Posts Tagged Johnston
Whole Lot We Don’t Know about MMPI and Its Deal with Cuyahoga County
Posted by Roldo Bartimole in Economic Development, Media, Politicians on April 18th, 2010
April 18, 2010… Here are some questions I would appreciate answered from the Cuyahoga County Commissioners and/or their attorney Jeffery Applebaum. I don’t believe any of the questions would interfere with the sticky problem of negotiating the best prices for the project. That’s the excuse being used to keep the public in the dark, it appears.
Presumably, proper plans and a proper lease would answer these questions.
Here are my questions. Somehow I ended up with 13 categories of questions. I hope I didn’t jinx the project:
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers pay for the site and construction of the medical mart to be used as a private business of MMPI of Chicago? (Actually, we already know. The answer is yes.)
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers consider the MMPI Medical Mart a property tax exempt building? In other words, will it ever pay any property taxes? (I think we already know this answer, too. It’s yes.)
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers finance the furniture, furnishings, telephones, computers and all the other office equipment needed for the MMPI Medical Mart? (Don’t know but quite likely it will happen.)
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers finance any new restaurants in the Medical Mart or Convention Center – restaurants that will serve not just conventioneers but the general public?
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers pay for the restaurant furniture and bar equipment, etc.? Chairs and tables? Knives and forks?
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers pay for the full array of kitchen equipment, stoves, refrigerators, pans, pizza ovens and other incidental kitchen equipment?
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers allow these restaurants to compete with other downtown restaurants? By this I mean could these restaurants not only serve conventioneers but the general public on a daily basis though they will be tax-subsidized and property tax free?
- Will there be any housing – apartment – allowed in the Medical Mart building for MMPI executives jetting out of Chicago and into Cleveland at sundry times?
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers provide and fund any executive food service facilities in the Medical Mart for MMPI?
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers provide free parking for MMPI employees or any other executives hired to operate this project?
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers be responsible for upkeep and/or funding capital improvements?
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers share in any of the profits of this venture? Yes, I jest.
- Will Cuyahoga County taxpayers pay for the salaries of any MMPI Chicago executives once the project is completed? If so, how many, at what cost and what percentage of their time will be spent in Cleveland?
You can email the answers to Laura Johnston and Henry Gomez of
The Plain Dealer since they seem to believe you people are keeping secrets from us all. Now why would they think that?
Richest Get Richer But Pay Less in Federal Tax
Posted by Roldo Bartimole in Economic Development on February 18th, 2010
February 18, 2010… It’s no surprise but it’s good to have the real data. The top 400 earners saw their tax rates drop as their income soared. No one gives us this information better than David Cay Johnston. He says that these top-income households have “soared to a new record high.”
“In 2007 the top 400 taxpayers had an average income of $344.8 million, up 31 percent from their average $263.3 million income in 2006, according to figures in a report that the IRS posted to its web site without announcement that were discovered February 16,” he wrote.
He continues: “The figures came at the peak of the last economic cycle and show that widely published reports in major newspapers asserting that the richest Americans are losing relative ground and ‘becoming poorer’ are not supported by the official income data.”
The report also shows that a number of the top 400 paid an effective tax rate of zero to 10 percent. In other words, you probably paid a high rate on your city income tax.
Now wouldn’t we all like income taxes in April to be so nicely priced for us?
Only 33 of the top 400, he reports, paid an effective tax rate of 30 to 35 percent, which is the maximum (or should I say, Republican) federal tax rate.
This data was first made available during President Bill Clinton’s administration. It has been made available again by President Barack Obama. Guess what? It was made inaccessible by President George Bush. Surprised?
Cay Johnston is the former tax reporter for the New York Times. He teaches now at Syracuse University.
His entire take is available here:
http://www.tax.com/taxcom/features.nsf/Articles/0DEC0EAA7E4D7A2B852576CD00714692?OpenDocument