Category: taxes

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Charitable Act Boosting Tax Deduction

WASHINGTON—Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) announced on March 1 on Capitol Hill a new bipartisan charitable legislation incentivizing taxpayers to donate more by increasing tax deductions. The bill would provide taxpayers who do not itemize their tax returns with a reduced deduction for charitable contributions on federal income taxes worth up to…


Push Begins for Even Higher California Taxes

Commentary The (spiked) punchbowl has been removed. The party’s over. The massive budget surpluses of recent years are gone with the Santa Ana winds. Inevitably, in California, that means calls for new tax increases—in the state already suffering the country’s highest taxes. That’s happening as 700,000 people have exited in the last two years due…


In California, ‘Tax the Rich’ No Longer Just a Slogan

Commentary At New York’s Met Gala last year, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez infamously wore a white gown with “Tax the Rich” emblazoned in red across it. The irony that she wore it at an event not open to the common people she purports to represent, and that she started selling “tax the rich” sweatshirts on her website…


Tax the Rich? California’s Wealth Tax Explained | Jim Righeimer

“Oh, it’s just 1 percent more. It’s 1 percent more, but that extra 1 percent makes somebody say, ‘You know what? I don’t want to pay 13.9. How about I pay you nothing?’” Siyamak sits down with Jim Righeimer, former mayor of Costa Mesa and host of the radio show “Weekend Answer.” California is considering imposing a…


The Case for Risking Default on the Debt

Commentary The same old game is starting all over again. The big spenders in Congress and the administrative state are demanding an increase in the debt limit. Republicans aren’t happy about it. They are demanding some fiscal responsibility. The negotiations begin. But the cards are stacked, and why? Because the bad guys in this drama…


IRS Commissioner Nominee Pledges Not to Increase Audits, but There Could Be a Catch

President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Danny Werfel, said Wednesday that he won’t use boosted agency funding to increase audits for people earning less than $400,000 per year above historical levels, although some experts say that audits have been down recently. In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, the IRS nominee…


Americans’ Tax Refunds Are Nearly 11 Percent Smaller This Year, Early IRS Data Show

Early IRS data show that Americans’ tax refunds so far this year are smaller than they were last year, a phenomenon that was predicted by the agency and tax experts. As of Feb. 3, the average refund amount stood at $1,963, or down about 10.8 percent from the year-ago period, when it was $2,201 on average, the IRS…


Early IRS Data Show Americans’ Tax Refunds Are Nearly 11 Percent Smaller This Year

Early Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data show that tax refunds so far this year are smaller than they were last year, a phenomenon that was predicted by the agency and tax experts. As of Feb. 3, the average refund amount stood at $1,963, or down about 10.8 percent from the year-ago period, when it was $2,201 on…


Tax Expert: IRS Announcement Is ‘Nearly Unprecedented’

A tax expert said that a recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) alert to millions of taxpayers that they should hold off on filing their tax returns is unprecedented. On Feb. 10, the IRS issued new guidance on special payments that were made by 21 states last year. The came about a week after the agency…


Is the Fair Tax Fair?

Commentary Rep. Earl Carter (R-Ga.) introduced a new tax proposal called the “fair tax.” Predictably, Democrats politicized the proposal. Sen. Catherine Masto (D-Nev.), for example, posted a typically uninformed statement on Twitter: “On average, Nevadans are paying nearly $6 for a carton of eggs. If House Republicans passed their 30 percent national sales tax proposal, our families…