Cost of an iPhone

In the US, $707. In Brazil, about $1,200.

My company looked at doing business in Brazil. I learned about several complexities on the accounting side. I suspect these "complexities" explain the extra $500.

Taxes, Transfers, and Voting

Roberta X has an extreme proposal...

"It's simple: if the Feds give you money, from a handout to a paycheck to a bailout, you can't vote."

Alan comments

"I always said you shouldn't get a vote unless you were a net tax payer."

Speaking of "net tax payers," I read this depressing bit of news that the middle class is no longer a net contributor (via Althouse):

"Because transfer payments are, in effect, the opposite of taxes, it makes sense to look not just at taxes paid, but at taxes paid minus transfers received. For 2009, the most recent year available, here are taxes less transfers as a percentage of market income (income that households earned from their work and savings):

Bottom quintile: -301 percent
Second quintile: -42 percent
Middle quintile: -5 percent
Fourth quintile: 10 percent
Highest quintile: 22 percent

Top one percent: 28 percent

The negative 301 percent means that a typical family in the bottom quintile receives about $3 in transfer payments for every dollar earned.

The most surprising fact to me was that the effective tax rate is negative for the middle quintile. According to the CBO data, this number was +14 percent in 1979 (when the data begin) and remained positive through 2007. It was negative 0.5 percent in 2008, and negative 5 percent in 2009. That is, the middle class, having long been a net contributor to the funding of government, is now a net recipient of government largess."

Maybe this means President Obama was 60% right about building things on our own. (Also via Althouse)

It is a Tax

Even before the decision yesterday on Obamacare, where did people think the money was coming from? That's right... Obama's magical stash.

Chief Justice Roberts Is A Genius link via Uncle

Social Security Statements On-line

Last year I posted about the end of paper Social Security statements and lamented that there was no on-line replacement. That's changed. You can check your Social Security history here.

Via Bargaineering (now and for the original post)

107 Days

I missed it by a little, but good news anyway... you have now worked enough days (107) to pay your taxes for the year. You can now use the rest to buy frivolous things like food and shelter.

Scary Video

Hide your kids. Hide your wife.



Via The Blaze

Taxes 101

Info from an accountant (okay, he's a writer, too):

"So, income gets taxed higher. Investments get taxed lower. That’s why rich guys who now live off of their investments pay a lower overall rate. That’s why Buffet’s secretary gets taxed at a higher rate than her megalomaniacal attention whore of a boss."

Larry mentions that most of his income hits as a 1099, so he has to send in his payments without assistance from an employer. I think Uncle was that one that suggested if we all had to actually write the big check every year to the government instead of the money being taken out every paycheck, we'd be a lot more upset. W-2's are hitting mailboxes. Now is a good time to think about that number.

Word Problems

From a NYTimes e-mail alert:

"Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 -- 1:19 PM EST
-----
Republicans in House Reject Deal Extending Payroll Tax Cut
House Republicans on Tuesday soundly rejected a bill approved by the Senate that would have extended the payroll tax cut for most Americans beyond the end of the year and allowed millions of unemployed people to continue receiving jobless benefits.

The House vote, which passed 229 to 193, also calls for establishing a negotiating committee so the two chambers can resolve their differences.  Seven Republicans joined Democrats in opposition.

But the Senate has left town for the year, and Democrats say they do not intend to call it back, putting continuation of the tax cut in jeopardy and leaving a shadow over many unemployed Americans as the holidays near.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/us/politics/house-republicans-move-closer-to-rejecting-payroll-tax-cut-deal.html?emc=na"

Emphasis is mine. Talk about your basic FUD job. I know doing word problems confuses people when they do math, but how much of a tax cut do unemployed people need? I say raise taxes on the unemployed. That will fix the deficit problem. Tax them at 10,000%! So the average unemployed person making $0.00 would owe... hmm, carry the 3, multiple then add, hmm... zero dollars!

If I give the NYT the benefit of the doubt, then that sentence is still poorly phrased.

A Tax on People that are bad at Math?

I thought the lottery was supposed to be a tax on people who were bad at math - not a way to guarantee a profit for those that can count.

Via Slashdot

Bullet Tax

A mayoral candidate in Baltimore wants to charge a $1 per bullet tax to reduce crime. This is dumb on so many levels. The tax would just be in the city, so drive a few miles to save $50 in taxes on a $20 box of 50 rounds. Plus, I wonder how high the round count is for a typical criminal in a year - probably lower than a couple of trips to Coal Creek for me. Lastly, how many crooks are going to do budgeting... for a convenience store hold-up, I'll put six rounds in the magazine, but for the liquor store, I better go ahead and take a few extra even though it will cut into my robbery profits.

Via TNJEff.

Medicare/Medicaid

Is Medicare/Medicaid welfare? That was the debate on the 940 Breakfast Club this morning. Actually, it wasn't much of a debate as a single person was arguing that it wasn't welfare. I don't have the data, but one guy was saying that the lifetime contributions of a typical person would not even cover one procedure.

Since the dollars don't seem to balance, I'm glad people don't take advantage of the system.

Link: Guess what kind of medical coverage he had?

"He wanted an ambulance to take him seven blocks to the hospital. And that's with an able-bodied girlfriend and a functional minivan parked 10 feet from his front door. He actually had to walk around his ride to get to his ride."

Oops. Nevermind.

Ayn Rand - Separation of Economy and State

If you can't find the time to read the relatively short 1,000 page opus that is Atlas Shrugged (or even two hours for the movie), here is short video summary of her philosophy.



Thanks to TNJeff for pointing me to the video.

Skype Illegal in France

So France may declare that Skype is illegal, because it isn't a registered telecom. Since it isn't registered, they aren't paying taxes. Taxes which support things like phone books and payphone booths. (I've added those last links for my younger readers that may not be familiar with antiques from the early days of telephony.) Nothing like disruptive technology to mess with tax codes and morals! For technology is no longer disruptive once people have figured out how to regulate and tax it.