Shot in the Dark

Category: Taxes

  • This Is War

    Shizzle just got way too real: This is getting personal. Keegans was where I met some of the favorite arcs in my social circle: the NARN guys (Brian, Chad, Ben, Ed Morrissey, King Banaian, Michael Brodkorb), John Stewart and Marjorie Farnsworth Stewart and their kids Patience Stewart and Faith Worley , who at least started…

  • Shot In The Dark – Today’s News, Five Months Ago

    We noted earlier this year that Philadelphia’s tax on pop was taking down soft drink sales, and jobs and stores with it. And it turns out that that’s true – pop sales are down by half in Philly. But people are healthier – right? Er…right? While researchers found that sales of sugary beverages fell in…

  • A New Tradition

    The MN Department of Revenue points out that Governor Walz’s Tax Orgy is going to hit… …wait for it… …wait for it… …the poor hardest. Unexpectedly, natch. Gov. Tim Walz’s plan to increase taxes would hit the lowest-income Minnesotans the hardest, according to a new analysis by his own Department of Revenue.Minnesotans on the bottom half…

  • An Idea Whose Time Should Not Come

    When you’re a Republican, especially in a bluish-purple place like Minnesota, you hope you can vote for Republicans who’ll hold the line on taxes – even to the minimal level of not proposing new ones. Sadly, we’re disappointed – as I discussed with Liz Mair on the show over the weekend. Senator Howe is proposing…

  • Attention Congress, President Trump, And His Fans

    To:  The Abovementioned From:  Mitch Berg, Cranky Peasant Re:   The Above Mentioned All, You might want to see to this.  The Growth Fairy is going to have to move to double digits pretty dang quick here.

  • More Crumbs

    Chipotle rolls out bennies, bonuses to hourly employees: The company is rolling out benefits reaching all of its 71,000 employees, including special cash and stock bonuses and enhanced paid and parental leave. Qualified hourly employees and salaried restaurant employees will receive a special one-time cash bonus of up to $1,000, and some staff employees will…

  • If Doug Baker’s Doing It…

    A different friend of the blog writes: Damn your lying eyes.  The Trump Tax Cut was only for the rich.  Don’t believe anything else. It’s almost like people and companies do know how to use their money better than government does.

  • I Can’t Wait…

    …to see how the Democrats and the media (pardon the redundancy) try to paint this as a tile toxic side effect of the Republican tax reform plan. The headline from Apple is that it will make a $350 billion “contribution” to the U.S. economy over the next five years, although it’s unclear exactly how the…

  • Charity

    Joe Doakes from Como Park emails: A colleague predicts charitable giving will plummet next year.  Charitable contributions will not be deductible under the new tax law, but your personal exemption will increase to $10,000 per person.  No net effect on most people’s income taxes; but if you are effectively getting the charitable deduction without actually…

  • An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

    Joe Doakes from Como Park emails: Trump’s tax reform means other countries will have to cut taxes, too.  It will be a global tax race to the bottom. From their lips to God’s ears. Joe Doakes I actually saw a local “progressive” posit that as a Bad Thing last week.

  • We Shall Call It…Rocket Science!

    Joe Doakes from Como Park emails: This is genius.  One satellite launched at Pluto could balance the budget forever. Joe doakes It’s just crazy enough to… …drive the space industry from California.

  • A Gap

    Joe Doakes from Como Park emails: High taxation chases another business away.  Too bad.  Vehicle sharing is a wonderful way to reduce greenhouse gasses and thereby save the planet.  Luckily, driving business out of St. Paul will not reduce revenue which, of course, is the most important thing.  Joe Doakes They’ll always find a way…

  • Death From Taxes

    Car2Go – a rental car-sharing service much favored by “new urbanists” and others on the left – is leaving the Twin cities… …because of the taxes.

  • That Precious Moment…

    ….when a “progressive” realizes that taxation, at its root, is essentially those who don’t create anything, extorting from those who do: “Our Olympian and Paralympic athletes should be worried about breaking world records, not breaking the bank, when they earn a medal,” said ‎Schumer. “Government is the things we all do together taking from net…

  • Mixed Messages

    Being a liberal must be confusing. Exhibit A:  This week’s City Pages. On the one hand:  Mike Mullen complains that Mendards’ management training program urges the store’s staff to oppose tax hikes.  Because taxes are what makes life worth living, and by no means should Menards expect its management to support the store’s financial health, nosirreebob. On the…

  • Dodging The Point

    Ever since Governor Dayton passed one of the highest taxes in the nation on people earning over about $150,000 a year, conservatives have been predicting an exodus of the productive class. The Minnesota left is doing cartwheels over “data” showing it’s not happened… …sort of.  I add emphasis: The ranks of the very rich are…

  • Capital Runs

    Carls Junior / Hardees corporate HQ flees California for Tennessee. Yes, we know that CKE’s official line is that the firm is relocating because it has less need for office space as it consolidates operations. But the company executives say this with a wink. Tax savings are a big factor, as is the stifling regulatory environment on the…

  • Harbinger?

    Off-year election results around the country were a mixed bag. And by “mixed”, I mean generally good for conservative Republicans nationwide, and six of one, half a dozen of the other in Minnesota. Tinkering With Leviathan:   Saint Paul’s elections yesterday, were a victory for DFL zealots over DFL extremists. The City Council gained two…

  • Green Fizzle

    The much-lauded California program that jacked up taxes on out-of-state corporations and devoted half the proceeds to “green” projects has apparently fallen short of expecations 90% short.  At least, as far as they can tell; the program isn’t actually releasing details, which – let’s be honest – means they actually did worse than 10% of…

  • Surprise, Surprise!

    Remember when the DFL said “if we just increase Local Government Aid”, property taxes will fall?” No? That’s OK – either does the DFL.

  • Thanks A Billion

    To:  Governor Dayton, the Minnesota DFL, and just enough Republicans to make it a community embarassment From:  Mitch Berg, Uppity Peasant Re:  Thanks For Nothing, Idiots All, We – those of us on the real right – tried to warn you.  But you were too busy gettign yoru arm twisted by Zigi Wilf, or entertaining…

  • Transit Is Painless

    SCENE:  Mitch BERG is mowing his lawn.  Avery LIBRELLE, fresh from a trip on the Green Line ,ambles up the sidewalk.   LIBRELLE:  Hey, Merg!  Societies that impose punitive taxes on cars, like Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, all have higher qualities of life than the US does! BERG:  OK.  So? LIBRELLE:  So we could…

  • As Fuzzy As Rand Paul Is…

    …on foreign policy and defense, the more I see of this kind of talk, of a 14.5% flat income tax for individuals and businesses…: So on Thursday I am announcing an over $2 trillion tax cut that would repeal the entire IRS tax code—more than 70,000 pages—and replace it with a low, broad-based tax of…

  • Options

    Joe Doakes from Como Park emails: Roughed out my taxes. Going to have to write a check to the IRS – not enough deductions. I suppose I could start a private charity to solicit giant donations – the blue arrowhead is helpful, find your friends! Or maybe just not pay the taxes. But I’m not…

  • More Words, More Problems

    Joe Doakes from Como Park emails: Always hated Word Problems in Math class. What’s the point? When will I ever use that stuff? “If the amount on Line 8 of Form M1 is over $36,080 but not over $143,350, then Enter on Line 9 of Form M1 $1,930.28 + 7.05% of the amount over $36,080.”…