Political parties in Greece criticise IMF head Christine Lagarde for suggesting that Greeks were avoiding paying taxes.

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Lagarde tax jibe angers Greeks

IMF head Christine Lagarde urges Greeks to pay taxes, saying she worried more about the plight of sub-Saharan Africa than the crisis-hit European nation.

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IMF boss ups pressure on Greece

Say at the end of 2012, Congress can’t strike a budget deal and we reach the dread “fiscal cliff.” Taxes go up, spending gets slashed. Would the U.S. economy fall into recession? The Congressional Budget Office sure thinks so . But Ryan Avent wonders why the Federal Reserve couldn’t just step in. Read full article > >

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Why can’t the Fed just prevent the ‘fiscal cliff’?

“If you are a family making less than $250,000 a year, your taxes will not go up.” (quote from President Obama, 2008) “Promise broken: Obamacare raises 18 different taxes.” “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” (quote from Obama, 2009) Read full article > >

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Obama: Broken promises on taxes and health care?

A weekend story from the New York Times shared a surprising statistic: Apple paid just $3.3 billion on $34.2 billion of profits last year — giving it a tax rate of just 9.8 percent. The report, which points out that nearly every major technology firm has its share of tax tricks up its sleeve, says Apple accomplishes this feat with a two-pronged tax strategy. For domestic sales, the company pays profits as a royalty on a subsidy it owns in Ireland, which are then routed to a tax haven. For overseas sales, the company uses a second Irish subsidy, routes the profits through The Netherlands to avoid European taxes, and then sends its profits to its tax haven via the first Irish subsidy. (This strategy is called the “Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich,” the report says. ) Read full article > >

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Apple’s tax rate: 9.8 percent?

In his most recent New York Times column , Greg Mankiw argued that competition among states helps keep taxes low: “If people feel that their taxes exceed the value of their public services, they can go elsewhere. They can, as economists put it, vote with their feet.” Read full article > >

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Do voters really flee high-tax states?

“I was a kid in the 1950s,” says David Levine. “And the whole time, the top marginal tax rate was 87 percent. Not many people paid that much. Only three baseball players — Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays — got there. But it was 87 percent.” Read full article > >

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A rich guy’s case for (much) higher taxes

The Senate rejected consideration Monday of the “ Buffett rule ,” a key election-year Democratic initiative that would impose a minimum tax rate on those making more than $1 million per year, as a philosophical debate over taxes that will define this year’s elections occurred on Capitol Hill. Read full article > >

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Senate rejects consideration of ‘Buffett rule’ tax increase for millionaires

President Obama has cited the fact that the billionaire investor Warren E. Buffett pays less of his income in taxes than his secretary as an egregious example of an unjust tax code.

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Obama Releases His Tax Returns

President Obama is renewing his public push for the Buffett Rule, hoping the proposal to raise taxes on millionaires will deepen distinctions with his political rivals in an election year even if it has little chance to become law. Read full article > >

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With eye on Romney, Obama to make another appeal to middle class with Buffett Rule

A plan to impose a tax on hot take-away food while lowering income taxes on millionaires brings back memories of other unpopular measures imposed by the government.

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Tax on Britain’s Pasty Sets Up Class Warfare

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $3.5 trillion budget plan proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on a 228 to 191 vote, largely along party lines. The plan aims to curb exploding deficits through deep cuts in domestic programs, while lowering tax rates for individuals and businesses. Read full article > >

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House approves Ryan budget plan to cut spending, taxes

This item has been updated. House Republicans dropped plans Monday to vote on a three-month extension of federal highway funding, citing insufficient support for the measure. All federally-funded roadwork is slated to grind to a halt on March 31 . If Congress fails to act before then, the federal government can not collect $93 million per day in gas taxes, millions of construction jobs could be put at risk and eligible commuters would have to wait longer for a planned boost in employer-paid public transportation subsidies. Read full article > >

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Short-term highway funding bill scrapped

Paul Ryan’s plan on taxes has won points for conviction, but the document leaves some significant questions unanswered.

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Common Sense: Judge a Tax Plan by Its Loopholes

I have never been one to take risks on my taxes, but there are some folks who boldly go where most of us would never even try to go. For the second year, the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants has surveyed its members to come up with a list of the most outrageous tax deductions people fearlessly try to claim that were smacked down by their accountants. Read full article > >

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Risky tax deductions