SCOTUS will consider the taxation of unrealized income. The High Court has agreed to hear a case brought by Charles and Kathleen Moore, investors in an Indian business who owed the one-time mandatory repatriation tax enacted under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. They say that because they reinvested their dividends and received no income, they can’t be taxed. The Supreme Court decision, to be made in their upcoming term, could affect broad sections of the Internal Revenue Code and alter prospects for wealth tax proposals.
One year after Dobbs, a dozen abortion-restricting states are reconsidering their tax codes. TPC’s Lillian Hunter reviews tax proposals in 12 states with tighter abortion restrictions. So far two states, Georgia and Mississippi, have implemented them. The most common proposals would add fetuses to the tax code’s definition of a “child” and make crisis pregnancy centers that dissuade women from having abortions eligible for charitable tax deductions.
Taxpayers pay the price for continued IRS budget cuts. TPC’s Gene Steuerle argues that when elected officials reduce IRS funding, the IRS is less able to enforce tax laws. That means elected officials “increase your share of the federal tax burden and leave a higher level of national debt to your and my children… If Congress wants less aggravation for taxpayers, it ought to consider tax simplification. It’s one way to move forward without increasing the share of taxes owed by honest taxpayers.”
That debt limit deal did little to solve our spending problem. TPC’s Gene Steuerle and Nikhita Airi make the case that the budget agreement made only modest changes in the allocation of federal budget dollars – and in the wrong direction. It failed to address spending on health and Social Security – the key sources of US spending growth and instead cut discretionary spending items that have already been cut significantly over the past few decades.
Texas Senate passes $18 billion property tax relief plan. The chamber last week passed a property tax relief bill that would increase homestead exemption to $100,000. Senators say the bill would provide savings of nearly $2,600 dollars for most homeowners for the first two years and nearly $3,000 for homeowners over age 65. The bill includes a $3.2 billion supplemental pay package for teachers, which would provide a $2,000 check for full-time classroom teachers in districts with more than 20,000 students and a $6,000 check for teachers in districts with fewer than 20,000 students – which may help build consensus with the Texas House.
Sucker bets on publicly funded sports stadiums? TPC’s Howard Gleckman examines two new, egregious examples of how public funds can be wasted on sports facilities: one in Washington, DC, and the other in Las Vegas. He explains why taxpayers end up being played for fools.
While Congress is not in session, the Daily Deduction posts weekly on Mondays. Enjoy the Fourth of July holiday.
For the latest tax news, subscribe to the Tax Policy Center’s Daily Deduction. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox on weekdays at 8:00 am (Mondays only when Congress is in recess). We welcome tips on new research or other news. Email Renu Zaretsky at [email protected].
