The Commerce Department just announced that U.S. gross domestic product grew in our second quarter by 4.1%, the strongest rate since 2014.
In other words, after inheriting a healthy economy with strong upward momentum, Donald Trump is overseeing a economy that did almost as good last quarter as it did multiple times under President Barack Obama’s benign and educated oversight.
Of course, as the New York Times points out, last quarter’s growth was pushed by a 9.3% rise in exports as U.S. producers hurried to clear their inventories before the Trump tariffs made their goods unsaleable overseas.
Also the 4.1 qtr contained excited economic activity from the tax cut. Economists say this unsustainable growth will be like 2.5 % nxt qtr. NPR this morning.
Can’t hardly wait for the Trollsey Twins to brag about Drumpf and winning.
Each Koch brother got a $500M tax cut.
Leslie, if they got a $500 Mill Itax cut, that means they were paying over $3 Billion in taxes. That’s at the corporate rate. If they are S Corps the we’re paying over 16 Billion in taxes.
How much do you pay in taxes Leslie since you are so worried about how much others are paying?
Personally, I’m also having inordinate schadenfreude about the Chinese factory making MAGA hats and Trump re-election banners racing to fulfill the orders before the tariffs go into effect.
https://www.ibtimes.com/trumps-tariffs-china-could-dull-his-2020-keep-america-great-campaign-2702885
Leslie, if they got a $500 Mill Itax cut, that means they were paying over $3 Billion in taxes.
Bulloney. It just means they got a big check for nothing, like Berkshire Hathaway.
There is no way to corelate that tax savings with taxes paid.
Mike, the C Corp rates decreased by 14% and the top individual rate decreased by 2.6%.
I did the math for you since you are incapable of doing it.
I’m guessing your figures are all wrong since it is likely the lads don’t pay anywhere near 35% corporate tax or the individual taxes, either.
Plus you have no idea what, if any, salary the koch bros get or if they use pass through businesses and a whole host of other stuff.
The only things we have any clew about is the company has annual sales of around 115 billion and a nominal profit of around 10 billion. It has also been stated that the lads put their profits back into the company.
S corps don’t pay corporate income taxes. The shareholders do.
I know S-Corp shareholder pay tax individually Mike. That’s why I posted that the top individual tax bracket received a 2.6% tax reduction.
Assuming her $500M number is correct, than my numbers are correct.
I know S-Corp shareholder pay tax individually Mike. That’s why I posted that the top individual tax bracket received a 2.6% tax reduction.
Assuming her $500M number is correct, than my numbers are correct.
If everything falls into place perfectly, your numbers might be correct. Too many unknowns and variables for you to state how much tax they paid since both of them got the same refund. But, experts predicted they may have gotten 1.4 billion in tax relief. Nobody knows for sure.
We’ll have to agree to disagree.
Kochs invested $250M on 2016 election & promise $400M for 2018 now that tax cut passed. Goal: push GOP further right. Kochs evaded tax on $1.1587B in 2008. Since then they, Adelson, W. Stephens (payday lender), G. Palmer billionaire (“has not pd tax for 30 yrs”), E.S. Wynn (casinos), Paul Singer (hedge funds), support Trump and all use complex notorious tax avoidance devices and havens (TESI-tax evasion strategy industry). Guardian 11.07.17 “Offshore Paradise”
BVI tax haven saw Russian Rybolovlev’s yacht anchored a few humdred feet from Mercer’s. Trump profited on Palm Beach mansion to Rybolovlev for $95M. Laundered? Moyers.com, Trump Russia Timeline. DOJ settled Russian laundering case 3 days b4 trial for <$6M. Tax haven money EARNS interest by investing in govt bonds! ATT cut 80k jobs, Verizon, 78k depite 8-9% tax rate. GE rate was -3% while cutting 15K jobs.Exon's rate was 14% but cut 1/3 workforce worldwide.Nation, 9.6.17. Gary Cohn, Trump eco advsr "only morons pay estate tax." Kristie: "liberty was pushed aside", after house bill repealing ACA failed. Kochs' tax deductible Libertarian racist John Bircher rooted screed that small govt, ACA is rationed care, and benefiting business is good for everyone was promoted by think tank intellectuals, and pressuring politicians with 27 created organizations (eg AFP ect) and institutions (Geo Mason U, ect). Truthout.org, vast right wing conspiracy
Sorry for dbl post. Second one has Koch John Bircher past & Truthout cite.
My guess is tax evasion specialists have much in common with the specialists who created the 23 to 27 non-profit groups used to promote the Koch agenda, and hide campaign funding. Russian oligarchs need to lauder money and Trump needs money. Erickson?
BTW the stimulus of the tax cut is expected to fade in late 2019 to mid-2020. The current economic expansion is the 2nd longest in US history. In 2009 unemployment reached 10% and 8.5M jobs were lost. Will Trump kill the economy again? Dozens of Koch personnel fill Trump executive and administrative posts, and crippling ACA, EPA, IRS,FBI, CIA, FEC,SEC, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, public ed, min wage, child labor and financial laws are at the top of Koch wish lists. Newyorker.com, “Koch retirement”.
There seems to be missing an important factoid in this discussion of the dollar value of tax cuts. Without clearly stating the net profits of a corporation after paying taxes, both before and after the cuts, we really don’t know whether the corporations were hurt in any meaningful way by the former higher tax rates.
I mean how much profit after taxes makes rational sense? If a company has $100 billion in net profit before paying taxes, are they really harmed in any meaningful way if that profit is reduced to $65 billion after taxes? Can anyone name a single company that would close if they could make $65 billion in profit after taxes?
Good point, BCB. There comes a point where more wealth is meaningless, like the difference between 105 and 115 degrees… or minus-35 and minus-45.
I’ll bet the $35-billion difference you describe has far less impact on that one corporation than the elimination of $35 billion in public services that directly benefit hundreds of thousands of Americans.
Guess all this winning was to much for Comrade trumps boss, Putin. Maybe Putin sees the handwriting on the wall or the crayola etchings the dotard.
The Russian government has sold off the vast majority of its holdings of US Treasury securities for reasons that remain mysterious, in a dramatic move that experts are calling unprecedented.
A US Treasury report released on July 18 shows that Russian holdings of Treasury securities declined by 84 per cent between March and May, down to just $14.9 billion from March holdings of $96.1 billion.
The report was issued quietly amid the controversy surrounding President Donald Trump’s July 16 meeting with Russian President Valdimir Putin in Helsinki, dropping Russia from the list of major Treasuries holders without comment.”
What a mystery indeed.
Exactly Cory. As a nation we have decided that we should fund the federal government through various taxation, including corporate income tax on profits (after deducting all expenses of doing business).
If the cost of maintaining federal programs drops, then cutting taxes makes sense. Here, however, I have seen no claim that the cost of governmental programs have dropped, so by cutting taxes we simply increased our deficit and passed the cost of continuing these programs along to future generations.
I suppose there is a psychological purpose. Say, for example, before cutting taxes we proposed simply eliminating, for example, all or part of the SNAP (food stamp program). This might well cause a public outcry and raises all sorts of objections. But if we cut taxes first, then we create the argument that we can no longer afford to fund SNAP because we now lack the needed revenue, which in turn might make it easier for those of us that can afford food to accept allowing families and children go hungry, since we lack the revenue to continue feeding the needy.
Bottom line is that there are legitimate arguments against the current levels of a variety of government spending, including military spending. But to cut taxes before actually cutting funds from any or all of these existing programs seems to put the cart before the horse. And I have seen no rational argument that it hurts a corporation’s owners more to cut profits by 35% than it will hurt the people depending on SNAP and other rograms to survive.
Jerry, the theory is Putin knows what bombshells are about to drop on himself and Drumpf and Putin wanted to sell off the majority before morons in congress finally get serious about holding Russia responsible for hacking the election. Putin knows he would have lost access to those securities.
How else do you shrink a government so you can drown it in a bathtub? This is a wingnut plan that has been brewing for many years all with the intent of defunding welfare for all but the wealthiest.
Charles koch bros claims he is willing to forego stoopid Drumpian wingnuts and huddle with Dems that share his values. Why do I not like the sound of that????
Wow. The ignorance of people is astounding.
Leslie gave me a specific number. It’s not hard to back into what their income tax bill was before the tax cut.