The global minimum corporate tax could minimize other benefits, say businesses. The Wall Street Journal reports (paywall) that businesses are complaining a global minimum corporate tax could discourage research and development and low-income housing investments by limiting the benefits of tax breaks for those activities. Under the agreement reached last year by the OECD, large companies would lose the benefits of their domestic tax breaks if their corporate tax rate falls below the global minimum of 15 percent.
IRS: “All hands on deck” for tax season. Politico’s Aaron Lorenzo reports the agency is reassigning at least 1200 staffers to process tax returns. The agency still is working returns from prior tax years, leaving it behind already for the new filing season. Lorenzo reports the IRS will shift staffers who used to process returns and had been reassigned to other work back to accounts management.
IRS offers to refund a couple’s tax on unredeemed crypto currency. A Tennessee couple paid federal income tax when they received cryptocurrency through staking, a transaction roughly akin to earning interest on a bank account. The couple argued that since they did not redeem the tokens, they were not income. The couple rejected an IRS offer to settle by giving them a refund and a trial has been scheduled for March 2023. The decision could have major implications for how the IRS taxes cryptocurrency miners and stakers.
Speaking of crypto. In the US House, Democrat Susan DelBene and Republican David Schweikert have cosponsored a bill to exempt personal crypto transactions of $200 or less from federal income tax. Because current law treats crypto currencies as property, any transaction is subject to capital gains taxes.
Iowa lawmakers would lower sales taxes on American-made products. Tax Notes reports (paywall) on a bill to cut the sales and use tax from 6 percent to 3 percent on goods if the manufacturer certifies they are primarily made in the US. The revenue department would have to figure out how to administer the lower tax rate. Sounds simple enough.
Utah may be the next state to create its own earned income tax credit. The Senate has approved a $160 million income tax rate cut. Now the lower chamber is working on another $40 million in tax cuts including a nonrefundable earned income tax credit for low- and moderate-income working families. The bill also would expand eligibility for a tax cut on Social Security benefits.
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