A friend of mine was recently in US, told me that federal systems are complicated and said dude you can goto jail if you can't comprehend and navigate the mazes...he is looking to study and invest and start up a business (Dad's rich, hard earned money tho)

A friend of mine was recently in US, told me that federal systems are complicated and said dude you can goto jail if you can't comprehend and navigate the mazes...he is looking to study and invest and start up a business (Dad's rich, hard earned money tho)

Your friend is correct, and it's why we are all so pissed off at government. It's so easy to get on the dole and be poor, but if you try to get ahead you risk losing everything. It's creating a society of poor people and the uber-rich. The middle class is barely breathing.

 

I'll write more when I have some more time but just on this point you might want to look up MTIC fraud.

 

Haven't you guys been dealing with the VAT tax for a while now? I would be very interested in your opinion. We have State sales tax, and it works pretty smooth. Shouldn't be hard to add a Federal tax on purchasing goods, and get rid of the IRS altogether. We have to make money to live, and anything that makes that inconvenient has to go.

 

VAT and sales tax work differently, and have ups and downs. 

 

It generally goes unnoticed unless there is a change in the status of an item or a change in the rate. So when the Chancellor proposed adding VAT to hot pasties, there was nearly an armed revolution. (I exaggarate, but not much). However most people just don't think about VAT much and just treat it as a part of life. This does create the problem that despite being a relatively high tax, people don't necessarily think about the amount they are paying, whereas with income tax you at least directly see the amount. 

 

In terms of revenue, there is a 20% VAT rate in the UK, although there are large exemptions, for example childrens clothing and food are exempt. This generates about 100 billion in revenue for the government.This represents about 20-25% of revenue for the UK government.

 

There are also some oddities focused around it. VAT is frequently the hardest tax for businesses to apply, and can actually restrict business growth as if you break through the VAT registration barrier and have to start paying it (at around £70,000 VAT rateable sales) it pushes up prices by 20%. It is also open to fraud (google MTIC or carousel fraud) and was in the late 2000s losing about 2% of revenue to this fraud.

So I spent the day working through the complexities of VAT for making purchases in other European Countries, in particular the procedure for VAT recovery. 

 

Lets me be clear about something. 

 

It is a bastard system and I hate it.

So I spent the day working through the complexities of VAT for making purchases in other European Countries, in particular the procedure for VAT recovery. 

 

Lets me be clear about something. 

 

It is a bastard system and I hate it.

Yes I understand. From what I understand, it's a tax every time something increases in value. They tax cotton. Then they tax the material made from the cotton. Then they tax the shirt that is made from the material.This can get crazy out of control. It's not just a simple sales tax.

As I said, both Sales Taxes and VAT have their drawbacks. 

 

 

If you want to make a pro-VAT argument, the logic is this. 

 

With a sales tax you get a cascade. 

 

Company buys Cotton to make shirts, pays 100$, and 10% sales tax. Company manufactures shirts, sells to retailer, charges 10% sales tax. Retailer sells on shop floor, charges 10% sales tax. Assuming manufacturer and retailer make 10$, you get

 

Cotton seller charges 100$ (10$ tax)

Manufacturer             120$ (12$ Tax)

Retailer                    142$  ($14.20 Tax)

 

Customers in this situation are actually paying $36 for what would normally be a $120 worth of shirts, meaning a real tax rate of over 25%. 

 

If you have VAT because each person in the chain can reclaim their VAT the same shirts costs the end buyer $120 plus $12 tax. This means however long the supply chain the tax rate remains the same. 

 

Now for a sales tax you can make a rule that only consumers pay the tax and companies don't. This does eliminate the cascade effect but creates its own headaches as it means each supplier has to determine the nature of the purchaser. Are you buying that laptop because you need a laptop for your office or your home? Are you buying fuel because you are a travelling salesman or going on holiday? Do you need shirts for your company uniform or to look sharp on your holiday? 

 

Now either you are open to fraud (people pretending to be businesses) or you allow businesses to reclaim their sales tax....oh wait isn't that a VAT? Or you accept the cascade, which would unfairly favour importers over domestic producers because it shortens the taxable supply chain if you import. 

 

To be clear, I am not saying that any form of taxation is better than any other. Every form of taxation has benefits, every form has disbenefits. However what I am going to say very clearly is that if anyone ever says that this form is categorically better than that form, or that one version has no drawbacks, that person is a either a liar, or has listened to slogans without actually looking into the deeper consequences.

Third debate tonight on CNBC. I don't think they will be giving Trump center stage this time. Carson has been polling too strong. I really don't know what's going on, but is looks like the establishment will do anything to lower Trump's numbers. I'm sure they believe if he's not number one he'll lose interest and fade. We shall see.

 

I will tell you all what I think after, but I'll be very hard on them tonight for it's time for many of them to drop out. We need a winner.

I'll start this by saying I hate everything NBC... well not everything... Raymond Reddington is the ultimate chaotic-neutral badass. He'll walk in, take off his hat, and say, while smiling, "Spivey! You old dog!... when were we last together? Oh yeah... it was Barbados back in '93... it was Beluga Caviar, Krystal Champagne, and those orange crusted wafers... with those sprinkles... it was just exquisite!... I must return there someday... <pop>". The pop was Reddington shooting Spivey in the face.

 

That's what Republicans did to the CNBC Moderators last night. What was set up as a liberal bomb throwing festival intended to create chaos and embarrass the Republican candidates, ended up being Republican candidates ripping liberal media an entire new asshole, and exposing them as juvenile amateurs solidly in the tank for Democrats... what a panel of baffoons. I loved every second, and it became the best of the debates so far.

 

Marco Rubio - Awesome!

Ted Cruz - Awesome!

Donald Trump - Did good

Ben Carson - Did good

Carly Fiorina - Did good

Chris Christie - Did good

Rand Paul - Did good

Mike Huckabee - Did good

Jeb Bush - Awful

John Kasich - Awful

 

The one that crashed and burned was Jeb Bush. The moderators tried to make Rubio look bad by bringing up his absence in the Senate while running for President. Rubio brought up all the other Senators that have done the same thing, and won the crowd over completely with his answer. Jeb should have known then and there not to press the issue, but could not resist stepping on a land mine... and Rubio took him to school. Jeb is all but finished now.

 

I really don't want to support anyone who believes there is a big government solution to big government problems. This unfortunately, is John Kasich. I don't want to hear a peep from anyone that believes big problems can be managed as they continue to get bigger. I want the problems eliminated... not managed by the government. Kasich is no longer breathing here.

 

The awesome guys listed above will improve their position. The "did good" crowd held their own, but I don't think they will move much. Jeb and Kasich... should just quit while they still have a shred of good reputation.

 

Next debate... Fox Business Network, November 10th.

So I hear Jeb tried a stab at the french (together with Rubio) and failed completely. Then he got pwned on twitter by their ambassador. HAHAHAHA.

So I hear Jeb tried a stab at the french (together with Rubio) and failed completely. Then he got pwned on twitter by their ambassador. HAHAHAHA.

He compared Rubio's attendance in the Senate to a French work week... he never thought of looking into the attendance records of Kerry, McCain, Obama, or any other Senator that ever ran for President. What a numbskull.

well I never heared Rubio's rebuke, but I did read the french ambassador's one.

 

hilarity

Rubio never attacked Bush back, he just stated facts that Jeb supported John McCain's campaign all the way and never said a word about him missing Senate votes... that the only reason he was attacking Rubio about it now was because someone told him that it would help him... and the crowd goes wild!

thats a rebuke, and a snidy one at that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufGlBv8Z3NU

A few more videos like this and Donald Trump will be the next President. All he has to do is show this to the thousands that show up at his events and say... "Anyone still believe we don't need a wall?"

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDW1R9OmOr0

Current polling data shows trump has lost his lead in the race and also performs worse than the other republicans in match ups against Clinton.

 

I think we might be getting safer.

Mike Huckabee and Chris Cristie have been kicked from the main debate stage. Lindsey (who would name a boy Lindsey?) Graham and George Pataki have been kicked from the entire event. I knew the first network that began the dirty task of telling some of these guys that it's just not working out for them... would be the big hero. Fox Business Network finally did this for the benefit of all of us.

 

I would have liked to see John Kasich and Jeb Bush kicked to the kids table as well... but like Mick Jagger says... you can't always get what you want. Donald is hosting NBC's Saturday Night Live tomorrow night... what fucking planet are we on? 

a planet were apparantly grain silo's come in pyramid shape

 

>_>

But it's tangentially related to a bible story so it must be true.

Then I want my ever lasting fish and bread.

 

the bread is for me, I will make good $$ from the fish thou

So from twitter I understand that the firm consensus was that a British Guy should be the Republican Nominee after last nights debate.

How the fuck do you become a neurosurgeon yet have no understanding of Egyptian history? Is it not in the American core syllabus?

 

The only thing I've learnt from the debates (for either side) it's that we should be preparing for 4 years of extreme bullshit. 

 

p.s. I put a small flutter on Bernie for candidacy because the odds are great xD.

Well honestly speaking if I were an enemy of the USA I'd wish that Carson got elected and re-elected and then the US would be destroyed in 8 years.

 

The guy is a neurosurgeon and doesn't believe in Evolution. For decency's sake sir, stop making us doctors look like idiots. 

 

But then again the GOP Primary is about proving who is the biggest fool of all isn't it........? Guns good, Abortion bad, Low taxes, No min wage, No Obamacare it Bad Mexicans out, steal jobs. God Bless America.

 

Well looks like I'd be a good candidate too.

 

Get ready for another defeat Republicans. Lincoln would've been ashamed.

So from twitter I understand that the firm consensus was that a British Guy should be the Republican Nominee after last nights debate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Hannan

I would support this British guy

Well honestly speaking if I were an enemy of the USA I'd wish that Carson got elected and re-elected and then the US would be destroyed in 8 years.

 

The guy is a neurosurgeon and doesn't believe in Evolution. For decency's sake sir, stop making us doctors look like idiots. 

 

But then again the GOP Primary is about proving who is the biggest fool of all isn't it........? Guns good, Abortion bad, Low taxes, No min wage, No Obamacare it Bad Mexicans out, steal jobs. God Bless America.

 

Well looks like I'd be a good candidate too.

 

Get ready for another defeat Republicans. Lincoln would've been ashamed.

Hi Rafay... Pakistan is an enemy of the USA. I mean, hiding Osama bin Laden while taking billions from the U.S. taxpayers to "help" us fight terrorism was the end for us. If things go your way, you will soon be dealing with Putin... we all know the Russians will be much more flexible.

 

I got a question for you... if humans evolved from apes, why are there still apes? Where are those half apes? Or did we all "evolve" at the same rate? I'm not a religious man, but I will never believe that any human is related to an ape. I believe humans are a unique species, and if we do not allow each other to be different, it will eventually destroy us all.

 

Defending myself and my family is good. Forcing people, to pay for other people to murder their children, is bad. Taxing people for the purpose of wasting their money with no accountability is bad. Every State has their own minimum wage... I have no idea where you get that from. We are against a Federal minimum wage, because we are against mass unemployment. Obamacare is a failure... I can't even afford to use the insurance I am mandated to pay for, because my deductible has tripled. Every country has immigration laws... they must be enforced, or changed, not ignored. "Steal jobs"? What do you mean by that?

 

As for the debate... I'm all for Marco Rubio.