wsis-finance.org ? Blog Archive ? Checks and Balances

Checks and Balances

C1?? ?11) Call to Action:
and
then?? ?For more information on how to become a Checks and Balances savvy consumer and to
V.O.???? download any of our free reports, visit the ?downloads? section of our website.? Also, be sure to get your copy of ?The Truth About Taxes? ? a free report

that teaches you how to arrange your affairs to MINIMIZE your taxes as much as legally possible! And while you?re on the site, remember your voice counts ? be sure

to take this week?s poll, and visit our ?Tell Us What You Think? section to share your opinion. Make your voice heard!

C2?? ?12) Close:
And finally, remember that only YOU can control your financial future ? you CAN succeed? you just need confidence and determination.? I?m Matthew J. Rettick

from Checks and Balances TV.?? Be sure to join us next week, when we?ll discuss ?Tax Freedom Day: I Worked For Over 3 or 4 Months Just to Pay My Taxes!?!?

Until then, Dump Debt, Invest Wisely, Believe in Yourself and Make it Happen!

1) Opening:
Hello and welcome to this week?s edition of Checks and Balances TV. I?m your host, Matthew J. Rettick, and I?m committed to giving YOU the TRUTH you need to

financially succeed. In the spirit of ?Tax Freedom Day? celebrated yesterday April 12th, today?s program is entitled, ?Tax Freedom Day: I Worked for 3 to 4 Months

Just to Pay My Taxes!?!? So, let?s see how today?s news may impact YOUR financial future!

C1?? ?2) Financial Headlines:
For most Americans, Tax Freedom Day means that from January 1st through April 12th, American taxpayers have just NOW earned enough money to PAY this year?s

tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. However, if the federal government were to collect enough money to pay for ALL its expenses, including deficit

spending, Tax Freedom Day would arrive on May 23rd this year ? adding an additional 41 days that EACH taxpayer would need to work to finance ALL of the

government?s spending budget.

Tax Freedom YEAR has arrived for General Electric, for the second year in a row.? This multi-national corporation reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion dollars

last year, with $5.1 billion coming from the U.S., yet it did NOT pay any corporate income taxes, and claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion dollars!? The company says

that the 2008 losses experienced by its financial division, GE Capital, wiped out its tax burden in both 2009 and 2010.? The CEO of GE, Jeffrey Immelt, who is the head

of President Obama?s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, says that GE has complied with U.S. tax laws, and welcomes efforts to revamp the tax code and close

corporate loopholes going forward.

Ok, so what?s really going on here?? Let?s ?check? the facts using our Checks and Balances process.

C1?? ?3) Checks:
Side
Check one:
Tax Freedom Day celebrates the last day that people STOP working for the government and START working for themselves, which means that as of April 12th, the

average American has now earned enough money to pay for their personal annual tax obligations on the local, state and federal levels.? Tax Freedom Day arrived 3 days

LATER than last year, meaning we?re paying slightly MORE taxes in 2011 than in 2010. The slight increase from last year is attributed to incomes increasing and the

resurgence of corporate tax revenue.?? The Tax Foundation says that Americans will pay MORE in taxes in 2011 than they will spend on groceries, clothing and shelter

combined.

Tax Freedom Day was established by a Florida businessman in 1948, and later deeded it to the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has

monitored fiscal policy at the federal, state and local levels since 1937.? The foundation says that Tax Freedom Day answers the basic question, ?at what price is the

nation paying for the government??? To calculate the Tax Freedom Day, the nation?s total tax payments collected is divided by the nations total income.? The LATEST

Tax Freedom Day so far, was May 1st, 2000, and the EARLIEST was January 19th, 1913.

C1?? ?Check two:
Side
General Electric, the nation?s largest corporation and considered the 4th most recognized brand in the world, was able to slip right through a tax loophole last year and

pay zero corporate taxes.? The corporate tax rate in the United States is 35%, one of the highest in the world. Based on GE?s profits, it would have paid nearly $5

billion dollars in taxes to the IRS.? However, the company says that more than $9 billion dollars of its TOTAL profit was earned overseas and, due to federal law, taxes

are only due IF the company brings its overseas profits BACK to the United States.? The other $5.1 billion dollars earned in the U.S. was essentially a wash, once the

substantial losses from 2008 and 2009 were applied.? According to the New York Times, regulatory filings show that, in the last 5 years, G.E. has accumulated $26

billion dollars in American profits, and received a net tax benefit from the IRS of $4.1 billion.
Because of loopholes like this, President Obama has been considering an overhaul of the corporate tax system for more than two years now. He says he wants to

LOWER the tax rate, close loopholes, end many tax subsidies for American businesses, and ?simplify? the tax code to ?treat everyone fairly.?? He created the Council

on Jobs and Competitiveness to work with businesses to fuel job growth and innovation to help get America back on track. And who do you think he chose as

chairman of this important council? Jeffrey Immelt (the CEO of GE)!
Ok, so you may be asking yourself, ?Matt, what does all of this really mean to me??? Now that we?ve ?checked? the facts, let?s ?balance? this news using our Checks

and Balances process to determine what action YOU should take TODAY.

Source: http://www.wsis-finance.org/2011/09/21/checks-and-balances-2/

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