Unusually tough talk from U.S. Comptroller General David Walker coming up this Sunday on “60 Minutes.”  According to a press release, Walker:

“…says the law that added a prescription drug benefits to Medicare may be the most financially irresponsible legislation passed since the 1960s. …[Walker] says Medicare — barring vast reform to the program and the nation’s healthcare system — is already on course to possibly bankrupt the treasury and adding the prescription bill just makes the situation worse. “The prescription drug bill is probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s,” says Walker, “because we promise way more than we can afford to keep.”  He argues that the federal government would need to have $8 trillion today, invested at treasury rates, to cover the gap between what the program is expected to take in and what it is expected to cost in the next 75 years — and that is in addition to more than $20 trillion that will be needed to pay for other parts of Medicare. “We can’t afford to keep the promises we’ve already made, much less to be piling on top of them,” he tells Kroft.

More here

From today’s Washington Post story on Second Life:

Congress has taken note and is completing a study of whether income in the virtual economy, such as from the sale of gowns that Brown makes, should be taxed by the Internal Revenue Service. The Joint Economic Committee of Congress is expected to issue its findings early next year.

“There seems to be a lack of ground rules in an area that would have explosive growth in the next decade or two,” said Christopher Frenze, the committee’s executive director.

So here’s the obvious question — why not virtual taxes?

My old boss Jack Kemp says this in today’s Washington Post profile of incoming House Ways & Means chairman Charlie Rangel:

“Look, Charlie wants for this country what Republicans want: reduced tax burden, reform of the alternative minimum tax and a cleaning up of the cumbersome tax code of America. I don’t think Republicans should fear Charlie Rangel. But you do have to be prepared for the Charlie Rangel one-two punch.”

If Rangel can accomplish all that good, would he be Charlie Rangel or a Charlie’s Angel?

Forget all those no-tax pledges.  Here’s the best take on taxes I’ve heard in a long time.

U.S. Comptroller General David Walker on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal”:

We have a system that is so mind-numbingly complex, that even people who want to comply have difficulty complying.  I, each year, prepare my tax return by hand without software.  And I’ve challenged members of Congress to do the same, because my view is, if they had to do that, we’d have tax reform within a year because it’s such a painful experience.

Some are celebrating this Washington Post story:

Culture Shock on Capitol Hill: House to Work 5 Days a Week

Frankly, it leaves me a wee bit depressed. 

Congress working more: They call that good news?

Surely, with all that extra time on the job, Congress will simply make more rules and raise more taxes.  Heck, I’d give them a one-day work week it means less government in our lives.

So the question is, are you any better off now than you were four weeks ago?

Casinos shut down?  Taxes jumping up?

Surely this wouldn’t be happening if Tony Soprano were New Jersey’s governor.

The U.S. Treasury Department today announced it is conceding the legal dispute over the federal excise tax on long-distance telephone service.  The Department of Justice will no longer pursue litigation and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will issue refunds of tax on long-distance service for the past three years.

What does this mean in practical terms?  It means the Spanish-American War of 1898 is finally over.  The tax was levied to help pay for the war.

And how is the victory being celebrated?

The Treasury Department went the low-key route in its press release headline:

Treasury Announces End to Long-Distance Telephone Excise Tax

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, however, couldn’t contain his euphoria:

“The telephone excise tax has outlasted two world wars, the Great Depression, and the start of two new centuries, but the federal government continued to needlessly tax basic telephone services.  The war lasted only 220 days, yet this tax on talking has finally expired after over 39,000 days.”

Now if we could only blame the excise tax on the sinking of the battleship Maine.

Extreme Mortman  had a secret correspondent attend the big Berkshire Hathaway meeting over the weekend to hear legendary rich guy Warren Buffett speak.  Here’s our tipster’s report:

Buffett gave his usual sage advice (end corrupt executive compensation policies; avoid investments in overheated markets like commodities, etc.); ducked the tough questions on succession and why Berkshire isn’t dividending out some of its $40 billion cash pile; and warned about the dire consequences of Bush administration policies he doesn’t agree with (current accounts imbalance will cause severe decline in the dollar; his taxes are too low because his marginal rates are the lowest in his office, etc.)  For humor, maybe the best source was Buffett’s long-time number two, Charlie Munger.  In the opening video, the Desperate Housewives actresses are sitting around a poker table talking about trying to land a billionaire.  Nicolette Sheridan (the blonde) thinks she’s going to get Buffett, but gets Munger instead.  Afterwards, Buffett quips that it’s the lesson of Anna Nicole Smith:  when choosing between old rich guys, always pick the older one.

I noticed on my tax accountant’s desk today a huge, hulking publication called “Hurricane Tax Relief Acts of 2005.” Hundreds and hundreds of pages of rules and regulations. Which got me thinking — boy, if they only used that thing to plug up the levees.