SCOTUSblog Publisher Tom Goldstein Diverted Millions from Law Firm To Pay Gambling Debts and Evaded Taxes for Years, Federal Indictment Alleges

Tom Goldstein, a prominent Supreme Court lawyer and publisher of SCOTUSblog, was indicted Thursday for allegedly evading taxes for years and taking millions from his boutique law firm’s funds to cover gambling debts.

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Republican Buddy Carter introduces bill to eliminate IRS and income tax — but replace it with 23% national sales tax



Rep. Earl "Buddy" Carter (R-Ga.) introduced the FairTax Act of 2025, aimed at abolishing the Internal Revenue Service.

Not only would the new act eliminate the IRS if passed, but it would also repeal the federal income tax.

A fact sheet from Carter's office sent to the Washington Examiner stated that the legislation would capture "the underground economy, tourism dollars, and purchases made by illegal immigrants."

This would allegedly be accomplished by implementing a 23% national sales tax, with some exceptions.

'As long as they’re here, they should be taxed.'

"The FairTax will have widespread benefits throughout our economy, not the least of which is forcing illegal immigrants to pay their fair share in taxes," Carter told the Examiner. "This will eliminate instances of illegal immigrants using taxpayer-funded resources without paying into the system while also empowering Americans to choose their tax rate."

It is unclear what the congressman meant by Americans choosing their tax rate.

The Georgia representative reinforced that he still supports the remigration of illegal aliens at the same time.

"I'm all for the repatriation of illegal immigrants, but as long as they’re here, they should be taxed," Carter added.

Taxing illegal immigrants is not specifically mentioned in the act, however, as it would be seemingly impossible to implement on an individual basis.

Under the FairTax Act of 2025, there would some exceptions for the new sales tax. Exceptions included the sale of used and "intangible property" and property purchased for business, government, export, or investment purposes.

The law would also carve out the opportunity for "lawful U.S. residents" to receive a monthly sales tax rebate based on a specific set of criteria related to income and family size.

The bill was originally introduced in 2023 but did not move.

The summary of that bill stated that the tax rate (starting at 23%) would be adjusted "in subsequent years."

At the same time, the bill "terminates the national sales tax if the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (authorizing an income tax) is not repealed within seven years after the enactment of this bill."

This would mean that the 23% tax is effectively a seven-year tax that theoretically results in no sales tax at all after that period.

The bill's original text made several claims that the federal income tax stymies economic growth and "has reduced the standard of living of the American public."

Blaze News contacted the Trump administration transition team for comment on the legislation; this article will be updated with any applicable responses.

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Biden Lobbied To Grant Clemency to Culprit Who Leaked Tax Returns of the Wealthy to Left-Wing News Outlet

President Joe Biden is facing pressure to commute the sentence of Charles Littlejohn, the former IRS consultant who leaked the tax returns of Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and other wealthy individuals.

Left-wing groups Revolving Door Project and Patriotic Millionaires are leading the charge. The groups organized a December letter to Biden from four tax law professors—the University of Michigan's Reuven Avi-Yonah, the University of Missouri's David Gamage, Indiana University's Goldburn Maynard, and Emory University's Alex Zhang—arguing that Littlejohn acted in the public interest when he illegally leaked the returns to ProPublica. 

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Tennesseans still on hook for state property taxes despite devastation from Hurricane Helene — at least for now



Tennesseans still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Helene will have to pay state property taxes unless lawmakers move to provide some relief.

State residents and their political leaders have been discussing the issue of property taxes for months, ever since Hurricane Helene devastated the region back in late September.

A few weeks after the storm, the IRS stepped in and postponed the deadline for filing or paying certain taxes until May 1, 2025, at least for beleaguered property and/or business owners in Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington Counties.

"Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Sept. 26, 2024, and before Oct. 11, 2024, will be abated as long as the tax deposits are made by Oct. 11, 2024," said the IRS press release issued November 7.

Leaders in Nashville have yet to officially adjust, suspend, or extend deadlines for property taxes at the state level, though at least one bill is in the works.

Republican state Rep. Tim Hicks has backed a measure that would provide tremendous relief for affected residents. If the measure becomes law, "any home or any family that was affected by the flood will be exempt from paying property taxes for the year 2024, and they won't get taxed again for those property taxes until their property is made whole again," Hicks explained, according to WCYB.

The same tax exemptions would go into effect in the case of future disasters as well.

"I would think that all legislators across the state will be on board with that," Hicks said.

'It would mean a heck of a lot. A heck of a lot.'

Hicks told WCYB that legislators, already scheduled to meet next month, intend to call a special session to vote on that and other Helene-related bills before the deadline for filing property taxes comes along in February.

"We’re trying to get all the relief efforts up here that we can."

For months, state officials have expressed concerns about the plight of storm victims in Tennessee. Back in November, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Jason Mumpower told WJHL that "the legislature and Gov. [Bill] Lee have a strong desire to help the property owners affected."

However, just what that "help" should look like has not yet been determined.

Some officials noted, for example, that the affected properties — most of which are located in Northeastern Tennessee — enjoyed normal value for about three-quarters of 2024 and that some owners have already paid their taxes in full. Thus, tax relief may come in the form of proration or retrospectively awarded grants, among other possibilities.

"The key to helping them is knowing exactly how much damage has occurred, what the extent of the damage [is] people have suffered to their homes, to their businesses. So we have been working with assessors since the storm occurred," Mumpower said.

"We want to be sure by the time the legislature returns in January that they have a firm understanding of the dollar amount, of the extent of the damage people have suffered so that they can provide the best assistance," he added.

For residents like David Harris and his wife, who have been living in a camper on their property in the Nolichucky River Valley between Knoxville and Winston-Salem ever since Helene wiped out their home, that relief can't come soon enough.

"It means a lot because when you lose everything, you got to replace stuff," David Harris told WCYB, "and we're retired with not such a great salary. It would mean a heck of a lot. A heck of a lot."

"We don't want to think about property taxes right now."

H/T: Matt Van Swol

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The end of the IRS? Trump considers biggest tax overhaul yet



As Election Day approaches, former President Donald Trump told voters that he believes he could pave the way for the elimination of federal income taxes.

On Monday, Trump participated in a town hall segment with Fox News at a barbershop in the Bronx, where he answered questions from the business' owner, employees, and patrons.

'There is a way if what I'm planning comes out.'

One individual told Trump that his biggest concern is that his two children and future generations will not be able to obtain the American dream because of oppressive over-taxation.

"When it comes to federal taxes, I'm sure you're going to start back up the pipeline, the Keystone Pipeline, which is going to generate an abundance of revenue. Also, with the tariffs that you've spoken of," he told Trump.

He asked, "With all this extra revenue that we're going to be bringing into the country, do you believe that at some point in time, we could find a way — once the country's back on its feet and getting enough revenue and pays off our debt — do you think it's possible to find a way to eliminate federal taxes?"

Trump replied emphatically, "There is a way."

He stated that in the 1890s, the United States relied on tariffs and did not have a federal income tax.

"Now we have income taxes, and we have people that are dying, they're paying tax, and they don't have the money to pay the tax," Trump continued. "In the old days, 1890, 1880, we had so much money they had to set up committees, blue-ribbon committees, how to spend our wealth. We had no idea how to spend it; it was so much money. Then we went to the income tax system, and the rest is sort of history."

"No, there is a way if what I'm planning comes out," Trump added.

The former president has already stated that he supports abolishing the federal income tax on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security.

The United States, for the first time, briefly imposed a 3%-5 income tax from 1862 to 1872 to cover the cost of the Civil War.

W. Elliot Brownlee, a historian of tax policy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told the New York Times that the U.S. adopted "a mass-based income tax for the first time during World War II."

From 1868 to 1913, approximately 90% of all revenue was generated from liquor, beer, wine, and tobacco taxes. Currently, income taxes generate 94% of the federal government's revenue, while tariffs make up just 2%.

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