OcTaxLaw.com

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The story of American income taxes begins 1812.

The 1st attempt to inflict an income tax on Americana occurred as a result of the War of 1812. At the end of two years of war, the federal government owed an unbelievable $100 million of debt (in inflationary terms, it probably had the same impact on the treasury as $100 billion debt would today). To pay for this, the government doubled the rates of its major source of revenue, customs duties on imports. This measure obstructed trade so severely that the government ended up bringing in less revenue than it had received from the lower rates. It’s ironic that the American Revolution was began because of Tea Taxes in Boston.

Also, excise taxes were imposed on goods, and commodities such as housing, slaves and land were taxed pay for the war. After the war ended in 1816, these taxes were repealed and instead high customs duties were passed to retire the accumulated war debt.

What is Taxable Income?
The amount of income utilized to arrive at your income tax. Taxable income is your gross income minus all your adjustments, deductions, and exemptions.

A few specific taxes:

Estate Taxes:
One of the oldest and widely-used forms of taxation is the taxation of property held by an individual at the time of demise.

The US currently has Estate Taxes, although there are proposals to do away with them.
Such a tax can take two forms of implemantation. A direct estate tax can be levied on the estate prior to any transfer to heirs. An estate tax is a charge upon the deceased’s entire estate, regardless of how it’s disbursed. Another option form of death tax is an inheritance tax (a tax levied on beneficiaries getting property from the estate). Taxes imposed upon demise provide incentive to transfer assets prior to demise.

Canada no longer has Estate Taxes.

Virtually all European countries have Estate Taxes. The prime illustration is Great Britain, where high estate taxes have effectively ruined the financial well-being of virtually all of Britain’s Nobility, who have been forced to sell vast real estate holdings or place them in historical trusts.

Capital Gains Taxes
Capital Gains are the increases in value of anything (including investments or even real estate) that makes it worth more than the price for which it was bought. The gains are likely not to be realized or even taxed until the asset is sold.

Capital gains are ordinarily taxed at a lower rate than regular income to promote business development or entrepreneurship during all economic phases. This is thought to help companies invest in technology and expand to create more employment.

Under free market, all companies can talk all they want that all the stuff they put there is for my own good. However, if the product is overpriced or if it doesnt serve my interest to get the product, I just dont buy it.

No companies, full with corruption and inefficiency, will last in the market, unless it is governments companies.

The same mechanism doesnt apply to governments program.

Indonesian governments build airplanes. It doesnt make business sense. Then every one is required to buy air plane stocks. Then governments sell the planes to Indonesians airways companies.
Bad business gets smaller, smaller, and gone. Bad governments business gets bigger and bigger. There is no check and balance mechanism whatsoever to ensure that when governments spend money the money worth spending.

When governments build public school, people simply says that it benefits the people. Yet, how do we know that the benefits worth the cost? Governments public school can be plagued with corruption and efficiency. What are the intensives that the school boards will care about the kids interests when deciding curriculum?

Recently we heard costly debate on whether evolution or creationism that should be taught in school. Face it. Do we care? Most of us would rather learn business or economy so we can make big bucks.

I took graduate level Math classes straight without prerequisites and got As easily. Do I need to pay expensive teachers? Different kids have different needs and capability that properly harvested can really cut down costs of education. How do governments regulated system adapt to it?

However, the harm of governments program can be greatly reduced by requiring anyone that uses it to pay for the utility. That way, if governments build a pyramid and no body visits it then we know that its money wasted.

The list can go on and on. Currently poor people use bikes and the rich use car. Yet governments pay to build roads. The usage of roads is proportional to the usage of gas. There will be less cars and more bicycle if governments tax gasoline and use the money to build roads. That way, people that work at home (like me) and save a lot of cash hence getting rich faster. The only time people will buy car is if it worths to pay for the car and the road.

The exception to this principle is on business with economic of scale. Some Nobel winner, like John Nash, argues that deviation from competitive equilibrium is inefficient and encourages governments to actively split monopoly, or even create public monopoly. Some like Milton Friedman argues that even though it is true that some economic of scale is un-efficient. However, theres nothing you can do about it. After all, the only naturally occurring worldwide monopolies nowadays are diamond monopolies, which will be toppled if it goes too much. The market failures fail to exceed typical governments failure.

Hence, I have no strong opinion.

If our country is full with corruption then cost for governments failure is huge. So market mechanism is the way. If corruption rate is relatively low, we may be able to play around safely with some governments intervention. Watch out for what Friedman says.

Choosing a lawyer can be a tough decision. The most important part of the decision is what type of attorney you will require. If you are going to court for a possession charge, you need a criminal defense lawyer. If you are going for a divorce, naturally you want a divorce lawyer. Choosing specialized representation is always a good idea because the person you choose as your attorney will have a vast wealth of knowledge on that particular subject, instead of a small amount of experience in many different fields. You dont need your personal injury lawyer to know anything about divorce law right?
So where do you find a reliable lawyer? The most convenient way it to look online. There are a few reliable web sites out there for finding an attorney in your city or state. Generally you want to search based on the type of representation you require, followed by your state or closest major city.
What are you looking for in a lawyer? Well you definitely want him to be an honest, warm person. Dont waste your time with people who seem like your not worth theirs. You also want someone with experience. Inquire about experience : how long he/she has been practicing, what school they graduated from, etc. Most attorneys will happily show you their credentials. If they hesitate, they likely dont have many credentials and you might want to stay clear of that particular person.
Overall, when looking for the right attorney you just gotta use your judgement. The same rules apply to choosing a family doctor or a psychologist; you want to feel comfortable that you are being taken care of. Never be afraid to ask questions, and most importantly keep yourself involved in your case. If you are filing for bankruptcy, read up about the laws and exemptions of your particular state.

Law defined by the Webster dictionary is a ‘binding custom or practice of a community’. It is ‘a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority’. Each land has its own law but the sole purpose of law is to integrate people and ensure a cohesive bond amongst different strata of the society. Breaking law, thus, is synonymous to threatening the integrity of the land.

From the ages of lawless lands of jungle where nature ruled man’s lives to the modern-day courts the journey of law, irrespective of its land of practice, is as rich and enduring as the journey of the mankind. Just as mankind is still growing, progressing and breaking new boundaries, the law that binds the mankind is also evolving continuously. Old rules are challenged; new laws are born ensuring the well-being of the land and the people who live off and on it.

The concept of law has been debated for ages from the 1500s amongst the greats like Francis Bacon, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu to David Hue to the modern day judges and lawyers, law has been argued and reargued again and again so that all points of time it is the victory of the mankind, what is good and just and not the victory of an individual. This law may vary from land to land but the basic human sense of justice and truth prevails irrespective of geographical boundaries. So in essence laws of all lands are more or less similar.

Law is symbolized by the blind-folded lady the reason being law does not see who is in front of it, but practices it equally for all. Law can be categorized under many categories Civil law for example laws related to land, property, families and societies, Constitutional law related to the constitution of the land, Criminal laws involving the laws to curb the criminal activities in the society, Human Rights, Environment, Administrative law, International law and so on and so forth. Based on the country, the judiciary system of law differs, the structure and the power assigned to the judiciary system also varies accordingly. In countries ruled by military power or under some monarchies, often the judiciary lies with the governing power and is not considered as an independent body as in many democracies.

Practicing law is very interesting. The best part of practicing law is that one can pick up law at any point of their lives. Unlike most professions, where you need to start very young, law gives you the flexibility to study and practice law at a later stage in life as well. The practicing lawyers generally specialize in one of the categories of law. How one practices law and how the law is upheld in a society depends upon people’s values of ethics and moral. The more law-abiding the citizens are, the better are the chances of prosperity for that land. However as St. Augustine had famously said ‘An unjust law is not a law at all’, while a law-abiding citizen must follow the laws of the land, he/she must also stand against the law that is unjust and immoral.