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Stop Wasting My Tax Dolllars

  If you agree with the following letter, I suggest you copy it into MS Word, or some other word processor, and send it to your US Senators and members of the US House of Representatives.

To find out who they are, direct your browser to: http://act.commoncause.org/site/PageServer?pagename=sunlight_advocacy_list_page

Here is the Letter

January 25, 2017 The Hon. Kamala Harris 112 Hart Senate Office…

What’s Wrong With Our Military Strategy?

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The latest ISIS attacks in Paris, the downing of a Russian airliner and the seeming lack of progress against ISIS in Iraq and Syria is really raising the heat of debates about the best way to…

Can You Fix This Problem?

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Today I’m discussing a problem that we have in our country these days. And, I don’t have a clue on how to solve it. I hope you might have some suggestions on how to do that.

Many economists believe…

Should Illicit Drugs Be Legalized? – Part 2

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In this second post on America’s war on drugs, I will provide more evidence of the failure of that policy and then describes an essential element of a better plan, including how to pay for it.

(Not…

Should Illicit Drugs Be Legalized?

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It is my belief that illicit drug use in the USA should be decriminalized, if not outright legalized. I will explain the difference later in this post.

I believe this, in part, because the US…

Do Welfare Queens Really Exist?

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So, first, let’s define welfare queen. I found this colorful definition in the “Urban Dictionary”.

A welfare queen is a woman, regardless of race who is living off the welfare system purely…

Stealth Gay Rights Law Enacted In California

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AB 139 snuck under the radar. It wasn’t endorsed by any LGBT rights organization. As far as I can tell, no LGBT group lobbied in support of it or testified in support of the bill in committee.

Ear…

Do Immigrants Harm Our Nation?

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According to the Pew Research Center, 51% of Americans think immigrants are good for our nation because of their hard work and talents. 41% of Americans think immigrants are bad for our country…

And The Killings Continue

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According to the Los Angeles Times, there have been 142 shootings in schools in the U.S. since 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14,…

A Debate On Syrian Refugees

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We are beginning to hear reports that our country is considering taking in as many as 100,000 of the Syrian refugees who have been fleeing their country because  they fear being killed…

Our Justice Isn’t Justice

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This is the second post of a series of blog posts discussing what skills and experience we should look for in the presidential candidates. To read the previous post on this subject, scroll down to…

It Has To Be Said

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I expect that some will be angry at what I say in this post, but I do believe it must be said.

The United States has said it will back up the nation of Israel and will do anything necessary to…

The US Should Do More

This is what it says. This is what the Statue of Liberty says.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

That is what it says. That is what the Statue of Liberty says.

According to the Los Angeles Times, since the beginning of the…

What Should He or She Care About? – Part One

I voted for Barrack Obama twice. I did so, in part, because I hoped our first Black president would make addressing the multiple problems of African Americans one of his highest priorities. Sadly he has not done that.

Actually a White president from Texas, Lyndon Johnson, was much more vigorous, and public, in his efforts to address these problems.

I think addressing these issues should be a high…

The federal tax code has rules that could cause problems for same sex couples that are not married.

Here is the source of the problem. When someone makes a significant gift to someone they are not related to, the donor can end up owing federal taxes on the value of the gift. The rules do exclude small gifts from the federal tax. The amount of the exclusion has been increasing over the years, and currently it is set at $13,000. In other words, if someone gives a gift worth less than $13,000 no federal gift tax is owed.

California does not assess a gift tax on any gifts.

Gifts of any value are excluded from the tax when the gift is given to the spouse of the donor.

However, federal law does not exclude large gifts to domestic partners or a significant other to whom the donor is not married.

Note:

I am not an attorney or a qualified tax expert. No action should be taken based solely on the content of these memos. However, I hope the memos will help you ask the right questions of people who are qualified in these issues.

Gift taxes don’t apply just to gifts of money. According to IRS Publication 590, the tax can apply to any gift of property including money, the use of property or the right to receive income from property. Also, if you sell something for less than full value, or if you make an interest free, or reduced interest loan, you may be making a gift. And, if that gift is worth more than $13,000 the donor may owe federal gift taxes on the gift.

Here is how the problem can occur for unmarried same sex couples. Suppose two men or two women fall in love and move in together. And suppose they live in a home already owned by one member of the couple. Then, suppose the one who owns the home puts his or her partner on the deed for the home, making that partner co-owner of the home. That is a gift, and in most cases, that gift will be worth more than $13,000.

Or suppose, in time, the partners decide to make their bank accounts joint accounts. And suppose they close their individual bank accounts and put all that money in a joint account. Depending on how much one or the other of them puts in the joint account, it could trigger the federal gift tax

Even if they do not establish a joint account, if one of them is contributing significantly more to their joint living expenses, it might trigger the gift tax.

Federal law does say no tax will be owed on gifts to pay tuition or medical expenses for someone else if paid directly to an educational or medical institution. Contributions to charities and political institutions are also excluded from gift taxes.