President Trump says he will ask Congress for a package of coronavirus-related initiatives, including a payroll tax cut and other unspecified relief for hourly workers. In the wake of the stock market's 7 percent decline yesterday, he also said he'd ask for unspecified relief for the travel industry. Trump had resisted assistance to either workers or business, insisting as late as yesterday that the growing epidemic was a fiction made up by the news media and Democrats.
Congress is getting impatient. While the White House is searching for a response, lawmakers of both parties are signaling their own willingness to respond to growing fears of a widespread outbreak. Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley is “exploring the possibility of targeted tax relief measures” Lawmakers also are trying to figure out how Congress would operate if the disease limits members’ ability to travel to Washington.
Tax professionals: Taxpayers still haven’t adjusted their withholding. A survey conducted by the National Association of Enrolled Agents finds that many taxpayers still may not have adjusted the amount of tax their employers withhold from their pay, even two full years after Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,. According to the survey, 56 percent of enrolled agents believe that taxpayers did not review their tax year 2019 withholding and 57 percent do not believe taxpayers are knowledgeable about the changes passed in 2017.
This November, will Ohio voters make it harder for the state to raise its income tax? The November ballot might include the question of whether to require a supermajority (at least two thirds) of the state legislature to raise the income tax. Seven states already have adopted a similar requirement. Half of the Republicans in the Ohio Senate favor the move.
In Washington State: Senate approves a sales tax exclusion on feminine hygiene products. The tax break would take effect on July 1. So far 32 states have repealed or are considering bills to repeal sales taxes on menstrual products. A state analysis finds that Washington would lose $4.1 million in revenue in the coming fiscal year and $9.4 million in the 2021-2023 biennium.
Expressions of Interest are due March 15 for the Taxation and Gender Equality Conference. The Tax Policy Center, the American Tax Policy Institute, the American Bar Foundation, and other groups are cosponsoring a Sept. 14-15 conference to spotlight gender issues in taxation. The deadline for proposing presentations is March 15. The conference will focus on both the US and other countries and address the relationships of all taxes to gender. Learn more about the research, round table, and policy program, and how to contribute to it, here.
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