Is is legal for a CA Commercial Real Estate broker to accept a fee from a service provider...? ...they recommend to their clients. I have a business marketing Cost Segregation Studies to commercial property owners. I want to partner with Commercial Real Estate Brokers and allow them to leverage their existing database and accept a referral fee from me. I am located in California so information specific to my state would be helpful. However, because Cost Segregation is used to reduce federal income taxes, I am also interested in learning what the rules are in the other 49 States. Any information is greatly appreciated.

What is one way for me to reduce the taxes to be paid for a purchase of real estate in the Philippines? I"m purchasing a property in the Philippines and I just realized that there are tons of taxes to be paid. Would you have an idea how I can possibly reduce these taxes?

how to reduce real estate tax on commercial buildings? I have a building with a store and two apartments. The real estate tax is over $7,000/yr, when my income is only $13,000/yr. So I am losing money with expenses totaling $15,000/yr. One of the apartment is rent control at $400 per month

Will Democrat tax hikes jeopardize the retirement portfolios of millions of middle-income Americans.? . Washington’s ‘War Against Winners’ A cap-gains assault on private partnerships would strike a dagger into the heart of U.S. capital formation. Last Friday’s precipitous stock-market plunge, with the Dow Jones dropping 185 points, is all about Washington’s continued war on prosperity. The latest assault comes courtesy of House Democrat Sander Levin. Late last week, he introduced a bill that essentially would abolish the 15 percent capital-gains tax preference for risk investing, and raise it by 20 percentage points to the 35 percent corporate and personal rate. This goes beyond an earlier tax attack on a public offering by the Blackstone Group, and would slam into all private partnerships, including buyout funds, hedge funds, venture-capital firms, real estate partnerships, and oil-and-gas deals. Incidentally, while attacking capital gains, the congressional Democrats are killing initiatives for across-the-board cuts on wasteful appropriation bills. According to the Club for Growth, House Democrats defeated separate measures that would cut spending by 4 percent, 1 percent, and 0.5 percent. Does this mean the Democrats favor tax hikes over real spending control? It appears so. Washington economist Kevin Hassett says this is part of the Democrats’ “war against winners,” and he’s right on the money. In particular, these willy-nilly changes of the tax rules would have a chilling effect on capital formation, and could constitute the biggest attack on capital since the 1930s. As mentioned, the lightning rod in this tax-hike endeavor was the Blackstone Group, the private-equity giant that went public last week. Blackstone’s investment-fund profits are taxed at the 15 percent cap-gains rate, and since these profits come from high-risk investments, that’s how it should be. But Democrats in Congress view these profits as plain income, and greedily want a higher take. But plain ol’ income this is not. The recent crack up of two Bear Stearns sub-prime-mortgage hedge funds shows just how risky these ventures can be. Yes, there’s big money to be made when these private partnerships click. But the economy at large also is a beneficiary. Private buyout funds often save highly troubled companies from bankruptcy. They insert skilled managers who streamline operations and make businesses more efficient, a process that can ultimately lead to greater profits and business expansion. You know a lot of these companies: Chrysler, Staples, Sears, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Toys“R”Us, Clear Channel Communications, Hospital Corporation of America. All of these firms were brought back from the dead thanks to private partnerships. Nobody knows for sure whether Congress will green-light the Democrats’ anti-growth agenda. The hope is that President Bush will veto any tax hike that lands on his desk. But the mere threat that Congress would embark on such a program of wealth destruction and economic impoverishment — all in the name of taxing “rich people” — has investors reeling. Ironically, a lot of today’s anti-cap-gains momentum is the handiwork of former Clinton Treasury secretary Robert Rubin. He actually believes a low cap-gains tax has no economic growth impact at all. However, back when Clinton and Rubin were running things, the personal income-tax rate was lifted from 31 to 40 percent, while the cap-gains tax was reduced from 28 to 20 percent, making for a 20 percentage point tax advantage for cap-gains over regular income. Flashing forward, the current Bush administration lowered the income-tax rate to 35 percent and the cap-gains rate to 15 percent, preserving that 20 percent differential. Hmm . . . Is Rubin saying the cap-gains tax advantage was good for the Clinton boom, but not the Bush boom? Truth is, that differential provides a strong incentive for entrepreneurial risk taking and higher-risk, cutting-edge investment — both of which lend real torque to the economy. Another unfortunate irony is that while Democrats think they’re striking out at the rich, they’re actually jeopardizing the retirement portfolios of millions of middle-income Americans. Firemen, police officers, and teachers, to name a few, are all represented by the big state and city pension funds. And these funds are heavily invested in the hedge and private-equity funds that the Democratic tax machine is targeting. Is this fact lost on the Democrats? And don’t they realize that two out of every three voters in recent elections owned stocks — either directly or indirectly? Are they attempting to commit political suicide? If the Democrats get their way, job creation will be adversely affected, too. Clearly, you can’t create new jobs in the private sector unless there’s a new or expanding business to create those jobs. And since new and expanding businesses require capital for investment funding, if you tax that capital more, you get less investment and fewer jobs. In short, you can’t have capitalism without capital. The process works for “rich people” and the middle class. Whenever Democrats wage war against the rich, the middle class becomes the collateral damage. This may be the law of unintended consequences, but it is something this Congress fails to understand. . ________________________________________

Real-estate Taxes reduced? How do you get your home taxes reduced ASAP in CA.

Home Buying Negotiations - Help, Please!? Negotiating to purchase a home, need help to know best way to be successful. House on the market for > 7 months, originally 350k, gradually reduced to 315k. Sale due to death of spouse, and seller buying new condo, with 2 new mortgages. I offered 260k because her orig mortgage 6 years ago was for 158k, & I added 100k to it to motivate her to sell since one of her new notes is for 100k. Tax assessment is 287k.(all figures obtained from courthouse) She countered with 305k, I offered 267.5k. My real estate agent conveyed there was frustration on the buyer and agent's part, and they brought up a recent appraisal which reported around 300k, and agent stated the seller might agree to reduce to 300. House needs work - new kitchen, paint including ceilings, carpet. Advice as to how I should proceed? I want this house, but am really starting to stretch my limits. Also, ideas on contingency that would give me an out up to closing? I think assessment is high, and need to get in for <285k. Thanks! I can't use the mortgage contingency, because I'm paying cash. It seems like a quick cash closing should be appealing, especially considering she's making 3 mortgage payments right now. All of this advice sure has me thinking mighty hard! Please keep up your kind work. Thanks. I have to comment on Goldenbear's response. First, I'd like to say thanks for responding, and identifying me as an investor.I'd like to invest in real estate, but haven't had the means long enough to venture into anything that wasn't rock solid safe.Plus, if I were an investor, I'd probably not have asked for advice to begin with. On average, this particular market is 22% above national FMV.I think it is the seller's agent that may be doing an injustice here, as the house is clearly overpriced, or else it wouldn't have stayed on the market for such a long time.This home is rural, and in an area where homes may be 100k or 800k, which isn't necessarily beneficial. Seems to me at this point I would be doing the seller a favor to buy her property, even if I insist on paying a realistic price.With the market changing, better times may not be headed her way. Everyone should walk away with a good feeling at closing, and this means me not having to spend one penny more than I have to, right?

Will real estate taxes assessments be reduced to reflect the new devalued home prices...?

Did Congress past legislation that standardizes entitlement provisions? People may apply to completely avoid all probate and estate taxes. Reduce or avoid all income taxes on investments and Social Security. Exempt assets from collection by government or nursing home if ill. Protection from loss due to market volatility on your principal and interest. Earn high interest without market risk and enjoy relief from capital gains and federal income tax.

Mississippi estate tax/law/ probate question? My aunt died 1//1/06. She was single and my grandparents (ages 87 and 90) are the beneficiares or co account owners. There may be others payable to the estate that we do not know about. There was no will. They receive benefits because of their ages--social security, reduced real estate taxes. How should we go about making transfers to them--life insurance; IRA, 403(b) etc and given their ages are there special considerations that we should be looking at?

If taxes go up for the wealthy to help pay for the recovery/stimulus & also reduce budget deficits? ...yes even reduce the 14 trillion dollar national debt which is out of control and if it goes up in the following manner: Once someone makes one dollar over $300,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 40% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $500,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 45% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $700,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 45% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $1,000,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 50% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $2,000,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 55% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $5,000,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 60% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. and finally once someone makes one dollar over $ 10 million any such additional dollars are taxed at at 70% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Also all estates worth greater than $5 million pay a flat estate tax of 15%. All american companies that closed factories in the last 10 years and who are currently now importing the goods that they used to make in the USA now from foreign counrtries with dirt cheap labor back into the USA to sell to americans must pay a tariff equal to 100% of the average cost of making and transporting the goods back to USA.. All tax loopholes for large corporations with sales in excess of one billion dollars are eliminated, but those for small companies with sales of less than one million dollars are increased and their taxes lowered a bit. If all the above happened and became policy, would you be ok with it?? If anyone here is in the income categories mentioned above, could you please indicate how you "personally" would be ruined by such policies?

If taxes gp up for the wealthy to help pay for the recovery/stimulus & also reduce budget deficits? ...yes even reduce the 14 trillion dollar national debt which is out of control and if it goes up in the following manner: Once someone makes one dollar over $300,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 40% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $500,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 45% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $700,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 45% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $1,000,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 50% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $2,000,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 55% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Once someone makes one dollar over $5,000,000 any such additional dollars are taxed at at 60% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. and finally once someone makes one dollar over $ 10 million any such additional dollars are taxed at at 70% top marginal rate while everything less is taxed at lower rates. Also all estates worth greater than $5 million pay a flat estate tax of 15%. All american companies that closed factories in the last 10 years and who are currently now importing the goods that they used to make in the USA now from foreign counrtries with dirt cheap labor back into the USA to sell to americans must pay a tariff equal to 100% of the average cost of making and transporting the goods back to USA.. All tax loopholes for large corporations with sales in excess of one billion dollars are eliminated, but those for small companies with sales of less than one million dollars are increased and their taxes lowered a bit. If all the above happened and became policy, would you be ok with it?? If anyone here is in the income categories mentioned above, could you please indicate how you "personally" would be ruined by such policies?

financial advisor? are you one? I need advice and I cannot "go" to an advisor right now? I am stuck in Guantanamo (sorta-not) and I cannot just get up and go see a certified Financial Advisor. so I am seeking "free" advice here. Anyone care to amuse me? A. I have roughly 40% of my monies in CD's B. I have 10% in a 401*- ...C. 10% in Mutual Fund. ....and . D. 40% in a Scottrade Acct.//// ....I have absolutly no tax liabilities ('07-'08 < -can not explain this 2 you unless u can guess < :) and own no real estate. I need futher advice off-line ( can u be off-line even though you are on-line? lol ! ) trust me, any advice here on this web site will be taken with a grain of salt. ////// What I am "REALLY" looking for is to keep what I have and just tweak it some. Bonds and other products are really nice, but I want to proceed in the same direction. I am not going to cash the CD's, and I am not going to reduce my stock exposure. other than that Can you help?

Bailout and realestate taxes? Is the bill contain anything to reduce my real estate taxes? What can I do to reduce them? If not, why are we voting for our congressman (woman)?

How do we file taxes as the executor of an estate that has a rental property? My husband is the Executor of his fathers estate. My father in laws house still hasn't sold so leased it out through a real estate mgmt company. All of the rent collected has gone into my father in laws bank account and will be distributed between the heirs when the home has sold. The mgmt company sent a K1 in my husbands name. How should we file that? Should we file that at our own, then calculate how much it reduces our refund and recover that from the bank account? Correction, they sent him a 1099misc, not a K1. Thanks!

Under what circumstances would you recommend setting up a life estate? My mother will be moving in with my wife & myself. She will be selling her house and contributing the bulk of the proceeds from the sell of her house to a new house we will build for the three of us. The question is how to protect her interest and our interest. Since my mother will be contributing the bulk of her estate she needs to know that as long as she lives she will have a home. My wife & I need to be protected from a possible future that may include us not being able to care for her properly and she may need to move to an assisted care facility. We need to be protected from losing our home if this ever occurs. Also to be considered: 1>Rights of survivorship for all three parties. 2>Reducing taxes that may result from the transactions that may occur to make all this happen.

2 Economy Questions??!!!? Can someone help me answer this economy questions please thanks a lot. 1. Explain the issue in the courts interpretation of "monopoly versus monopolizing." 2. Based on antitrust laws, how would you expect the federal government to react to the following situations? a. A college bookstore deliberately reduces prices until its only rival is driven out of business. The bookstore then raises its prices. b. Real estate firms meet in an open meeting and agree to charge 6 percent commiion on sales. c. Microsoft merges with WordPerfect by a stock acquisition. d. A small tax preparation company merges with a regional grocery store chain. Thanks a lot for everyobodys help

Deducting mileage - do I have to take the home office deduction to qualify? I work for a small business. I do all of my work (except client site visits) from my home office. However, since I also use my home office for personal use during non-working hours, I assume I cannot take the home office deduction (correct)? Here is my question regarding mileage - I'm testing this using both TaxCut and TurboTax. In both cases, when I enter my mileage, it does not seem to reduce my tax owed. When I tell the program I want to use the home office deduction, then my mileage makes a difference. If I tell it not to do the home office deduction, then my entering mileage makes no difference. So, can I only deduct my mileage if I take the home office deduction? I haven't read anything to indicate this, but the actions of the tax software programs leads me to believe that this is the case. I don't know if this matters, but I itemize my deductions (mostly due to mortgage interest & real estate taxes paid). I do not take the standard deduction. Edit - I am a W2 employee. This is less than 2% of our joint AGI, so I guess that's why it isn't letting me take it. Thanks for the replies!

If we lose this fight against radical islam, do you what will happen? This what we can all expect if the muslims succeed in reducing Western civilisation to Dhimmitude. Whites will be required to step aside to allow a muslim to pass on the road. Whites will have to bow their heads in shame when walking past a mosque. Whites will have to pay a poll tax or risk death at the hands of a mob. White women will be the exclusive property of any muslim man. Whites won't be allowed to own real estate. Whites will have no rights in court, a muslim's testimony will trump that of any number of infidels. Whites won't be allowed to pray in public. Whites won't be allowed to congregate in public or private. Our children will be taken from us and sent to madrasses for indoctrination in Islam. It won't be a crime for a muslim to kill, rape or rob a White person (even if he pays the tax). Whites will be forbidden to work on the muslim holy day. Whites will be forbidden to own weapons. And that's just the start of the new rules "of peace" with Islam.

Do real estate taxes lower the value of homes like high interest? Folks on this site talk about how home values went up (in part) because interests rates have been so low over the last decade. This was stated because lower interest means folks can afford a higher payment and it is not home price, but ulitmately the payment that gauges affordablitiy. I am not sure how it has been elsewhere, but in my town our taxes (in real $) have doubled in the last 3-4 years, with no change in services and a crappy school system. I know that fuel has gone up and some folks got raises, but they have doubled! Does this increase in taxes (in my case about $3000) not decrease the amount that the next buyer can afford each month and therefore reduce the market value of your home? Our taxes are town based (northeast typical) and go up every year. Real estate is must compete between towns not just within it. I have a 3 yr. ARM that recently jumped - increased my payment by about $250. That is the same order of magnitude of the tax increase per month. Our tax rate is about 1.2% locally I have seen them between 1-2%.

How can I reduce tax liability on capital gains? sold real estate

Inheritance tax reduction due to a mortgage? I've just read that you can avoid/reduce IHT by taking a mortgage out on your property. Can someone please explain to me how this works. If you second mortgage your house then you either have the cash hanging around which would be taxable or you've bought something which would be part of your estate and also taxable?? Sensible answers only please. I'd like to understand this...

Which is better for reducing taxes, SFR or multi-unit? I get a w-2 from my full time job and have addit income from consulting work and I am attempting to use a real estate purchase to help offset my taxes. Is a single family residence(SFR) or multi-unit better for reducing taxes? Income from rents offset the mortgage but is it a wash because you are taxed from the rental income? Is it a better tax write-off to live in the property? Comparing a SFR w/ an in-law unit vs. a duplex , which is a better tax strategy?

I am a liberal who wants to be rid of corporate welfare what can i do except quit paying taxes .? I have to work to pay my taxes like other working americans so it can be handed over to the failing education system , defense contractors and to support the Nazi police state that shoot blacks first and then ask questions . While I subsidize college tuition so more people can go to work in the government spending my hard earned money . The size of government is out of control along with spending so you tell me how do I stop it so My hard earned money does not end up in the pockets of the welfare state run by the teacher police and other government workers unions who benefit with pensions and health care while average workers can not afford it . I am a skilled Carpenter with 25 years experience and a home builder . My share of taxes has dropped but my workers share has increased . Mostly due to the tax advantages of lower capital gains and reduced inheritance tax on a family estate . I would not mind paying more taxes if it was helping the right people . The workers who make things

I received a PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT letter in the mail...? I bought my home for 300,000 four years ago and was assessed a property tax of $5,000 a year later due to the increase in value of the homes in CA at that time. However, the real estate market has been volatile to the point where it is heading toward a downward spiral. Anyway, I realize that the property tax that I am paying now does not correspond with the value of my home. I know that I should be paying less. I've just received a letter in the mail titled "PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT." In short, it is an agency willing to act as my agent for the purpose of completing all steps necessary for filing an application and accepting a modified assessment through the County Assessor's Office and the County Appeals Board. This will temporarily reduce the property taxes to my home so that I can pay lower taxes, The fee is $85.00. Anybody out there that can give me advice if I should take advantage of this? Or can I do this on my own?

Solicitor acting improperly and illegally? Has not put the will to probate after 10 years Tried to force us to put the property up for sale at a massive reduction on its market value. initally forced us to use an estate agent of his choice.Attempted to say capital gains tax was due even though the property was my mothers only home so therefore does not apply. Instructed the estate agents to reduce price without beneficiaries consent. Refused and ignored all requests for copies of the estates assets and his costs even though he is legally required to do so. Has taken 6 months to negotiate a sale I cannot find anyone to help me am now contacting law society and mp, any other suggestions as this inheritance is all I will have to be able to find accomodation for my family

Obama says he wants to tax retirement savings, not interest, savings...plus a national real estate tax and 40% dividend tax I live off dividends as my income, if he taxes that high I won't be able to afford to live like I do now. If he increases real estate taxes, I can barely afford what I pay now. If he taxes my retirement savings per se, it will reduce them and I won't be able to make it through retirement. Why is Obama such a monster? He's twisting the truth when he says he'll only tax the rich, I'm not rich, but his taxes will destroy my finances. Didn't Wright/Pflegler say that whites should give up their 401Ks for reparations, is that what this retirement account taxation really is, just the start of that? http://www.blogatroid.com/taxes2008.htm http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:U3x7i7oHBBMJ:209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/2023327/posts+pfleger+tax+white%27s+401K+for+reparations&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023239/posts

Does income and mortgage interest on UK real estate count on income taxes for a US citizen living in the US? I just moved back to the US after being in the UK for 10 years. I still own a home in the UK which is now being rented out. I just bought a home in the US, so now have two mortgages. (This was NOT the original plan) I have some dollars that I'd like to pay down some of this debt, but I'm not sure which mortgage is best to reduce. Is my rental income in the UK going to be taxable in the US (or UK?). Likewise, is the UK mortgage interest deductible in the US? Where should I put my extra funds?

association of committee to elect the rev dr kamal karna roy v. homeland security dept us issue birth obama?

Explain how tax cuts, especially supply-driven tax cuts, could help an economy plagued with excess supply? Jim Demint's "American Option" plan that Republicans tout as the solution to our problems does the following: * Reducing business taxes from 35 percent to 25 percent; * Making the tax policy changes of 2001 and 2003 permanent; * Dramatically reducing the estate tax rate to 15 percent; and * Keeping tax rates on dividends and capital gains at 15 percent. First of all, making the Bush Tax Cuts permanent doesn't do anything to stimulate the economy. The tax cuts are currently in effect, they aren't changing right now, and we are still where we are right now. The only changes in this plan are directed at businesses and the wealthy - reducing business taxes and the estate tax. These are efforts directed solely at increasing production and supply and putting more money in the bank accounts of the rich. Folks, we don't have any lack of supply, and the rich aren't the people struggling with unemployment right now. We're in a period of deflation (negative inflation), we have been since October, and we were in a period of disinflation from June - Sept. Inflation was only 1/10th of 1% (0.01%) for all of 2008, with inflation in the first half wiped out by strong deflation in Q4. In comparison, inflation for 2007 was 4.1%. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm This situation is in part the effect of excess supply in relation to demand, which causes the prices of goods & services to drop and the value of currency to increase. Additionally, credit markets are frozen, decreasing the availability of cash, and cash is subject to the law of supply and demand just like everything else in the economy. Thus, when supply decreases, demand increases in relation to it, and the value of cash increases. This is obviously just adding to the deflationary problem. We're entering a deflationary spiral where prices across the economy continue to fall, profit margins decrease, more workers are laid off as labor costs are deemed cost-prohibitive for many products, and production thus decreases further while demand decreases at the same time as unemployed workers have no money to create demand for anything. With this understood, could someone please explain to me how these tax cuts, and only tax cuts, directed toward increasing our already excess supply and putting money in the savings accounts of more-fortunate Americans could possibly lead us out of this mess? Has this guy talked to an economist? Has anyone in the GOP talked to an economist? Because I don't know of any honest-to-God, trained and respected economist who is touting anything resembling this tripe. If you want a more technical economic explanation of our situation, read the links below to the articles written by Nouriel Roubini. He predicted this economic mess years ago but those words fell on deaf ears. He has since followed that prediction with a number of other predictions relating to this recession, and all of them have been dead on. By the way, he supports the stimulus plan, and thought it should have been implemented months ago, and he feels the TARP was poorly implemented and excessive. http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/29/stagnation-recession-deflation-oped-cx_nr_1030roubini.html http://www.rgemonitor.com/ Martin, did you read what I wrote? We're in a period of strong deflation. That is no joke. There isn't an economist on the planet who disagrees with that fact. We're quickly approaching a deflationary spiral. Inflation is the LEAST of our concerns, and periods of massive, abnormal inflation haven't occurred since the 1970's. Time to drop the "stagflation" scare propaganda. That's not the direction in which we're headed. Samuel, tax cuts to the middle class put money in the pockets of people who spend money. The GOP plan puts money in the bank accounts of businesses who are going to increase production & supply. We have a SUPPLY SURPLUS and diminished demand. Hence my question - HOW COULD SUPPLY-DRIVEN TAX CUTS HELP IN AN ECONOMY PLAGUED WITH EXCESS SUPPLY AND LACK OF DEMAND? With government, the only way to increase income is to increase tax revenue. That's pretty tough to do when your unemployment is skyrocketing - even for the supply-sider who believes in the Laffer Curve. Sorry, READ what I wrote, and Nouriel Roubini's articles, and then come back with an EDUCATED response. Screwdawg - how does a business spend money? On labor and materials for production. Why would they do that if they're sitting on a surplus of inventory? They wouldn't, they'd drop prices to move inventory. And they'd lay off workers because the cost of labor is cost-prohibitive to their bottom line when they can't move what they've already produced at a profit as it is. If you read my post, you'd realize that is the negative aspect of a deflationary spiral. decreasing demand, Decreasing prices, supply surplus, unemployment skyrocketing, all leading back to even further decreases in demand. That's why it's called a deflationary spiral - it's a vicious circle. Misty, you also didn't read what I wrote. I listed Jim Demint's plan. That's what HE is calling for, and that's what the GOP faithful are calling for. No spending, more tax cuts. Half of the GOP caucus wants nothing but tax cuts. Holy cow, and they nixed the school construction from this bill. Do they realize that their base has horrible reading comprehension issues? Samuel, in economics, surplus means an excess of supply over demand. Ever heard of a surplus liquidation? To unload excess inventory that won't move, you cut prices until the point that it will move, often at a loss. It's an expected part of doing business, but not at the level that many businesses are dealing with right now where the price of everything is dropping. Demand is so far below supply across so much of the market that we have a major disruption in market equilibrium that has launched the economy in to a serious deflationary period. And Samuel, what I'm cutting and pasting is my own essay based on research and an understanding of the economic data right now. It you feel that it's moronic to make sense, so be it. Call me a moron then. I don't believe everything I read. I do believe the economic assessments of very well-respected economists who make assessments that are backed up with fact and pass the logical test. And again to everyone, I don't disagree with implementing tax cuts and credits to working Americans. It's a great way to quickly infuse cash into the economy. My question is what do tax cuts for the wealthy and supply-driven tax cuts directed at businesses do for THIS economy when demand is the issue, not supply, and when average Americans are dealing with unemployment? The answer is that it does nothing, and the GOP congressmen and talking heads who keep preaching this tripe have their heads dug so far in the sand it's incredible.

Liberals are followers and Bush is a leader. Its better to be right than popular? President Bush's Accomplishments Abortion & Traditional Values 1. Banned Partial Birth Abortion — by far the most significant roll-back of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade. 2. Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy. 3. By Executive Order (EO), reversed Clinton's policy of not requiring parental consent for abortions under the Medical Privacy Act. 4. By EO, prohibited federal funds for international family planning groups that provide abortions and related services. 5. Upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals. 6. Made $33 million available for abstinence education programs in 2004. 7. Supports the Defense of Marriage Act — and a Constitutional amendment saying marriage is between one man and one woman. 8. Requires states to conduct criminal background checks on prospective foster and adoptive parents. 9. Requires districts to let students transfer out of dangerous schools. 10. Requires schools to have a zero-tolerance policy for classroom disruption (reintroducing discipline into classrooms). 11. Signed the Teacher Protection Act, which protects teachers from lawsuits related to student discipline. 12. Expanded the role of faith-based and community organizations in after-school programs. Budget, Taxes & Economy 1. Signed two income tax cuts, one of which was the largest dollar-value tax cut in world history. 2. Supports permanent elimination of the death tax. 3. Turned around an inherited economy that was in recession, and deeply shocked as a result of the 9/11 attacks. 4. Is seeking legislation to amend the Constitution to give the president line-item veto authority. 5. In process of permanently eliminating IRS marriage penalty. 6. Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people. 7. Initiated discussion on privatizing Social Security and individual investment accounts. 8. Killed Clinton's "ergonomic" rules that OSHA was about to implement; rules would have shut down every home business in America. 9. Passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account as a result of corporate scandals. 10. Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains. 11. Signed trade promotion authority. 12. Reduced and is working to ultimately eliminate the estate tax for family farms and ranches. 13. Fight Europe's ban on importing biotech crops from the United States. 14. Exempt food from unilateral trade sanctions and embargoes. 15. Provided $20 million to states to help people with disabilities work from home. 16. Created a fund to encourage technologies that help the disabled. 17. Increased the annual contribution limit on Education IRA's from $500 to $2,000 per child. 18. Make permanent the $5,000 adoption tax credit and provide $1 billion over five years to increase the credit to $10,000. 19. Grant a complete tax exemption for prepaid or college tuition savings plans. 20. Reduced H1B visas from a high of 195,000 per year to 66,000 per year. Character & Conduct as President 1. Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the presidency. 2. Has reintroduced the mention of God and faith into public discourse. 3. Handled himself with enormous courage, dignity, grace, determination, and leadership in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 hijackings and anthrax attacks. He almost single-handedly held this country together during those searing days: Just three days after the attacks, in his address at the National Cathedral, the President reassured the nation when he said: "War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing." On Friday, September 14, 2001, President Bush visited Ground Zero. Standing on a crushed and burned fire engine atop the smoldering pile at Ground Zero, he put his arm around a retired firefighter who had volunteered to help, and began speaking to the crowd. Rescue workers shouted that they could not hear him. Someone handed him a small American flag and bullhorn. The President spontaneously shouted: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." The crowd roared with cheers and chants of "USA! USA! USA!" Then he raised that American flag and rallied a nation. Education & Employment Training 1. Signed the No Child Left Behind Act, delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations). The very liberal California Teachers union is currently running radio ads against the accountability provisions of this Act. 2. Announced "Jobs for the 21st Century," a comprehensive plan to better prepare workers for jobs in the new millennium by strengthening post-secondary education and job training, and by improving high school education. 3. Is working to provide vouchers to low-income students in persistently failing schools to help with costs of attending private schools. (Blocked in the Senate.) 4. Requires annual reading and math tests in grades three through eight. 5. Requires states to participate in the National Assessment of Education Progress, or an equivalent program, to establish a national benchmark for academic performance. 6. Requires school-by-school accountability report cards. 7. Established a $2.4 billion fund to help states implement teacher accountability systems. 8. Increased funding for the Troops-to-Teachers program, which recruits former military personnel to become teachers. Environment & Energy 1. Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty. 2. Submitted a comprehensive Energy Plan (awaits Congressional action). The plan works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, improve national grid, etc. 3. Established a $10 million grant program to promote private conservation initiatives. 4. Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops. 5. Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary cleanup of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger. 6. Part of national forests cleanup: Restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges), and removed the need for an Environmental Impact Statement before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger. 7. Killed Clinton's CO2 rules that were choking off all of the electricity surplus to California. 8. Provided matching grants for state programs that help private landowners protect rare species. Defense & Foreign Policy 1. Successfully executed two wars in the aftermath of 9/11/01: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom. 2. Saddam Hussein is now in prison. His two murderous sons are dead. All but a handful of the regime's senior members were killed or captured. 3. Leader by leader and member by member, al Maida is being hunted down in dozens of countries around the world. Of the senior al Qaeda leaders, operational managers, and key facilitators the U.S. Government has been tracking, nearly two-thirds have been taken into custody or killed. The detentions or deaths of senior al Qaeda leaders, including Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, the mastermind of 9/11, and Muhammad Atef, Osama bin Laden's second-in-command until his death in late 2001, have been important in the War on Terror. 4. Disarmed Libya of its chemical, nuclear and biological WMD's without bribes or bloodshed. 5. Continues to execute the War On Terror, getting worldwide cooperation to track funds/terrorists. Has cut off much of the terrorists' funding, and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network. 6. Initiated a comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, and which accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE capabilities were critical in the 21st Century. 7. Killed the old US/Soviet Union ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses. 8. Has been one of the strongest, if not THE strongest friend Israel has ever hand in the U.S. presidency. 9. Part of the coalition for an Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace," along with Great Britain, Russia and the EU. 10. Pushed through THREE raises for our military. Increased military pay by more than $1 billion a year. 11. Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia. 12. Started withdrawing our troops from Bosnia, and has announced withdrawal of our troops from Germany and the Korean DMZ. 13. Prohibited putting U.S. troops under U.N. command. 14. Paid back UN dues only in return for reforms and reduction of U.S. share of the costs. 15. Earmarked at least 20 percent of the Defense procurement budget for next-generation weaponry. 16. Increased defense research and development spending by at least $20 billion from fiscal 2002 to 2006. 17. Ordered a comprehensive review of military weapons and strategy. 18. Ordered a review of overseas deployments. 19. Ordered renovation of military housing. The military has already upgraded about 10 percent of its inventory and expects to modernize 76,000 additional homes this year. 20. Is working to tighten restrictions on military-technology exports. 21. Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without any bribes or bloodshed. Globalization & Internationalism 1. Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become another League of Nations (in other words, showed the UN to be completely irrelevant). 2. Killed U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court. 3. Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control (i.e., the International Ban on Small Arms Trafficking Treaty).* 4. The only President since the founding of the UN to essentially tell that organization it is irrelevant. He said: "The conduct of the Iraqi regime is a threat to the authority of the United Nations, and a threat to peace. Iraq has answered a decade of UN demands with a decade of defiance. All the world now faces a test, and the United Nations a difficult and defining moment. Are Security Council resolutions to be honored and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?" We all know the outcome and the answer. 5. Told the Congress and the world, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country." Government Reform 1. Improved government efficiency by putting hundreds of thousands of jobs put up for bid. This weakens public-sector unions and cuts undeserved pay raises. 2. Initiated review of all federal agencies with the goal of eliminating federal jobs (completed September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of the federal government while increasing private sector jobs. 3. Led the most extensive reorganization the Federal bureaucracy in over 50 years: After 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency, the Department of Homeland Security.* 4. Ordered each agency to draft a five-year plan to restructure itself, with fewer managers. 5. Converted federal service contracts to performance-based contracts wherever possible so that the contractor has measurable performance goals. Health 1. Strengthen the National Health Service Corps to put more physicians in the neediest areas, and make its scholarship funds tax-free. 2. Double the research budget of the National Institutes of Health. 3. Signed Medicare Reform, which includes: A 10-year privatization option. Prescription drug benefits: Prior to this reform, Medicare paid for extended hospital stays for ulcer surgery, for example, at a cost of about $28,000 per patient. Yet Medicare would not pay for the drugs that eliminate the cause of most ulcers, drugs that cost about $500 a year. Now, drug coverage under Medicare will allow seniors to replace more expensive surgeries and hospitalizations with less expensive prescription medicine. More health care choices: As President Bush stated, "…when seniors have the ability to make choices, health care plans within Medicare will have to compete for their business by offering higher quality service [at lower cost]. For the seniors of America, more choices and more control will mean better health care. These are the kinds of health care options we give to the members of Congress and federal employees. What's good for members of Congress is also good for seniors. New Health Savings Accounts: Effective January 1, 2004, Americans can set aside up to $4,500 every year, tax free, to save for medical expenses. Depending on your tax bracket, that means you'll save between 10 to 35 percent on any costs covered by money in your account. Every year, the money not spent would stay in the account and gain interest tax-free, just like an IRA. These accounts will be good for small business owners, and employees. More businesses can focus on covering workers for major medical problems, such as hospitalization for an injury or illness. At the same time, employees and their families will use these accounts to cover doctors visits, or lab tests, or other smaller costs. Some employers will contribute to employee health accounts. This will help more American families get the health care they need at the price they can afford. Homeland Security, Border Enforcement & Immigration 1. *See Government Reform above. Under President Bush's leadership, America has made an unprecedented commitment to homeland security. 2. Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first 10 ABM silos in Alaska so that America will have a defense against North Korean nukes. Has ordered national and theater ballistic missile defenses to be deployed by 2004. 3. Announced a 9.7% increase in government-wide homeland security funding in his FY 2005 budget, nearly tripling the FY 2001 levels (excluding the Department of Defense and Project BioShield). 4. Before DHS was created, there were inspectors from three different agencies of the Federal Government and Border Patrol officers protecting our borders. Through DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now consolidates all border activities into a single agency to create "one face at the border." This not only better secures the borders of the United States, but it also eliminates many of the inefficiencies that occurred under the old system. With over 18,000 CBP inspectors and 11,000 Border Patrol agents, CBP has 29,000 uniformed officers on our borders. 5. The Border Patrol is continuing installation of monitoring devices along the borders to detect illegal activity. 6. Launched Operation Tarmac to investigate businesses and workers in the secure areas of domestic airports and ensure immigration law compliance. Since 9/11, DHS has audited 3,640 businesses, examined 259,037 employee records, arrested 1,030 unauthorized workers, and participated in the criminal indictment of 774 individuals. 7. Since September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard has conducted more than 124,000 port security patrols, 13,000 air patrols, boarded more than 92,000 vessels, interdicted over 14,000 individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, and created and maintained more than 90 Maritime Security Zones. 8. Announced the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an internet-based system that is improving America's ability to track and monitor foreign students and exchange visitors. Over 870,000 students are registered in SEVIS. Of 285 completed field investigations, 71 aliens were arrested. 9. This week, the US-VISIT program began to digitally collect biometric identifiers to record the entry and exit of aliens who travel into the U.S on a visa. Together with the standard information, this new program will confirm compliance with visa and immigration policies. 10. Eliminated INS bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability. 11. Split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two agencies: one to protect the border and interior, the other to deal with naturalization. 12. Signed the workplace verification bill to prevent hiring of illegal aliens. 13. Established a six-month deadline for processing immigration applications. 14. Information regarding nearly 100% of all containerized cargo is carefully screened by DHS before it arrives in the United States. Higher risk shipments are physically inspected for terrorist weapons and contraband prior to being released from the port of entry. Advanced technologies are being deployed to identify warning signs of chemical, biological, or radiological attacks. Since September 11, 2001, hundreds of thousands of first responders across America have been trained to recognize and respond to the effects of a WMD attack. Judiciary & Tort Reform 1. Is urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits. 2. Killed the liberal ABA's unconstitutional role in vetting federal judges. The Senate is supposed to advise and consent, not the ABA. 3. Is nominating strong, conservative judges to the judiciary. 4. Supports class action reform bill which limits lawyer fees so that more settlement money goes to victims. Politics 1. His leadership resulted in Republican gains in the House and Senate, solidifying Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency. 2. Signed an EO enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision regarding union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes. Second Amendment 1. Ordered Attorney General Ashcroft to formally notify the Supreme Court that the OFFICIAL U.S. government position on the 2nd Amendment is that it supports INDIVIDUAL rights to own firearms, and is NOT a Leftist-imagined "collective" right. 2. Signed TWO bills into law that arm our pilots with handguns in the cockpit. 3. Currently pushing for full immunity from lawsuits for our national gun manufacturers. 4. *See Globalization & Internationalism. Traditional Values, Compassion & Volunteerism 1. Endorses and promotes "The Responsibility Era." President Bush often speaks of the necessity of personal responsibility and civic volunteerism. He said, "In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. My hope is to change the culture from one that has said, if it feels good, do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody else — to one in which every single American understands that he or she is responsible for the decisions that you make; you're responsible for loving your children with all your heart and all your soul; you're responsible for being involved with the quality of the education of your children; you're responsible for making sure the community in which you live is safe; you're responsible for loving your neighbor, just like you would like to be loved yourself." 2. Started the USA Freedom Corps, the most comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever offered. For the first time in history, Americans can enter geographic information about where they want to get involved, such as state or zip code, as well as areas of interest ranging from education to the environment, and they can access volunteer opportunities offered by more than 50,000 organizations across the country and around the world. 3. Established the The White House Office and the Centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative — located in seven Federal agencies. The faith-based initiative supports the essential work of these important organizations. The goal is to make sure that grassroots leaders can compete on an equal footing for federal dollars, receive greater private support, and face fewer bureaucratic barriers. Work focuses on at-risk youth, ex-offenders, the homeless and hungry, substance abusers, those with HIV/AIDS, and welfare-to-work families. 4. The White House released a guidebook fully describing the Administration's belief that faith-based groups have a Constitutionally-protected right to maintain their religious identity through hiring — even when Federal funds are involved. 5. Issued an EO implementing the Supreme Court's Olmstead ruling, which requires moving disabled people from institutions to community-based facilities when possible. 6. Increased funding for low-interest loan programs to help people with disabilities purchase devices to assist them. 7. Revised the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 8 rent subsidies to disabled people, permitting them to use up to a year's worth of vouchers to finance down payments on homes. HUD has started pilot programs in 11 states. 8. Committed US funds to purchase medicine for millions of men, women and children now suffering with AIDS in Africa. 9. Heeding the words of our own Declaration of Independence, the president laid out the non-negotiable demands of human dignity for all people everywhere. On January 29, 2002, he said, "No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our culture. But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity." As stated by the President, they are a virtual manifesto of conservative principles: Equal Justice Freedom of Speech Limited Government Power Private Property Rights Religious Tolerance Respect for Women Rule of Law

Should the American public even vote? As a millionaire, I lobby and support all GOP politicians because I enjoy the tax breaks, while you, the whiny American worker pays my share of taxes. Firstly, may I say: Thank you so much! I've gotten so much money out of this presidency; I think I shall push to lobby for an end to term limits. Secondly, I ask: Why do you guys even vote? Those who are well off like me just end up determining the election. Why? We can end a politician's rule by stop funding him. We can give a politician all the money as he wants as he promises to relax environmental standards or reduce taxes for us. I basically live off the interest of the tax cuts I have received that I've placed in the bank, that I don't even have to work anymore. Once I have died, I am passing my estate to my son (It looks like the estate tax is going to be repealed soon. Yay!) and letting him experience the joy of plutocracy.

Democrats are jeopardizing the retirement portfolios of millions of middle-income Americans. Firemen, police o Democrats think they’re striking out at the rich, they’re actually jeopardizing the retirement portfolios of millions of middle-income Americans. Firemen, police officers, and teachers, to name a few, are all represented by the big state and city pension funds. The latest assault comes courtesy of House Democrat Sander Levin. Late last week, he introduced a bill that essentially would abolish the 15 percent capital-gains tax preference for risk investing, and raise it by 20 percentage points to the 35 percent corporate and personal rate. This goes beyond an earlier tax attack on a public offering by the Blackstone Group, and would slam into all private partnerships, including buyout funds, hedge funds, venture-capital firms, real estate partnerships, and oil-and-gas deals. Incidentally, while attacking capital gains, the congressional Democrats are killing initiatives for across-the-board cuts on wasteful appropriation bills. According to the Club for Growth, House Democrats defeated separate measures that would cut spending by 4 percent, 1 percent, and 0.5 percent. Does this mean the Democrats favor tax hikes over real spending control? It appears so. Washington economist Kevin Hassett says this is part of the Democrats’ “war against winners,” and he’s right on the money. In particular, these willy-nilly changes of the tax rules would have a chilling effect on capital formation, and could constitute the biggest attack on capital since the 1930s. As mentioned, the lightning rod in this tax-hike endeavor was the Blackstone Group, the private-equity giant that went public last week. Blackstone’s investment-fund profits are taxed at the 15 percent cap-gains rate, and since these profits come from high-risk investments, that’s how it should be. But Democrats in Congress view these profits as plain income, and greedily want a higher take. But plain ol’ income this is not. The recent crack up of two Bear Stearns sub-prime-mortgage hedge funds shows just how risky these ventures can be. Yes, there’s big money to be made when these private partnerships click. But the economy at large also is a beneficiary. Private buyout funds often save highly troubled companies from bankruptcy. They insert skilled managers who streamline operations and make businesses more efficient, a process that can ultimately lead to greater profits and business expansion. You know a lot of these companies: Chrysler, Staples, Sears, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Toys“R”Us, Clear Channel Communications, Hospital Corporation of America. All of these firms were brought back from the dead thanks to private partnerships. Nobody knows for sure whether Congress will green-light the Democrats’ anti-growth agenda. The hope is that President Bush will veto any tax hike that lands on his desk. But the mere threat that Congress would embark on such a program of wealth destruction and economic impoverishment — all in the name of taxing “rich people” — has investors reeling. Ironically, a lot of today’s anti-cap-gains momentum is the handiwork of former Clinton Treasury secretary Robert Rubin. He actually believes a low cap-gains tax has no economic growth impact at all. However, back when Clinton and Rubin were running things, the personal income-tax rate was lifted from 31 to 40 percent, while the cap-gains tax was reduced from 28 to 20 percent, making for a 20 percentage point tax advantage for cap-gains over regular income. Flashing forward, the current Bush administration lowered the income-tax rate to 35 percent and the cap-gains rate to 15 percent, preserving that 20 percent differential. Hmm . . . Is Rubin saying the cap-gains tax advantage was good for the Clinton boom, but not the Bush boom? Truth is, that differential provides a strong incentive for entrepreneurial risk taking and higher-risk, cutting-edge investment — both of which lend real torque to the economy. Another unfortunate irony is that while Democrats think they’re striking out at the rich, they’re actually jeopardizing the retirement portfolios of millions of middle-income Americans. Firemen, police officers, and teachers, to name a few, are all represented by the big state and city pension funds. And these funds are heavily invested in the hedge and private-equity funds that the Democratic tax machine is targeting. Is this fact lost on the Democrats? And don’t they realize that two out of every three voters in recent elections owned stocks — either directly or indirectly? Are they attempting to commit political suicide? If the Democrats get their way, job creation will be adversely affected, too. Clearly, you can’t create new jobs in the private sector unless there’s a new or expanding business to create those jobs. And since new and expanding businesses require capital for investment funding, if you tax that capital more, you get less investment and fewer jobs. In short, you can’t have capitalism without capital. The process works for “rich people” and the middle class. Whenever Democrats wage war against the rich, the middle class becomes the collateral damage. This may be the law of unintended consequences, but it is something this Congress fails to understand.

newer horizon demanded in usa politicking. can non natural born + nonbinding resolution senate run pres U S ?

When settling estate, must all heirs sign new documents if tax payment is changed prior to issuing checks? Family owns multiple properties, some of which were sold previously, leaving numerous properties in family trust. Executor pushed heir to sign documents within past 30 days to complete sale of properties. Heir is now reluctant to sign new papers. Heir told initial tax payments listed were incorrect and new payments will reduce payout slightly.

Have the Republicans Solved our Economic Problems with their New Budget? The Republicans alternative to the Obama budget was presented today. The Republican plan is, essentially: 1) Cut taxes on the rich 2) to be announced 3) Recovery There's a lot of complaining about deficits in the document, but no provision for increased revenues. Quite the opposite, the plan is to reduce the top tax rate to 25%, cut the capital gains tax, trim back the AMT, cut corporate taxes, and reduce/eliminate the estate tax. This will somehow be balanced out by "cutting wasteful government programs" and "reforming" entitlement programs. Defense spending is, of course, off the table. This new Budget contained 19 pages and miraculously no numbers or charts! If we cannot put numbers on our Economic problems will they go away? Is this idea a genius or ahead of it's time? Watchful Occupier below says: "I haven't seen it, and it is irrelevant. There is a democratic majority with both house leaders and the president all being democrats. Do the math. Republicans should just stay at home. The democrats are only for what their party wants. They do not care about what any one else has to offer." Are you saying that Republicans are irrelevant?

Soften the Blow of ISO Stock Purchase By Buying Real Estate? I would like to sell some stock options. Given my time frame and the fact that I haven't purchased the options yet, the profit will be taxed as short-term capital gain. I am also currently interested in purchasing real estate. Is there any way I can make these two work together to reduce the impact of the taxation on my stock sale? Or is there anything I can do with my current home loan to help offset it?

Can anyone translate this article into Chinese for me? Under the amended Reit Act, debt financing and bond issues will be allowed up to twice the amount of the net equity of the company. Right of first refusal to sell shares In CR-Reits, shareholders who oppose the extension of the holding period under the articles of incorporation are granted the right of first refusal to sell shares. Under the amended Reit Act, that right of first refusal will be granted for all types of Reits, if there is an issuance of new shares following an in-kind contribution, or if the Reit is subject to a merger or acquisition. Shareholding limits To give increased flexibility to shareholders, the holding limit of 10% of outstanding shares per person for K-Reits will be increased to 30%. There will be no change for CR-Reits as shareholders in CR-Reits have not been subjected to any restrictions with respect to the number of shares. Asset portfolio requirements Under the Reit Act, a Reit has to meet certain requirements regarding asset composition at the close of each quarter: (i) at least 70% of the total assets must be invested in real estate; and (ii) at least 90% of the total assets must consist of real estate, real estate related securities and cash. Under the amended Reit Act, this will be relaxed so that: (i) at least 70% of the total assets must be invested in real estate; and (ii) at least 80% of the total assets must consist of real estate, real estate related securities and cash. However, for CR-Reits, only the first requirement applies. Income deduction for dividends According to the amended CTL, Paper Company Reits will receive the same tax benefits as CR-Reits with respect to the deduction on distributed dividends for corporate income tax purpose, given that they distribute 90% or more of their distributable income. Registration and acquisition taxes Before 2003, under the TILL, there was a 100% exemption on registration and acquisition taxes for CR-Reits regarding the real property acquired by CR-Reits, while other types of Reits received only a 50% reduction. However, towards the end of 2003 and in accordance with the amendment to the TILL, the 100% exemption enjoyed by CR-Reits was also reduced to 50%, which is equal to the rate applied to other types of Reits.

Based on The Anti Trust Laws, How would you expect the federal government to react to the ff situations"? a.) A college Bookstore deliberately reduces prices until its only rival is driven out of business. The bookstore then raises its prices. b.) Real estate firms meet in an open meeting and agree to charge 6 percent commision on sales. c.) Microsoft merges with Word Perfect by a stock acquisition. d.) A small tax preparation company merges with a regional grocery store chain.

Reduced Property Tax and Depreciation? I reduced my property tax due to recent real estate decline. Can I depreciate it as a owner? If so, how do I calculate it? What if the property is rented out? Can this be added to the regular tear & wear depreciation?

the bloated welfare states of France and Sweden have lower corporate rates and generally better corporate tax? Now that recession-warning lights have begun to blink, Democrats should give tax hikes a rest. As tax-happy Democrats might have noticed, the stock market resembles a kindergartner on a swing set: half-giddy, half-scared, and hyperactive. Meanwhile, payrolls sagged by 4,000 positions last month. Not since August 2003 has America created no new jobs. Fifty-two economists in September 13’s Wall Street Journal offered a 36-percent average probability of recession by next September, up from 28-percent in August. Oil hit $81.93 per-barrel Wednesday — hardly good news. And the tumultuous home-mortgage industry suffered 243,497 foreclosure listings last month, up 115-percent versus August 2006, RealtyTrac.com reports. This mess triggered 12,000 layoffs, just at lender Countrywide Financial Corp. To prevent tight credit from suffocating the economy, the Federal Reserve Board Tuesday hastily administered a 0.5-percent federal-funds-rate reduction. Amid these worrisome omens and genuine human suffering, the last thing America needs is for congressional Democrats to stuff a pillow over the economy’s face. But they can’t control themselves. “Through 2012, the Democratic Congress’ new budget raises taxes $217 billion,” the National Taxpayers Union’s Pete Sepp calculates. “If no surpluses appear that year, another $175.5 billion tax hike automatically kicks in.” This $392.5 billion includes a halving of the per-child tax credit, restoration of the marriage penalty, a 50-percent leap in the low-income tax bracket (10-percent under Republicans; 15-percent under Democrats), and the resurrection of the Death Tax — from 0 to 55-percent. After August’s tragic Minneapolis bridge collapse, House Transportation chairman James Oberstar (D., Minn.) proposed a “temporary” nickel-a-gallon federal gasoline-tax increase. Never mind that existing gas-tax revenues vanish into narcissistic pork projects rather than urgent infrastructure repairs. Such a tax hike would “cost American motorists an estimated $25 billion over the next three years,” NTU reckons. Democrats cannot plea that soaring deficits require tax hikes to absorb red ink. Indeed, the federal budget gap narrowed from $413 billion in 2004 to $158 billion today, proving that the best deficit medicine nearly always is to limit taxes and consequently unleash American enterprise. A thinner federal slice of a bigger economic pie usually yields revenues exceeding pre-tax-cut levels. Federal receipts have zoomed 7-percent this year. “The tax cuts are working exactly as intended,” Heritage Foundation analyst Brian Riedl argues. “Lower tax rates have increased the incentives to work, save, and invest, and as a result, the economy has grown faster than expected.” He adds: “Concerns that the Bush tax cuts would lead to a long-term shortfall of government revenues have proven false …Tax revenues in 2007 are now estimated to be $70 billion above the level projected even before the 2003 tax cuts. In other words, tax revenues are now above their pre-tax cut baseline.” Democrats cannot deny what happened after President Bush and Capitol Hill Republicans slashed maximum capital-gains taxes from 18 to 15-percent in 2003. Rather than dwindle $5.37 billion between 2003 and 2006, as the congressional Joint Tax Committee’s antique, static-analysis model wrongly predicted, revenues actually advanced $53 billion. Foreign economic ministers understand these lessons and are lowering taxes as if Franklin Roosevelt never lived and Ronald Reagan never died. “Sweden and Russia last year eliminated their estate taxes because they said the tax was economically counterproductive,” economist Stephen Moore wrote in the August 31 Wall Street Journal. “In Germany under Chancellor Angela Merkel, the corporate tax rate has been reduced to less than 30 percent from 39-percent.” Poland recently chopped its business tax from 27-percent to 19. Even Hanoi gets it! Thanks to corporate-tax relief, “the business environment will become more and more attractive, resulting in increased investment,” Vietnamese tax chief Nguyen Van Ninh told Moore. While America’s corporate tax levitates at 35-percent, seven European Union nations have lowered business levies this year. The EU-average corporate tax is 24.2-percent. “Further corporate tax rate cuts are being implemented in Germany, Estonia, Spain, and the United Kingdom, and rate cuts are being discussed in the Czech Republic and France,” observes Cato Institute senior fellow Dan Mitchell. “Even the bloated welfare states of France and Sweden have lower corporate rates and generally better corporate tax systems than America.” Democrats thus resist global pro-market trends, even among progressive governments long on social solidarity and short on “reckless cowboyism.” But, for most Democrats, these facts and numbers are irrelevant. Taxes are not about merely funding vital government duties and basic public services. They are meant to punish the wealthy, “correct” personal behavior, and distribute universal largesse. Thus, Democrats itch to raise taxes on highly lucrative private-equity partnerships, from 15 to 35-percent. True to form, the Democratic Senate voted in August to hike cigarette taxes 156 percent, from 39 cents to $1 per pack. This would ignite a massive explosion in the State Child Health Insurance Program. The Democratic House extended government medicine to kids in families of four earning quadruple the Federal Poverty Line, or $82,600 — twice today’s threshold. The House also redefined “child” as an eligible boy or girl …up to age 25. While America’s economy clings from a ledge, Democrats dance on its fingertips. When the donkey party promises “change,” it delivers — good and hard.

Is this why the libs hate BUSH?

How do I start a Real Investing Company? I want to start a real estate investing company. I want to purchase, flip, fix up. etc. Does this require licensing? I know people do this under their personal credit. I want to take advantage of the tax shelters and reduced personal liability. thanks

Why is it that we can know the answers to tax issues witht the government but nobody cares to stop the corrupt Local school taxes are based upon our Real Estate values controlled by the government who also controls the taxes and how they are spent. 1st the state Income tax was intoduced to save the schools and reduce the taxes we pay. 2nd the Lottery was going to save the schools and reduce the taxes we pay.3rd the Casinos were going to save the schools and reduce our taxes. If fact every one has been a lie because the government has taken the money intended for the schools and found a way to give it to special interest groops to help keep them in power.

What are some good tax shelters for reducing AGI or offseting tax with credits? I am a real estate investor with high passive income. I am using energy IDC (intangible drilling cost) to reduce it. Are there other ways to offset taxable income? Heard that C-corp is a good way.

If I give my children money will I have to pay gift tax now? I was always under the impression that any monetary gifts to my children would cost me a substantial gift tax. I recently heard that in reality, it would just reduce the amount of estate that I can leave "tax free" at the time of my death.

Do you realize how much your taxes would go down if religious institutions were not tax exempt? This is for the U.S.. Have you ever looked into your own town, municpality, city, township, county, etc and determined how much real estate is owned by religious institutions? In my township, which is very rural, approximately 65 - 70% of real estate is owned by non-profits. Among that, roughly 3/4 is owned by church organizations. If that real estate were not tax exempt, the home owners taxes would be dramatically reduced. The members of those churches could pay their churches taxes with all the money they will have saved on their own property taxes. The churches would stand or fall on their own merit. Some people argue that the churches provide for a community. Yet, considering the fact that U.S. citizens miss out on Billions of dollars from tax exempt orgs, those billions could be dolled out by the government, with no benefit to religion. Much of what churches distribute is provided by gov't money anyway. Soup Kitchens, Day Care, Etc, isn't from the church's own coffers. And that goes for the Aussies, too. Here's an article I found which pertains to church tax exemption in Australia. http://groups.google.com/group/scientology_arg/msg/ddf7a587c8567f82 The divorce between Church and State ought to be absolute. It ought to be so absolute that no Church property anywhere, in any state or in the nation, should be exempt for equal taxation; for if you exempt the property of any church organization to that extent you impose a tax upon the whole community. — James A Garfield, 20th U.S. President (1881 And wow, I just found this site: http://www.taxchurches.com/ To fish <>< YOU are the one who is misinformed: http://www.gainesvillehumanists.org/chrchtax.htm

How do I document a loan made by me to my Mother to assist her in buying a property.? I wish to lend my mother c£20,000 to assist with a property costing £275,000. I wish it to be secured by a mortgage on the property, not because I don't trust my mother, but so that on death (she is 77) the mortgage will be repaid from the estate and that share of the house will not become part of the Inheritance Tax trap. I would prefer not to involve a solicitor in drawing up the mortgage deed and would happily use a form available over the internet, if such a thing exists. My aversion to using a solicitor stems from the fact that it will have to be independent of the solicitor she is using for her sale and purchase and just adds to the already considerable costs of the move. How do I go about registering the charge and does this have to be done at the time the money is lent? That is on purchase. If I cannot resolve this then I will lend the money unsecured but envisage problems with the tax authorities when I reduce the value of the estate by £20,000 +interest. Many thanks.

New home owners and tax deductions? Hi: My wife and I are ready to purchase our first home, but the tax implications aren't clear to me yet. I know both mortgage interest and real estate taxes are tax deductible, but that I have to itemize on my 1040. The only real way to lower monthly payments is to change the number of exemptions with my employer to reduce the amount of tax taking out. I also read that every exemption equals to app $3,400 of tax reduction. Now, let's say I estimate to pay annually $20,000 in interest, $13,000 in property taxes and my federal taxes are 28%/state 8%, how much of a tax refund can I expect and what should I change my exemptions to in order to get the optimal monthly refund back? I realize that eventually I have to talk to an accountant, but I'm trying to figure out how much realistically this house will cost me a month. My goal is to lower my monthly payments as much as possible. Thanks! Yes, this is NJ: so high taxes and (still) high house prices!

Is there serious discussion underway in yr state re: significantly reducing or eliminating state income taxes? I understand this to be the case in both Georgia and North Carolina as these two states attempt to support the continued rapid growth of their economies. Is there any discussion that you're aware of by responsible parties in your state? In my state, NH, there has been a longstanding push to institute an income tax. With Democrats now in charge of both houses of the legislature as well as the governorship, I expect that this effort will continue with renewed vigor. One reason I and many others like me came to this state was because it's in dead-last place in terms of total taxation - personal, corporate, estate, etc. This has resulted in a relatively small state government focused on basic requirements (health, welfare, safety, roads, air & water) instead of the one I had in California that spent most of its time looking for ways to raise more money to spend. The purpose of my question is to identify states that are moving in the right direction in case I decide to relocate. I know some of you disagree with my position vis-a-vis state income taxes. Feel free to express your disagreement. All that I ask is that you keep it civil - otherwise, as per the usual, you will be reported.

Realtor gets 1099 but rebated half of that back to client as fee reduction. How is it reported to avoid tax? I asked an earlier question for my parents who were my clients that I rebated the commission money to. I got a 1099 for a real estate commission on their home purchase. I rebated a large amount of that back to the clients as a fee reduction. How do I report this on my tax return to reduce the amount rebated from my gross income and not end up having to pay self employment and income tax on money that I essentially never received?

Barak on TAXATION - What kind of "change" is he talking about? So Obama is saying he is for change in government, but when I'm looking at his views and positions on taxation - it looks like status quo to me and keeping the Alternative Minimum Tax as-is is killing more and more of the middle class - it was never set to factor in inflation and is burdensome but he votes against repealing or fixing it... http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Barack_Obama.htm ... Restore progressive tax; close loopholes; relief to seniors. (Oct 2007) Reduce Bush tax cuts to pay for health care & other programs. (Jun 2007) Bush tax cuts help corporations but not middle class. (Jun 2004) Voted NO on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax. (Mar 2007) Voted NO on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million. (Mar 2007) Voted NO on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts. (Aug 2006) Voted NO on permanently repealing the `death tax`. (Jun 2006) Maybe someone can explain to me how Obama's CHANGE is an IMPROVEMENT!!!

Does the following economic plan look good? 1. Tax Reform * Eliminate Taxes on Dividends and Savings. The basis of capitalism is savings, and Americans who do so should be rewarded. o Pass HJ Res. 23 to encourage savings over consumption. * Repeal the Death Tax. Attacking small businesses and breaking up family farms smothers growth and kills jobs. o Pass H.R. 2734 to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. * Cut Taxes for Working Seniors. Grandmothers and grandfathers working to make ends meet should keep all the fruits of their labor. o Pass H.R. 191 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the inclusion in gross income of Social Security benefits. * Eliminate Taxes on Social Security Benefits. That money belongs to seniors, not the government. They paid into the system for a lifetime, and they should be free to spend every penny as they see fit. o Pass H.R. 192 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in taxes on Social Security benefits. * Accelerate Depreciation on Investment. We need to help companies grow and create jobs. o Pass H.R. 4995 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reduce corporate marginal income tax rates. * Eliminate Taxes on Capital Gains. Investment should be embraced and rewarded. o Pass H.J. Res 23 (The “Liberty Amendment”), proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to abolishing personal income, estate, and gift taxes and prohibiting the United States Government from engaging in business in competition with its citizens. * Eliminate Taxes on Tips.The single parents and working students who earn their income chiefly through tips deserve to keep all of their money. This tax on "estimated income" is unfair and should be ended. o Pass H.R. 3664 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that tips shall not be subject to income or employment taxes. * Support the Mortgage Cancellation Relief Act. Working families who lost their homes should not be punished a second time with a big IRS bill. o Pass H.R. 1876 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from the gross income of individual taxpayers discharges of indebtedness attributable to certain forgiven residential mortgage obligations. 2. Spending Reform * Reduce Overseas Military Commitments. Our bases and troops should be on our soil. o It's time to stop subsidizing our trading partners in Europe, Japan and South Korea. * Freeze Non-Defense, Non-Entitlement Spending at Current Levels o I vote against all bloated, pork laden spending bills and will veto them as president. 3. Monetary Policy Reform * Televise Federal Open Market Committee Meetings. An institution as powerful as the Federal Reserve deserves full public scrutiny. * Expand Transparency and Accountability at the Federal Reserve o Pass H.R. 2754 to require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to continue to make available to the public on a weekly basis information on the measure of the M3 monetary aggregate and its components. * Return Value to Our Money. Legalize gold and silver as a competing currency. o Level the long-term boom and bust business cycle by passing H.R. 4683, which would repeal provisions of the federal criminal code relating to issuing coins of gold, silver, or other metal for use as current money and making or possessing likenesses of such coins. 4. Regulatory Reform * Repeal Sarbanes/Oxley. It has seriously wounded our capital markets and helped make the UK a financial center at our expense. o Ending these misguided regulations would bring jobs flooding back to the United States o Pass H.R. 1049 to reform Sarbanes-Oxley and reduce the burden it places on small businesses. * Repeal or Remove Costly and Unnecessary Federal Regulations. Neighbors know best how to help their neighbors. o We need to make it easier for community banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions to better serve their communities and to help people in these communities get access to credit and capital. o Pass H.R. 1869 to enhance the ability of community banks to foster economic growth and serve their communities, boost small businesses, increase individual savings, and for other purposes.

Cost Basis on Real Estate? I just purchased a home that needs quite a bit of work and am considering selling it after I fix I up. I understand that I can add in improvements to my cost basis to reduce any capital gains taxes owed. I have been keeping receipts of everything I buy. My question is can I include everything spent on the house? I.e. appliances, grass, trees, paint, doors that need fixed, carpet, home inspection fees, closing costs. Thanks

Hypocrisy of liberal? Staunch union supporter Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) has received the Cesar Chavez Award from the United Farmworkers Union. But the $25 million Northern California vineyard she and her husband own is a non-union shop. Bill and Hillary Clinton have spoken in favor of the estate tax, and in 2000 Bill vetoed a bill seeking to end it. But the Clintons have set up a contract trust that allows them to substantially reduce the amount of inheritance tax their estate will pay when they die. Hillary, for her part, has written and spoken extensively about the right of children to make major decisions regarding their own lives, including having abortions without parental notification. But she barred 13-year-old daughter Chelsea from getting her ears pierced and forbid the teen from watching MTV or HBO. http://www.newsmax.com/adv/doasisay/?s=al&promo_code=27DE-1 Ted Kennedy has fought for the estate tax and spoken out against tax shelters. But he has repeatedly benefited from an intricate web of trusts and private foundations that have shielded most of his family's fortune from the IRS. One Kennedy family trust wasn't even set up in the U.S., but in Fiji. Another family member, environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr., has said that it is not moral to profit from natural resources. But he receives an annual check from the family's large holdings in the oil industry.

LLC vs. a C-Corp... Liability concerns (3 questions)? LLC vs. a C-Corp... three different questions. which best minimizes liability? which is best reduces tax exposure? which is ideal if you are going to use as an umbrella for various business engagements (e.g., consulting practice, ecommerce business, real estate investment group)? Please note that I am "not" asking for the "definitions" of each. I would prefer if someone would answer the questions I've posed vs. telling me to speak to a professional. I can figure that out myself and intend to do so but seek input from the Yahoo! community to be better informed. Thank you

How do I deal with my Mom? My Dad passed away six months ago. I have been put in charge of everything for my mother, am POA. She disowned my sister because she is so vindictive. My Mom has terrible osteoporosis. She had to go to a nursing home and now is in an assisted living facility. My sister and I have never felt like we had a Mom. She was very abusive, mentally and physically. She's still very rude to me. Nothing has changed. Two financial advisors have told me that I should discuss with my Mom reducing her assets because of the estate tax by doing the tax-free gifts. It is very hard talking to her about anything and especially money. My Uncle has been very supportive so I had him talk to her first about this. She had a very negative reaction to it. I have been very depressed since my Dad passed because I lost the one parent I could relate to. It is very sad that my Mom would rather have the IRS have my Dad's hard-earned money than give it to her own family. Any suggestions talking to my Mom about this?

dont pay attention to this!?

Should I sell my land and condo? I am in dire straits. I have bought two properties in 2005. I bought 1.6 acres of land for 38k and a condo for 100k. Both of gone down in value. My condo is located in st petersburg florida.(selling for 105k) My land is located in ridge manor florida.(selling for 42k) Been trying to sell both properties for a year now without any buyers. Too much on the market and the market is flat in florida. Shoudl I hang on for the next year? Or just reduce the price and sell and take a loss? I swear I will NEVER buy property again! ITS BEEN A NIGHTMARE! So many greedy real estate agents/brokers trying to get me into these properties telling me they are such great investments. Well now i want to go to law school and I cannot even sell them!! Im angry. Two things I have learned: 1.) Dont buy real estate if you cannot COMFORTABLY afford mortage payments along with RISING taxes and insurance. 2.) Dont buy unless you can sell property quickly. I need some suggestions? Should I take a loss? Hold on?

Hows bushes tax plan favors the rich...with facts....... not rants? It is necessary to review the facts and figures on the class inequality of the Bush tax cut plan, since the White House and the Republican congressional leadership have launched a campaign of lies and distortions, relying on the acquiescence of an uncritical and reactionary media. The most basic distortion is that Bush will cut taxes “across the board.” The White House plan actually ignores those taxes that place the greatest burden on the working class, such as the payroll tax and excise taxes. Bush's plan targets those taxes, including the estate tax and the federal income tax, where the wealthy pay the largest share. This selectivity insures that the tax cut automatically favors the richest taxpayers. Three quarters of all US households pay more in federal payroll taxes, which fund Social Security and Medicare, than they pay in federal income taxes. But there has been no proposal from Bush for any cut in this tax, which is by far the most regressive tax imposed by the federal government. Unlike the income tax, which is graduated, the payroll tax is calculated as a flat percentage of income. Moreover, the payroll tax is levied only on the first $70,000 or so in income. This ceiling means that for high income taxpayers, the payroll tax is a much lower proportion of their income than for middle and lower income families—barely 1 percent for a millionaire, compared to 15.3 percent for the average worker. By maintaining unchanged the tax which weighs most heavily on working people and cutting those taxes which affect the rich, the Bush plan amounts to a redistribution of income from the bottom to the top. According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the top 1 percent of income earners would get a bigger tax cut than the bottom 80 percent of all taxpayers combined. These upper income families currently pay 20 percent of all federal taxes, but they would get 36 percent of the Bush tax cut. This is under conditions where the top 1 percent has seen their incomes grow by 40.4 percent over the past decade, compared to a 5.2 percent increase for the bottom 90 percent. Bush is targeting his tax cut so that these wealthy families—with an average pretax income of over $800,000 in 1998, and an average after-tax income of nearly $600,000—would receive tax cuts of more than $60,000 apiece. In effect, the federal government will send a check to every member of the top 1 percent which is larger than the annual pretax income of the average American family. Meanwhile, the average family will get a cut of about $720. For the bottom 60 percent of taxpayers, the average reduction would be only $256. Many low-income working families will receive nothing. According to CBPP figures, over 12 million families with 24 million children, one of every three children in the US, will receive no tax cut at all, including more than half of black and Hispanic children. George W. and Laura Bush will be more fortunate. Based on their income tax records released during the presidential campaign, the president and first lady stand to gain $100,000 a year once the tax cut plan is fully phased in—a nice piece of change added to their family income of over $3 million a year. Bush claims that his plan would eliminate the income tax burden for millions of lower-income working class families. This is another piece of sophistry. As the CBPP explained: “a two-parent family of four with income of $26,000 would indeed have its income taxes eliminated under the Bush plan, which is being portrayed as a 100 percent reduction in taxes. The family, however, owes only $20 in income taxes under current law.” The legislation adopted by the House of Representatives March 8 is an illustration of the class logic of Bush's program. It compresses the current five-bracket rate structure into four and reduces the rates gradually over the next five years. When the full cut is phased in completely in 2006, the top income tax rate will fall from 39.6 percent to 33 percent. The lowest rate will fall from 15 percent to 10 percent. Income taxes will decline by $958 billion over the next 10 years, with nearly half this amount accruing to the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers. For working families, the bill will provide either no benefits at all, if they are among the millions of low-income families who pay no income tax, or a cut averaging a few hundred dollars for those of middle income. The House voted down a Democratic counterproposal, which would have cost $585 billion over 10 years. This alternative, while introduced as a political maneuver, nonetheless spotlights the narrow social interests behind the tax cut drive. House Democrats deliberately drew up a bill that provides the same or slightly larger tax cuts than the White House bill for every income group below the top 5 percent of all taxpayers. Virtually the entire difference between the two bills lies in the treatment of the top 1 percent, who would receive $10.6 billion in tax reduction, 2 percent of the total, under the Democratic bill, and $424 billion in tax reduction, or 44.3 percent of the total, under the Republican bill. This brazen class legislation in favor of the top 1 percent—one million families with taxable incomes over $1 million each—won unanimous Republican support. See Also: Bush tax cut campaign piles lie upon lie [13 March 2001] US central bank chief boosts Bush tax cut for the wealthy [27 January 2001]

Purchasing realestate to flip/have several investors what is the best way to form corporation or partnership? I have several investors that want to invest in residential real estate to remodel and then sell. I am looking for the best way to set up for a partnership or corporation to reduce taxes. How are capital gains handled for a corp? If we sell and reinvest is there still a capital gain? Is it capital gains or profit?

Will Democrat tax hikes jeopardize the retirement portfolios of millions of middle-income Americans.? . Washington’s ‘War Against Winners’ A cap-gains assault on private partnerships would strike a dagger into the heart of U.S. capital formation. Last Friday’s precipitous stock-market plunge, with the Dow Jones dropping 185 points, is all about Washington’s continued war on prosperity. The latest assault comes courtesy of House Democrat Sander Levin. Late last week, he introduced a bill that essentially would abolish the 15 percent capital-gains tax preference for risk investing, and raise it by 20 percentage points to the 35 percent corporate and personal rate. This goes beyond an earlier tax attack on a public offering by the Blackstone Group, and would slam into all private partnerships, including buyout funds, hedge funds, venture-capital firms, real estate partnerships, and oil-and-gas deals. Incidentally, while attacking capital gains, the congressional Democrats are killing initiatives for across-the-board cuts on wasteful appropriation bills. According to the Club for Growth, House Democrats defeated separate measures that would cut spending by 4 percent, 1 percent, and 0.5 percent. Does this mean the Democrats favor tax hikes over real spending control? It appears so. Washington economist Kevin Hassett says this is part of the Democrats’ “war against winners,” and he’s right on the money. In particular, these willy-nilly changes of the tax rules would have a chilling effect on capital formation, and could constitute the biggest attack on capital since the 1930s. As mentioned, the lightning rod in this tax-hike endeavor was the Blackstone Group, the private-equity giant that went public last week. Blackstone’s investment-fund profits are taxed at the 15 percent cap-gains rate, and since these profits come from high-risk investments, that’s how it should be. But Democrats in Congress view these profits as plain income, and greedily want a higher take. But plain ol’ income this is not. The recent crack up of two Bear Stearns sub-prime-mortgage hedge funds shows just how risky these ventures can be. Yes, there’s big money to be made when these private partnerships click. But the economy at large also is a beneficiary. Private buyout funds often save highly troubled companies from bankruptcy. They insert skilled managers who streamline operations and make businesses more efficient, a process that can ultimately lead to greater profits and business expansion. You know a lot of these companies: Chrysler, Staples, Sears, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Toys“R”Us, Clear Channel Communications, Hospital Corporation of America. All of these firms were brought back from the dead thanks to private partnerships. Nobody knows for sure whether Congress will green-light the Democrats’ anti-growth agenda. The hope is that President Bush will veto any tax hike that lands on his desk. But the mere threat that Congress would embark on such a program of wealth destruction and economic impoverishment — all in the name of taxing “rich people” — has investors reeling. Ironically, a lot of today’s anti-cap-gains momentum is the handiwork of former Clinton Treasury secretary Robert Rubin. He actually believes a low cap-gains tax has no economic growth impact at all. However, back when Clinton and Rubin were running things, the personal income-tax rate was lifted from 31 to 40 percent, while the cap-gains tax was reduced from 28 to 20 percent, making for a 20 percentage point tax advantage for cap-gains over regular income. Flashing forward, the current Bush administration lowered the income-tax rate to 35 percent and the cap-gains rate to 15 percent, preserving that 20 percent differential. Hmm . . . Is Rubin saying the cap-gains tax advantage was good for the Clinton boom, but not the Bush boom? Truth is, that differential provides a strong incentive for entrepreneurial risk taking and higher-risk, cutting-edge investment — both of which lend real torque to the economy. Another unfortunate irony is that while Democrats think they’re striking out at the rich, they’re actually jeopardizing the retirement portfolios of millions of middle-income Americans. Firemen, police officers, and teachers, to name a few, are all represented by the big state and city pension funds. And these funds are heavily invested in the hedge and private-equity funds that the Democratic tax machine is targeting. Is this fact lost on the Democrats? And don’t they realize that two out of every three voters in recent elections owned stocks — either directly or indirectly? Are they attempting to commit political suicide? If the Democrats get their way, job creation will be adversely affected, too. Clearly, you can’t create new jobs in the private sector unless there’s a new or expanding business to create those jobs. And since new and expanding businesses require capital for investment funding, if you tax that capital more, you get less investment and fewer jobs. In short, you can’t have capitalism without capital. The process works for “rich people” and the middle class. Whenever Democrats wage war against the rich, the middle class becomes the collateral damage. This may be the law of unintended consequences, but it is something this Congress fails to understand. . ________________________________________

do u want better life? The Wisdom in Prohibiting Usury in Islam Translated by :Mai Ahmad Abul Ola Allah says in Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow) verse 275: ( Those who charge usury are in the same position as those whom the devil hath prostrated by (his) touch. That is because they say: "Trade is like usury” whereas Allah permits trade, and prohibits usury. Thus, whoever heeds this commandment from his Lord, and refrains from usury, he may keep his past earnings, and his case is for Allah (to judge); but whoever returns (to usury) - Such are the rightful owners of the Fire. ) It is reported that Gabir transmitted that: " TheProphet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed those who pay usury, those who receive it, those who write a contract based on it, and those who witness such a contract, and said they are all equal." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Definition of usury: Usury means “growth” or “addition”, and what is meant by “addition” here is what is added to the capital. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Its legitimacy: It is prohibited in all religions and strictly forbidden in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Usury is mentioned in the Old Testament: 25 "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest ". Exodus 22 And in the New Testament: 6:34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive again as much. 6:35 But love your enemies, and do them good, and lend, never despairing; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High: for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil. (Gospel of Luke) Besides, the Church declared usury unlawful. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usury is Harmful to Economy, Individuals, and Society The Psychological and Moral Effects: Allah sent religion to the people to guide them to the right path, and to raise them to highness and perfection so that they can get rid of the corruption of their souls with its hopes and ambitions. Islam’s aim is to purify both people’s hidden souls and visible acts, and the legislations of Islam are working on those two things as Allah mentions in the Qur’an the words “Purification” and “sanctifying.” In Surat Al-Tawbah (Repentance; verse 103): (Take alms from their money to purify them and sanctify them. And pray for them; surely your prayer is an assuagement for them; and Allah is the All-Hearing and the Omniscient) Allah (Exalted be HE) swore on seven things in Surat Ash -Shams (The Sun; verse 9) that the successful is he who purifies his soul and the failure is he who corrupts it: “ He is indeed successful who purifies it. And he is indeed a failure who corrupts it.” Usury deviates man from the right path; as the usurer becomes a slave to money of which glitter blinds him. He always seeks to gain money regardless of the means. That is why, he preserves no value, exceeds all the proper limits and violates sanctities. Usury also fills the human soul with avarice and thrift that soon corrupt it and fill it with laziness and cowardice. For, usurers are cowards and know nothing about courage or intrepidity. Thus, “waiting” is the craft of usurers and those who follow their examples; as they give money only to those who invest it and wait for the money to “grow”, and then take the price of their waiting. Moreover, usurers are indolent and inert; they do not make anything useful but rather wait for the others to work in order to steal the fruits of their efforts. The following verse refers to this meaning: (That which ye give in usury so that it may increase through the property of (other) people, will have no increase with Allah; but that which ye give in charity, seeking Allah's pleasure, these are the ones who receive their reward manifold.) (Surat Al-Room (The Romans; verse 39)) The verse is referring to the fact that usurers give their money to people so as to increase through their money. The Qur’an describes usurers as follows: (Those who charge usury are in the same position as those whom the devil hath prostrated by (his) touch. That is because they say: "Trade is like usury” whereas Allah permits trade, and prohibits usury. Thus, whoever heeds this commandment from his Lord, and refrains from usury, he may keep his past earnings, and his case is for Allah (to judge); but whoever returns (to usury) - Such are the rightful owners of the Fire) (Al-Baqarah (The Cow; verse 275)) Allah (exalted be He) asserts that He takes away any blessing from any money gained through usury. (Allah makes usury to wane and makes almsgiving fruitful, and Allah does not love the always ungrateful the always sinner) (Al-Baqarah (The Cow; verse 276)) Usury has malignant effects on usurers, their souls, actions and appearances. Physicians see that economic instability that results in avarice causes many heart diseases, hypertension, myocardial infarction, blood clotting, brain damage or sudden death. Dr. Abdel-Aziz Ismael, the master of the internal medicine in Egypt, said in his “Islam and Modern Medicine” that usury is the main reason behind the spread of heart diseases. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usurers’ Disorientation: The Qur’an describes the state of the usurer as the one whom the Devil has exhausted and prostrated by his touch; Allah says: (Those who charge usury are in the same position as those whom the devil hath prostrated by (his) touch. That is because they say: "Trade is like usury” whereas Allah permits trade, and prohibits usury. Thus, whoever heeds this commandment from his Lord, and refrains from usury, he may keep his past earnings, and his case is for Allah (to judge); but whoever returns (to usury) - Such are the rightful owners of the Fire.) (Surat Al Baqarah (The Cow), verse 275) This state is called in Arabic (Takhabbut) which means, according to Al-Nawawi (may Allah rest his soul), a clumsy movement. When we say (Khabata Al-Jamal), this means that Al-Jamal(the camel) hits the ground by its hooves. Also when a man is acting awkwardly, we say in Arabic that he (Khabata Khabt Ashwaa) i.e. he is acting blindly; as the Arabic word (Ashwaa) means (a poor-sighted female camel.) The Devil’s touch here means his call for seeking pleasures, satisfying desires, and being occupied by anything but Allah. Thus, whoever follows him, he is then Motakhabbet (disorientated): At times the Devil degraded him to his whims and desires, and at other timesThe King guides him to piety and religion. That is why there is no steady movements or actions, and this is the Takhabbut(disorientation) caused by the Devil. However, this state from which usurers suffer is not confined to what has been mentioned but it extends to include his mental and psychological state. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Reflection of Usury on the Human Societies: Human societies are based on people’s unity through cordiality and love which are the product of mercy, vouching and brotherhood. The individuals in the society, or any group of people, who do not care about the pains, suffering and ordeals of their brothers in the same society are exactly like the paralyzed organ that has nothing to do with the other organs in the body, or like those who are doing the donkey work because their aims and ambitions are only centered around their own interest. That is why; they do not care about those who are bereaved of their children, or the moaning of the sad people or the suffering of the orphans. They know nothing about the miserable and the needy except that they are a priceless prey whose blood has to be sucked. In the past, the merciless usurers used to enslave the insolvents who were not able to pay off their debts or the interests of these debts. Moreover, Abu-Lahab compelled Al-‘as Ben Hisham to fight on his behalf in the battle of Badr because the latter was owed to him. How can a society prosper while usurers fill it trying by every possible means to loot people’s money? How does intimacy spread in a society that lives under a usurious system in which the rich crushes the poor? How can we expect that those whose money was stolen can love those who stole them? In such societies, there is nothing but hatred, grudge and ill-feelings. In such societies, hearts are full of malice, and tongues are cursing those who dispossessed people of their money and wealth. It is not only that, but sometimes people plan for fatal rebellions that crush usurers, their properties, and homes, and ruin everything in their way. Al Maraghi, may Allah rest his soul, said: “ usury results in hatred, enmity, wrangles and hostility. It makes hearts devoid of mercy, and it takes away chivalry and good deeds among people. Hence, cruelty replaces mercy to the extent that the poor are starved to death because they do not find what keeps their body and soul together. That is why, the usurious societies are always suffering from social problems; as workers, and all those who are suffering under the same circumstances, often rally against money lenders and go out on strikes. Ever since the spread of usury in the Egyptian society, both mercy and cooperation have disappeared, people are no longer trusting even the closest persons to them, and refuse to lend anything unless there is a contract and witnesses (whereas lenders in the past were keen to give money, even to the foreigner, without telling anybody, and borrowers could easily get their rights without demanding or suing.” The meanness and immorality of the Jews led them to conspire against the societies that opened their doors for them and for the world at large. They always ignite the flames of war and they do their best to corrupt this land. Allah tells us in (surat Al-Ma’edah {The Table} verse 64) about their dreadful nature: (The Jews say: "Allah's hand is tied up." Be their hands tied up and be they cursed for what they say. Nay, both His hands are spread out in bounty, He expends as He pleases; and what has been revealed to you from your Lord will certainly cause many of them to plunge deeper into transgression and infidelity. Amongst them we have placed enmity and hatred till doomsday. Whenever they ignite the flames of war, Allah puts them out. Their effort is for corruption in the land, and Allah does not love corrupters.) Many trusty writers drew our attention that the Jewish Emperors of money are the main reason behind the wars broken out last century, it were them who ignited the flames of those wars. Consequently, much blood was shed, and millions of money were squandered. All of this was in order for the Jewish money to grow and their power to increase. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Imbalance of the Society due to the Inequitable Distribution of Wealth If money is confined only to the rich, the rich and the poor will both suffer. Usury centralizes money in the hands of the few and deprives the majority of this money, and this is what is called the inequitable distribution of wealth. Dr. Schacht, the former president of Bank of Germany, said in a lecture delivered in Syria 1953, “It becomes obvious, with an infinite mathematical calculation, that all the wealth would end up to the hands of usurers. That is because debtor usurers always profit in every deal whereas creditors are liable to profit and loss. Hence, all the money, by mathematical calculation, will end up to he who always gains.” That is why, the Jews insist on dealing through usury and spreading it among people. Moreover, they are keen on teaching such a “profession” to their children in order to take hold of the money and hoard it in their safes. This inequitable distribution is a blight that baffled doctors; even eminent economists in the West, including Charles Rist, acknowledged that. Charles Rist, according to the Muslim economist Issa Abdu – may Allah rest his soul - is an authority on the history of economic doctrines, and the founder of an unexampled school in the West. After he reached the acme of his experience, he said: “Now, I’m about to retire, and I want to give a piece of advice to the younger generation concerning this issue. (After all these efforts, we became in an incessant confusion. For, all of us suffer from the uneven distribution of wealth and income. This is either because of minor issues like that of usury and interest or major issues like that of class division. We got so exhausted but to no avail.” Don’t you think that Rist said the inevitable end of whoever turns away from the Divine laws? “We became in an incessant confusion… all of us suffer from the uneven distribution of wealth…we got so exhausted but to no avail” this is the wretchedness of the present life, and the wretchedness of the Hereafter is far worse and everlasting. Allah says in (Surat Taha): (And whoever turns away from the remembrance of Me, verily he will have a miserable life, and we resurrect him blind on doomsday (124) He will say: "O my Lord! Why did you resurrect me blind, while indeed I was a seer (before) (125) (Allah) will say: “you forgot our revelations when they came to you, In like manner you are forgotten this day. We thus recompense him who transgresses and refuses to believe in the Signs of his Lord. And verily the retribution in the Hereafter is far worse and everlasting.” (126)) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usury Destroys Societies: Usury afflicts the human soul with diseases, the economy with plagues and causes an unequal distribution of wealth which result in the destruction of the human societies. The author of the economic encyclopedia said that usury had a great role to play in the collapse of the primitive societies, and in the emergence of the slavery-based economies. Because of the fact that loans were guaranteed by the borrower himself along with other guarantees, the end was always the centralization of the “real-estate ownership” in the hands of the few. This is the effect of usury in the past, and the writers who could see the hidden reality of things was able to realize the effect of usury on these societies; but most of them think that the usurious interest nowadays does not have the same effect on the primitive societies. In the past, usurers turned people into slaves working in the very farms stolen from them. Till today, usurers seek to take hold of the fruits of people’s labour and to steal their sweat and money. The ages of filthy usury haven’t ended yet; this is a mere fiction, as the British list of money lenders in 1927 allows usurers to impose an interest of 48%. This is the apparent rate but in fact it was far more than that. Anwar Al-Qorashi tells us incredible things, which were happening in Great Britain in the 1st quarter of this century through a report prepared by a joint committee of the House of Lords and House of Commons concerning moneylenders letters of exchange in 1923, and through finding the bad effect of money lending in Liverpool in 1924. Those who prepared the report reached the fact that the interest, in some loans, could be up to 250%, 260%, 400% and 433% and sometimes, according to the report, 866% and 1300% per year. What is mentioned in the report of the House of Lords and the House of Commons in the greatest country at that time was not an individual case. The representative of money lenders union of the joint committee said: “ money lending is a huge mission and I will prove this by figures. Is it too astonishing for you to know that there are more than 300 of money lenders registered in these countries?” the report tells about 1380 of those usurers in Liverpool , and if we compare this number to that of the people, we will find that there is a usurer for every 730 person. The case in America, according to Al-Qorashi, is not better than in Britain. He mentioned reports and facts to prove that usurers were receiving rates of interest up to 20%, 40%, 100% and more. If we have a look at a developing country like India, suffice it to say that the farmers of the district of Punjab were paying interests that equaled two times the land yield (1). It could be said that today is different as interests are now fixed and exhaust neither individuals nor institutions and governments, but I see that this is a short-sightedness as the interests of the usurious banks and finance houses at the beginning of this century were not more than 3%, 4%, 5%, 6% or 7% at the very most. However, nowadays they reached 18%, 20%, and now 10%, 11%, 12% and in some dealings in Kuwait 800% which caused what is called “ Climate Crisis.” Those who know the details of the crisis say that the amount of money that was behind this crisis was 27 billions (9 billions were accumulated because of usury), but those who did not charge usury were very far from the effects of this crisis. What proves that people are still afflicted with this plague is that what is known as the third world countries are now overburdened with debts and even its exports cannot help to pay them off. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Economic Repercussion of Usury Usury, when blights economy, spreads like cancer, and as doctor failed to cure cancer, men of intellect, politicians and economists fail to cure the plague of usury. What is astonishing is that some people believe that usury is good for people. In this, they are exactly like those who think that the body swelling that results form certain disease is a good sign for health while not every swelling in the body is a sign for health. Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells in the body; a growth that is not in the benefit of the human being but rather it is devastating and killing. The same can be said about usury as all what results from it is not for the benefit of the society but it is very harmful to it. The problem is that the effects of usury do not appear in the structure of the society and economy all at once. Al-Razi said, “Although it appears that usury is increasing, it is in fact decreasing” and this is taken from the Qur’an in(Surat AL-Baqarah (The Cow), verse 176): (Allah makes usury to wane and makes almsgiving fruitful) “Waning” means that something is gradually decreasing. This meaning is taken from the waning of the moon; as when the moon wanes, its size is gradually decreasing one night after another after being full. Those who are dealing through usury think that it is profitable while what the Omniscient and the All-knowing, and also reality, tells us is that usury causes any profit to wane and destroys economy as it afflicts economy with malignant diseases that could baffle the skilled physician. Usury is not a blessing and prosperity, but a chronic disease that takes away money and decreases it. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) said: "Though usury seems to be increasing, it is in fact turns towards decrease" Narrated by Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him); Ibn Majah transmitted it. Hadith No.2827 of Mishkat Al-Masabih. Our Muslim scientists that knew the truths through Hadiths and Qur’an realized this fact. Al-Maraghi said: “usury results in havoc and ruin; as we see many people whose money was lost and families were broken up because they charge usury.” Al-Qasem said; “ there is no blessing in any money comes through usury because it is the result of violating divine laws. That is why its end is always fatal.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Economic blights caused by usury are so many and the following are the most important ones: 1) Hindering Human Power: Usury hinders the productive human power as it encourages people to neglect their works and to be lazy, and human life gets advanced and civilized only when people pool their physical and intellectual efforts towards construction and development. Usurers who find it easy to increase their money through usury get used to laziness and hate forced labour and anything that requires hard working. The thing that deprives people of their livelihood; as it is well known that construction, crafts, and trade are the pillars of people’s life. Moreover, it is not only usurers who stop being a productive power but also many workers and businessmen could leave their works because of the difficult economic problems that usury causes to them. Those who suffer under the capitalist system find no body to help them but usurers who lend them money at exorbitant rates of interest that takes away the fruits of their labour. These economic problems have a very passive effect on the workers’ productivity. Besides, usury results in economic recession and unemployment which hinder the working power in any human society. 2) Preventing Money from Circulation: As usury hinders part of the productive human power, it prevents money from circulation. Money circulation to society is exactly like blood that circulates in the body, and water that runs in orchards. Preventing money from circulating has very bad effects on the society just like arteriosclerosis or the blocks that prevent water from running. Allah (exalted be He) frighten those who hoard money and threaten to give them a painful retribution: (Those who hoard the gold and silver, and do not spend them in the way of Allah, promise them (O Muhammad) a painful retribution (34) The day will come when their gold and silver will be heated in the fire of Hell, then used to burn their foreheads, their sides, and their backs: "This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you have hoarded.) (35) (Surat Al-Tawbah {Repentance}) Allah sent us divine laws to guarantee the continuous flowing of money to all the members of the society, and not for it to be monopolized by the rich. Allah says in surat (AL Hashr, (Exile), verse 7) : (Thus, it will not remain monopolized by the rich of you.) Usurers, because of their cowardice and their desire to earn as much money as possible, do not contribute in useful projects or economic business except with the amount that guarantees that money will be back tenfold. When they feel that they are in danger or that they wish for a higher interest in the long run, they keep their money from people. That is why people fall in a great distress when they became short of money. Besides, they do not lend money unless they guaranteed a profit more than the interest of the debt. 3) Inflation: “ Inflation” means a continuing increase in the prices of goods and services because their amount does not keep up with the demand for them, or a surplus without the ability to expand the amount of supply. Inflation has direct and indirect causes, and usury is one of its indirect ones. This is because usurers, although they demand high rates of interest, compel the owners of commodities and services to increase the latter’s price. It goes without saying that inflation is very harmful to people especially those who have fixed salaries such as employees and workers; as their actual salaries decrease. If the government tries to find a way out by increasing salaries, this increase happens neither quickly nor in the proper time. That is why, men of intellect, politicians, and economists should work on fighting inflation especially the one that economists describe as “rampant inflation.” In this kind of inflation, prices increase in an exorbitant way, and usury is one of its main causes. Therefore, fighting inflation is exactly like fighting a serious disease. 4) Recession and Unemployment: When there is a great increase in the prices of commodities and services, people stop buying them either because they cannot afford the price or because the price will exhaust their budget. When people refrain from buying, goods will remain unsold in the stores and shops. In this case, factories will reduce their production and, as a consequence, they will get rid of some of their workers and employees; or factories may stop their production completely and, as a consequence, workers and employees will be a surplus labour. At this point, when usurers feel that the market is declined, they add salt to injury and stop lending money or withdraw it altogether, which brings about economic convulsions. This is really astonishing because money is available but it is hoarded in the usurers’ safes. In spite of that, people have to buy their needs but they cannot afford the price, and workers need to work but there is no place for them in factories or companies either because the latter are in bad a need for money or because they need to sell their goods. Usury has a bad effect on the trade cycle. That is why, Islam prohibited it in order to maintain this cycle, and it made a lot of legislations to prevent the centralization of money in the hands of the few. Today, America; the master of capitalism, is suffering from a frightening terrorism crisis. When the nations are shackled like this, they keep working and working and working and get nothing; as their efforts end up to usurer's safes. That is why, individuals in the society cannot get all what they need. However, the government imposes more taxes and increases prices in order to reduce the deficit in its payments. As a result, many revolutions broke up, people died, and all what is happening in the world is not satisfying. Sometimes, the country fails to pay off its debts and decides to write them off exactly like what happened in Cuba in 1961, and in North Korea in 1974. Dr. Stuart Greenbawn, the professor of banking and finance in the university of North Western, said:" Imagine yourself as one of the dictatorial rulers in Latin America, and you sank heavily in debts. Then, if you agreed to the conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and decreased the imports, for example, you will be attacked through protest demonstrations and rebellions, and; on the other hand, if you refused to pay off your debts , you will be renounced by the international community and the international loan markets. Hence, When you get dead sure that the first solution will hang you on a tree branch, you will, inevitably, go for the second one." 5) Economic Deviation: Moreover, one of the bad effects of usury is that it deviates economy from its normal course. Usurers pay to those who give them more profit, and the one who takes the usurious loan do not invest the money except in the fields that give him a profit that exceeds what is imposed by usurers. That is why, the issue is an issue of cupidity which takes people away from the useful projects that works for the good of the society, to invest their money, instead, in the more profitable projects. 6) Extravagance and Taking risks: It is too easy to get money through usury as long as the usurer guarantees that he will take his money back. That is why, those who have no experience become greedy and take usurious loans and get involved in projects that could be doomed to fail or in business which has more to do with gambling rather than clean business. When this kind of business spreads, it harms the economy of the nation. Usurers do not refrain form lending money to those people because they do not care about the means through which they will invest their money, but rather they care about getting their money back with its interests. Islam orders us to prevent extravagants from spending their money as they pleases for the nation's wealth not to be lost. Allah says in surat Al- Nesaa (Women, verse 5) : (Do not give extravagants the properties that Allah has made a means of support for you) Notice here the word "Your" which means that the money of extravagants is a collective ownership and the nation may make use of it. For, usury centralizes the nations' money in the hands of adventurers and ignorants who waste it. what is worse is that usurers can take hold of the people's houses, farms, factories and stores. The easiness of the usurious loan encourages people to be extravagants and to waste their money. The American "Time" mentioned, in its study concerning the Third World debts at the beginning of this year that Liberia sank heavily in the usurious debts as a result of hosting the meetings of the Organization of African Unity. The " Time" also mentioned that Central African Republic spent over 5 million dollars (i.e. the half of its annual budget in 1977) during the coronation of Emperor Bokasa. Al Maraghi said because borrowers can take money without an immediate exchange, The Devil tempts them to buy luxury goods, which leads to the increase of their debts to the extent that they became overburdened with them. Hence, when the time comes for their debts to be paid off, they keep procrastinating till the debtors put their hands on their properties and they become poor and destitute. Allah is right when he says: (Allah makes usury to wane and makes almsgiving fruitful) 7) Putting the Muslims Money in the Hands of their Enemies: The most dangerous thing that could befall the Muslims is the depositing of their money surplus in the usurious banks; as this could divest them of the tools of economy and of the force majeure in the exchanges and put it in the hands of the Jewish emperors of money who gained full control over the money markets . Besides, the interests that usurers pay us is considered to be the price of their (the Jewish emperors of money) control over the international liquidity. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- References : R. Esaa ABDW (1) Ser. Malcolom lwbal draleng book

Is there any way that I can keep my house but get the mortgage payment cut in half? Part of the reason why I am staying in this unhealthy marriage is because I don’t have anywhere else to go (literally) and I don’t want to ruin my credit (now that it’s starting to improve) by just walking away from the house. We bought a new house almost eight months ago. Neither of us can afford to pay the mortgage alone, and it’s too early to refinance the house. Even with refinancing the house it still won’t reduce it enough to where either of us would be able to afford it. I would love to stay in the house and make the payments, but I can only afford around $800 or $900 per month maximum (and we’re paying $1,525 per month including insurance and taxes). We are with Countrywide. Does anyone know from experience or from working in the real estate or financial industry what can be done? If I want to keep the house will they work with me to come up with an affordable monthly payment, or will I be forced to sell it or walk away. We’ve made every payment on time. We paid $138,000 for the house and have a 5.5% fixed interest rate on an FHA loan. The term of the loan is for 15 years. Principle and interest is somewhere around $1,100 and the insurace and taxes are around $425 combined. That together equals $1,525.