Spending bill fails in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) brought a short-term spending bill to the floor yesterday, but it failed to secure the votes needed for passage. Funding for the federal government expires Oct. 1. Given that timeline, a stop-gap measure that funds the government into December appears more likely.  

Fed cuts interest rates for the first time since 2020. The half-percentage point cut aims to curb a trajectory of slowing job gains and a climbing, though still low, unemployment rate. The change brings rates to about 4.9 percent. 

House passes three tax-related bills. The Taxpayer Data Protection Act would increase the penalties for disclosing taxpayer data without authorization to a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison. The VSO Equal Tax Treatment Act would expand the tax deductibility of donations to veterans’ service organizations (VSOs) . And the Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act would codify IRS guidance that classifies the treatment of chronic diseases under preventive care.  

Big whistleblower case leads to IRS recovery of $263 million in evaded taxes from one person. The Washington Post reports on the case. The settlement with the IRS is more money than the IRS whistleblower office collected in 2021 and 2022 from over 260 cases. Three whistleblowers helped expose “wan offshore tax evasion scheme” that lasted about 15 years and will share a $74 million reward. 

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