Tax Information And Guide

Tax Software by Eric Stevenson

Software Tax In 1990 when President Bush (senior) signed into law the Budget Enforcement Act he didn't intend that Clinton and now his own son, would ignore it.

Do you share your Social Security number with others Always be careful about sharing your Social Security number. time jobs especially, be very cautious with your personal information. There are plenty of unscrupulous employers more interested in collecting Social Security numbers than in hiring new employees. Do you use security passwords to protect your laptop The personal information on a laptop can mean more to an identity thief than the laptop itself. protect your laptop, check it regularly for viruses, and make sure your password is secure.

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Grassley views the Social Security legislation as part of a larger reform package. He believes any reform of Social Security, including personal savings accounts, needs to include broader changes to tax incentives for retirement savings. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Grassley said that tax policy needs reform to encourage more investment in company sponsored 401(k) plans and personal IRAs. "It goes way beyond Social Security, and if you're talking about an ownership society, Social Security would be just a small part of it."

Tax Help Feb 12, 2005 (AXcess News) Reno - In 1990 when President Bush (senior) signed into law the Budget Enforcement Act he didn't intend that Clinton and now his own son, would ignore it. But according to Prof. Allen W. Smith, author of the controversial book, "The Looting of Social Security: How The Government Is Draining America's Retirement Account," (Carroll and Graf, 2004) that's exactly what is happening.

The Social Security Administration has conducted its annual unveiling of the increased maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security (FICA) employment (SECA) taxes. The wage base for the Social Security portion will rise to $97, 500 for 2007, up from $94, 200 in 2006. So if you're one of the 10 million or so folks who earn more than $97, 500, you will be paying more FICA tax to the maximum tune of $204.60. (Remember that there's still no cap on the amount of earnings subject to the separate Medicare tax.)

Help Tax Prof. Smith said that Bush and his predecessors have been spending Social Security money as if it were general fund revenue, in violation of federal law.Friday, Dan Froomkin wrote about Social Security in the Washington Post where he quoted President Bush from a talk he gave Wednesday at the Commerce Department: "Some in our country think that Social Security is a trust fund -- in other words, there's a pile of money being accumulated. That's just simply not true. The money -- payroll taxes going into the Social Security are spent. They're spent on benefits and they're spent on government programs. There is no trust. We're on the ultimate pay-as-you-go system -- what goes in comes out. And so, starting in 2018, what's going in -- what's coming out is greater than what's going in. It says we've got a problem. And we'd better start dealing with it now. The longer we wait, the harder it is to fix the problem."

Is anyone really going to ask for proof that you worked at the grocery store during Junior High Highly unlikely! end check of December 31st that recaps the entire 12 months worth of pay, social security, taxes, etc. Then get rid of those other "51" or "22" or "24" statements. In addition, Social Security Administration has all of your employment history on file.

Ernst Ernst Guide Guide Tax Prof. Smith said, "I have been doing everything in my power over Advertisement

Tax Return the past four years to convince the public that Bush was illegally spending every dollar of Social Security surplus in direct violation of his many promises during the 2000 presidential campaign not to touch the Social Security money, and his solemn pledge during his State of the Union Address on February 27, 2001 'To make sure the retirement savings of America's seniors are not diverted in any other program.'"

Return Tax "From my perspective," Smith continued, "President Bush clearly admitted to looting the Social Security trust fund in three separate speeches this week. I suspect that he and his advisers took a calculated risk that by revealing the ongoing looting that has taken place over the past 20 years he would have more ammunition for his current campaign to undermine Social Security. But I think he made a big political mistake. When America's workers realize that they have been the victims of the greatest fraud ever perpetrated against the American people by their government, I think there will be an angry public outcry demanding that the looting be stopped and that the money already looted be paid back to the trust fund and invested in marketable Treasury bonds. If that is done, Social Security will then be able to pay full benefits until 2042."

Guide Guide Master Master Tax Prof. Smith explained to me that under the Budget Enforcement Act it was violation of law to take funds from Social Security and spend it in the general budget, which is as he explained, what every President has done since George Bush senior signed the bill into law.You have to go back in time to follow Smith's thinking. Below is what Smith wrote in a press release on Dec 23, 2004:

Tax Preparation According to Smith, "The problem began with President George H. W. Bush who used Social Security money as if it were general fund revenue from day one of his presidency. The practice has continued ever since, so the $1.5 trillion in Social Security surplus revenue generated by the 1983 payroll tax increase, and earmarked specifically for funding the retirement of the baby boomers, is gone. Smith traces this fraud against the American people as follows.

Preparation Tax Senators Reid, Hollings, and Moynihan tried to block the first President Bush's fraudulent use of Social Security money. In 1990, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York introduced legislation to repeal the 1983 payroll tax increase in an effort to keep the surplus Social Security money out of Bush's hands. The 1983 legislation had departed from the traditional pay-as- you-go method of funding Social Security. Upon the recommendation of the commission headed by Alan Greenspan, Congress enacted a tax increase that would result in the baby-boomer generation paying for the retirement benefits of two generations. They were taxed enough to prepay the cost of their own generation's retirement, in addition to paying for the retirement of the previous generation. Senator Moynihan was outraged to see the administration embezzling and spending the money that was supposed to be building up a large reserve with which to fund the retirement of the baby boomers.Bush, was angered by Moynihan's proposal because, if enacted, it would deprive him of the Social Security surplus money for his budget. He lashed out at Moynihan during a news conference on January 24, 1990. The President said, "I oppose Moynihan ... I don't want to see the benefits of Social Security cut. It is odd that a Republican president ... is the one that is protecting the sanctity of the Social Security benefits." During that news conference, reporters asked Bush a number of pointed questions about the misuse of Social Security money, but the president evaded every single question. Bush did not deny the accusation that he was misusing Social Security money, and provided no justification for his actions.

Employer Tax Guide Later that day, Senator Moynihan responded to the president's statement in a speech on the Senate floor. Moynihan said, "Mr. President ... If there is a problem of dissimulation, I would suggest that it resides with the present practice of using Social Security trust funds as general revenues. My distinguished friend, the Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, Senator Heinz, has used a very direct word for this. He says it is called embezzlement." {Congressional Record}

Tax Services On October 9, 1990, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada made the following statement on the Senate floor ... "I think that is a very good illustration of what I was talking about, embezzlement, thievery. Because that, Mr. President, is what we are talking about here ... I publicly commend and applaud the vigorous activity generated by the Senator from New York because ... on that chart in emblazoned red letters is what has been taking place here, embezzlement." {Congressional Record)Just a year earlier, on October 13, 1989, Senator Fritz Hollings of South Carolina, in a speech on the Senate floor, expressed his outrage at the fraudulent practices that had been taking place. He said, "Of course, the most reprehensible fraud in this great jambalaya of frauds is the systematic and total ransacking of the Social Security trust fund in order to mask the true size of the deficit ... The Treasury is siphoning off every dollar of the Social Security surplus to meet current operating expenses of the Government ... The hard fact is that, in the next century, the Social Security system will find itself paying out vastly more in benefits than it is taking in through payroll taxes. And the American people will wake up to the reality that those IOU's in the trust fund vault are a 21st century version of Confederate banknotes."{Congressional Record} (Senator Hollings' proposal to make it unlawful to include Social Security funds in budget calculations was signed into law by President Bush on November 5, 1990 as Section 13301 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. However, Bush continued to loot Social Security in violation of the law.

Services Tax Like Father, Like Son

Master Tax Guide George W. Bush's father looted every penny of the Social Security surplus generated during his term, and Bill Clinton continued to treat the surplus as if it were general revenue. The money continued to be "embezzled" and spent, with almost nobody aware that the "crime" was taking place. However, it finally came to light during the 2000 presidential campaign.

Tax Attorney Before the 2000 Democratic convention, I sent materials to Al Gore, through many channels, urging him to take a public stand against any further looting of Social Security. Among the materials I sent was my then newly published book, "The Alleged Budget Surplus, Social Security, and Voodoo Economics." I don't know whether it was my letters and materials, or someone else's, that prompted Gore to make his "lockbox" proposal. In either case, the cat was out of the bag, and Bush also promised to keep his hands off Social Security money. Bush reiterated this pledge over and over, and further cemented it with a statement in his first State of the Union address, delivered on February 27, 2001. In no uncertain terms, Bush said, "To make sure the retirement savings of America's seniors are not diverted to any other program, my budget protects all $2.6 trillion of the Social Security surplus for Social Security, and for Social Security alone."

Attorney Tax Like many of his other promises, Bush broke that promise. He "embezzled" and spent every dollar of the $509 billion in surplus Social Security revenue generated during his first term, making him the biggest contributor of all to the real Social Security problem. Most Americans are probably under the assumption that the looting of Social Security ended four years ago when both Bush and Gore promised not to touch any more of the Social Security money. This looted Social Security money became a major source of funding for Bush's tax cuts for the rich. Social Security is $509 billion deeper in the red today because of Bush's looting over the past four years, and he continues to loot the fund to the tune of approximately $438 million dollars each and every day. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush is not the solution to the Social Security problem, he is the problem.

Guide Law Tax My head swam after reading Smith's 04' press release and going through some of the congressional records he'd referred to and I have to admit, few of us really understand how to follow it all. But while Professor Smith hadn't been taken seriously in the past, it appears that George W. Bush, our President, is now drawing more attention to what the Prof's been saying all this time and what Dan Froomkin touched on too - the social security funds just aren't there, what we have is pile of "IOUs" that in effect are worthless. While some focus on the year 2018, or others on 2040, doesn't matter, according to Smith. The real problem is, he says, is that they weren't supposed to spend the money on other budget items - it was a violation of law.AXcess News will be reporting on any new trends related to this story. Members should watch their in-box for late breaking news. If you're not a member, consider joining now. Members get the latest business news, commentaries and stock market coverage delivered right to their in-box.

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