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Taxes Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 11, 2017 12 Comments
The GOP in Congress are no doubt desperate for a victory after the failed Obamacare repeal attempts, but that desperation could come back and bite them. They want to pass the tax bill before Christmas, but all the rushing and late nights have caused errors. From The Washington Post:
Questionable special-interest provisions have been stuffed in along the way, out of public view and in some cases literally in the dead of night. Drafting errors by exhausted staff are cropping up and need fixes, which must be tackled by congressional negotiators working to reconcile competing versions of the legislation passed separately by the House and the Senate.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 02, 2017 34 Comments
The Senate voted early this morning to pass a Tax Reform bill. That bill is not yet law, because differences with the Tax Reform bill passed by the House need to be worked out in conference. Nonetheless, this procedural step forward was considered a big win for Trump and Republicans after Senate Republicans could not pass even a weak repeal and replace of Obamacare because of defections. But this time the caucus held together with just one defection, Bob Corker. How have liberals reacted?

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 02, 2017 42 Comments
At 1:50 a.m. Eastern Saturday morning, December 2, 2017, the U.S. Senate passed a Tax Reform bill after hours of attempts by Democrats to scuttle the bill. Every Republican except for Bob Corker voted in favor, and all Democrats voted against. The Obamacare Mandate, which survived Supreme Court challenge thanks to Chief Justice John Roberts, was effectively repealed as part of the bill. The repeal takes place by virtue of the penalty being removed. If that provision stays in after conference with the House, the Tax Reform would be a double victory for Trump and Republicans.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 28, 2017 6 Comments
The senate tax bill conquered its first hurdle when the Senate Budget Committee passed it along party lines, 12-11. This also gives some optimism for it on the senate floor since two GOP senators who had hesitations on it voted yes in the committee: Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). The Senate could vote on the bill as soon as Thursday, but it should happen by the end of this week.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 27, 2017 6 Comments
It's a big week in the Senate as the lawmakers will vote on the GOP tax plan. They're hoping to pull it through after two miserable Obamacare repeal attempts this year. Needless to say, they're desperate for a victory. But as I've said over and over, the GOP only has a two-seat majority, which means they cannot afford holdouts. Even though they have a tax plan settled, word on the Hill is that they may make changes in order to rein in members of their party that could foil a victory.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 25, 2017 14 Comments
Any discussion of tax reform shifts quickly to "tax the rich" with avowed socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sanders wannabe Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) at the forefront of the Democrat 2020 presidential hopeful pack.  There are numerous problems with this philosophy, not the least of which is that it's a political slogan not viable economic policy, but that doesn't stop the left. Earlier this year, Seattle passed a "tax the rich" scheme that was immediately challenged.  This week, Superior Court Judge John Ruhl ruled that Seattle does not have the authority to impose such a tax.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 16, 2017 9 Comments
The GOP-controlled House passed a tax bill that eliminates many popular deductions, but reduces the tax brackets to three instead of seven and doubles standard deductions. It passed 227-205. However, 13 Republicans voted against the bill and no Democrats voted for it. This could spell gloom for it in the Senate, which the GOP holds a two seat majority.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 14, 2017 22 Comments
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that the Senate's tax bill will have language to repeal the individual mandate in Obamacare. From The Hill:
“We’re optimistic that inserting the individual mandate repeal would be helpful and that’s obviously the view of the Senate Finance Committee Republicans as well,” McConnell said.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 10, 2017 7 Comments
The House Ways and Means Committee passed its tax reform bill down party lines on Thursday after a week of markups. The House is the next step. The Senate has its own tax bill, which the two chambers will have to reconcile if each approves their own bill. From CNBC:
The House bill, called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, cuts the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, while moderately reducing household income tax rates. It changes some popular provisions such as the mortgage interest deduction, but leaves others, like the 401(k) tax benefit, unchanged.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 07, 2017 10 Comments
SURPRISE! You didn't think the GOP tax reform bill would go off without a hitch, right? Because we all know that the government needs to keep spending so they can't cut too many taxes. The House Ways and Means Committee had a markup session on Monday and reports have emerged that multinational companies like Apple and Ford could possibly pay a 20% tax on any payments they make to offshore affiliates.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 02, 2017 26 Comments
The House GOP decided to wait a day to release its tax reform bill to smooth out some disagreements. That plan was finally released Thursday and like the framework President Donald Trump's administration released, it reduces the number of tax brackets, eliminates deductions, and reduces the corporate tax rate. But will it be enough to persuade the House Republicans from high-taxed states to pass the bill?

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 31, 2017 19 Comments
Eyes are on tax reform this week as the GOP controlled House plans to release its tax reform bill on November 1, which may include elimination of state and local tax (SALT) deductions along with changes to 401(k) retirement plans. Both have received proper outrage, especially from representatives in high-taxed states. But if the elimination of state and local taxes pass the House, the Senate GOP said they have a unified front on that issue.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 27, 2017 5 Comments
Despite two massive hurricanes, the GDP, which is the measure of goods and services produced in America, grew to 3% in the third quarter. Experts estimated a growth of only 2.5% because of the natural disasters, but the "increase in inventory investment and a smaller trade deficit" helped offset the slow spending after the hurricanes. The White House economists have also said that if the proposed changes to corporate taxes go through the GDP could jump between 3 and 5 percent in a few years.
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