Tax Reform Cartoons

Russian compound in Nicaragua reportedly intrigues US officials

A new Russian compound in Nicaragua has reportedly intrigued U.S. officials who are skeptical of its intended use.
The outpost is located on the rim of a volcano and has a clear view of the U.S. Embassy in Managua, The Washington Post reported Sunday. The compound is littered with antennas and globe-shaped devices.
“I have no idea,” one woman who works at a telecom agency in Nicaragua said. “They are Russian, and they speak Russian, and they carry around Russian apparatuses.”
Current and former U.S. officials have expressed concerns that the Russian buildings could be used to spy on Americans and gather intelligence, while others see it as a countermove to the U.S. presence in Eastern Europe. Nicaragua has downplayed the concerns, telling the Post it is a tracking site of Russia’s GPS system.
“The United States and countries of the region should be concerned,” Juan Gonzalez, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, told the paper. “Nicaragua offers a beachhead for Russia to expand its intel capabilities and election meddling close to the United States.”
U.S. officials told the newspaper that there is no immediate alarm concerning the compound, but there are moves being made just in case. A State Department staffer at its Russian desk was named a desk officer in charge of Nicaragua, while diplomats with Russian expertise have gone to Nicaragua as well.
Russia’s influence in Latin America has increased over the last two years. Russia has sold military weapons and artillery to Venezuela, Peru, Argentina and Ecuador, while strengthening economic relations with Mexico and Brazil, the Post noted.
Security experts believe that Russia has nearly 250 military personnel in Nicaragua. Russia has been allowed to use Nicaraguan ports for its warships and Moscow gave 50 tanks to the country.

Trump Pushing Hard on Tax Cuts, Deregulation: Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn

President Trump has gone back to the drawing board on is tax reform as he looks for wide-ranging Republican support behind legislation to overhaul the tax system.
White House officials have said that it is unlikely a tax overhaul will meet the August deadline set by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. The White House is trying to learn from the failure of enacting a new health care law to replace ObamaCare and take a more active role in getting legislation passed.
White House aides told the Associated Press Monday that the goal is to cut tax rates sharply enough to improve the economic picture in rural and industrial areas of the U.S. However, the administration so far has swatted down alternative ways for raising revenues, such as a carbon tax, to offset lower rates.
Trump has not said which trade-offs he might accept and had remained noncommittal on the leading blueprint for reform from Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Tex., the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
Brady has proposed a border adjustment system, which would eliminate corporate deductions on imports, to raise $1 trillion over 10 years that could fund lower corporate tax rates.
But that possibility has rankled retailers who say it would lead to higher prices and threaten millions of jobs, while some lawmakers have worried that the system would violate World Trade Organization rules.
Brady has said he intends to amend the blueprint but has not spelled out how he would do so.
Another option being floated around on Capitol Hill would change the House GOP plan to eliminate much of the payroll tax and cut corporate tax rates and possibly requiring a new dedicated funding source for Social Security.
The change, proposed by a GOP lobbyist with close ties to the Trump administration, would transform Brady's plan on imports into something closer to a value-added tax by also eliminating the deduction of labor expenses. This would bring it in line with WTO rules and generate an additional $12 trillion over 10 years, according to budget estimates. Those additional revenues could then enable the end of the 12.4 percent payroll tax, split evenly between employers and employees, that funds Social Security, while keeping the health insurance payroll tax in place.
This approach would give a worker earning $60,000 a year an additional $3,720 in take-home pay, a possible win that lawmakers could highlight back in their districts even though it would involve changing the funding mechanism for Social Security, according to the lobbyist.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said that all of the trial balloons surfacing in public don't represent the work that's being done behind the scenes.
"It's not really what's going on," Portman said. "What's going on is they're working with on various ideas."
The White House has not officially commented on any plan, but said in a statement but said a value-added tax based on consumption is not under consideration "as of now.”

Trump administration back to square one on tax reform

President Trump has gone back to the drawing board on is tax reform as he looks for wide-ranging Republican support behind legislation to overhaul the tax system.
White House officials have said that it is unlikely a tax overhaul will meet the August deadline set by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. The White House is trying to learn from the failure of enacting a new health care law to replace ObamaCare and take a more active role in getting legislation passed.
White House aides told the Associated Press Monday that the goal is to cut tax rates sharply enough to improve the economic picture in rural and industrial areas of the U.S. However, the administration so far has swatted down alternative ways for raising revenues, such as a carbon tax, to offset lower rates.
Trump has not said which trade-offs he might accept and had remained noncommittal on the leading blueprint for reform from Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Tex., the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
Brady has proposed a border adjustment system, which would eliminate corporate deductions on imports, to raise $1 trillion over 10 years that could fund lower corporate tax rates.
But that possibility has rankled retailers who say it would lead to higher prices and threaten millions of jobs, while some lawmakers have worried that the system would violate World Trade Organization rules.
Brady has said he intends to amend the blueprint but has not spelled out how he would do so.
Another option being floated around on Capitol Hill would change the House GOP plan to eliminate much of the payroll tax and cut corporate tax rates and possibly requiring a new dedicated funding source for Social Security.
The change, proposed by a GOP lobbyist with close ties to the Trump administration, would transform Brady's plan on imports into something closer to a value-added tax by also eliminating the deduction of labor expenses. This would bring it in line with WTO rules and generate an additional $12 trillion over 10 years, according to budget estimates. Those additional revenues could then enable the end of the 12.4 percent payroll tax, split evenly between employers and employees, that funds Social Security, while keeping the health insurance payroll tax in place.
This approach would give a worker earning $60,000 a year an additional $3,720 in take-home pay, a possible win that lawmakers could highlight back in their districts even though it would involve changing the funding mechanism for Social Security, according to the lobbyist.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said that all of the trial balloons surfacing in public don't represent the work that's being done behind the scenes.
"It's not really what's going on," Portman said. "What's going on is they're working with on various ideas."
The White House has not officially commented on any plan, but said in a statement but said a value-added tax based on consumption is not under consideration "as of now.”

Tillerson, G7 ministers look to pressure Russia to reconsider Assad support

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, along with six other Group of Seven foreign ministers, aim to send Russia a “clear and coordinated message” in the wake of the U.S.’ response to a gas attack that left scores dead.
Tillerson, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and the other ministers aim to pressure Russia to end its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after a tumultuous week, which included the nerve gas attack and the U.S.’ airstrikes on a Syrian air base.
The U.S. received broad support from Europe after the airstrikes. Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, who is hosting the meeting, said the missile strike contributed to a “renewed harmony” between the U.S. and its partners ahead of the first meeting of G-7 foreign ministers since President Trump took office.
"'We need to remember that not 10 years ago, but 100 or 120 days ago, the concern in Europe was that the United States and the EU were moving apart," Alfano told Sky TG24 Sunday. "I welcome this renewed harmony."
With ties between the U.S. and Europe seemingly getting better, there has been no indication Russia and President Vladimir Putin was going to move from their position on the Assad regime in Syria.
Russia and Iran said in a joint statement Sunday that the countries would “respond to any aggression” in wake of the airstrikes in Syria.
“What America waged in an aggression on Syria is a crossing of red lines,” the countries said, The Sun reported. “From now on we will respond with force to any aggressor or any breach of red lines from whoever it is and America knows our ability to respond well.”
President Trump’s national security adviser H.R. McMaster said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that Russia should re-evaluate its support for Assad. He added that Russia will have to decide whether it wanted to continue backing a “murderous regime” as Trump weighed the next steps against Syria.
Tillerson is expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after the G-7 meeting.

Russian Putin Syria Cartoons

Thanks for nothing Obama.

Haley forces Bolivia to defend Assad 'atrocities' in 'public view' at UN session

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley forced Bolivia to "defend the atrocities of the Syrian regime" in "full public view" on Friday, after the country's ambassador requested a closed session to discuss President Trump's strikes in Syria.
Trump ordered the missile strikes in response to a chemical weapons attack by Syrian President Bashar Assad Tuesday which killed dozens in northern Syria.
Haley revealed the Bolivian ambassador's request for a private emergency session of the U.N. Security Council in a written statement Friday morning.
She countered: "The United States, as president of the Council this month, decided the session would be held in the open. Any country that chooses to defend the atrocities of the Syrian regime will have to do so in full public view, for all the world to hear.”
At the session, Haley stood by the U.S. actions, and said that when the international community fails to act, it is up to individual states to act themselves.
”The moral state of the Assad regime could no longer go unanswered. His crimes against humanity could no longer be met with empty words. It was time to say enough. But not only say it, it was time to act,” she said.
Haley also questioned Russia’s role in carrying out a deal to remove chemical weapons -- arguing that either Moscow knew about the weapons, was “incompetent” in removing them, or was played “for fools” by Assad. She went on to warn that more U.S. action could be on the table.
“The United States took a very measured step last night. We are prepared to do more. But we hope that will not be necessary,” she said.
The session itself was fiery.
Russian ambassador Vladimir Safronkov blasted the United States for trying to impose an “irresponsible geopolitical project” on the world, and warned of “extremely serious” consequences.
Meanwhile Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari  condemned what he called “a barbaric, flagrant of aggression” and a violation of the U.N. charter.
“This act makes America a partner of ISIL, Al-Nusra and other terrorist groups,” he said.
The visibly aggravated Bolivian ambassador -- Sacha Sergio Llorenty Soliz – used his time to tear into what he called an “extremely serious violation of international law”  and “an imperialistic action” by the United States.
“We believe it is the duty of the Security Council, of the United Nations organizations, to defend multilateralism … we are here to defend it,” he said.
He went on to brandish not only a copy of the U.N. Charter, but also a large photograph of former Secretary of State Colin Powell addressing the Security Council in 2003 about the alleged threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. Soliz went on to argue that there were no WMDs found in Iraq then, and that the council should therefore be skeptical of the United States now.
Soliz’s remarks were immediately met by stern criticism by U.K. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, who backed the U.S. action and claimed the Bolivian ambassador was “more outraged at the United States than the Assad regime.”
“The United Kingdom supports the U.S. airstrike … because war crimes have consequences,” he said, calling the strike “a proportionate response to unspeakable acts.”
Rycroft also mocked the Russians, saying Assad had “thumbed his nose” at Russia’s calls for Assad to engage in peace talks.
“Russia sits here today humiliated by its inability to bring to heel a puppet dictator,” he said.
Other members took more restrained approaches. Italian Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi called for the Security Council to redouble its efforts to seek a U.N.-led political transition from the Assad regime, while French Ambassador Francois Delattre said Assad’s crimes should not go unanswered, and renewed calls for the U.N. to take charges to the International Criminal Court – but noted that such efforts have been vetoed by Russia.
Delattre called the strikes by America a “legitimate” response and a sign that use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated, but warned that a solution will not be reached by military means alone.

Alabama governor will face impeachment hearings after state Supreme Court ruling

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled on Saturday to allow lawmakers to move ahead with an effort to oust Gov. Robert Bentley, who is fighting to stay in office amid fallout from an affair with a top aide.
Bentley will face impeachment hearings beginning on Monday.
The state Supreme Court reversed a short-lived victory for Bentley when a judge on Friday blocked impeachment proceedings. After the high court's ruling, the House Judiciary Committee quickly announced plans to proceed with hearings on Monday.
The 74-year-old Republican has been engulfed in a sex scandal since recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before he and his wife of 50 years got divorced.
Bentley vowed to stay in office despite calls for his resignation. He stood on the state Capitol steps on Friday and acknowledged making personal mistakes but maintained he did nothing to merit his removal from office.
"I do not plan to resign. I have done nothing illegal,” Bentley said. “If the people want to know if I misused state resources, the answer is simply no. I have not.”
The Supreme Court justices asked for briefs on the matter to be filed by Monday.
"It's disappointing to hear the committee will plow forward while the Supreme Court is considering the case. We have no idea what the committee has planned for Monday or who its witnesses will be," Bentley's lawyer, Ross Garber said.
Special Counsel Jack Sharman said the committee's position was that it is free to proceed with the hearings.
"I want to thank the members of the Alabama Supreme Court for quickly acting on our appeal and recognizing, what a circuit court judge didn't understand, that there are three branches of government and the Alabama Legislature is free to conduct its business as prescribed in the state constitution," House Judiciary Chairman Mike Jones said in a statement.
The committee, following a week or so of hearings, will make a recommendation to the full House of Representatives on whether Bentley should be impeached.
The Alabama Ethics Commission on Wednesday found probable cause that Bentley broke ethics and campaign law and referred the matter for possible prosecution.
Sharman wrote that Bentley encouraged an "an atmosphere of intimidation" in his administration to keep his romantic relationship secret and sent two state law enforcement officers to try to track down and retrieve a recording of a sexually-charged phone call he made to a woman presumed to be Mason.
"Gov. Bentley directed law enforcement to advance his personal interests and, in a process characterized by increasing obsession and paranoia, subjected career law enforcement officers to tasks intended to protect his reputation," the report to the House Judiciary Committee which was publicly released on Friday said.
The governor's lawyer called the report an "amalgam of hearsay rumor and innuendo."