Where tax policy meets politics — legislation, elections, and the debates in Washington that decide how (and how much) you’re taxed.
More economic relief is on the way. That was the word out of the White House briefing today regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 is the official name for the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, as of March 18, 2020, there are 193,029 confirmed cases of COVID-19…
As numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in the United States, the federal government is taking actions to reduce the impact on individual and business taxpayers. COVID-19 is the official name for the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, as of March 14, 2020,…
There’s no shutdown in the cards: Washington has finally passed a spending bill. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, includes a wide range of provisions from healthcare tax repeal to extenders. As expected, the Act included the repeal of three Affordable Care Act-related taxes: the so-called “Cadillac” tax on health insurance benefits, an excise tax on medical devices, and…
There’s snow on the ground, the calendar is winding down, folks are gearing up for the new year, so of course, we’re getting… EXTENDERS? Yes, it’s true. With the clock ticking, Washington appears to have reached a deal on tax extenders. Extenders are a term used to refer to expired or expiring tax provisions and…
Negotiations are ongoing, but it looks like the fiscal year 2020 spending bill will include permanent repeal of up to three Obamacare taxes: the so-called “Cadillac” tax on health insurance benefits, an excise tax on medical devices, and the Health Insurance Tax. The three taxes were part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,…
As concerns circulate about a potential recession, President Donald Trump insists that the economy remains healthy. Despite those assertions, there have been rumblings that White House officials are exploring the possibility of a temporary payroll tax cut to put more money in the hands of consumers. According to reports, economists inside the White House have drafted…
The second night of the Democratic debates marked a shift both in tone and topics. While the first night of the debates was short on tax policy, tax talk nearly doubled in the second debates. The candidates who were onstage during the second round of debates were Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), former Vice President Joe…
If you tuned in during the first night of the Democratic debates to hear what the candidates had to offer on tax policy, you were likely disappointed. With ten candidates vying for time and answers limited to 60 seconds, the debate was more like a series of mini-speeches on a variety of topics from immigration…
Presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced a plan to cancel all U.S. student loan debt. The debt, which currently totals $1.6 trillion, affects nearly 45 million Americans. The proposal would be paid for by a new tax focused on investors. Sanders describes the tax as a “Wall Street speculation tax” and claims that it will…
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again. After a number of iterations, the Taxpayer First Act has finally passed the House and the Senate. The key provisions in the Taxpayer First Act have been reform talking points for well over a year. A proposal was introduced in the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee…