#notary taxes

[closewise]

Tax Write Offs For Notaries: Tips To Maximize Tax Deductions For Notary Signing Agents

Tax season can feel overwhelming, especially when deciphering the complicated IRS forms and rules. As signing agents, you’re no stranger to dealing with official documents, but tax forms can be a new ball game. Understanding that income taxes apply while you may be exempt from self-employment tax on your notary fees is crucial. And if you earn income as a signing agent, self-employment taxes come into play. But fear not because we’re here to ease your worries and help you save thousands of dollars! We have the information you need to understand the tax write-offs for notaries and ensure you make the most out of it. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to breathe and read on.

Read More: How Notaries Save Money On Taxes

[somethingaboutvampires]

Both my direct boss and my boss' boss have said this to me directly in the past few months: "Is it adhering more to compliance? No. Is it an easier procedural process? Yes."

So

...

... (Smacks lips)

Work ethic and working overtime? I don't know her.

[inboundremblog]

How Much Are Closing Costs in Orange County California: Real Estate Transactions Guide

Credit: Image by Alena Darmel | Pexels

Unlocking the Mystery: How Much Are Closing Costs in Orange County, California?

What are, and how much are closing costs in Orange County, California?

Other costs that come under closing costs are those charged when closing a real estate deal and can be paid either by the buyer or the seller, licensed agents, etc.

In Orange County, the specific sum may differ depending on parameters such as the property's value, the particular terms of the mortgage loan, and the details of the individual transaction.

Understanding these expenses is equally important, especially for anyone in the market who wants to purchase or sell a house in this prime area.

This article defines the various charges included under the broad umbrella of closing costs in Orange County to assist anyone in estimating the charges correctly.

Key Elements of Closing Costs

Loan Origination Fees

These are fees that the borrower perceives as a cost that the lender has imposed on the borrower for providing the loan. They usually range from five percent to one percent of the loaned amount.

Appraisal Fees

A realtor must be hired to make an appraisal to help determine the property's value. This fee may range typically from $300 to $600.

Title Insurance

Title insurance covers future events related to a property's title. The price difference ranges, on average, from $500 to about $1500.

Escrow Fees

An escrow company assists the whole deal with the cash distribution process, completing the entire process as expected. The costs generally used to obtain an escrow may range from $500 to $2000.

Recording Fees

Your local government could collect these fees from you to help you process the requirements needed to transfer the property into your name. They usually cost at least $100 to $250.

Real Estate Agent Commissions

Real estate agent commissions often vary from 5% to 6% of the sale amount and are shared equally between the seller's and the buyer's agent.

Home Inspection Fees

A home inspection costs between $300 and $500 and helps ensure that all the property's parts are functional.

Notary Fees

These are sometimes needed to notarize other documents that might be required, and the cost could be $100-$150.

Pest Inspection Fees

Some instances require a pest inspection, usually costing between $100 and $200.

Prepaid Expenses include property tax, home insurance, and mortgage interest. The figure may differ depending on the kind of property and loan.

Factors Affecting Closing Costs

Several factors can affect closing costs in Orange County, including:

Property Price

Closing costs for homes sold at higher prices are typically higher because they are calculated based on a percentage of the sales price.

For instance, expenses such as title insurance, escrow fees, and transfer taxes are often proportional to the property's value. Additionally, more significant mortgage amounts can increase loan origination, appraisal, and points fees.

Therefore, buyers and sellers should expect higher closing costs for properties sold at significant amounts.

Type of Loan

Besides, additional requirements are specific to some types of loans and the relevant fees. For example, the F.H.A. loan may be simplified by its relatively high costs, such as requiring a more significant down payment or other initial costs. Still, it has lower interest rates than conventional loans.

Negotiation

Commission may also be bargained between the purchaser and the property vendor. For example, a seller can offer to 'buy down' a part of the closing cost attached to the real estate to assure the buyer to close the transaction.

Service Providers

Consumers must opt for fewer service providers, including title companies, Escrow Companies, home inspectors, and other title closing costs. It is also important to note that fees differ from broker to broker, so it is prudent to note the fees charged.

Location

Certain local taxes and fees, like special assessments or transfer taxation, may vary depending on the particular neighborhood or district within Orange County.

For example, some areas might have higher special assessment fees for community improvements, while transfer taxes might differ based on local ordinances.

Both buyers and sellers must be mindful of these potential variations when exploring properties in different parts of the county, as they can impact the overall cost of the transaction.

Awareness of these factors allows individuals to make informed decisions and accurately assess the financial implications of their real estate transactions.

Reducing Closing Costs

Both consumers and sellers can take steps to minimize their closing costs, including:

Shop Around

It's beneficial to contact multiple lenders and different title and escrow companies to inquire about their fees. By comparing rates, you can strive to find the most reasonable and competitive pricing for your needs.

Negotiate

In most cases, there is usually a bargaining process with the other side about splitting or reimbursing some or all the closing costs. For instance, a seller may propose to the buyer that he or she bear the invoice of the owner’s title insurance.

Review the Loan Estimate

Borrowers are entitled to receive the loan estimate from the lender within three days of application completion. To establish the probable closing costs, read the document and establish whether any areas of understanding are ambiguous or if any fees seem to be inordinately high.

Ask for Seller Concessions

Potential buyers can also ask sellers for certain contingencies to pay some closing costs while bargaining for the purchase price. This can be particularly helpful in a buyer’s market because sellers might be more open to such an approach.

Use a No-Closing-Cost Loan

Different lenders provide no-closing-cost mortgage loans in which the closing costs are included in the Mortgage Balance or paid off through a higher Mortgage Rate. Although this helps save money initially, it leads to an increased term of paying off the borrowed sum.

The following points explain why closing costs should be considered an integral part of real estate transactions in Orange County, California. Both buyers and sellers must also be aware of these costs to conduct a transaction efficiently.

In every real estate transaction, expenses related to the conveyance of title to real estate must be ascertained, and these expenses may indeed affect the financial relationships between the two entities.

Get more fascinating information on our website at https://occoastrealestate.com/orange-country-closing-costs/.

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[demorenotary]

Small Business and Big Dreams

https://youtu.be/sXbzppKHdTk?si=tJ3XM2mt6y240DJl

[anavatazes]

Good thing I don't need it

So, last month, I ordered a book as part of a charity event. No big whoop, I try to take part of stuff like this every year, if I am able to. This is usually my gift for the holidays from the family. I get something I want and help out others in need. It's fun. So, this happened...

It was supposed to be delivered today. I was looking forward to it today as a reward for starting back to work. As some of you know, I live in the Charleston, SC area. The book made it to Charleston... then it found its way to Dallas... 🤦‍♀️. Supposedly, it will be here on Wednesday. On a day I will be too busy to properly enjoy it 😑. Still... I have to wonder where else it might end up on its journey to me. I had a friend who ordered a t-shirt from LA, and it ended up all over the world, before finally it found its way into Austin to her. What was supposed to take two weeks (it was print to order) took a year. I don't want my book to take that long, though.

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[stolligaseptember]

oh. exam studying flashbacks.

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[sketchp00ch]

Codotverse Jon and Eddie would marry each other solely for the tax benefits and use their elopement as an excuse to go on elaborate vacations.

Waylon would be their witness and Harley would notarize their marriage.

(No I will not elaborate how/why Harley became a public notary, I’m sleepy.)

[asksythe]

It's been 2 months since you posted anything for Lies and his Wife Truth. Is it still going?

It's still going on. Yes, I know it's been two months. The current chapter of Lies sits in my drive at over 2k words and about half way finished. I haven't been able to touch it at all this last week.

I feel horrible about it. But there's not much I can do.

I am buried under a mountain of work... and still wrangling bureaucracy and the tax department over my property. I'm kinda almost to the point of tears about it, mostly because the stress of juggling so many things is playing merry hell on me. This morning I feel physically sick when I realized I completely forgot to respond to a client on a children picture's book project because last week I was so preoccupied with the bank, the developer, the notary office, and the tax department on top of trying to complete a newspaper article for the national news agency and run proofing over the bilingual text for an art exhibition in October.

This is on top of a coming big project for the national TV. And my boss wants me to start mentoring the next generation of writers for his agency. Some of these kids are coming in expecting to ride Chatgpt and thinking that we won't know any better, so I just know I have my work cut out for me trying to hold their hands and train them...

Ahhhh....

I really want to go write the Lies chapter. Because once I finish this chapter then the next is the first big whammy chapter I've really been looking forward to for half a year already. I want to write the love story I made for over 2 years. But I can't, because I'm an adult with responsibilities.

Haaaaaaaaa.....

Boredom (free time) truly is the luxury of the young. I wish I had that kind of luxury again.

At the moment, I'm just trying my best to tread the water of adult life. When I finally get my head above water again and have some time to myself and my hobby, you'll see the next chapter.

....Pray for me...

And pray for @erimies too because she's not much better.

[sunder-the-gold]

How halo-empathy re-contextualizes our Sankta Operators

I'll ignore Ezell (Enforcer) for this post, as we got to know him at the same time as we learned about halo-empathy.

Adnachiel

"In a show of humility, Adnachiel stands helpless in the face of loftier, theoretical topics, though everyone assumes he's just being modest. After all, as soften spoken and kind as he is, Adnachiel gives off the impression of being a clever and considerate young man."

Adnachiel didn't have to deal with that sort of misunderstanding in Laterano, where other Sankta would feel that he isn't being modest when a topic falls outside of his understanding of deterministic, mechanical principles.

On the other hand, he left Laterano before he was the requisite 12 years old for receiving his patron gun. We don't know how long he's lived in virtual exile before he became Infected (and thus exiled for real), but it seems like long enough for him to have adjusted to managing the expectations of non-Sankta.

Of course, that doesn't mean he can stop people from spreading exaggerated rumors about his intelligence and foresight, especially when he's got enough of both in reality.

Probably, his perceptiveness and analysis also helped him adjust to the necessity of watching and listening to other people to guess their state of mind. Philosophical theory is one thing, but facial expressions and vocal tones tend to have clearly observable meanings.

(Though I'm left wondering if his parents lied to him about the reason why they took him away from Laterano as a child. When a potential bully and a potential target both feel each other's emotions, would bullying still happen? Maybe this was an early-writing fluke?)

Arene

Where Adnachiel opened up to other people and studied them in return, Arene displays more introverted, self-focused tendencies.

Arene's troubling lack of sympathy for other people could owe to the several years he's spent exiled from Laterano following his infection with Oripathy, "from an early age". Younger than 12 years old, when Sankta normally receive their patron firearm.

Spending his formative years separated from his parents and surrounded by people from whom he could sense no emotions, with an underdeveloped ability to read emotions normally, and possibly with a unconscious sentiment of Sankta racial superiority, it's perhaps not surprising that Arene displays sadistic, solipsistic tendencies.

His third Archive File further mentions that he "tends to be a little sheepish around some of our other Laterano operators". One assumes this refers to other, unfallen Sankta who not only remind him that other people have internal lives of their own, but that there are some people who can still see right through him.

Ambriel

She's not just evading her taxes; she wanted to live where no one could empathically sense her desire to slack off. Possibly.

For that matter, her choice of weapon not only lets her avoid direct confrontations of a physical, mortal nature… the farther she could deploy from other members of the Lateran Guard or Notarial Hall, the less likely they could see or feel her slacking off.

When the Notarial Hall employed her to watch out for and locate students playing hookie from school, did they hope to inspire her to change by confronting "herself"?

Executor

He and Oren confirm that despite his apparently darkened halo and the unexplained device clamped onto it, he's not fallen. He's very much capable of sensing the feelings of other Sankta. He just doesn't care. Possibly, he thinks that feelings do not change facts, and he bases his decisions on facts.

This does not contradict what he says in his third Trust line. Rather it must mean that when he says, "I cannot understand other people", he cannot understand the reasoning of other Sankta despite knowing their emotional state. His actions could anger another Sankta close enough for him to feel their anger, but he doesn't understand WHY his actions provoked that response.

Exusiai

Texas: "Exusiai is my polar opposite. She seems to get along fine with anyone, but lets very few people close to her." Exusiai: "Texas is a handful. Even when she lets you close, she won't spare more than a few words. It took me a long time to figure out whether we were cool or not."

Exusiai grew up never needing someone to say more than a few words; she could know how they felt. She had to learn how to read someone as tactiturn as Texas because Sankta don't understand subtler body-language or unspoken words within words. Texas outright tells us that Exusiai finds it very hard to really TRUST other people; Texas had to prove herself through actions because Exusiai can't peek into her mind.

Which makes Exusiai's pledge of loyalty to the Doctor more impactful; even without halo-empathy, she's utterly convinced she understands and agrees with the Doctor. ("Leader… No, savior, I pledge this gun in my hand to protect you until the very end of this world.")

Mostima

This explains so much about Mostima, whom probably already wasn't the most social of Sankta. Before she fell, she had the Sankta empathy to assist her. Fiammetta didn't, but Fiammetta was raised by Sankta and knew how to bridge the gap, so Mostima still didn't have to learn anything. But after she fell, she lost almost all connection to other people that she'd taken for granted, and the effort to reconnect didn't seem worth the trouble.

Exusiai goes crazy not just because Mostima won't use her words to explain, but because words are all Mostima has any more and she was never good with them. Exusiai can't feel Mostima's feelings anymore.

This also brings a new dimension to how the Doctor managed to reach Mostima, and convince her that maybe making new human connections wasn't such a hassle (for her) after all. ("…I see now. When I thought of having a friend like you, the spark of joy I felt wasn't fake after all. Scrap what I said before, Doctor. Maybe I do need a bit of warmth in my life.")

[nesiacha]

In honor of Gracchus Babeuf's recent anniversary, here are some informations from his life:

He was apparently born poor. His original first name was François-Noël. He was the eldest of 13 children, most of whom died at a young age. His father gave him a very harsh education: "Education cost my shoulders dearly," he writes, "for to teach me what they did not know, they did so very roughly, and I clearly remember the soldier-like tone and the terribly blunt gestures with which they— I will not say brutalized and repelled, but atrociously tortured my childhood." . It is interesting to note that in the letters Gracchus later sent to his children, whom he loved dearly, he always recommended tenderness and gentleness. I believe he clearly took the opposite approach to his father's upbringing. Gracchus had to work very hard as a laborer from the age of 12 and later became an apprentice to a notary at 17. In 1782, he met his wife, who would be his political right-hand, Marie-Anne Victoire Langlet, a chambermaid working in a castle (a militant in her own right, known for her strong character, and later arrested twice by the Napoleonic police, once in 1801 during the repression of the neo-Jacobins and again in 1808 when they seized all her papers; this couple deserves more recognition—they are just as interesting as other lesser-known revolutionary couples). They had a love marriage. While working, he also continued his education with ancient authors and sought to raise his children according to the principles of Rousseau, a philosopher he admired. He reflected on social inequalities, the misery of peasants, and the abuses of feudalism. He became estranged from the lords and called for the abolition of fiefs during the preparation of the Estates-General. “What a terrible conflagration, if the masses one day came to ask why some have everything and others nothing!”

He was a distinguished correspondent for the Academy of Arras. Gracchus Babeuf became politically involved from the early stages of the French Revolution, particularly by participating in drafting the cahiers de doléances for the convocation of the Estates-General. He proposed additions to the cahier of the Third Estate of the bailiwick of Roye, but his suggestions were rejected. After the storming of the Bastille, he went to Paris, became a correspondent for a newspaper, and publicly criticized revolutionary figures like Mirabeau in his pamphlet La Nouvelle Distinction des Ordres. Before his political career, Babeuf worked as a land surveyor, a role that involved managing legal documents relating to land ownership, earning him the ironic label of "archivist-terrorist." These early experiences and his militant engagement would later lead him to defend radical ideas, especially through the Conspiration des Égaux, advocating for an egalitarian republic.

In July 1789, Gracchus Babeuf was in Paris to oversee the publication of his work Cadastre Perpétuel, which he had developed with the surveyor Audiffred. This book, published in October, proposed an innovative method for measuring land using trigonometry, aiming to rationalize property tax. However, it went further by advocating for a tax reform based on proportionality of properties and, more radically, a redistribution of land—a sort of “agrarian law.” Babeuf defended this idea in response to those who respected private property too much, arguing that the needs of the millions of destitute people must be addressed before they were driven to despair.

Back in Roye, he led a campaign for the abolition of indirect taxes and redeemable rights, organizing a petition in 800 communes and starting a journal, Le Correspondant Picard. Due to his actions, he was imprisoned in Paris in May 1790 but was freed under popular pressure. After a second imprisonment in April 1791 in Roye, he sparked new mobilizations for his release. It is important to note that Babeuf was never really interested in science. In fact, he considered limiting scientific education, arguing that its complexity might create inequalities among students (one of his bizarre and even false ideas). However, on the other hand, he was one of the revolutionaries who truly envisioned property rights in a more egalitarian way, particularly in terms of agrarian laws.

In 1790, he renounced Catholicism and first took the name Camille, after one of the heroes of the Roman Republic. Then, in 1794, he changed it to Gracchus, in homage to the Gracchi brothers, who led a popular party in Rome. He was so fervent about names that he renamed his eldest son Émile in honor of Rousseau, his second son Camille, and his third son Caius. He was unfortunate to survive his two daughters: the first, Sophie, died in 1787 at the age of 4 from an accident that severely scalded her hips, plunging Gracchus into deep despair. His second daughter, also named Sophie, died of malnutrition at 7 years old in 1795. He wrote, "I had a seven-year-old daughter; I soon received the heartbreaking news that she had died from the murderous reduction of two ounces of bread." It was a terrible period because Gracchus was in prison again, and Marie-Anne had been arrested for two days for handling her husband’s journal subscriptions (and for one of Gracchus' escapes, although he was caught again). She was released, and her arrest was criticized by her friend René Vatar and René Lebois.

This must have been the hardest time for him (and for Marie-Anne, the worst was yet to come). Throughout his life during the revolution, he repeatedly went in and out of prison until his execution, continuing his struggle. Contrary to what Zweig or other works might claim, portraying him as simple-minded or mediocre, he was, in fact, intelligent (even though he sometimes made foolish decisions). His ideas on taxes, his views on the assassination of Foulon during the storming of the Bastille, his humanism, and his ultra-revolutionary stance on economic issues (on property rights and taxes) show his sharpness. He protested against unnecessary and arbitrary violence, such as during the repression in the Vendée, and also criticized the violence from the other side. He, along with others, predicted the rise of Bonaparte, reading newspapers in his prison. Yes, at one point, he was manipulated by Fouché (and that doesn’t mean Fouché only manipulated fools), but Babeuf showed him the door once he realized who Fouché truly was. Babeuf was deeply committed to equality and social justice, but he was not naive about the realities of implementing these principles in an agricultural society. He had a clear vision of the injustice inherent in economic inequalities and believed that the social revolution had to occur not only through wealth redistribution but also through a radical reorganization of labor.

The equality Babeuf defended was not limited to formal or legal equality but extended to material and economic equality, which required a complete transformation of society. He believed that equality could only be maintained if working conditions were fair and suited to the realities on the ground, which meant reorganizing production, especially in agriculture. Thus, he proposed the creation of collective farms where labor would be shared among peasants (from an agrarian point of view only). Of course, Gracchus made foolish moves, such as leaving a list of people associated with him, directly or indirectly, in his room, which Pierre Serna suggests was child's play for the police to find. According to Laura Mason, the police found hundreds of documents in an apartment near the center of Paris, including copies of underground pamphlets circulating in the capital, decrees for insurrection, and instructions to the confederates to incite the people to rebellion. Gracchus was irresponsible in this regard, which greatly exasperated his more sensible comrade Antonelle. Antonelle distanced himself from him, particularly in terms of how to achieve the revolution. I simplify, but for this noble revolutionary, the revolution should be saved through the ballot box and by fighting the system from within, even though history would show he was wrong on this point. Here’s what Antonelle wrote: “The act of insurrection is the dream of a sick man… The more I think about this too frivolous subject, the more I remain convinced that this great conspiracy was reduced to the petty annoyances of a few disgruntled minds, the pastimes of some idle people who shared their thoughts.” The problem was also that Gracchus didn't take the necessary measures for a clandestine operation, inadvertently putting many involved—whether directly or indirectly—in danger.

Gracchus Babeuf was often overwhelmed by enthusiasm throughout his life, to the point where, according to some historians, he was even said to have suffered from fevers. He first had an admiration for Robespierre, hated him, then adored him again as a Robespierrist. He formed connections with the Duplay family, though he befriended people from all political backgrounds. Some of his most important "lieutenants" in the Conspiracy, like the Hébertist Joseph Bodson, were anti-Robespierrists. He was very close to the family of Marat, particularly Albertine (who admired Danton), and he formed ties with Lindet, even though he was not part of the conspiracy. It seems that he had a certain talent for allying with others who did not necessarily share the same political views.

For Gracchus Babeuf, friendship did not exclude violent criticism, although this did not prevent him from continuing to hold the same people in high esteem with whom he had formed friendships. One example of this is his relationship with Jean-Paul Marat, as well as the vehement debates he had with Joseph Bodson about Robespierre (Gracchus Babeuf had become a Robespierrist again at that time). He was popular in Picardy.

After the failure of the Conspiracy of Equals, more than 200 warrants were issued. The repression was carried out, among others, by Lazare Carnot. However, there were armed attempts to try to save them, which ultimately failed. A High Court was established to investigate the matter. The conspirators were transported in simple cages on carts. Marie-Anne Babeuf, Gracchus' political right hand, followed the journey on foot, pregnant with their last child, Caius, and accompanied by their eldest son, Emile. It is worth noting that Gracchus was even more concerned about their second son, Camille, and wrote, "What have you done with my Camille? The poor, dear child! Is he the only one who couldn’t follow his dear father... no doubt he will cry for it, he must have cried. His young soul, full of the most delicate sensitivity, has long known the nature of the most touching affections. Why is he so young, so weak, he would have accompanied me with you in these terrible circumstances, and then Gracchus Babeuf would have been too happy." I wonder if madness had seized Camille, or if he never recovered from the trauma of seeing his father arrested, only to eventually be executed.

Marie-Anne Babeuf took the journey to see if she could free her husband, with the help of Pierre Hésine, whom she had settled with her family, to organize solidarity with the accused. She was not the only woman to make this arduous journey; Philippe Buonarroti's partner, Teresa Poggi, was also with her.

Even in prison, Babeuf kept himself informed about the situation. He even wrote to the Directoire: "Look beneath you, citizens Directors, to treat with me from power to power! You have seen the great confidence with which I am the center. You have seen that my party can well counterbalance yours! You have seen the vast ramifications it holds. I am more than convinced, this glimpse must have made you tremble!"

At his trial before the High Court, Babeuf showed remarkable courage, assuming all responsibility for the "society of democrats" while acknowledging all attacks against the Directoire, stating, "The decision of the jurors will solve this problem...: will France remain a Republic, or will it return to a monarchy?" He was sentenced to death with Darthé. Despite being injured by a suicide attempt, he reportedly showed great strength during his execution.

Six men, sentenced to deportation, were imprisoned and chained in caged enclosures. Among them were Blondeau (who escaped from Oléron and later Cayenne), Buonarroti, Cazin, Germain, Moroy, and Vadier. They were initially sent to the fort on Île Pelée, then to the national fort at Cherbourg, a prison of security. In Year VIII, they were transferred to the island of Oléron, before being subjected, for some, to house arrest. At least a significant number of them were acquitted.

Here is Germain's reaction: "The prisoners sentenced to deportation were intoxicated with joy at having escaped the torture that twenty of them knew they were threatened with. Germain, cheerful and full of wit, mocked the jurors. 'They are fools,' he said to Vieillard, 'not to see a conspiracy when there is one of the best-planned ever, and is there anything crazier than acquitting the women who were enraged (sic) and encouraged us all? Now that my life is saved, I will tell them everything I know. Besides, I conspired, I will always conspire. If they send me to Cayenne or Senegal, I will conspire, and if not with men, I will with parrots.'" (Charles Germain, Archives Nationales, F 16/582. C)

Dozens of Babouvists were released, but the last supporters of Babeuf attempted a final uprising by inciting soldiers at the Grenelle camp to revolt. After allowing the insurrection to grow, Carnot, a member of the Directoire, ordered the cavalry's intervention, commanded by Cochon de Lapparent. On October 9, 1796, about thirty insurgents, including several important figures of the Babouvist conspiracy, were executed by firing squad.

Jean-François Baby, an old friend of Vadier, had already been imprisoned in 1795 and denounced by Lakanal before being arrested again. Claude Javogues, a deputy from Rhône-et-Loire, had suppressed the federalist insurrection during the Terror of Foréz, humiliating the local populations by renaming cities. Marc-Antoine Huguet, a deputy from Creuse and notary, had participated in the invasion of the Convention by the sans-culottes on 12 Germinal, Year III. Finally, Joseph-Marie Cusset, a merchant and deputy from Rhône-et-Loire, had denounced the atrocities committed by the Austrian armies in 1792. (These are details I'm uncertain about for these four individuals, so I call for further information).

Interestingly, while Babeuf resented Grisel and Cochon, the police minister, he reserved only mild criticism for Carnot, one of the leading figures behind the Babouvist repression. While Babeuf had harshly criticized other directors of the Directoire, he directed only reproaches at Carnot, but not as harshly as at others. After the affair at the Grenelle camp and the condemnation of the Babouvists (especially since Babeuf endured particularly grueling imprisonment, being transferred in cages on carts while his pregnant wife walked alongside him to offer support and attempt to free him), public opinion was stirred. According to Mazauric, Carnot, despite his conservative stance on many issues, slowed down the repressive zeal of Merlin.

My theory: Babeuf spared Carnot in his final speech, even though Carnot had been a key figure in his execution and contributed to his arrest, which ultimately led to his death. Despite knowing what Carnot had done against him, Babeuf often criticized figures like Fréron, Tallien, Fouché, and Barras. However, he recognized that, for all his flaws, Carnot was more sincere than they were in safeguarding the Republic.

Felix Le Peletier, a close associate of Babeuf, would later become their protector. Marie-Anne Babeuf continued her activism. (I really like the friendship between Marie-Anne Babeuf, a woman of strong character, and Felix Le Peletier, described as a bon vivant). What’s interesting is that in 1808, when the Napoleonic police confiscate her papers, along with Antonelle (coincidence?), did they continue to associate despite Antonelle having distanced himself from Gracchus, though he remained close to Felix Le Peletier? There is a more plausible hypothesis: during the first conspiracy of Malet, the Napoleonic police, especially Fouché, seemed to let the plot develop to suppress any opposition.

Marie-Anne Babeuf was illiterate, likely due to a lack of formal education. However, it appears that she was proficient with numbers, likely from her experience as a servant, as she managed the subscriptions for her husband's newspaper, Tribun du Peuple. This led to her first arrest and imprisonment. She also worked as a seller of toiletries, among other things, to provide for her children. She was considered important enough to be arrested twice and mentioned in newspapers. Despite lacking access to education, she played a major role during the revolution.

Her son Camille went mad and committed suicide ( some said that he was "only" depressed as he could work even if he had to go to Charenton for a moment and kill himself out of sorrow at seeing the Allies enter Paris in 1815 . Her other son, Caius, died at the age of 17 during the foreign invasion of France in Vendôme. It’s possible that she outlived her last son, Emile, as despite her strong character and her arrests under the Directoire and Bonaparte, her date of death is unknown. Some say she was still alive when Emile died. She also witnessed many of her friends die under the mockery of justice, including Topino-Lebrun, executed under Bonaparte, or René Vatar, who died in deportation.

Sources: Jean Marc Schiappa Eric Walter Claude Mazaric Pascal Bajou Victor Daline

Sorry if there is any confusion I am a little exhausted at the moment

Here are also some links I've made about Gracchus Babeuf, his followers, and the opinions of certain revolutionaries he encountered:

Gracchus Babeuf’s opinion on the storming of the Bastille and the assassination of Foulon: link

Babeuf’s last letter to his family: link

Excerpts from letters and chapters of historians on the break between Babeuf and Fouché: link

Gracchus Babeuf's opinion on Napoleon Bonaparte: link

Relations between Gracchus Babeuf and Jean-Paul Marat: link

Gracchus Babeuf’s position on women’s rights: link

Babeuf’s thoughts on Danton according to Victor Daline: link

Marie-Anne Babeuf’s revolutionary journey: link

The last letter of Babeuf to his friend Felix Le Peletier and his final moments during his execution: link

Mini post on Babeuf’s opinion of Lazare Carnot at the time of his final arrest, which led to his execution: link

Opinion on Babeuf about Robespierre: link

(In addition to this post, which also touches on the Hébertist Babouvists who were Babeuf’s friends, but they didn’t like Robespierre).

Emile Babeuf and the letter he sent to Lazare Carnot during the Hundred Days: link

On the allies of Gracchus Babeuf:

The life of Antonelle: link

The life of Topino-Lebrun according to Claude Mazaric: link

This post is mostly a request for information on a letter from Felix Le Peletier, but you’ll find a link (unfortunately in French, sorry for those who don’t speak the language) to a study on Felix Le Peletier's life: link

The Affair of the Grenelle Camp: link

[lgbtpopcult]

Latvia legalizes same-sex civil partnerships

On November 9, the Latvian Saeima adopted in its final reading a package of amendments to eight laws related to a 2020 Constitutional Court ruling, which underlined the state’s obligation to protect same-sex families. The changes establish the institution of civil partnerships in Latvia. The amendments are expected to enter into force on July 1, 2024. For each amendment between 55-60 MPs of the 100-member body voted in favor, while 35-40 were opposed.

The adopted legislation allows:

Notaries to register partnerships;

partners to have the right to decide on their spouse’s medical treatment;

partners to be exempted from conflict of interest regulations;

partners to enjoy tax benefits similar to married couples;

partners to have social security rights, to receive a share of the deceased partner’s pension.

[meanmisscharles]

Jackie's husband's, in no particular order:

1. Henchman/Beautician

2. Henchman/Notary Public

3. Bartender (Go Swede)

4. Henchman/Tax Guy

5. Henchman/Tailor

6. Henchman/Cook

7. Henchman/Musician/DJ

8. Henchman/Construction/carpenter

9. Henchman/Marketing/promotions

10. Henchman/Barber

11. Henchman/Lawyer

12. Henchman First Class (also in charge of the cleaning rota)

13. Hechnan/Polyglot

14. Henchman/Navigator

15. Henchman/Hospitality supervisor

16. Henchman/Munitions

17. Henchman/Toxicologist

18. Henchman/Leatherworker

19. Henchman/Secretary/treasurer

20. Henchman/no designation/seasonal position

[dailyanarchistposts]

Chapter VII. Fifth Period. — Police, Or Taxation.

1. — Synthetic idea of the tax. — Point of departure and development of this idea.

In order to render that which is to follow more intelligible, I will explain, inverting, as it were, the method which we have followed hitherto, the superior theory of the tax; then I will give its genesis; finally I will show the contradiction and results. The synthetic idea of the tax, as well as its original conception, would furnish material for the most extensive developments. I shall confine myself to a simple announcement of the propositions, with a summary indication of the proofs.

The tax, in its essence and positive destiny, is the form of distribution among that species of functionaries which Adam Smith has designated by the word unproductive, although he admits as much as any one the utility and even the necessity of their labor in society. By this adjective, unproductive, Adam Smith, whose genius dimly foresaw everything and left us to do everything, meant that the product of these laborers is negative, which is a very different thing from null, and that consequently distribution so far as they are concerned follows a method other than exchange.

Let us consider, in fact, what takes place, from the point of view of distribution, in the four great divisions of collective labor, — extraction, [21] manufactures, commerce, agriculture. Each producer brings to market a real product whose quantity can be measured, whose quality can be estimated, whose price can be debated, and, finally, whose value can be discounted, either in other services or merchandise, or else in money. In all these industries distribution, therefore, is nothing but the mutual exchange of products according to the law of proportionality of values.

Nothing like this takes place with the functionaries called public. These obtain their right to subsistence, not by the production of real utilities, but by the very state of unproductivity in which, by no fault of their own, they are kept. For them the law of proportionality is inverted: while social wealth is formed and increased in the direct ratio of the quantity, variety, and proportion of the effective products furnished by the four great industrial categories, the development of this same wealth, the perfecting of social order, suppose, on the contrary, so far as the personnel of police is concerned, a progressive and indefinite reduction. State functionaries, therefore, are very truly unproductive. On this point J. B. Say agreed with A. Smith, and all that he has written on this subject in correction of his master, and which has been stupidly included among his titles to glory, arises entirely, it is easy to see, from a misunderstanding. In a word, the wages of the government’s employees constitute a social deficit; they must be carried to the account of losses, which it must be the object of industrial organization to continually diminish: in this view what other adjective could be used to describe the men of power than that of Adam Smith?

Here, then, is a category of services which, furnishing no real products, cannot be rewarded in the ordinary way; services which do not fall under the law of exchange, which cannot become the object of private speculation, competition, joint-stock association, or any sort of commerce, but which, theoretically regarded as performed gratuitously by all, but entrusted, by virtue of the law of division of labor, to a small number of special men who devote themselves exclusively to them, must consequently be paid for. History confirms this general datum. The human mind, which tries all solutions of every problem, has tried accordingly to submit public functions to exchange; for a long time French magistrates, like notaries, etc., lived solely by their fees. But experience has proved that this method of distribution applied to unproductive laborers was too expensive and subject to too many disadvantages, and it became necessary to abandon it.

The organization of the unproductive services contributes to the general welfare in several ways: first, by relieving producers of public cares, in which all must participate, and to which, consequently, all are more or less slaves; secondly, by establishing in society an artificial centralization, the image and prelude of the future solidarity of industries; and, finally, by furnishing a first attempt at balance and discipline.

So we admit, with J. B. Say, the usefulness of magistrates and the other agents of public authority; but we hold that this usefulness is wholly negative, and we insist, therefore, on describing these functionaries by the adjective unproductive which A. Smith applied to them, not to bring them into discredit, but because they really cannot be classed in the category of producers. “Taxation,” very well says an economist of Say’s school, M. J. Garnier, — “taxation is a privation which we should try to reduce to the furthest point of compatibility with the needs of society.” If the writer whom I quote has reflected upon the meaning of his words, he has seen that the word privation which he uses is synonymous with non-production, and that consequently those for whose benefit taxes are collected are very truly unproductive laborers.

I insist upon this definition, which seems to me the less questionable from the fact that, however much they may dispute over the word, all agree upon the thing, because it contains the germ of the greatest revolution yet to be accomplished in the world, — I mean the subordination of the unproductive functions to the productive functions, in a word, the effective submission, always asked and never obtained, of authority to the citizens.

It is a consequence of the development of the economical contradictions that order in society first shows itself inverted; that that which should be above is placed below, that which should be in relief seems sunken, and that which should receive the light is thrown into the shadow. Thus power, which, in its essence, is, like capital, the auxiliary and subordinate of labor, becomes, through the antagonism of society, the spy, judge, and tyrant of the productive functions; power, whose original inferiority lays upon it the duty of obedience, is prince and sovereign.

In all ages the laboring classes have pursued against the office-holding class the solution of this antinomy, of which economic science alone can give the key. The oscillations — that is, the political agitations which result from this struggle of labor against power — now lead to a depression of the central force, which compromises the very existence of society; now, exaggerating this same force beyond measure, give birth to despotism. Then, the privileges of command, the infinite joy which it gives to ambition and pride, making the unproductive functions an object of universal lust, a new leaven of discord penetrates society, which, divided already in one direction into capitalists and wage-workers, and in another into producers and non-producers, is again divided as regards power into monarchists and democrats. The conflicts between royalty and the republic would furnish us most marvellous and interesting material for our episodes. The confines of this work do not permit us so long an excursion; and after having pointed out this new branch in the vast network of human aberrations, we shall confine ourselves exclusively, in dealing with taxation, to the economic question.

Such, then, in succinctest statement, is the synthetic theory of the tax, — that is, if I may venture to use the familiar comparison, of this fifth wheel of the coach of humanity, which makes so much noise, and which, in governmental parlance, is styled the State. The State, the police, or their means of existence, the tax, is, I repeat, the official name of the class designated in political economy as nonproducers, — in short, as the domestics of society.

But public reason does not attain at a single bound this simple idea, which for centuries had to remain in the state of a transcendental conception. Before civilization can mount to such a height, it must pass through frightful tempests and innumerable revolutions, in each of which, one might say, it renews its strength in a bath of blood. And when at last production, represented by capital, seems on the point of thoroughly subordinating the unproductive organ, the State, then society rises in indignation, labor weeps at the prospect of its immediate freedom, democracy shudders at the abasement of power, justice cries out as if scandalized, and all the oracles of the departing gods exclaim with terror that the abomination of desolation is in the holy places and that the end of the world has come. So true is it that humanity never desires what it seeks, and that the slightest progress cannot be realized without spreading panic among the peoples.

What, then, in this evolution, is the point of departure of society, and by what circuitous route does it reach political reform, — that is, economy in its expenditures, equality in the assessment of its taxes, and the subordination of power to industry? That is what we are about to state in a few words, reserving developments for the sequel.

The original idea of the tax is that of REDEMPTION.

As, by the law of Moses, each first-born was supposed to belong to Jehovah, and had to be redeemed by an offering, so the tax everywhere presents itself in the form of a tithe or royal prerogative by which the proprietor annually redeems from the sovereign the profit of exploitation which he is supposed to hold only by his pleasure. This theory of the tax, moreover, is but one of the special articles of what is called the social contract.

Ancients and moderns all agree, in terms more or less explicit, in regarding the juridical status of societies as a reaction of weakness against strength. This idea is uppermost in all the works of Plato, notably in the “Gorgias,” where he maintains, with more subtlety than logic, the cause of the laws against that of violence, — that is, legislative absolutism against aristocratic and military absolutism. In this knotty dispute, in which the weight of evidence is equal on both sides, Plato simply expresses the sentiment of entire antiquity. Long before him, Moses, in making a distribution of lands, declaring patrimony inalienable, and ordering a general and uncompensated cancellation of all mortgages every fiftieth year, had opposed a barrier to the invasions of force. The whole Bible is a hymn to JUSTICE, — that is, in the Hebrew style, to charity, to kindness to the weak on the part of the strong, to voluntary renunciation of the privilege of power. Solon, beginning his legislative mission by a general abolition of debts, and creating rights and reserves, — that is, barriers to prevent their return, — was no less reactionary. Lycurgus went farther; he forbade individual possession, and tried to absorb the man in the State, annihilating liberty the better to preserve equilibrium. Hobbes, deriving, and with great reason, legislation from the state of war, arrived by another road at the establishment of equality upon an exception, — despotism. His book, so much calumniated, is only a development of this famous antithesis. The charter of 1830, consecrating the insurrection made in ’89 by the plebeians against the nobility, and decreeing the abstract equality of persons before the law, in spite of the real inequality of powers and talents which is the veritable basis of the social system now in force, is also but a protest of society in favor of the poor against the rich, of the small against the great. All the laws of the human race regarding sale, purchase, hire, property, loans, mortgages, prescription, inheritance, donation, wills, wives’ dowries, minority, guardianship, etc., etc., are real barriers erected by judicial absolutism against the absolutism of force. Respect for contracts, fidelity to promises, the religion of the oath, are fictions, osselets, [22] as the famous Lysander aptly said, with which society deceives the strong and brings them under the yoke.

The tax belongs to that great family of preventive, coercive, repressive, and vindictive institutions which A. Smith designated by the generic term police, and which is, as I have said, in its original conception, only the reaction of weakness against strength. This follows, independently of abundant historical testimony which we will put aside to confine ourselves exclusively to economic proof, from the distinction naturally arising between taxes.

All taxes are divisible into two great categories: (1) taxes of assessment, or of privilege: these are the oldest taxes; (2) taxes of consumption, or of quotité, [23] whose tendency is, by absorbing the former, to make public burdens weigh equally upon all.

The first sort of taxes — including in France the tax on land, the tax on doors and windows, the poll-tax, the tax on personal property, the tax on tenants, license-fees, the tax on transfers of property, the tax on officials’ fees, road-taxes, and brevets — is the share which the sovereign reserves for himself out of all the monopolies which he concedes or tolerates; it is, as we have said, the indemnity of the poor, the permit granted to property. Such was the form and spirit of the tax in all the old monarchies: feudalism was its beau ideal. Under that regime the tax was only a tribute paid by the holder to the universal proprietor or sleeping-partner (commanditaire), the king.

When later, by the development of public right, royalty, the patriarchal form of sovereignty, begins to get impregnated by the democratic spirit, the tax becomes a quota which each voter owes to the COMMONWEALTH, and which, instead of falling into the hand of the prince, is received into the State treasury. In this evolution the principle of the tax remains intact; as yet there is no transformation of the institution; the real sovereign simply succeeds the figurative sovereign. Whether the tax enters into the peculium of the prince or serves to liquidate a common debt, it is in either case only a claim of society against privilege; otherwise, it is impossible to say why the tax is levied in the ratio of fortunes.

Let all contribute to the public expenses: nothing more just. But why should the rich pay more than the poor? That is just, they say, because they possess more. I confess that such justice is beyond my comprehension.... One of two things is true: either the proportional tax guarantees a privilege to the larger tax-payers, or else it is a wrong. Because, if property is a natural right, as the Declaration of ’93 declares, all that belongs to me by virtue of this right is as sacred as my person; it is my blood, my life, myself: whoever touches it offends the apple of my eye. My income of one hundred thousand francs is as inviolable a the grisette’s daily wage of seventy-five centimes; her attic is no more sacred than my suite of apartments. The tax is not levied in proportion to physical strength, size, or skill: no more should it be levied in proportion to property. — What is Property: Chapter II.

These observations are the more just because the principle which it was their purpose to oppose to that of proportional assessment has had its period of application. The proportional tax is much later in history than liege-homage, which consisted in a simple officious demonstration without real payment.

The second sort of taxes includes in general all those designated, by a sort of antiphrasis, by the term indirect, such as taxes on liquor, salt, and tobacco, customs duties, and, in short, all the taxes which DIRECTLY affect the only thing which should be taxed, — product. The principle of this tax, whose name is an actual misnomer, is unquestionably better founded in theory and more equitable in tendency than the preceding: accordingly, in spite of the opinion of the mass, always deceived as to that which serves it as well as to that which is prejudicial to it, I do not hesitate to say that this tax is the only normal one, barring its assessment and collection, with which it is not my purpose now to deal.

For, if it is true, as we have just explained, that the real nature of the tax is to pay, according to a particular form of wages, for certain services which elude the usual form of exchange, it follows that all producers, enjoying these services equally as far as personal use is concerned, should contribute to their payment in equal portions. The share for each, therefore, would be a fraction of his exchangeable product, or, in other words, an amount taken from the values delivered by him for purposes of consumption. But, under the monopoly system, and with collection upon land, the treasury strikes the product before it has entered into exchange, even before it is produced, — a circumstance which results in throwing back the amount of the tax into the cost of production, and consequently puts the burden upon the consumer and lifts it from monopoly.

Whatever the significance of the tax of assessment or the tax of quotité, one thing is sure, and this is the thing which it is especially important for us to know, — namely, that, in making the tax proportional, it was the intention of the sovereign to make citizens contribute to the public expenses, no longer, according to the old feudal principle, by means of a poll-tax, which would involve the idea of an assessment figured in the ratio of the number of persons taxed, and not in the ratio of their possessions, but so much per franc of capital, which supposes that capital has its source in an authority superior to the capitalists. Everybody, spontaneously and with one accord, considers such an assessment just; everybody, therefore, spontaneously and with one accord, looks upon the tax as a resumption on the part of society, a sort of redemption exacted from monopoly. This is especially striking in England, where, by a special law, the proprietors of the soil and the manufacturers pay, in proportion to their incomes, a tax of forty million dollars, which is called the poor-rate.

In short, the practical and avowed object of the tax is to effect upon the rich, for the benefit of the people, a proportional resumption of their capital.

Now, analysis and the facts demonstrate:

That the tax of assessment, the tax upon monopoly, instead of being paid by those who possess, is paid almost entirely by those who do not possess;

That the tax of quotité, separating the producer from the consumer, falls solely upon the latter, thereby taking from the capitalist no more than he would have to pay if fortunes were absolutely equal;

Finally, that the army, the courts, the police, the schools, the hospitals, the almshouses, the houses of refuge and correction, public functions, religion itself, all that society creates for the protection, emancipation, and relief of the proletaire, paid for in the first place and sustained by the proletaire, is then turned against the proletaire or wasted as far as he is concerned; so that the proletariat, which at first labored only for the class that devours it, — that of the capitalists, — must labor also for the class that flogs it, — that of the nonproducers.

These facts are henceforth so well known, and the economists — I owe them this justice — have shown them so clearly, that I shall abstain from correcting their demonstrations, which, for the rest, are no longer contradicted by anybody. What I propose to bring to light, and what the economists do not seem to have sufficiently understood, is that the condition in which the laborer is placed by this new phase of social economy is susceptible of no amelioration; that, unless industrial organization, and therefore political reform, should bring about an equality of fortunes, evil is inherent in police institutions as in the idea of charity which gave them birth; in short, that the STATE, whatever form it affects, aristocratic or theocratic, monarchical or republican, until it shall have become the obedient and submissive organ of a society of equals, will be for the people an inevitable hell, — I had almost said a deserved damnation.