Alaska’s fishermen are reeling from the aftermath of President Trump’s tariffs. After the president imposed tariffs on Chinese imports, Reuters reports that China imposed a 25 percent import tax on seafood from the Pacific Northwest. As a result, Alaskan fishermen have laid off workers and struggle with financial losses. The executive director of Alaska's largest commercial fishing trade group told Reuters ”China is just going to stop buying Alaska fish."
And some Harley buffs say they are taking their last ride. Harley-Davidson customers have been intensely loyal to the motorcycle manufacturer, but now that the company announced that it will produce more bikes overseas as a result of Trump’s tariffs, some US riders want to boycott. The move might make President Trump happy, but will it change Harley-Davidson’s decision?
Are hedge funds’ bitcoin investors correctly calculating their taxes? Many don’t know for sure, and they may be in for a rude awakening this year. Regulators have moved slowly to define virtual currencies as either property or currency. The IRS thinks they are property so each transaction is subject to capital gains taxes. But the Commodity Futures Trading Commission says they’re commodities. Meanwhile, the IRS announced last month that virtual currencies like bitcoin will be a focus of audits. If the IRS ends up disagreeing with the CFTC, new cryptocurrency funds could face far bigger tax bills and penalties.
Miami-Dade County faces a lawsuit over the use of a transportation tax. A Coral Gables commissioner is suing the county and Mayor Carlos Gimenez because he claims they are using over $1.5 billion in revenue from a half-percent sales tax to subsidize—but not expand as promised—existing transit. When voters approved the levy in 2002 the ballot measure linked the tax to more Metrorail corridors and bus service.
In search of: Property tax refunds. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that in Silicon Valley, big companies like Apple and Genentech have been working overtime to oppose higher tax assessments. The average appeal is resolved within the two-year statute of limitations but the two companies have been fighting for nearly 20 years to recoup tens of millions of dollars in property taxes. Said one county assessor: “The megacorporations have enough resources and money to wear a county down to lower their taxes by appealing, appealing, appealing.”
If you’d like to tell us about a new research paper or have any comments about the Daily Deduction, TPC’s summary of the day’s tax news, write Renu Zaretsky at [email protected]. You can sign up here to receive the Daily Deduction as an email newsletter every weekday morning (Mondays only when Congress is in recess) at 8:00 am.
