Taxes

SUBJECT OF

FACTS (43)
EVENTS (48)

Mar 2006	Chance that the family of an African-American child is too poor to qualify for the full U.S. child tax credit: 1 in 2	Harper's Index Source: Tax Policy Center (Washington)
Jul 2005	Portion of the German Catholic Church’s income that derives from a government tax on members: 1/2	Harper's Index Source: Carsten Frerk (Hamburg, Germany)
Oct 2004	Maximum percentage income- and corporate-tax rate under laws made for Iraqis by the Coalition Provisional Authority : 15	Harper's Index Source: International Trade Administration (Washington)
Jul 2004	Estimated percentage of U.S. corporations that paid no federal taxes between 1996 and 2000 : 61	Harper's Index Source: General Accounting Office (Washington)
Apr 2004	Number of the five tax-cut questions asked the president on Meet the Press last winter that concerned the cuts' inequity : 0	Harper's Index Source: Meet the Press transcript, 2/8/04
Apr 2004	Average amount a Bush Cabinet member will save this year due to cuts in capital-gains and dividend taxes : $42,000	Harper's Index Source: The Independent (London)
Jan 2004	Estimated number of Americans who refuse to pay some or all of their federal income taxes to protest military spending : 2,000	Harper's Index Source: National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (Brooklyn)
Oct 2003	Percentage of Americans who will save less than $100 on their 2006 federal taxes as a result of this year's tax cut : 88	Harper's Index Source: Citizens for Tax Justice (Washington, D.C.)
Aug 2003	Number of years that the new increase in the federal child tax credit is scheduled to last: 1	Harper's Index Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Jul 2003	Amount of the $106,185 price of a Hummer H1 that businesses may deduct under the proposed Bush tax plan: $88,722	Harper's Index Source: The White House (Washington)/Harper's research
May 2003	Estimated percentage by which the average U.S. gasoline price would rise if costs of securing oil were recouped with a tax: 29	Harper's Index Source: Prof. Darwin C. Hall, California State University, Long Beach
Apr 2003	Amount of import-tax revenue that Israel is withholding from the Palestinian Authority: $400,000,000	Harper's Index Source: Embassy of Israel (Washington)
Apr 2003	Ratio of the U.S. median income in 2001 to what Dick Cheney would have saved that year with the new dividend-tax cut: 2:5	Harper's Index Source: Office of the Vice President (Washington)/Harper's research
Apr 2003	Ratio of the number of words in the U.S. income-tax code today to the number in 1955: 6:1	Harper's Index Source: Tax Foundation (Washington)
Mar 2003	Number of the last four years in which CSX paid any federal income tax: 2	Harper's Index Source: CSX Corporation (Richmond, Va.)
Aug 2002	Extra amount Oregon charges per year to register a hybrid gas/electric car in compensation for lost gasoline taxes: $15	Harper's Index Source: Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (Salem)
Apr 2002	Amount that U.S. companies are projected to write off this year to account for devalued acquisitions: $1,000,000,000,000	Harper's Index Source: Valuation Research (Milwaukee)
Mar 2002	Total voting population of a Denton, Texas, tax district when a development plan was approved there in 1996: 1	Harper's Index Source: City of Denton, Texas
Dec 2001	Total new tax cuts for U.S. businesses approved by the House of Representatives in October: $146,000,000,000	Harper's Index Source: Citizens for Tax Justice (Washington)
Oct 2001	Amount the Treasury Department will borrow this year to pay for the tax refund: $51,000,000,000	Harper's Index Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Oct 2001	Amount The U.S. Treasury Department had projected spending to service U.S. debt this year, before the tax bill passed: $57,000,000,000	Harper's Index Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Jun 2001	Number of members of Congress or their staffers who failed to file a tax return or pay back taxes in 1999: 856	Harper's Index Source: Internal Revenue Service (Washington)
Apr 2001	Chances that the taxes of a low-income working American family will not be reduced by the Bush tax plan: 3 in 5	Harper's Index Source: Citizens for Tax Justice (Washington)
Apr 2001	Percentage of federal returns audited last year that were filed by poor Americans seeking Earned Income Tax Credits: 44	Harper's Index Source: Internal Revenue Service (Washington)
Apr 2001	Percentage change between 1999 and 2000 in the number of audits of U.S. corporations: –28	Harper's Index Source: Internal Revenue Service (Washington)
Apr 2001	Federal income taxes paid by PepsiCo in 1999: 0	Harper's Index Source: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (Washington)
Apr 2001	Amount by which federal taxes paid in states carried by Al Gore in 2000 exceeded federal spending in them, per capita: $685	Harper's Index Source: Taubman Center for State and Local Government, Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.)/ Harper's research
Apr 2001	Amount by which federal taxes paid in states carried by George W. Bush fell short of federal spending in them, per capita: $645	Harper's Index Source: Taubman Center for State and Local Government, Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.)/ Harper's research
Sep 2000	Percentage of Americans who favor repealing the estate tax: 60	Harper's Index Source: The Gallup Organization (Princeton, N.J.)
Sep 2000	Estimated percentage of Americans deceased last year whose estates paid the estate tax: 2	Harper's Index Source: The Cato Institute (Washington)/U.S. Bureau of the Census
Sep 2000	Factor by which homeowners' deductions claimed by Americans last year exceed the budget of HUD: 3	Harper's Index Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition (Washington)
Aug 2000	Percentage change in the gonorrhea rate among teens and young adults when the beer tax is raised by 20 cents: -9	Harper's Index Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta)
Jun 2000	Portion of California's revenue between 1852 and 1870 composed of taxes paid by Chinese laborers: 1/2	Harper's Index Source: Professor Ronald Takaki, University of California (Berkeley)
Apr 2000	Chance that an American earning more than $100,000 in 1988 was audited: 1 in 18	Harper's Index Source: Internal Revenue Service (Washington)
Oct 1999	Percentage change in domestic discretionary spending required through 2002 to fund Congress's proposed tax cuts: - 18	Harper's Index Source: Center on Budget Policy and Priority (Washington)
Oct 1999	Portion of resulting from -18% change in domestic discretionary spending required to fund Congress's proposed tax cuts that will go to corporations: 9/10	Harper's Index Source: Citizens for Tax Justice (Washington)
May 1999	Number of states in which families living at or below the federal poverty level are subject to income tax: 19	Harper's Index Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington)
May 1999	Percentage by which Jasper County, Texas, raised property taxes this year to finance the murder trial of John William King: 4.5	Harper's Index Source: Jasper County Appraisal District (Jasper, Tex.)
Apr 1999	Maximum number of pages of tax forms an American was required to fill out in 1913: 3	Harper's Index Source: IRS (Washington)
Oct 1998	Estimated U.S. taxes that multinational corporations legally avoided this year by using foreign accounts: $10,100,000,000	Harper's Index Source: Joint Committee on Taxation (Washington)
Apr 1998	Ratio of the average amount a U.S. family spent on food, clothing, and shelter last year to what it spent on taxes: 3:4	Harper's Index Source: Tax Foundation (Washington)
Apr 1998	Percentage of Germans who believe that those who don't cheat on their taxes “deserve only pity”: 46	Harper's Index Source: Taxpayer Association of Germany (Düsseldorf)
Apr 1998	Chance that an American would rather be mugged than audited: 1 in 2	Harper's Index Source: Luntz Research (Arlington, Va.)

September 12, 2008	Joe Biden made public the last ten years of his tax returns, showing that his average annual income was $244,000, of which less than half of one percent went to charity, and suggested to a group in New Hampshire that Hillary Clinton “might have been a better pick” to run with Obama.	Weekly Review By Christopher R. Beha Source 1: Tax Prof Blog Source 2: The Telegraph
June 19, 2007	A study found that paying taxes activates pleasure-centers in the brain.A study found that paying taxes activates pleasure-centers in the brain.	Weekly Review By Gemma Sieff Source: NYT
November 9, 2006	In Patna, India, twenty eunuchs were hired to sing, beat drums, and collect municipal taxes.	Weekly Review By Paul Ford Source: MSNBC
October 25, 2006	President Bush called Nancy Pelosi a “secret admirer” of tax cuts.	Weekly Review By Theodore Ross Source: New York Post
September 22, 2006	President Bush predicted that, given the opportunity, Democrats would raise taxes.	Weekly Review By Theodore Ross Source: Reuters
August 1, 2006	The Senate Permanent Investigations subcommittee reported that law enforcement agencies were powerless to prevent the super-rich from cheating on their taxes.	Weekly Review By Theodore Ross Source: NY Times
July 9, 2006	U.S. tax revenue was up.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
May 18, 2006	It was revealed that in 2004 a group of Republican lawmakers wrote letters to the IRS calling for a probe of the NAACP.	Weekly Review By Paul Ford Source: Guardian Unlimited
April 16, 2006	Polls found that 52 percent of Americans would give up some tax deductions for a simpler tax code.	Weekly Review By Paul Ford Source: Asbury Park Press
April 12, 2006	Vice President Dick Cheney, who will receive a $1.9 million refund on his 2005 taxes, was booed at a Washington Nationals baseball game, where he threw out the first pitch. “I have never, ever,” said one fan, “heard anyone get booed like that man.”	Weekly Review By Paul Ford Source 1: The Washington Times Source 2: The Mercury News
March 22, 2006	China announced a new 5 percent tax on disposable chopsticks.	Weekly Review By Paul Ford Source: ABC News Online
September 2, 2005	Senator Bill Frist called for a permanent repeal to the estate tax.	Weekly Review By Paul Ford Source: Think Progress
August 30, 2005	Federal prosecutors accused eight officials from KPMG and a lawyer of conspiracy for helping wealthy people evade at least $2.5 billion in taxes, and a man named Glenn Allen Powell pleaded guilty to taking as much as $1.25 million in kickbacks in Iraq while working for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root.	Weekly Review By Paul Ford Source 1: The Washington Post Source 2: The Washington Post
March 3, 2005	Alan Greenspan called for the United States to replace the income tax with a consumption tax.	Weekly Review By Paul Ford Source: New York Times
December 16, 2004	The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Fannie Mae of cheating on its taxes.	Weekly Review By Theodore Ross and Arno Kopecky Source: New York Times
October 8, 2004	Federal tax revenue was lower than it was in 2000.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
June 28, 2004	Hillary Clinton promised that if John Kerry wins the election, Bush's tax cuts will be eliminated: "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."	Weekly Review By Margaret Cordi Source: Associated Press
April 21, 2004	Governor Rick Perry of Texas proposed shifting the burden of school financing in the state from property taxes to sin taxes on gambling, alcohol, and stripping.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
April 14, 2004	President Bush saved $35,000 on his 2003 taxes as a result of his tax cuts.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
March 16, 2004	The Congressional Budget Office published calculations showing that the federal budget deficit is largely a result of President Bush's tax cuts and spending increases; the agency estimated that only 6 percent of the deficit was the result of economic weakness.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
January 27, 2004	The Congressional Budget Office predicted a record $477 billion budget deficit this year; deficits over the next decade could reach more than $2 trillion if the president's tax cuts are extended.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
January 19, 2004	Spanish bordello owners were protesting a court ruling that the owner of an "alternative club" in Seville must pay social-security tax on the prostitutes who work there. The owners, who claim that the women are technically freelance marketing consultants, said that paying such taxes would turn them into pimps.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
October 30, 2003	Members of the House Ways and Means Committee decided to give tax relief to manufacturers of bows and arrows; makers of fishing tackle boxes were also expected to see relief, as were liquor and wine distributors and movie studios.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
September 17, 2003	Voters in Seattle rejected a proposed 10-cent tax on espresso.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: Reuters
July 16, 2003	The Bush Administration revised its estimate of the federal budget deficit for the current fiscal year and said it was likely to be $455 billion.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
July 16, 2003	Ireland's environmental minister called for a tax on chewing gum.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: New York Times
June 21, 2003	New Zealand proposed a tax on flatulent livestock.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge Source: Reuters
May 14, 2002	A man in Malacky, Slovakia, tried unsuccessfully to decapitate himself with a homemade guillotine in front of the local tax office because he was unable to pay the taxes on his house. “It did not cut his head off completely,” said a policeman, “but he wounded himself so badly that he died afterwards.”	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
December 11, 2001	In Missouri, a pharmacist admitted to diluting cancer drugs; he did it because he needed to raise money to pay $1,000,000 in taxes and a pledge to his church.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
November 27, 2001	A new study confirmed that abuse of stimulants used to treat attention-deficit disorder, such as Ritalin, was rampant among children and teens. “People don't realize what these drugs are,” one scientist said. “The similarities between them and cocaine are much greater than the differences.”	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
October 30, 2001	The House of Representatives decided to repeal the corporate alternative minimum tax in a putative economic stimulus package. If signed into law, the repeal, which is retroactive to 1986, will this year result in $25.4 billion in tax refunds to corporations; seven large companies, including I.B.M. ($1.4 billion) and General Motors ($832 million), would receive $3.3 billion. Enron, the Houston energy company and a major Bush supporter, would get $254 million. Economists pointed out that such refunds do nothing to stimulate the economy.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
August 21, 2001	Celltech Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Metadate CD, an attention-deficit-disorder drug, was using a cartoon superhero in its brochures: “A new hero for ADHD patients is here!”	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
July 31, 2001	A report funded by Philip Morris to dissuade the Czech Republic from raising cigarette taxes was made public.	Weekly Review By Margaret Cordi and Elizabeth Giddens
July 24, 2001	The IRS sent about 523,000 notices to taxpayers mistakenly informing them that they would get the maximum possible refund check under President Bush's tax-cut plan.	Weekly Review By Margaret Cordi and Elizabeth Giddens
July 24, 2001	Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neil proposed reviewing whether the corporate income tax is really necessary.	Weekly Review By Margaret Cordi and Elizabeth Giddens
May 29, 2001	Congress passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut, thereby spending the projected federal budget surplus before it could even come into being.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
May 15, 2001	President Bush said that his big tax cut was the best way to deal with high energy costs.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
April 10, 2001	The United States Senate passed a budget plan that contained a $1.2 trillion tax cut.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
April 3, 2001	Senator Joseph Lieberman proposed a $300 tax rebate for every American worker.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
March 6, 2001	President George W. Bush, whose approval rating was at an historic low for a new president, unveiled his budget and his tax-cut proposal, and made it through his first major speech with only one minor Bushism.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
February 13, 2001	President Bush sent his tax cut plan to Congress.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
February 13, 2001	About fifteen American states that were enjoying surpluses last year suddenly found themselves with large deficits this year after a decline in tax revenue.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
December 19, 2000	President-elect George W. Bush was worried about a slowing economy and called for a large tax cut.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
December 5, 2000	Russia's Orthodox Church named St. Matthew as the patron saint of tax police.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
September 26, 2000	Traffic was snarled in Sweden, Ireland, Spain, and Germany because of fuel-tax protests.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
September 19, 2000	Protesters prevented the distribution of gasoline in England, causing 90 percent of the country's filling stations to run dry; Prime Minister Tony Blair refused to reduce fuel taxes.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
September 5, 2000	Vice-presidential candidate Dick Cheney said he would forfeit $3.5 million in stock options if he were elected; he also released tax forms showing that his income increased from $258,394 in 1992 to $4,423,289 last year.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge
August 1, 2000	Luciano Pavarrotti agreed to pay the Italian government over $12 million in back taxes.	Weekly Review By Roger D. Hodge

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