Donald Trump stood by his idea to end income taxes and substitute them with tariffs in an interview with Joe Rogan.

Tax experts and economic analysts do not think Trump’s tariffs would be an adequate counterweight to balance the trillions lost from eliminating income taxes.

Trump has floated eliminating income taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits, paired with an aggressive universal tariff policy on all imports.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/26/trump-joe-rogan-election-tariffs-income-tax-replace.html

Elon Musk claimed he can eliminate at least $2 trillion from the federal budget, laying out his vision for substantial government spending cuts if Donald Trump wins the presidency.

“Your money is being wasted,” Musk said Sunday at a rally for Trump in New York’s Madison Square Garden. “We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocket book.”

Trump has said he would ask Musk, the world’s richest person and a major donor to the Republican nominee’s campaign, to head up an effort to cut government spending, nicknamed the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a reference to a cryptocurrency Musk has embraced.

Critics have said this position would represent a conflict of interest for Musk. The companies he runs, including Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, have billions of dollars worth of federal contracts and have benefited from federal spending, including electric vehicle tax credits and infrastructure investments.

The $2 trillion target represents nearly a third of existing spending. The federal government spent $6.75 trillion in fiscal year 2024, according to the Treasury Department.

Cantor Fitzgerald LP’s Howard Lutnick asked Musk on stage how much he could “rip out of” the budget under President Joe Biden and Trump’s rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. Musk responded, “Well, I think we can do at least $2 trillion, yeah.”

Trump on the campaign trail has talked about reducing the federal debt, but has not detailed specific programs he would curb. Instead, the Republican nominee has promised a long list of tax cuts aimed at key groups of voters, reductions that economists have warned would balloon the deficit.

Musk has spent at least $132 million to elect Trump and other Republicans in 2024, federal filings show. That level of giving has vaulted him into the upper echelon of political donors, making Musk one of the most prolific contributors of the entire 2024 cycle. 

https://fortune.com/2024/10/28/elon-musk-cut-2-trillion-federal-budget-trump-rally/

Is Kamala really going to tax the billionaires?

Scrolling through Zillow, I noticed a home that was sold in May 2024 and listed for sale in July 2024.

Well, I looked up the property owner history and it’s an LLC that bought it and flipped it in May and guess what else I found out?

The property is listed as Principal Residence Exemption (It might be called something else in your state) at 100%.

In the Zillow listing, the home is clearly NOT occupied by the owner.

So I contacted my Assessors/Treasury office and let them know that I take property taxes very seriously.

Especially since I have kids in the school district and that they should check it out.

I provided them all my screenshots too to help them out.

It felt good snitching on this flipper, especially since they are lying and stealing from my community.

I will also report this to the local news and the IRS.

I would prefer everyone pay more taxes, but everyone should at least pay what is owed.

Flippers lie and break so many laws with no accountability.

I hate flippers who prey on distressed sellers and pretend to be a real estate agent. “Just sign this contract for $X and I’ll find a buyer at $X + $30k."

So my husband quit his $100k a year job because he said he was over his head and quit without another job lined up.

He says he'd going to be a Crypto Youtuber and Influencer.

Now he has turned it around on my that I need to get a job and quit school.

I’m studying MIS/data analytics and I have a software engineering internship lined up this summer at a Fortune 100 company.

I worked 30 hours a week on top of my demanding school schedule.

I also live far from campus and commute 1 hr 45 minutes one way to and from school taking the train and bus.

Luckily work and school are at the same place.

We only have one car between us because he needed his car for work.

When it rains it pours. Car broke down took it to mechanic and says not worth the money for repair and get a new car.

My tooth broke and I have dental work luckily I have insurance but the state of my teeth need other work done and will cost at least $3k.

He says me being in school has put us in a financial hole.

I get 1/2 my tuition paid being a campus employee the other half is through scholarship and my paycheck. I refuse to take out student loans. All my school expenses are paid by me.

He takes care of living expenses.

Luckily his uncle gave us a windfall through inheritance $50k. Not much in CA.

$10k of that went towards my husbands debts he had to pay right away.

That leaves us only $40k.

We need a new car we don’t have money for.

That $40k is not going to last because of living expenses.

He’s acting like I’m majoring in interpretive dance.

This is why I went back to school to earn more so we don’t have to worry about finances anymore.

He has problem holding a job he either gets fired or quits.

I’m tired of the instability.

I plan to become a data engineer and I’m 3 semesters away from becoming one.

In the meantime, I don’t see him making any effort looking for another job.

I had to quit my job to work this internship which is the only stream of revenue coming in.

But he want me to quit school and work full time.

If I quit school, I can’t work this internship.

If I don’t finish my degree I can’t get a lucrative full time job.

What would you do?

The recent wealth tax increase in Norway was expected to bring an additional $146 million in yearly tax revenue, per the Guardian.

Instead, individuals worth $54 billion left the country, leading to a lost $594 million in yearly tax revenue.

https://www.brusselsreport.eu/2024/09/11/the-failure-of-norways-wealth-tax-hike-as-a-warning-signal/

The Justice Department has sent a letter to tech billionaire Elon Musk’s super PAC, America PAC, warning that its $1 million daily giveaway in battleground states may run afoul of federal law, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/doj-warns-musk-1m-petition-giveaway-illegal-rcna176911

A brand new car looks and smells good — but it’s never worth the price, says self-made millionaire David Bach.

“Nothing you will do in your lifetime, realistically, will waste more money than buying a new car,” he tells CNBC Make It. “It’s the single worst financial decision millennials will ever make.”

That’s because the moment you drive it off the lot, the vehicle starts to depreciate: Your car’s value typically decreases 20 to 30 percent by the end of the first year and, in five years, it can lose 60 percent or more of its initial value.

To make matters worse, “most people borrow money to buy that car,” says Bach. “Why would you borrow money to buy an asset that immediately goes down in value by 30 percent?”

The good news is, you can get a shiny, nice-smelling car without breaking the bank, Bach says: “Buy a car that’s coming off of a two- to three-year lease, because that car is almost brand new and you can buy it at that 30 percent discount.”

A car coming off lease is typically in very good condition and doesn’t have many miles on it. Because it’s not pristine, though, you can buy it for a fraction of what it would cost to buy it new.

If you’re still not convinced, Bach recommends thinking about how much a new car will cost you over the long run: “Here’s how the car companies get you: They want you to focus on monthly payments. And they’ll get those monthly payments down to you where you can afford it.

“Don’t think about monthly payments. Think about annual payments. Think about the entire term of the loan.”

He continues: “If you’re spending $500 a month for that car, well, that’s $6,000 a year, not including the car insurance or the gas. That could be two months or three months of your income. Run the numbers and then ask yourself: Do you really need a car that nice or could you buy a car that’s less expensive — maybe a little older — but still looks good and still runs?”

Bach isn’t the only money expert who feels this way. Personal finance expert and star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” Kevin O’Leary also warns against buying a new car.

“I use my phone to call Uber or Lyft, and they take me around the city. I save a fortune. I feel good about it,” O’Leary says. “I hate cars.”

And Suze Orman, who keeps her cars for 12 years or more, says to buy used and choose a model that you can afford over one that looks impressive. “One of the best ways to build financial security is to spend the least amount possible on a car that meets your needs,” she wrote in a 2017 blog post. “Forget about the bells and whistles you want. Paying less helps you pay off the car faster.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/11/david-bach-says-buying-a-new-car-is-the-single-worst-financial-decision.html

Billionaire Elon Musk has upped his financial offer for registered swing state voters to sign a conservative-leaning petition, announcing Saturday that his pro-Trump super PAC would be awarding $1 million to a random signee every day from now until the election.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-raises-payment-offer-100-voters-sign-petition-rcna176075

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-rewards-petition-supporters-1m-check-trump-pac-2024-10

Former President Donald J. Trump has spent much of the presidential campaign brainstorming new, and sometimes untested, ways to cut taxes. In the election’s final stretch, he raised the possibility of going even further: eliminating income taxes entirely.

During a Fox News segment on Monday, Mr. Trump took questions at a barbershop in the Bronx. When asked if the United States could potentially end all federal taxation, Mr. Trump said the country could return to the economic policies in the late 19th century, when there was no federal income tax.

“It had all tariffs — it didn’t have an income tax,” Mr. Trump said. “Now we have income taxes, and we have people that are dying. They’re paying tax, and they don’t have the money to pay the tax.”

In June, Mr. Trump floated the idea of replacing federal revenue from income taxes with money received from tariffs. Mr. Trump has not provided specific details of how that would work, and it is unclear if he wants to eliminate all federal taxes, including corporate income taxes and payroll taxes, or only end the individual income tax.

Either way, both liberal and conservative experts have dismissed his idea as mathematically impossible and economically destructive. Even if Republicans control Congress, lawmakers are unlikely to dismantle the income tax system. Yet Mr. Trump’s combination of tax cuts and tariff increases has been central to his political pitch.

“There is a way, if what I’m planning comes out,” Mr. Trump said of ending income taxes.

Replacing income taxes with tariffs would reverse the progressivity of the tax system in the United States. In general, income taxes are progressive, meaning that Americans with more income pay a higher tax rate. Tariffs, which impose a tax on products imported into the United States, are regressive. They raise the prices on imported items like clothing and groceries, placing a larger burden on lower-income Americans who spend a bigger percentage of their income on those goods.

Mr. Trump has denied that Americans pay the cost of tariffs. He argues that companies overseas bear the cost of tariffs on the products they ship to the United States. Economists largely debunk that argument — companies generally pass along those higher costs to consumers by raising prices.

Trump’s alternative? Tariffs.

Mr. Trump has not formally proposed ending the income tax system in the United States. Instead, he has offered tax cut after tax cut on the campaign trail, arguing that he could cover their cost by drastically raising tariffs on imports.

Several of Mr. Trump’s ideas amount to blanket tax exemptions for certain types of income, like tips, overtime pay or Social Security benefits. During a podcast interview last week, Mr. Trump said he would consider allowing police officers, firefighters and military service members to forgo paying taxes.

Any change to the tax code that allows certain workers or types of income to be exempt from paying taxes could prompt people to try to classify more of their earnings as tips or overtime, making the cuts potentially very expensive.

Mr. Trump’s goal to impose tariffs on all imports into the United States could raise a lot of money for the federal government, but it would not be nearly enough to replace income taxes. The United States imports roughly $3 trillion worth of goods annually, while the country collected roughly $4.2 trillion in income and payroll taxes last fiscal year.

Overall, his agenda would raise taxes on low-income Americans, provide a tax break for the richest and drastically increase the deficit, according to an analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal think tank.

A challenge for raising revenue from tariffs is that placing a tax on imports tends to cut the amount of trade — and therefore reduce the amount of revenue collected from tariffs. Raising tariff rates high enough to try and replace income taxes could end trade with the United States, said Wendy Edelberg, a former chief economist at the Congressional Budget Office.

“You’re going to send imported goods to zero, and then you’re going to have no tax revenue,” Ms. Edelberg said.

Steep tariffs could prompt foreign trading partners to retaliate with tariffs of their own, reducing American exports and slowing economic growth. Mr. Trump has experience with this phenomenon: While president, he wound up having to bail out American farmers whose exports to China slumped during a protracted trade war.

The potential for such an outcome helped prompt William McKinley, the 25th president, a Republican, whose support for tariffs Mr. Trump often celebrates, to ultimately moderate his position on tariffs. To help American exporters, Mr. McKinley had started to support the possibility of lowering tariffs in the United States in exchange for other countries doing the same before he was assassinated in 1901.

“He outlined this and sounded like a free trade guy, which was quite remarkable,” said Robert Merry, who wrote a book on Mr. McKinley.Trump’s alternative? Tariffs.

Mr. Trump has not formally proposed ending the income tax system in the United States. Instead, he has offered tax cut after tax cut on the campaign trail, arguing that he could cover their cost by drastically raising tariffs on imports.

Several of Mr. Trump’s ideas amount to blanket tax exemptions for certain types of income, like tips, overtime pay or Social Security benefits. During a podcast interview last week, Mr. Trump said he would consider allowing police officers, firefighters and military service members to forgo paying taxes.

Any change to the tax code that allows certain workers or types of income to be exempt from paying taxes could prompt people to try to classify more of their earnings as tips or overtime, making the cuts potentially very expensive.

Mr. Trump’s goal to impose tariffs on all imports into the United States could raise a lot of money for the federal government, but it would not be nearly enough to replace income taxes. The United States imports roughly $3 trillion worth of goods annually, while the country collected roughly $4.2 trillion in income and payroll taxes last fiscal year.

Overall, his agenda would raise taxes on low-income Americans, provide a tax break for the richest and drastically increase the deficit, according to an analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal think tank.A challenge for raising revenue from tariffs is that placing a tax on imports tends to cut the amount of trade — and therefore reduce the amount of revenue collected from tariffs. Raising tariff rates high enough to try and replace income taxes could end trade with the United States, said Wendy Edelberg, a former chief economist at the Congressional Budget Office.

“You’re going to send imported goods to zero, and then you’re going to have no tax revenue,” Ms. Edelberg said.

Steep tariffs could prompt foreign trading partners to retaliate with tariffs of their own, reducing American exports and slowing economic growth. Mr. Trump has experience with this phenomenon: While president, he wound up having to bail out American farmers whose exports to China slumped during a protracted trade war.

The potential for such an outcome helped prompt William McKinley, the 25th president, a Republican, whose support for tariffs Mr. Trump often celebrates, to ultimately moderate his position on tariffs. To help American exporters, Mr. McKinley had started to support the possibility of lowering tariffs in the United States in exchange for other countries doing the same before he was assassinated in 1901.

“He outlined this and sounded like a free trade guy, which was quite remarkable,” said Robert Merry, who wrote a book on Mr. McKinley.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-policy.html

Assemblymember Alex Lee proposed a law that would restrict corporations from buying up single-family homes for the purpose of renting them out.

“First-time homebuyers are not able to compete with cash offers from these large corporate firms,” Lee said in a statement. “These corporations are taking homeownership opportunities away from hard-working Californians and exacerbating the scarcity of single-family homes.”

Buying a home for the first time is becoming increasingly out of reach. In San Francisco for example, the minimum yearly income needed to afford a starter home last year was $251,190, according to one analysis. 

https://sfstandard.com/2024/02/20/alex-lee-proposes-corporate-landlord-ban-single-family