According to the latest statistical data, here it goes! 1% of the top income earners pay 29% of total taxes. The top 5% pay 60% of all taxes. The top 10% pay 70% of all taxes. The top 25% pay 86% of all taxes and the top 50% pay 97% of all taxes. The bottom 50% pay only 3% of all taxes in our country.
And now our government is calling for a value added tax (VAT) of 10%. This would add a tremendous tax burden on us all. Let’s keep following this issue.
This is an interesting type of insurance. This is a great way to leave your heirs with a paid-off home. Many lenders will add the insurance premiums to your mortgage payment.
These policies typically require no health screenings for coverage. They use a method of pooling, which allows people to get mortgage life insurance who would otherwise not qualify.
What in the world is hyperinflation? Here is an explanation from dictionary.com: A very high level of inflation that tends to result in the breakdown of the monetary system, the hoarding of goods, and difficulty in achieving real economic growth.
Hyperinflation is commonly defined as when the rate of inflation exceeds 100% annually. The classic case of hyperinflation occurred in Germany during the 1920s. Hyperinflation, which tends to motivate people to own real goods, adversely affects security prices.
What is the probability of hyperinflation in America? I’m not sure. It depends on which day you ask me. Is there a recent precedent for this? Yes. This happened in Russia in the early-to-mid 90’s. This also happened in Argentina in the 80’s. As late as 2008, Zimbabwe also experienced the devastating effects of hyperinflation. I wouldn’t get overly excited about this just yet, but don’t just dismiss it as conspiracy theory.
I never knew how many different types of insurance there are until I took some courses. For real estate, there are actual cash value (ACV) and replacement cost policies. For homeowners, I recommend a HO-3 (Homeowner 3 replacement cost) as opposed to an HO-1 (Homeowner 1actual cash value) whenever possible. For landlords, I recommend a DP-3 (Dwelling Policy 3) as opposed to a DP-1 (Dwelling Policy 1).
Replacement cost insurance will cost you more because it is a better policy. It will pay the actual cost to replace/or restore the property. Under the “pair or set” clause, it will pay for an entire set of cabinets of you lose only part of them in a fire or flood. The actual cash value policy, or depreciated cost as I refer to it is different.
The adjuster will come in and determine the age of whatever was damaged, and depreciate the value of it based on the expected life their computer tells them it should have. Most people who have claims under these policies will have to come out-of-pocket for a substantial portion of the repairs, depending on the age and condition of the property.
The credit for 30 percent of the cost of installing solar water heating equipment, solar electric equipment, geothermal heat pumps or small wind turbines in your primary residence or a second home is no longer limited to $2,000, beginning in 2009. But the credit for fuel cell property still cannot exceed $500 per half-kilowatt capacity.
The old 10 percent tax credit of the cost of energy-saving home improvements is increased to 30 percent for 2009 and 2010, up to a maximum of $1,500 in the two-year period. It applies to qualified skylights, windows, outside doors, biomass fuel stoves and high-efficiency furnaces, water heaters and central air conditioners. In addition, the dollar limits on the particular type of improvement, such as a $200 cap on the credit for windows, are repealed.
But here’s the weirdest part of the new law. There’s no way for the government to enforce those penalties. Here’s what the Joint Committee on Taxation had to say:
“The penalty is assessed through the Code and accounted for as an additional amount of Federal tax owed. However, it is not subject to the enforcement provisions of subtitle F of the Code. The use of liens and seizures otherwise authorized for collection of taxes does not apply to the collection of this penalty. Non-compliance with the personal responsibility requirement to have health coverage is not subject to criminal or civil penalties under the Code and interest does not accrue for failure to pay such assessments in a timely manner.”
It will be interesting to see how many Americans who are willing to break the law by not buying coverage will be willing to pay a penalty that the government can’t even enforce!
The so-called “individual mandate” is one of the law’s most controversial provisions. It says that by 2014, all Americans have to maintain “minimum essential coverage.” If not, they face a penalty starting at $95 or 1% of income in 2014, and rising to $695 or 2.5% of income in 2016. After 2016, the $695 amount is indexed for inflation.
That’s a pretty big step. The government has never required us to buy commercial products or services before. If you drive a car, most states mandate you buy car insurance – but nobody says you have to buy a car.
Of course, there are plenty of exceptions to the rule. If your taxable income is under the federal poverty line, or the cost of coverage is more than 8% of your household income, you don’t have to pay. And if your taxable income is less than four times the federal poverty limit, you’ll get tax credits to help pay for coverage.
Personal Finance News
