Debt limit talks continue to shift. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he won’t be the one to negotiate with President Biden over the debt limit. He says it’s up to Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy to work out a deal on the debt limit, since any bill that comes from the Senate won’t pass in the House. Meanwhile, business groups are now pushing Biden to negotiate with McCarthy. In a letter yesterday to Congress, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen estimated that the US would breach the debt ceiling sometime in June and as early as June 1.
States raised billions of dollars in marijuana tax revenue between 2014 and 2022. The Marijuana Policy Project found that states have together raised $15 billion in adult-use recreational marijuana tax revenue in those eight years, including $3.8 billion in 2022. It’s a hefty sum, but it’s the first time since 2014 that revenue dropped from the prior year. In case you missed it last month, you can learn more about states and marijuana taxation in TPC’s Prescription webcast interview with Richard Auxier.
Australia could see its first budget surplus in 15 years. Thanks to high commodity prices and strong employment, is experiencing a windfall tax revenue windfall, Bloomberg News reports. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher noted “significant improvement” in Australia’s fiscal position. Australia’s underlying budget position was $15.5 billion better than forecast in the nine months through March. Treasurer Jim Chalmers will release the budget on May 9.
Brazil will tax investment income earned abroad. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration issued an executive order to tax the capital income from financial investments earned abroad after Jan. 1, 2024, by individuals who live in Brazil. The measure takes effect immediately but needs to be voted on by the Brazilian Congress within four months to become law.
India collected a record amount of revenue in April from its goods and services tax. Its monthly goods and services tax collection climbed 12 percent from April 2022, to $22.88 billion. The Indian government has been working to reduce tax evasion.
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