Taxes
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Greece Cutting Back to Court EU Favor
Greece unveiled its third austerity plan Wednesday and was met with praise from the European Union (EU), European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but hostility from the Greek public.
The plan consists of spending cuts and tax increases that will cut the budget deficit by $6.5 billion, and help Greece to reduce its current deficit to 8.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) from 12.7%.
"This was a necessary decision. It was not a matter of choice," said Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou. "It was a matter of survival for our country, allowing it to breathe and break free from the clutches of speculative forces."
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How Banks Are "Crowding Out" the U.S. Rebound
When U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled the $787 billion "stimulus" bill of extra spending and modest tax cuts last year, it became clear that the U.S. budget deficit was going to eclipse the 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) level for at least one year (and, as we now know, probably three years).
On those grounds, I opposed the "stimulus" - a position that was a lot less popular then than it has since become. However, as I'll show you below, it now looks as if I was right - and the implications for the U.S. economy are highly worrisome.
You see, the theory postulated by economist John Maynard Keynes holds that the extra spending stimulates additional output fails to address the question of where the money comes from.
Government cannot create wealth - it has to borrow it. If, before the stimulus, government finances were in good shape, as was the case in China, then stimulus does indeed stimulate: The modest budget deficit that it causes is easily financed, and the extra spending creates some jobs and maybe some useful infrastructure, depending on how well targeted it is.
In the United States, however, government finances were in a mess before the stimulus began.
To find out how banks are blunting the recovery, read on .... Read More... -
Obama's Budget Adds $1 Trillion in Taxes, Balloons Federal Deficit
President Barack Obama yesterday (Monday) unveiled a $3.8 trillion budget proposal that includes big tax increases on individuals and businesses, and expands the federal deficit by more than $5.5 trillion by the end of the decade, including a record $1.6 trillion next year.
The budget blueprint for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 reflects the administration's struggle to find a balance between containing the spiraling federal deficit with the need to boost the economy and create jobs - both of which figure to be political bombshells in the upcoming 2010 elections.
"We're trying to accomplish a soft landing in terms of our fiscal trajectory," Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said at a press briefing.
But the budget is certain to add fuel to the debate over the size and scope of government. As expected, Republicans railed against the administration's big spending programs and tax increases. Read More... -
Can Bernanke Tune Out Political Pressure as the FOMC Again Ponders Policy Changes?
When U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke emerges from the central bank's monthly policymaking meeting at around 2:15 p.m. today (Wednesday), it's a near certainty that he'll reaffirm his pledge to keep interest rates "exceptionally low" for an "extended period" of time.
Bernanke has kept the benchmark Federal Funds rate at a record low range of 0.00%-0.25% since December 2008, and that's not likely to change as a result of today's meeting of the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
At some point, however, Bernanke will have to tighten credit and raise interest rates in order to soak up all the excess liquidity and curb inflation in the U.S. economy. But the question remains: When that time comes, will Bernanke have the fortitude to do so?
There's no simple answer. And for good reason: With the country mired in its worst financial crisis in most Americans' lifetimes, the central bank's decisions now are as political in focus as they are economic. Read More... -
Why the Government Wants to Hijack Your 401(k)
It's bad enough that we've been forced to bail out Wall Street. But now the Obama administration is hatching plans to raid our retirement savings, too.
To say that I'm "outraged" doesn't come close to describing the emotions I experience every time I think about the government's latest hare-brained scheme.
According to widespread media reports, both the U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Labor plan are planning to stage a public-comment period before implementing regulations that would require U.S. savers to invest portions of their 401(k) savings plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) into annuities or other "steady" payment streams backed by U.S. government bonds.
Folks, there's only one reason these agencies would do such a thing - the nation's creditors think that U.S. government bonds are a bad bet and don't want to buy them anymore. So like a grifter who's down to his last dollar, the administration is hoping to get its hands on our hard-earned savings before the American people realize they've had the wool pulled over their eyes ... once again.
For the full details on the government's newest financial gambit, read on... Read More... -
TARP Tax More Politics Than Economics
U.S. President Barack Obama today (Thursday) unveiled the widely anticipated "Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee," which effectively amounts to a tax on banks to pay back money the government lost on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
The fee would apply to financial firms - both domestic firms and U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies - with more than $50 billion in consolidated assets, and equate to 15 basis points, or 0.15% of a company's covered liabilities each year. Deposits assessed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) would not count toward those liabilities.
The tax, which must be approved by Congress, would go into effect on June 30, 2010, and earn about $90 billion over 10 years, but could go on longer. The White House said collecting $117 billion would take about 12 years. Read More... -
Banking's Bigwigs Called to Carpet as Obama Prepares New Bank Tax
Four prominent Wall Street executives testified on Capitol Hill yesterday (Wednesday) about errors they committed during the financial crisis. But no amount of contrition or case making will be able to spare the financial services industry from the wrath of public opinion and a new tax to be imposed by President Barack Obama.
The bigwigs from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) were called on yesterday (Wednesday) to explain themselves to the U.S. Congress' Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) - the ten-member commission appointed with goal of investigating the causes of the financial crisis.
"Over the course of this crisis, we as an industry caused a lot of damage," Brian Moynihan, chief executive of Bank of America, said before a standing-room only crowd in the House Ways and Means Committee room, The Wall Street Journal reported. Read More... -
Obama Bank Tax No Reason to Flee Financials
U.S. President Barack Obama plans to implement a tax on financial institutions to offset taxpayer losses stemming from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and help reduce the deficit. But Obama's new bank tax is no reason to turn bearish on financials, which staged an impressive comeback last year.
At a time when many financial companies are gearing up to announce fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, as well as details regarding employee compensation and bonus payments for 2009, the government is considering charging banks fees to recover as much as $120 billion in lost taxpayer money.
While most of the big banks have started paying back their TARP investments, the government has yet to recoup large swathes of money that went to American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG), General Motors Corp., and Chrysler LLC. Last month, the Treasury estimated that the net cost of TARP to taxpayers would be $41.4 billion. Read More... - Investment News Briefs Former McKinsey Director Pleads Guilty in Galleon Scandal; Unemployment Claims Drop; EPA Tightens Ozone Standards; Cold Snap Threatens Natural Gas Production; State Tax Collections Plummet; Oil Slides From a 15-month High Read More...
- Obama Wants New Law to Tax Overseas Profits and Nail Tax Dodgers By Don MillerAssociate EditorMoney Morning U.S. President Barack Obama today (Monday) announced a proposal for new legislation to pursue American tax evaders by closing loopholes and clamping down on overseas tax breaks for American businesses and individuals. Under provisions of the plan, companies would no longer be able to write off domestic expenses for generating […] Read More...
- Hong Kong Makes Huge Tax Cuts, Increases Spending on Infrastructure Intangibles By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor Sitting on an estimated $15 billion budget surplus, Hong Kong's financial chief, John Tsang, said he would slash taxes, eliminate duties on beer and wine, increase spending on health services and introduce measures to bridge the income gap and reduce air pollution, AFP reported. Income taxes will be cut from […] Read More...
- U.S. Senate Passes Bill To Extend Internet-Tax Moratorium by Another Seven Years From Staff Reports By passing a bill that would extend the moratorium on Internet access taxes for another seven years, the U.S. Senate last week gave proponents of the legislation hope that the extension can be signed into law before the moratorium lapses this Thursday (Nov. 1). The Senate bill is essentially an amended version […] Read More...
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Wednesday's "Earnings Beat" Makes This The Perfect "Bad-Market" Tech Stock
In last week’s Private Briefing report “Our Experts Show You the Stocks to Pick in a ‘Stock-Picker’s Market’,” Money Map Press Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald identified SanDisk Corp.(NasdaqGS: SNDK) as one of three stocks to buy in the face of the stock market sell-off.
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