Taxes

In this Tax Notes Talk episode, Tax Notes contributing editor Nana Ama Sarfo interviews Mark Strimber of RSM US LLP, who provides an overview of the global minimum tax rule featured in the OECD/G-20’s two-pillar project and discusses the effect it could have on various tax regimes. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Nana

By Alan S. Gassman and Brandon Ketron House Democrats provided a not so welcome distraction for high bracket and wealthy taxpayers from the ongoing pandemic and evacuation of Afghanistan this morning by releasing their plan to adjust how basic income and estate taxes will work for businesses and families, and the two certainties in life

The highly controversial Infrastructure bill is being looked at by the Ways and Means Committee. The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The Committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures and a number of other revenue-generating programs. Ways and Means

The House Ways & Means Committee has released draft legislation of individual tax hikes they propose to pay for the $3.5 trillion social policy budget plan under consideration. It includes major revisions to the estate tax, capital gains taxes and the way retirement accounts are taxed. The top capital gains tax rate would be 25%.

It increasingly seems as if tax laws will now be made largely through the budget process, which will likely usher in a host of fast and furious changes. Here is what to expect as Congress charges ahead toward a reconciliation bill. Reconciliation might not actually be finished in September. The committees have a deadline of September 15

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropped steeply on September 7 despite the feel-good news that El Salvador has made bitcoin legal tender along with U.S. dollars. In fact, the crypto flash crash wiped out $400 billion in market value. Bitcoin itself dipped about 10% to less than $44,000 but recouped some of that by day’s end.

Federal unemployment benefits ended this month for millions of Americans and data show that workers in Virginia might feel it the most. The federal government’s enhanced unemployment benefit added $300 to weekly unemployment checks issued by states and also expanded coverage to the self-employed and freelancers, such as rideshare drivers and musicians. That expansion, called

As Congress debates whether to extend the major, but temporary, changes to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) it adopted earlier this year, a crucial question is whether it should keep the credit fully refundable. A new Tax Policy Center analysis finds that, for low-income families, full refundability is a key element of the CTC reforms. For families

Topline Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) proposed a bill Friday to levy a new tax on the booming market for corporate stock buybacks, putting yet another target on Wall Street as Democrats propose a slew of new tax measures to help shore up funds for a $3.5 trillion budget bill facing tough

When Congress debates major legislation, the public often focuses on a single narrow issue—one frequently irrelevant to the main point of the bill. It happened when the Senate debated the $1 trillion infrastructure measure last month: Many paid outsized attention to tax reporting for cryptocurrency, a proposal that would have funded less than 3 percent

Do Americans need a nudge from their employers—and a handout from Washington—to get them to save for retirement? That’s the premise behind draft retirement language in the the House Ways and Means Committee mark up of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package. Under the proposal, starting in 2023, employers with five or more employees would

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue Whew! The pandemic had a smaller impact on the Social Security trust funds — that is, Social Security’s solvency — than many feared during the depths of the pandemic downturn. According to the new 2021 annual report from the Social Security Trustees, the depletion date for the combined trust funds —retirement and

Nikki E. Dobay, a partner with Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP’s tax practice group, discusses the SALT cap workarounds for passthrough entities that many states have adopted and possible coming developments for those policies. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes

Congress is heading into a heated debate about how much taxes should be raised to finance President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. While pragmatic Democrats may not agree with every proposal being considered, there is one that the whole party should unite behind: closing the step-up basis loophole. When investors sell an asset, such as

Today’s column addresses questions about potential retirement benefit rate increases at full retirement age (FRA), spousal benefits based on the record of someone receiving Social Security disability benefits and maximizing benefits after retiring earlier than expected. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning,

Topline The wealthiest Americans are evading hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes each year, the Treasury Department asserted in a report released Wednesday, using the findings to bolster the case for a proposed $80 billion investment to help the Internal Revenue Service improve tax enforcement. Key Facts According to the Treasury’s report, the top

Victims of Hurricane Ida in parts of New York and New Jersey now have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced today. This is comparable to relief provided last week to Ida victims in Louisiana. The IRS is offering relief to

When the global chair position for Latham & Watkins LLP’s tax department opened up in 2016, partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim spoke up. At the time, Lee-Lim was a nearly 30-year veteran of the firm and a prominent tax partner on some of Latham’s most complex and high-profile transactions. When Liberty Global LBTYA  and Virgin Media combined in 2013, generating one of the largest cable deals ever,

Fears are receding of immediate state and city budget crises, due to the double impact of federal spending and restored economic and revenue growth.  But low interest rates and pent-up public spending needs are leading to a great deal of new state and local borrowing.  Are states and cities taking on too much debt? In 2020, falling revenues due

Are retroactive tax increases constitutional or even fair? Up until now, the tax rate on capital gain has been zero, 15% or 20%, depending on your income. In some cases, you add the 3.8% Obamacare tax, but at worst, your total tax bill is 23.8%. The long term capital gain tax is graduated, 0% on