Introduced: A bipartisan effort to help graduate students save for retirement. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) propose legislation that would allow graduate students to deposit funds from stipends and fellowships into tax-deferred individual retirement accounts. Right now, those funds are not included in the definition of compensation that can be deposited into an IRA.
From “Blah, blah, blah” to a second look. Politico reports that GOP senators, led by Budget Committee Chair Mike Enzi, may be giving a second look to elements of former Ways & Means Committee Chair Dave Camp’s tax reform plan. The piece they are especially interested in: A minimum tax on some foreign income of US-based multinationals. One version of such a levy was designed in 2013 by former TPC director Rosanne Altshuler and Treasury’s Harry Grubert. Camp’s plan got no traction from fellow House Republicans when he proposed it in 2014, but in a desperate search for revenue to help pay for tax rate cuts in 2017, Senate Republicans are giving it some love. Does former House Speaker John Boehner still think the idea is “blah?”
An opinion: A corporate tax rate can be too low. So suggests the CEO of the financial services company Raymond James. He told CNBC: ”Everyone agrees there needs to be some corporate tax rate cut and individual restructuring but 15 percent doesn't leave enough I think to pay for the operation of government.”
Coming up short: Kansas’ recent tax fix. Kansas legislators may have overridden Governor Sam Brownback’s veto of their tax increase last week, but they have not fixed the state’s fiscal problems They’ll still need to use patches to keep the budget in balance. Part of the reason: They’ve had to increase spending on public schools under order from the state’s Supreme Court. Legislative research staff say that unless lawmakers tap road dollars or reduce pension contributions, the state could face significant budget shortfalls again by 2020.
Agreeing to disagree: West Virginia lawmakers have a budget despite a tax impasse. The House wanted smaller tax hikes than the Senate, but both chambers agreed on a $4.225 billion general revenue budget that includes no additional tax revenue. The budget goes into effect July 1. Without new tax revenue, the legislature raised college tuition and made deeper cuts to state college and university budgets.
TPC Fiscal Fact: On the Earned Income Tax Credit. “In 2017, taxpayers with 3 or more children can receive a maximum EITC of $6,318. Maximum EITC for those without children is $510.” See more about those EIT credits here.
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