Former President Donald Trump said he would seek to use tariffs to potentially eliminate the income tax in a lengthy interview with podcaster Joe Rogan released Friday night.
Read MoreTag: tax
Commentary: Tax Armageddon Day Is Coming
Benjamin Franklin famously wrote in 1789 that “our new Constitution is now established and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Death and taxes are fated. However, are enormous tax hikes also a fait accompli? Is it a certainty – ‘an accomplished fact’ – that the White House and Congress will repeal tax reforms that worked? Tax breaks that helped small business owners and families.
For the past several days Americans have been scrambling to make the deadline to complete their 2022 tax returns. Most taxpayers will be relieved once the ordeal is done. However, here’s an unfortunate reality: if Washington fails to act, the federal tax code is headed for major changes in just a couple of years, including massive tax hikes on families and small businesses.
Read MoreBiden Signs $740 Billion Climate, Tax and Health Care Bill into Law
President Joe Biden signed a $740 billion spending package into law Tuesday, the final step for the green energy, health care and tax hike bill after months of wrangling and controversy, in particular over the legislation’s hiring of 87,000 new IRS agents to audit Americans.
Democrats at the White House Tuesday touted the bill’s deficit reduction of $300 billion over the next decade. The bill includes several measures, including a $35 per month cap on insulin copays, an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, and authorization for Medicare to negotiate certain drug prices.
Read MoreU.S. Senate Passes Massive Tax and Spend Bill Targeting Carbon Emissions, Prescription Drug Costs, More
The U.S. Senate on Sunday passed a $740 billion new taxing and spending bill that seeks to combat climate change and allow the government to control the price of prescription medications, among other things.
No Republicans voted for the bill, named the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, in the divided 50-50 Senate, forcing Vice President Kamala Harris to break the tie. The measure must return to the House for a concurrence vote after senators passed several amendments Sunday. The House is expected to take the bill up again on Friday. If the House concurs, President Joe Biden has indicated he will sign it.
Read MoreIRS Looks to Hire 10,000 Workers in Attempt to Resolve Tax Return Backlog
The Internal Revenue Service is hiring 10,000 employees as part of an attempt to address a backlog of nearly 24 million tax returns, most of which are outstanding from the 2020 tax season.
Read MoreManchin Objects to Dems’ Billionaire Tax, Saying They ‘Create a Lot of Jobs’
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin came out against his party’s plan to tax billionaires in order to finance their social-spending package just hours after it was first released.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like the connotation that we’re targeting different people,” Manchin told reporters Tuesday morning, describing billionaires as people who “contributed to society and create a lot of jobs and a lot of money and give a lot to philanthropic pursuits.”
Read MoreBusinesses Push Back Against Biden Plan to Track All Bank Transactions over $600 Through the IRS
A major component of President Joe Biden’s plan to raise revenue to pay for his trillions of dollars in new federal spending is now under fire from trade associations across the country.
The Biden administration has made clear its plan to beef up IRS auditing by expanding the agency’s funding and power. Biden’s latest proposal would require banks to turn over to the Internal Revenue Service bank account information for all accounts holding more than $600.
In a sharp pushback against the proposal, more than 40 trade associations, some of which represent entire industries or economic sectors, signed a letter to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., raising the alarm about the plan.
Read MoreFarmers Cry Foul over Biden’s Death Tax Proposal
President Joe Biden has proposed amending the inheritance tax, also known as the “death tax,” but farmers around the country are raising concerns about the plan.
In the American Families Plan introduced earlier this year, Biden proposed repealing the “step-up in basis” in tax law. The stepped-up basis is a tax provision that allows an heir to report the value of an asset at the time of inheriting it, essentially not paying gains taxes on how much the assets increased in value during the lifetime of the deceased. This allows heirs to avoid gains taxes altogether if they sell the inheritance immediately.
Under Biden’s change, heirs would be forced to pay taxes on the appreciation of the assets, potentially over the entire lifetime of the recently deceased relative.
Read MoreRepublicans Push Back Against ‘Politicization’ of IRS
President Joe Biden has pushed for beefing up IRS audits of corporations to raise revenue for his new spending proposals, but Republicans are raising the alarm about the potential consequences of the plan.
Biden unveiled his “Made in America Tax Plan” earlier this year as a strategy to help fund his trillions of dollars in proposed new federal spending that includes several tax hikes. Despite this, a bipartisan coalition in the U.S. House and Senate have agreed to a basic framework for Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan, but one element has been the theme of the negotiations among Republicans: no new taxes.
The GOP pushback against raising taxes, though, puts more pressure on the Biden administration to find ways to fund his agenda. Aside from Biden’s controversial tax hike proposals, the president also has proposed adding $80 billion in funding to the IRS so it can increase audits of corporations.
Read MoreCritics of Biden’s Proposed Oil-and-Gas Industry Taxes Fueled by Gas Shortages
Gas shortages on the East Coast have helped rally Congressional opposition to the portions of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan that would force oil and gas companies to pay more in taxes.
House Republicans sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., calling on Democrats to oppose Biden’s plan to “eliminate tax preferences for fossil fuels.”
The letter, signed by 55 Republicans, came after a cyber attack of Colonial Pipeline shut down a major pipeline on the East Coast and led to fear-driven gasoline shortages. The attack also raised questions about the nation’s energy infrastructure and vulnerability to attack.
Read MoreNew York Gov. Cuomo Tells Hero Healthcare Workers Who Traveled There to Save Coronavirus Patients Now Must Pay State Income Taxes
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who once pled for an influx of healthcare workers to treat COVID-19, now says they have to pay up for the privilege of having worked there to treat the coronavirus.
Cuomo said out-of-state medical professionals who volunteered to help his state owe income taxes, Fox News said. That applies even if they stayed on the payroll in their home states. However, only workers who stayed in New York for more than 14 days are on the hook.
Read MoreHermantown City Council Proposes Tax Hike for $28 Million Recreation Improvements
The City Council of Hermantown, a Duluth suburb, wants state lawmakers to approve a resolution to place a half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot.
Council members this week passed a resolution 4-1 to consider increasing the city’s sales tax by 0.5 percent for 20 years.
Read MoreFedEx CEO Challenges NYT Publisher to Public Debate After ‘Factually Incorrect’ Article
The CEO of FedEx challenged New York Times publisher A. G. Sulzberger to a public debate Sunday after the publication reported that the company didn’t pay any federal taxes in 2018.
Read MoreChina, Tariffs, Trade, Cost and Prices: An Explainer
by Rick Manning Stock markets go up and down based upon the latest trade rumors. Predictions of price hikes make headlines, yet the inflation rate remains at the levels, 2.0 percent at last count, desired by the Federal Reserve. What is going on? And is this even really a trade war with…
Read MoreGeorgia Legislators Pursue ‘Netflix Tax’ to Cash in on Digital Streaming
by Brittany Hunter When the private sector needs to generate more revenue, entrepreneurs innovate and create in order to draw in consumers and raise profits. When the government needs to generate additional revenue, they are left with only one option: Extort through fees and taxation. And after it has taxed…
Read MoreChicago’s New PlayStation Tax Shows How Greedy Politicians Can Be
by Brittany Hunter “If it moves, tax it.” That’s government’s eternal motto, as Ronald Reagan quipped. To this, the city government of Chicago has added, “If it amuses, tax it.” A few weeks ago, PlayStation 4 users in Chicago were shocked when they turned on their consoles and saw a…
Read MoreWaters’ Spotty Ethical Record and Extreme Policy Positions Leave Many Questioning Her Fitness to Serve as Banking Chair
by Richard McCarty Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) represents all that is wrong with Washington, D.C., yet she is next in line to chair the House Financial Services Committee should Democrats seize control of the House. It should be noted that the Financial Services Committee has broad authority with jurisdiction…
Read More