Yikes! The IRS Is Coming After Frequent Flyers!

The federal government, in its insatiable appetite for more of your hard-earned money, is now going to tax the living daylights out of frequent flyers.

According to the KYPost.com:

Frequent flyers across the country are howling mad over a letter Citibank is sending to many of its customers.

The Los Angeles Times says the letter informs customers that the frequent flyer miles it hands out with many accounts and credit cards are taxable as income, and that it will be reporting the information to the IRS this year.

Some Citibank customers are now complaining that they will owe tax on $600 of income because they received 25,000 frequent flier miles as a bonus for opening an account or credit card. This means they will owe the IRS more than $150, even if they never end up using those miles.

How's that hope and change working out for you?

Read more: http://www.kypost.com/dpp/money/consumer/dont_waste_your_money/your-frequent-flier-miles-may-be-taxable1327443919257#ixzz1lKyFCs00

Gov. Moonbeam Wants CA Voters To Raise Taxes

California Governor Jerry Brown is banking (pardon the pun) on the stupidity of the state's electorate to pass an initiative to raise taxes.

According to the Christian Science Monitor:

Facing huge deficits despite $10 billion in budget cuts last year, California needs new tax dollars in order to avoid catastrophic cuts to schools and government services for the elderly, Governor Brown said.

His plan includes a 1 percent income-tax-rate increase for individuals making more than $250,000 per year, and a 2 percent rate increase for those making more than $500,000. It would also increase the state sales tax by half a cent to 7.75 percent.

In total, at least 10 initiatives that propose tax increases are vying to qualify for the 2012 ballot in California – a sign that the state that led the national tax revolt with Proposition 13 in 1978 might now be considering at least a partial reversal of course.

Opponents of tax increases plan to counter Brown's initiate.

From CBS News:

Just a day after California Gov. Jerry Brown released his tax initiative proposal, anti-tax advocates announced Tuesday they have filed their own counter measure seeking to restrain government spending.

The California Taxpayers Association, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and Small Business Action Committee said they filed a proposed ballot measure with the state attorney general's office that would limit spending after the state makes a full recovery from the recession.

"We need a mechanism to make sure that the drunken sailor DNA of our Legislature doesn't kick in, and that we put that money away and we use it for debt reduction," said John Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis group.

The measure is just one of many complications Brown faces as he tries to increase taxes on the rich and raise the statewide sales tax.

With the California state government in control by one party hell-bent on spending and caters to labor unions, it would be like giving an alcoholic unlimited money for more liquor if the initiative passes. They would use the revenue to spend even more, not less.

Until the state government learns how to discipline itself on spending, voters would be best served by voting no to tax increases.