Where tax policy meets politics — legislation, elections, and the debates in Washington that decide how (and how much) you’re taxed.
So now that members of Congress (and President Obama) are patting themselves on the back after their 11th hour tax deal, the real work begins: the IRS and tax professionals get to explain for the next month and a half why they can’t actually start processing your taxes on time. That’s because even though they…
Despite all of the grumbling in the press, most Americans are happy with the new tax deal, according to a CNN poll. Three in four of those polled said that they favored the bill when asked: Congress has passed and President Obama has signed into law a bill that would extend tax cuts for all…
Earlier this week, I got a message from the folks at FoxBusiness.com. They saw my piece on Reuters and asked if I might comment further on what all this waiting around for a tax deal means. You can see my reply here: The Tax Deal is Done, So Now What? – FoxBusiness.com
You know how when you were a kid, you’d think about something coming up that you were really looking forward to – like Christmas or your birthday or vacation – and then it would come and you were all, “This is it?” The tax deal passed last night in the House. It was kind of…
Word out of the House today was that the controversial tax deal is going to pass with no significant changes. They just aren’t going to do it this afternoon. Last night, the House Rules Committee agreed to a vote that would separately address the estate tax provisions desired by House leadership. The idea was to…
Not surprisingly, the Senate the tax cut package today by an overwhelming majority (81-19). And I know what you’re thinking: all of the “No” votes came from the Democrats. Nope. Here’s who voted against the deal: Bingaman (D-NM) Coburn (R-OK) DeMint (R-SC) Dorgan (D-ND) Ensign (R-NV) Feingold (D-WI) Gillibrand (D-NY) Hagan (D-NC) Harkin (D-IA) Lautenberg…
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has confirmed that the Senate will vote on the proposed tax deal today. Discussions were expected to precede a vote. I expect them to be somewhat lively. Stay tuned.
The folks at Thomson Reuters asked me to write a piece about the Bush tax cuts and I was happy to oblige. Give it a read… I think you’ll be surprised. Extending tax cuts eliminates uncertainty | Analysis & Opinion
Taxpayer asks: I heard today that the courts ruled Obamacare unconstitutional. Does that mean that we don’t have to worry about those new 1099s now? taxgirl says: There are a couple of pieces to this question. First things first: the health care bill is still law. Procedurally, what happened was that a federal court in…
The tax deal will advance in the Congress. As of this hour, the Senate has secured at least 60 votes needed to take the measure to a vote tomorrow. The vote is expected to pass the Senate. (Update: As of 5:36 p.m., 79 Senators have voted to advance the measure)