 2.3% GDP on their military.  War torn countries (or their neighbors), including Saudi Arabia (in blue, labeled incorrectly as a second France), South Sudan, Oman, spend the most, around 8% to 10%. But most countries spend below 3% GDP on defense.   Our friend Russia spends almost the same amount (4.5%) as the US, which is not too surprising given our continued Coolish-War with them. 

New York City Property Taxes Inequitable

NYDailyNews.com

The Daily News featured a recent investigation on NYC Property Taxes across the five boroughs.  It's no big surprise, but this shows that the system for assessing appropriate property taxes is way off base, favoring the rich, and overtaxing the poor.

To Work or Not To Work

Image: The Cagle Post

Does our current tax system incentivize single earner households?  This op-ed piece in the New York Times discusses the subsidies or tax breaks that may make not working, work.

Australia's Toxic Tax Talk

PolitiFact Australia

I think that the US doesn't talk enough about climate change, but in Australia the conversation is ruining people's political careers. The Guardian discusses a long fight between leaders regarding a carbon tax - some are calling it the "Toxic Tax."

Vetoing Missouri Tax Cuts

Texas Governor, Rick Perry fighting Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon. Photo: stltoday.com.

This is a really interesting article on the Governor's fight to veto a tax cut in Missouri.  It brings up issues surrounding the view that tax cuts (which will impact education and health funding) will spur job growth - and Rick Perry even makes a cameo appearance in the fight.  

Taxable Imputed Rent

I had no idea what "imputed rent" meant but it is basically the rent you would be paying if, instead of owning, you were renting the place you lived.  This article in The New York Times explains what would happen if that imputed rent were taxed.  While at first that seems crazy (you have to pay a mortgage, maintenance, and mostly you buy a home to avoid renting) it turns out that it kind of makes sense.  Since if you have a mortgage, that amount would be tax deductible anyway, for most people, the taxable imputed rent would most likely be quite small, but for those who don't have a mortgage, and are no longer contributing to the housing market, a tax on the rent they don't have to pay sort of makes sense, sort of.  This article goes into terms we discussed last night, like efficiency, equity, etc to evaluate this idea.  And, as with most things, other countries already do this.

Uneven Economies

Looks like the world is not growing together.  Not super surprising, but the extent of it is pretty amazing. The OECD has published GDP growth in major economies and shown that there is wide variation between countries. The New York Times has the full article.

IRS Recognizes Gay Marriages

Photo: Autostraddle

Today the IRS announced (via: The New York Times)  that they will recognize gay marriages regardless of whether the state in which the couple resides recognizes the marriage.  While gay couples can now move around the country and know that the federal government will recognize their marriage, they will still have to file their state taxes as individuals if they live in a state where gay marriage is not recognized.  All of this is expected to raise more in tax revenue through the "marriage penalty", with tax liability increasing due to a married status.

Undertaxing Valuable Properties

Photo: LuxeDB

The Furman Center released a policy brief in July that discusses the State law that requires NYC Department of Finance to undervaluing (and thereby undertaxing) some of its most valuable properties. It seems as if co-ops and condos of more than 4 units must be valued as if they are rental properties, but finding comparable nearby rental properties for areas of the Upper East Side and areas surrounding Central Park is difficult (read: impossible) to do.  In fact, the highest valued rental unit in all of NYC by the Department of Finance is only a fraction of the value per square foot as that of a typical co-op or condo in these neighborhoods. Problem?

Mayflower Compensation Taxes

Photo: National Geographic

There was an article last month about a tax break for residents following the Mayflower oil spill back in March.  Basically, Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin believes that those affected by the oil spill should not have to pay taxes on the compensation provided by Exxon Mobile.  You can read the article and see images of the spill on Huffington Post. It would seem to me that if anyone should be taxed, it should be Exxon Mobile for the damage caused by the spill to the environment, not only the residents of Mayflower.