Guest Post: Get Ready To Start Paying These Taxes Too
Submitted by Simon Black of Sovereign Man
Get Ready To Start Paying These Taxes Too
In the pre-dawn darkness of a chilly LA morning, my day started off with a chuckle. A friend in the reforestation business sent me an email detailing the US Department of Agriculture’s new ‘Christmas Tree’ tax that was approved yesterday. I thought it was a joke. It wasn’t.
One can only laugh at the absurdity of the government getting involved in such a matter. But it’s happening more and more.
You see, the United States is on a one-way collision course with its financial judgment day; the country long ago passed the historical point of no return– the point at which it has to start borrowing money simply to pay interest on the money it has already borrowed.
Throughout history, countries that passed this point of no return soon defaulted on their debts, entered into extended periods of severe inflation, or both. This is nothing new– the idea of a government going bankrupt is practically as old as the concept of government itself.
Along the way as they slide down the slippery slope of economic calamity, governments typically hit the accelerator by resorting to financial repression; rather than making the economy open and attractive to talented people and investment capital, they instead confiscate, inflate, and overregulate.
These tactics include oldies but goodies like civil asset forfeiture, capital controls, and a host of whacky new taxes. Like a Christmas Tree tax, for example.
Sumptuary laws (regulation and taxes over lifestyle habits) are quite common, dating back to the Renaissance period ‘beard taxes’. If you wore a beard during the time of Peter the Great in Russia, or Henry VIII in England, you paid a tax to the government for the privilege.
There are many modern day equivalents of the beard tax– taxes on cigarettes, mobile phones, vehicles, luxury goods, etc. We should expect the introduction of even more– a national sales tax, an Internet tax, a carbon emissions tax, and a financial transactions tax.
After this, the next mind-boggling category of taxes that will be introduced are ‘social taxes’. In other words, you get taxed on what everyone else is doing… like an anti-terrorism security tax, or better yet, national healthcare where you pay for other people to go to the doctor.
During the Tokugawa period in feudal Japan, they called this ‘honto mononari’. Village peasants were taxed by the local daimyo on the basis of the entire village’s rice yield for that season. Even if you didn’t grow a single grain, you still paid.
Perhaps the most heinous forms of taxes to come, though, are asset taxes. And at roughly $5 trillion in total value, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are the lowest hanging fruit that the federal government can grab.
It’s not that far-fetched. Argentina has done it. Hungary and Ireland have done it. Even France passed a law last year authorizing the government to use pension fund assets to pay off its debts. And if you recall, the US Treasury raided public pensions this year to tide itself over during the budget debacle.
The next step will be for the government to nationalize a portion of IRA assets. They’ll wait for a severe market downturn that wipes a huge chunk from most IRA accounts, blame capitalism for the failure, and then pass a law requiring that X% of IRA funds be held in the ‘safety and security’ of government debt.
If you think this can’t happen, then I encourage you to do absolutely nothing. Keep your IRA funds parked with a big, conventionally-thinking financial institution that has absolutely no interest in your financial security.
If, on the other hand, you can see the writing on the wall, then one of the biggest no-brainers you can undertake is establishing an Open Opportunity IRA.
This is a structure where YOU take control over your own retirement funds, opening up your savings to a world of possibilities and protecting against government confiscation.
(22 votes)
»
- Login or register to post comments
- 14186 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
Don't Comply, Don't Buy!
are TPTB trying to force the 99% into anachrocapitalism...
into a barter society...
WHAT ARE THEY THINKIN'....
taxing the hell out of christmas???
Agreed, Obama the Grinch.
We must tax Christmas trees, or the terrorist will try to bomb them.... err.... wait.... sorry.
Oh Tannenbomb, oh Tannenbomb...
You know who I blame and it isn't the "Christmas Tree Checkoff Task Force”. They steal our education, media and politicians. Fuck just leave Christmas alone. Its the only time I get to spend worthless dollars buying shit I get bored of by January 3rd.
Fight the government! Cut you own tree!
Its not a tax on Christmas trees, its an industry surcharge that was not going to be passed on to the consumer.
"The USDA said most growers are in favor of the fee because it would ultimately help their bottom line. Agriculture Department spokesman Michael T. Jarvis told FOXNews.com that there are over 20 similar promotional campaigns supported by the department, which have helped their respective industry grow.
"We have good reason to believe it [would] be successful for our industry," Betty Malone, an Oregon tree farmer and president of Christmas Tree Promotion Now, told the Miami HeraldTuesday. "We looked at what other industries have done, and how successful they've been."
See this link for your self. I'm afraid Simon Sovereign Guy is talking his book again, which is to get you to buy his crap. And he has a lot of that to offload onto someone.
Employee Notice
Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown in the economy, Congress has decided to implement a scheme to put workers of 50 years of age and above on early, mandatory retirement, thus creating jobs and reducing unemployment.
This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early).
Persons selected to be RAPED can apply to Congress to be considered for the SHAFT program (Special Help After Forced Termination).
Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under the SCREW program (System Covering Retired-Early Workers).
A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as Congress deems appropriate.
Persons who have been RAPED could get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependents & Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance).
Obviously persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by Congress.
Persons who are not RAPED and are staying on will receive as much SHIT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible. Congress has always prided themselves on the amount of SHIT they give our citizens.
Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHIT, please bring this to the attention of your Congressman, who has been trained to give you all the SHIT you can handle.
Sincerely,
The Committee for Economic Value of Individual Lives (E.V.I.L.)
PS - Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas and oil, as well as current market conditions, the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off.
Now that's funny!
and yet i'll always miss the train.
Will this be tax deductible for Goldman Sachs?
I hope so, anything to help the banking system in times of need...
lol
i kinda like to be on the SHIT program. special high? ohhhhhhh yeahhhhh...
Best post on ZH I read in a while:)
While this is certainly funny, the results from Tuesday's election where most incumbents kept their jobs was not. The "my corrupt politicians is better than your corrupt politician" thinking will definitely sink this country.
So an involuntary "surcharge" that must, according to law, be paid by everyone in the industry that sell or imports a certain number of trees isn't a tax? It's mandatory (So the government stepped in to mandate a fee to support the promotion board)
and is used to create a government board called the Christmas Tree Promotion Board. Some in the industry tried to fund this in the past voluntarily, but it didn't work so they enlisted the government to compel participation. Sounds like a tax to me and only an idiot thinks it wouldn't get passed on to the consumer in the end. Idiot.
You'd be surprised at how many people have never heard of Christmas and have no fuckin clue what a Christmas tree is...
I'm all for it... I think it's a great idea, stimulates the economy and all that...
Figures
and whilst we're at it, why don't we tax them little white hats so that Muslims can contribute to the national coffers too? If anyone needs an advertising campaign, they do. It's then only one step away from boosting GDP by letting more Muslims in...
and I can't see anything wrong with that.
see, fixed it. No more budget deficit and lots of happy advertisers...
Can I be President now?
If they had good reason to believe it would help the industry then why didn't they just do it themselves without involving the federal government in a marketing program for Christmas Trees? No this was an effort to elicit the help of the government to squeeze out the smaller growers reducing the competition for the larger growers. Another example of government corporatism run amok. If it is a mandatory fee (regardless of the size) then it is a tax and all taxes have to be approved by Congress unless we are completely ignoring the Constitution (shocking!!).
yeah...fuck you, weres your brown spider free certificate motherfucker...prove this wood wont be used for a guitar...i have a fucking machine gun mister guitar man give me your wood....you too xmas treeman...
There's obviously some deep and meaningful message in there somewhere that is frankly, beyond me...
Oh how great is thy taxes, oh how great is thy taxes!
ot maybe, who the fuck knows anymore....i have a half a ear towrds the debates......when the fuck did it become a game show....anyhow i have ron paul for the big showcase....and remember to spay and neuter your citizens...
Obama introduces a Christian Tax? Hmmm.
Next they will want to tax Christian Church Donations.
Anarchocapitalism and the barter system are two very different things. Check definitions before you shoot your mouth.
uh...
i know...
thats why i put them on different lines...
Actually, they misspelt it anachrocapitalism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anachronism
An ironic mistake, considering the government already seems to have been practicing a form of this for some time now...
sorry, pleb,
my bad on the spellin'
How can government possibly practice anarcho-capitalism?
.
arachnocapitalism
capitalism for the black widow government, er , spider
... and back in 2007 and 2008, we had an "inflation tax". Consequently, not only did people stop buying, they quit paying their mortgages, too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_tax
Barack Hussein,DECIDED TO NOT GO W/THIS TAX,
Isn't it swell just one administrator an decide such things on a whim? ;-)
Yes he can!
dont buy capital strike; dont shop dont invest;
black underground economy only....
see ya in two years.
More like ten years. Both republicans and democrats shit on the middle class every chance they get. The kleptocracy will not end without a revolution.
the tax man comeith
Bitchez.....
A christmas tree tax IS pretty ridiculous ... but just wait until they start putting a "goods and services" tax on your tax payments.
THEN, you know that the end is nigh. :-)
They do...in Canada, in some provinces it's called HST right now and my understanding from US cousins that visit it is near impossible to get back versus GST
Damn, what was I thinking when I did not get one of those raidable things?
Look elsewhere gummint rats! Fukk off!
christmas tree tax. really? what so barry can play more golf?
" No Christmas for You ! "
+1 for soup nazi reference
ron paul says...bring it all down
ok he said "liquidate" but i heard "bring it all down"
on the fake ones, too?
Why not Menoras? All them candles put off so much CO2, ya gotta do it!
Exactly what I was thinking. Since that evil tribe is behind most of the problems and scams anyway!
Luckily my family already owns a fake tree. Wait..why did I just put that on the internet?
Shit..where do I send the fifteen cents?
The problem started in the 90s. You had the internet bubble, so tax revenue ballooned, and government believed they could take on more debt, since the debt:gdp would be about the same. However, it was a bubble, and once it popped, tax revenues fell off a cliff, but you had all that legacy debt.
Then Greenspan allowed a real estate bubble, and Bush used the extra tax revenue for 2 wars, bush tax cuts, and medicare. Increasing the deficit throughout his two terms. But that bubble popped, and your left with more legacy debt.
Throughout the last 2 decades wallstreeet has been horrible at pricing assets, and risk. They were at the helm of 2 of the world's largest bubble. and bust. The mechanism of wallstreet is broken. It must be fixed before capital can flow its institutions
#occupywallstreet.
The problem started in the 1960's with the US trying to fund the war in Vietnam. Nixon ended the silver standard and the gubmint printed all the money needed to pay for bullets and stuff. Immediately addicting, congress has been doing this for 50 years to fund whatever they wanted. It's been a good run for them and the banksters, time to pull the chute on their escape and screw the public one last time(s).
it started in 1913
"...on a Christmas day..."
Hey - hey!
Hey! Hey!
FUCK THE FED!
Uh, I think you're about 8 decades off.
It starts and ends with the federal reserve, doesn't it.
Fiat money was around long before the Federal Reserve...
You are right, and what has happened to each and every one? The same thing that is going to happen to the Euro and FRN$.
True, it is a mathematical inevitability. The Fed is just the latest in a long line of bit part players...
DormRoom, I think the problems run considerably deeper than you alude to here...
The Irishman makes another public video expressing his current views. He still doesn't get the grand scheme on central policy making. Still give him a +10 for great vulgarity and effort by explaining a thin layer of the problem to mouth breathers.
Wall Street Wankers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bw2C_XR64Y
With Open Opportunity IRA, "Get Ready For An Audit" my friend.
OT: PMs and Prenuptial Agreements
Can you recommend whether I should include gold/silver physical metals I own and have purchased the past 3 years on my prenuptial agreement? I'll be getting married very shortly.
Also, any recs on whether to use a brick 'n mortar lawyer vs. an online prenup "generator" vs. writing a simple 1 pager up myself are much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
brick and mortar, to be sure you're covered in your state.
Personally, after having had one divorce and one runaway bride, I'd advocate taking the PMs and burying them and never say a word to the future ex. (Apologies for my cynicism.) Putting it in a prenup is creating legal documentation of its existence, and if you talk to any guy who's gone through the coming home to an emptied house scenario, the last thing you want is a highly valuable, highly portable asset that can be taken and denied -- and then she can go after you twice, 1st time she takes it, second time she claims you're hiding it and demands payment.
Really, the best course of action is make is disappear.
I respect your cynicism, have fought marriage about as long as I could but have a couple kids now. I think we'll make it work at least till they're of age, but honestly who knows.
First you said brick 'n mortar but then had convincing arguments against mentioning them at all. Can you give more details? I have not much else other than a (maximum-ly drained) 401k.
Hmm, good points, I gotta admit.
Diatribe...
Ever hear someone say "We know it will never last, but we are getting married anyway." IF you inherit money, do not comingle, if she does, put it in joint account, shared ownership whatever.... the odds are against you, invest $200 an sit for an hour with a divorce atty before you get married. No one ever does, but that is some of the best dough you will ever INVEST
Agreed on the inheritance issue. A good friend got really screwed by his ex-wife on that one. Also on spending time on a good attorney now because as it has been pointed out, it's far cheaper to do it with the prenup than with a bad divorce.
if she already knows about the pm's include them in the prenup, if she doesn't know don't let her find out.
get a shovel and bury deep. what she don't know about can't hurt you.
Wow, lots of input on this!
I said brick and mortar and then not mentioning. To explain:
The ideal is to bury them and STFU. I would make sure I had documentation that I possessed the PMs prior to the wedding, just in case.
If she already knows or there is any other issue, she's making a stink, whatever, then go to a brick and mortar lawyer. A full prenup will likely cost more than $500, but ask. In every case where I've needed a contract/legal ass covering, I do my best to keep something simple and write it on one page, and hand it to lawyer to be legalesed and anti-loopholed, and this usually costs about $500.
You need to use a brick-and-mortar because state laws vary a lot. In my state, for example, prenups are flat out null and void.
The other issue is those PMs are a nice asset. Once you're married, you can have joint debts, and if/when marriage blows up, they'll be looking at those assets, even if they came before the marriage, to cover the debt -- debt you might not have agreed to. Forget about whether it's right, moral, or hell, even legal -- once the marriage turns south, if the woman sees a lawyer expect a world of pain, expense, and dirty tricks. Even if she likes you, if her lawyer smells money, he'll be an ass just to get his part of it. #1 Rule to financial well being: keep your shit off of anyone else's RADAR.
I'll pass on a quote from my run-away bride, who'd posed this question to me:
"Do you know any man personally, who was better off financially after getting into a relationship than before, or if he was in a relationship, do you know any man that was better off after being married?"
It's great if a marriage lasts, but if it doesn't and you're the guy, no one is looking out for your interests. So you have to, ahead of time.
Hate to tell you, but lawyers are not held to any standards of the practice of law, especially if they can convince you to sign the document. Later, when you discover that your lawyers have totally screwed up..not some esoteric ,obcsure law or case precedent, but mainstream law 101, you will have no recourse.
I know. I tried to sue my divorce attorneys, whose representation for me was so bad, they couldn't even get an expert to testify on their behalf, and the trial court "after having reviewed the record, depositions and having made all reasonable inferences, concluded(s) the defendants were negligent..."
But in KY, there was this obscure get out of jail free card: Mitchell v Transamerica which allowed the trial court to throw out any case involving legal malpractice, even though a more recent case by a higher authority, (KY Court of Appeals), Steevest v Scansteel, which was the standard for summary judgment, was not cited, and applied squarely to my case.
When I tried to appeal to the State Supreme Court, my new attorney got it wrong again: I had to appeal in 20 days, not 30 days.
I won't even get into my other attorney who failed to notify ther KY Licensure Board in a timely manner (3 years) that the medication error was not intentional on my part, but rather had been mishandled by the operating room nurse, who allowed an unauthorized tech to draw up the medication, which of course, was the wrong one.
The Board launched a full blown lawsuit against my license because they thought I had knowingly administered the lethal drug, when in fact I had been unwittingly handed a medication that an unauthorized tech had selected and drawn up, and I was scapegoated by the Board. But no matter to my attorney. He was too far away in the top corner office of the biggest law firm in Louiville enjoying his status as senior partner to care about my situation. Had he made a timely dsiclosure to the Board of this critical factor, circumstances in KY at the time would have allowed the Board to call off "disciplinary" action. Instead, three years later, the sentiment had turned against doctors when the head of the KY Medical Association, in a very high profile case involving molestation of patients, the KY medical board had to serve up a scapegoat immediately.
To make matters worse, a special hearing officer who had never disagreed with the Board was brought in to hear the case. The KY Medical Board's counsel was this young twerp, a little shit, right out of law school, who was trying to cut his teeth on a future legal practice involving medical malpractice by first getting a position as counsel for the Medical Board.
All reports to the KY Bar of these slime balls returned with a review by a three man tribunal, names unknown, with a one sentence reply stating that no evidence of misconduct was found and the matter was concluded, and that was that.
The legal profession rales about us doctors committing medical malpractice, but let me tell you, what should be legal malpractice is rampant as far as I can see, and you are powerless to get recourse.
FUCK YOU ALL YOU LAWYERS OUT THERE!!!!!
OK Tyler, you can remove this rant. It will be coming out in a book anyway.
"Kill the lawyers." Hamlet
I never actually read Shakespeare
augmister
Henry VI Part 2 actually:
http://www.shakespeare-literature.com/Henry_VI,_part_2/13.html
DICK
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
Hubbs - thanks for sharing this. It's amazing how many different ways our society, government and control systems can screw us over. You're either in the system or screwed by it... it's remarkable.
Hehe.
Dude you and your wife just need to swap with other couples every once in a while. Why divorce? Have your cake and eat it too.
Works great in my marriage. We love each other and never get bored or fight much. She can bitch about me to her boyfriend, get it off her chest, then we get it on the next night.
It helps you remember to treat your wife just like any new girl you are trying to fuck, like you are trying hard to make a good impression.
You break out of old ruts. You never again take them for granted, and you and her are always trying to outdo each other's lovers.
Stale routines, taking your relationship for granted, and failing to treat your spouse like a first date each time you go out leads to failed marriage.
Sounds like good advice to me.
Gotta shovel and a good memory?
Got a shovel and GPS. No land I "own" however..
You can bury it on my back 40. I promise I won't tell.
If you're getting a prenup, why wouldn't you include an asset that could change radically in value over time? I don't know much about attorneys but it would seem like a real one would be a better idea than an online prenup generator for something this important. Ask people you trust for a referral.
FWIW, I've been happily married over twenty years, and I hope you have the same luck. Congratulations!
Thanks for the reply. First off, I don't know how specific prenups need to be. And I'm hesitant letting anyone, even a lawyer, know that I have PMs if it's required to inventory them all. I'd prefer just a blanket statement "any assets owned prior to <marriage_date> are mine" which maybe I can do.
I'm hoping this won't cost more than $500 either; really want to do it for piece of mind, as marriage is such a bitch for the breadwinner. Thanks for the well wishes, any marriage tips to survive?? (Note I'm brilliant, handsome, and always right ;)
One way, is in the prenup to state that assets in your name, or those that you can, if necessary, prove at a later date a la bill of sale that you have title to remain yours ( same for your other half ) - there should be no need to itemize assets like a contents insurance policy.
Don't forget the ZH donation...
$500 - you are an idjit.... just my buddy's atty and forensic experts cost him $300,000 for his part of the divorce; wifey's part was another major chunk of change.
You are sweating $500 - Earth to Diatribe: your current situation may not be the same when you divorce - you may become very successful inspite of utter stupidity and ignorance.
I am not kidding - THE MOST IMPORTANT CLAUSE IN THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMNT IS THE DISSOLUTION CLAUSE. Marriage is a tricky partnership with innumerable implied obligations and liabilities.
I am trying to be rude to make a point with you - "oh we are getting married, should I tell her I have a bunch of PMs???? Fuck no! So she can badger you to sell them to buy a new couch, a new GM Volt, or whatever???Dude, get a clue. Its a legally binding partnership - get legal advice NOW!
BTW,
Vaginamony is the most onerous tax ever dreamed up by anybody
Of course you're brilliant, handsome and always right. That goes without saying! Marriage tips, sheesh! It's all so subjective and it sounds as though you've been together for a long time already. You might want to be prepared for the possibility that actually being married will change your relationship. I hear that even for long-time couples, it tends to do that so you might want to talk about it just in case. TCT's solution wouldn't fly for a lot of people but he does have it right that lots of sex is very important. (And I know that it's hard with kids, especially for women but it is essential in a satisfying marriage, IMO.) Unless you see yourselves being roommates, you need to keep the connection alive. (Some people consider sex a topic for the prenup.)
Putting each other's best interests first, seeing the other as the most important person in the world: I guess that's why we're together, not just why we're still married.
Maybe the PMs could go in a safe deposit box at a bank separate from your joint accounts. Can you have a letter with an attorney specifying the location of an asset in the event of something happening to you, so it isn't mentioned in a prenup or a will that anyone else (including the attorney) would be privy to? As your heir, she could get access to it if you died but she wouldn't know about it otherwise.
If anyone is watching the debate Jim Cramer looks crazy. Why is he YELLING!
When is he not yelling? Also, Cramer really wants the U.S. to bailout Italy, it sounds like.
can anyone explain why people care or even watch his show, at all? I mean, people who follow zh. Why even discuss him? this is a mystery to me.