“Losing two experienced officials will make it even harder for the IRS to administer and enforce the tax code.” — Caroline Ciraolo (ex-somebody at the IRS)
Good. No, excellent.
Now all we have to do to help these pore IRS souls is simplify the tax code — e.g. flat tax of 8% on gross earnings, no brackets, no exemptions and no deductions for individuals; and 1% corporate rate on gross sales, no deductions.
#PostcardTaxReturns
Here’s an absolute classic:
Furious driver throws £50 parking ticket on the floor – and gets fined £250 for littering
Of course, this is a Britishland special (clue: currency), and to be fair, the littering thing is a real problem Over There, hence the excessive fine.
The problem, however, is that if someone is found “dumping” (Brit-speak: “fly-tipping”), i.e. someone is caught emptying a truckload of old refrigerators or tires (tyres) on the side of a road or into a field, the fine for said offense is still £250 — which I put to you is not at all excessive, but in fact is inadequate. Of course, the effort involved in removing said litter in this case is considerably greater, i.e. more costly than simply picking up a discarded parking ticket.
I liked the response of a Brit farmer who caught someone dumping trash in his field, whereupon he put his tractor in gear and simply pushed (okay, crushed) the offender’s van against the stone wall. In a rare instance of actual British justice, he was not fined and when haled into court for “destruction of private property”, the magistrate basically told him not to do it again and stop being a bad boy: case dismissed, despite the anguished yowls of the fly-tipper who claimed that without his van, he was out of business. The response from the magistrate was brilliant: “If your business is fly-tipping, then the community is well rid of it.” (I wish I had a link, because the judge was actually funnier than my recollection provides.)
To return to the original offense for a moment: that excessive £250 fine for littering could be called a “spite fine”, and is very common amongst the law enforcement classes, may their socks rot and their daughters run off with rock musicians.
On the other hand, the meter maid got off lightly in that the angry motorist didn’t punch her in the face. I suspect that Milord Judge may not have been as relaxed in his judgment.
I really like a couple of the new business-friendly laws signed by TexGov Abbott this week, particularly this one:
Abbott also signed into law HB 2464, which prevents local municipalities from imposing regulations on certain home-based businesses.
I was stung by this one myself several years ago. Even though Plano is a very business-friendly town (hence all the corporations headquartered there), there were a couple of regs which made it difficult for a home-based business to operate — especially when related to late-night deliveries (“noise abatement”) and so on. (We frequently used FedEx’s 3am pickup service, for instance, because of deadline issues.)
And frankly, anything which makes it easier and less costly for businesses to open and set up operations is A Good Thing because #Capitalism.
Proving that Brazil doesn’t have a First Amendment:
A Brazilian comedian has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for telling offensive jokes.
Offensive, or really fucking funny? I report, you decide:
“What show could be more inclusive? I even hired a sign language interpreter just to be able to offend the deaf-mute.”
And my absolute favorite:
“I’m totally against pedophilia – I’m more in favor of incest. If you’re going to abuse a child, abuse your own. What’s he going to do? Tell his dad?”
Apparently, the audience roared with laughter all through his set. The authorities? Not so much. He’s facing eight years in the clink.
To which I say: “Libertem Léo Lins!“
I see it suggested that Elon Musk’s apparent disapproval of Trump’s budget (the Big Beautiful Bill — ugh, FFS) may stem from the fact that included in the suggested budget cuts are federal subsidies for EV purchases.
If this is the case, then Musk’s ire may be understandable… but not excusable.
Sorry, dude: the whole climate-change-is-gonna-kill-us-therefore-we-must-all-buy-EVs bullshit is one of the more egregious examples of governmental waste and budgetary irresponsibility. You’ve ridden the gravy train because if Gummint is going to throw money your way then why not take it — say your shareholders — but that time is over, so suck it up and spend more time on other pursuits, those which don’t rely on government subsidies to survive or turn a profit.
Like I said, I don’t know if this is the reason for Elon’s peevishness, but if it is, then it’s just silly. The gravy train was bound to end sooner or later, and from a taxpayer’s perspective, sooner is better, although said taxpayers who were going to buy a Tesla may not see it the same way, of course.
Too bad.
Whilst I absolutely deplore this heinous act…
…who among us hasn’t felt exactly the same way each and every time we submit our tax return?
All I can say is: “Put me on her jury.”