Cuomo's latest money grab

I warned you when Andrew Cuomo took office to hold onto your wallets. Despite being one of the most economically depressed regions in the country, Cuomo is looking to grab more of your hard earned money. It's what his family does. It's the only thing they know.

Residents already pay a ridiculously high fee if they get caught speeding. It has nothing to do with public safety. It is simply a money grab. The punishment already grossly exceeds the crime. Its just another way for Cuomo to separate more hard working New Yorkers from their money.

People need to keep their eyes on little Andrew. When his father Mario, the original thief, ran for NY City Mayor in 1977 against fellow lowlife Ed Koch, Andrew was behind fliers that read "Vote for Cuomo. Not the Homo." Now this clown is our governor and keeping up the Cuomo family tradition of fleecing the taxpayers. I'm not defending speeders. However, those caught already pay sufficient fines. Total money grab.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/new_york/speeding-tickets-could-soon-cost-more

Cuomo's latest scam

 
Don't say I didn't warn you. Governor Cuomo and the New York State Thruway Authority are carrying on the family tradition of fleecing the taxpayers. They are raising the tolls for large trucks using the NY State Thruway from $88 to $128 per truck. Guess who this cost will be passed onto by the trucking industry when their costs skyrocket?


For Jonathan Price, the proposed increase would cost his 35 truck business tens of thousands of dollars, something he would have to pass along to his customers. Unless he avoids toll roads altogether, which comes with its own set of problems.


Remember, Tim "Hortons" Kennedy said he was going to "change Albany". Here's the perfect chance for him to speak out against Cuomo. But don't hold your breath. Kennedy is one of Cuomo's and Brian Higgins' dumbest tools. When you're as simple as he is, the last thing you want to do is draw attention to yourself. Kennedy will continue doing what he's been doing: drawing a fat paycheck for doing absolutely nothing.

 Cuomo says Thruway toll hike possible | WIVB.com

I'm not a Tea Party member but...

If the government shutdown goes on as scheduled, taxes will still be collected. (It is considered an essential service). However, tax refunds will not be processed. (They are considered a non-essential service). Also, despite not working, Congressmen will not miss a single paycheck. However, some servicemen and women will not get their checks. Interesting.

So, about that Tea Party we had around 235 years ago? ( scratching my head). Where's Samuel Adams when you need him?
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NY Bicycle tax?

Do the imbeciles that come up with ideas like $25 license plates for bikes live on the same planet as the rest of us? Come on. Who elected the moron from Queens that came up with this ridiculous plan? He should be immediately tested for drug use. That's the only way he could think the citizens would go along with something as ridiculous as this...

Both measures would require bikes be registered, licensed, and pass inspection. One applies to privately owned two-wheelers. The other bill, addressing commercially-operated bicycles, also requires insurance.

Bikes would be required to have license plates, just like cars, trucks, and motorcycles. They would cost $25 for the family version, and $50 for the commercial tags.

I just went to get my bike inspected and it failed the emissions test. Typical politicians. Trying to create an unnecessary tax. This is nothing but a money grab and New Yorkers will see right through it. Citizens 1-Crooks 0.

Anger over proposed bike license plates: wivb.com

I can tell you one guy who will never support this piece of legislation...

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Unusual sentence for tax cheat

The only three certainties in life are death, taxes, and pizza. The guy they interviewed for this story doesn't appear hungry...

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Your tax dollars at work

Here's an interesting story: The rally against Carl Paladino was organized by groups (on work time) receiving public tax dollars. Can you say conflict of interest? It's an example of the thing smaller government groups are fighting against. The rally itself was justified, but should our tax dollars have gone into promoting it?

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Attempted Amtrak derailment on reservation

I can see burning tires on the Thruway or some other protest over New York state banning the sale of untaxed cigarettes through the mail. But trying to cause a passenger train derailment? Not a good idea. The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward to find out who put railroad ties in the middle of the Amtrak tracks near the reservation.

The FBI has released this composite sketch of two people seen near the tracks around the time of the incident:

Buffalo brings back 33 year old occupancy tax

How does the city thank residents who have chosen to stay and live in Buffalo? They send them a bill for a tax that was repealed 33 years ago. Of course. Surprise surprise. Mayor Brown was completely unaware that this was going on. Do you think he was aware that it was windy out today???
Occupancy tax returns to plague residents : City Hall : The Buffalo News

IRS worker caught...cheating on taxes

Hey, I thought these guys were the ones whose job it was to make sure we pay our taxes???:

IRS employee pleads guilty to theft of public money

A local employee of the Internal Revenue Service admitted today that she failed to report her income while receiving federal rental assistance over a period of five years.
Candace M. Morrow, 32, of Erb Street, admitted that she failed to report her IRS income while applying for assistance under a U.S. Housing & Urban Development program set up to help the needy.

Van Every pleads guilty to tax evasion

"Render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar and unto God, the things that are God's." Jesus of Nazareth

Former Buffalo school board member Donald Van Every pled guilty today to not paying his state taxes for the last eight years. Ironically, while on the school board, he was known as an expert on finances(???). Why do these political types love to raise our taxes, yet often get caught not paying theirs? Van Every is best remembered as the campaign manager for Jim Keane in his quixotic bid for County Executive in 2007, the race where Keane snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Van Every should have taken his blowhard client's lead and moved to Florida. I don't think their taxes are as high as ours...

Van Every pleads guilty to not filing taxes : Latest Local News : The Buffalo News

Death and delayed tax scams

Here's the latest joke from Albany. Governor Paterson is trying to withhold sending back your state refund a few weeks longer (so they can collect on the interest). Don't fall for it. New York government is like a crack addict just trying to get more of your money to support it's bad spending habits.

On the radio, I heard them say this amounted to $500 million. What would happen if you got a speeding ticket and told the state "I'll pay it a few weeks later"? They'd hit you with a huge late fee. But it's ok for them to do this to us. I don't think so.

You hear citizens in this report say,"What can we do?" "They're going to get us no matter what we do." I can tell you what you can do. Stop voting for the same last names! Guys like Sam Hoyt and Bill Stachowski have been in Albany living off their fathers' last names for decades and what have they accomplished? Zero. I'm using my tax refund to get my muffler fixed. If they send the taxes back late, I'm going to mail the old muffler to Hoyt with a friendly note attached telling him how useless he is.

As an aside, I wonder how much money Esther Gulyas is worth? She's to the Western New York tax community what Cellino & Barnes is to the law community.

City Refuses to Hold Assessment Hearings in Your Neighborhood

Councilman Mickey Kearns is calling for home assessment hearings to take place in the neighborhoods, where they belong. Sounds like a good idea to me. The only problem from the city's perspective, is citizens might actually show up. The city doesn't want that. They want to make it as difficult as possible for you and I to contest their over inflated assessments. They want you to have to worry about parking and every other ridiculous obstacle involved with going to city hall.

Kearns wants to hold the hearings in community centers like Tosh Collins. Martin Kennedy says a five member citizens panel decides where these hearings are going to be held. What he doesn't tell you is that the people chosen for these panels are rubber stamps for the politicians who put them on the panels. They represent their political interests, not us. The department's EXCUSES for not allowing citizens to contest them in their own neighborhoods are laughable.Having the hearings in city hall, allow staffers to "route some people to nearby offices to apply for tax exemptions"(because giving them directions to city hall after they win their challenges would be too difficult?). Secondly, according to Kennedy, the board doesn't have the manpower to move laptops, recorders, and projectors to the community centers. Are you kidding me? What a joke! Translation: we at city hall are too lazy to move laptops to your neighborhood so you can challenge our overinflated assessments. People should see this for what it is; a thinly veiled effort to raise your taxes without actually raising your taxes. Hopefully, people will join Kearns in continuing this fight. The taxation department needs to learn: They work for us. We don't work for them.
Lawmakers call for neighborhood assessment hearings : City of Buffalo : The Buffalo News

Need Tax Help?

It's been said the only things certain in life are death and taxes.If you haven't died or done your taxes yet, I hope you consider South Buffalo resident Joe Ryba. Joe was born and raised in the Seneca St. area. He's honest, hardworking, and very knowledgeable in the field of accounting.

If you mention you heard about him from this blog ,Joe will probably charge you twice as much. Actually, Joe's one of the few people that still admits to knowing me in public. If you're looking for tax help, you can check out his website at:
http://www.rybacpa.com/

Thruway Tolls Increase Again

What's the best way to get citizens and businesses to leave New York State? Increase taxes. The Thruway Authority has imposed it's fourth toll increase in five years. Since, 2005, thruway tolls are up 45%. Add this to higher than average gasoline taxes and state fees for drivers and it borders on being criminal.

Who runs this Thruway Authority? Why aren't they being audited? Or eliminated? I'd love to see how many no-show jobs they provide and the salaries of the people at the top. Where have our state leaders been the last 30 years while this group was accumulating so much influence? How about The Buffalo News? They write these articles now, but they're the ones that kept endorsing the same state representatives year after year(the guys who continue to allow this stuff to go on). To his credit, Assemblyman Mark Schroeder has called for a complete overhaul and an audit of the Thruway Authority, as well as the elimination of all unnecessary Authorities. I hope this is an idea that catches on. I, for one, will be taking alternate routes until something is done about these ridiculous increases.
Thruway toll increase of 5% is 4th in 5 years : Home: The Buffalo News