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…
On Sunday, Forbes contributor Stan Collender boosted his estimate of the chance that there will be a government shutdown from 67% to 75%. With the new fiscal year just days away – beginning on October 1 – we still don’t have an appropriations bill. The last time we were in this position was in 2013. On…
Author’s Update: The Illinois Lottery disagrees with the characterization that a promise to pay in the future is an IOU, reaching out to say, “At no time has the Illinois Lottery issued an ‘IOU’ to winners, nor does it plan to do so.” The Lottery has released the following statement: “Due to the ongoing budget situation…
With just a few days before the President delivers his 2015 State of the Union address to Congress, the White House has released a “sneak peek” of what we can expect. Not surprisingly, tax and economic reforms will be on the President’s agenda for 2015 as he seeks to close what he terms “unfair loopholes…
Does Marion Barry want to tax your yogurt? Er, maybe it’s your yoga.
If it hurt to write that check to Uncle Sam, you’re not alone: personal income taxes have risen in 21 out of 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in recent years. The biggest increases overall were reported in Portugal, the Slovak Republic, and the United States. Today, Americans pay out about a…
The House has passed a budget deal – and convincingly so. But it will pass muster in the Senate? There are challenges, including concerns about increased spending and those pesky user fees. Are we in for another filibuster?
Tax revenues are on track to hit a historic $3 trillion in 2014. Why are tax revenues increasing? And what does it mean going forward?
With minutes to go, it looks like the government may shut down. That would mean delayed paychecks for our 1.4 million active military personnel. Is Congress really going to let that happen?
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is under fire for cuts to the education budget. To make way for the cuts, rates for personal and corporate income taxes were slashed with additional changes made to sales and use taxes, unemployment insurance, and property taxes. Is it worth it?