Taxable Talk

Perhaps no scarier line has ever been uttered than the title of this post. And if ObamaCare passes, there will be yet more fun for those of us in the tax profession.

Declan McCullagh is reporting that the new ObamaCare legislation contains language that may make you just a bit uneasy:

Section 431(a) of the bill says that the IRS must divulge taxpayer identity information, including the filing status, the modified adjusted gross income, the number of dependents, and “other information as is prescribed by” regulation. That information will be provided to the new Health Choices Commissioner and state health programs and used to determine who qualifies for “affordability credits.”

Section 245(b)(2)(A) says the IRS must divulge tax return details — there’s no specified limit on what’s available or unavailable — to the Health Choices Commissioner. The purpose, again, is to verify “affordability credits.”

Section 1801(a) says that the Social Security Administration can obtain tax return data on anyone who may be eligible for a “low-income prescription drug subsidy” but has not applied for it.

This language, if adopted in the final bill, would mean that it would be incredibly easy for individuals who shouldn’t have access to our tax returns to have access to them. I guess the Democrats in Congress don’t like the idea of privacy.

This is yet another reason that I’m not in favor of ObamaCare.

California’s tax brackets are indexed for inflation. Normally, the marginal tax brackets go up each year. But 2009 is anything but a normal year.

The Franchise Tax Board announced the new brackets, and deflation is the name of the game. Tax brackets will fall, and that means if your income is the same in 2009 as 2008, the amount you will pay to California just went up. And that’s besides the tax increase that came in February by bad budget #1.

Don’t worry, Democrats in the state legislature haven’t given up trying to pass even more tax increases.

I’ll have a lengthy post about 2009 California tax brackets and related items in a couple of weeks.

That’s the gist of the famous line uttered by Leona Helmsley. She ended up spending time at ClubFed. It appears that philosophy is shared by the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Charles Rangel (D-NY).

Mr. Rangel amended his 2007 disclosure report to note an account at the Congressional Federal Credit Union of at least $250,000; stock at PepsiCo and Yum Brands; and real estate in New Jersey that he undervalued. You might say he “Missed it by that much,” as he initially reported that it was worth between $6,511 and $17,900; the amended report notes the true value as between $45,423 and $134,700.

Now news comes out that besides just slightly undervaluing his property he ‘forgot’ to pay his property taxes on that property. Yes, the back taxes are only about $160 but it’s the principle of the matter.

Oh, Congressman Rangel has quite a bit to do with taxes. All tax legislation in Congress must originate in the House Ways and Means Committee. So a gentleman who has plenty of problems reporting and paying his taxes is responsible for the writing of tax policy in the United States. Makes you feel comfortable, right?

Mr. Rangel should resign his position as Chair of the Committee but the chances of that happening are somewhere between slim and none.

Hat Tip: Don’t Mess With Taxes, Instapundit