IRS Up's Mileage deductions

Well the IRS has cut us a bit of a break due to the higher gas prices. 4.5 cents to be exact - so now each business mile you drive is worth a 55.5 cent deduction as of July 1, 2011. Not a bad break for those of you small business owners. Remember - Document, Document, Document!

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It's Not Just Taxes, It's the Dollar

From an article on income taxes and the economy:

The proper level of taxation has predictably emerged as a major presidential campaign issue. The irony here is that stock market returns since the 1950s show that the dollar's stability and its direction trump taxes as the greatest indicator of our long-term economic prospects.

Sadly, the dollar's fall this decade has not generated any kind of campaign comment from either side. Oddly enough, both Senators McCain and Clinton support a federal gas-tax holiday for the summer. But it should be said that this gimmick perhaps is the primary campaign's ultimate non-sequitur. To endorse an 18-cent-per-gallon tax cut on gasoline is to miss the point. Pump prices aren't high due to federal taxes, but instead are reaching nosebleed levels thanks to a collapsing dollar.

If it's agreed that stock market returns at the very least indicate long-term economic optimism, the dollar's fall should be issue no. 1 for candidates on both sides. Just as high tax rates erode the value of paychecks and investments, so does inflation. And when stock market returns over the last 60 years are considered, it becomes apparent that all three presidential candidates do not have their eyes on the ball. In short, it's the dollar, stupid.

Today's Republicans want tax cuts, while Democrats want tax increases. Judging by equity returns, both sides ignore the dollar at their peril.

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McCain Proposes Summer Federal Gas Tax Breaks

Republican Presidential nominee John McCain wants a summer break, calling on the government to suspend all federal gasoline taxes from Memorial to Labor Day.

Senator John McCain, (R) Arizona: "The effect will be an immediate economic stimulus, taking a few dollars off the price of a tank of gas every time a family, a farmer, or trucker stops to fill up."

In a Tax-Day economic speech, McCain says he wants to reform the federal tax code, remove corporate tax loopholes, and cut taxes for businesses and middle income earners, including a "phaseout" of the "alternative minimum tax." McCain also criticized his Democratic rivals, claiming they would raise taxes.

Senator McCain: "All the tax increases are the fine print under the slogan of "hope." They're going to raise taxes by thousands of dollars per year, and they have the audacity to hope you don't mind."

Senator Barack Obama fired back.

Senator Barack Obama, (D) Illinois: "John McCain seems to think that the Bush years have been pretty good. In fact, he's running for a third Bush term. He is offering more of the same."