The Senate adds more drama to a stopgap government funding measure. It seemed like a routine vote to keep the government open through Dec. 20 while Congress continues to haggle over spending priorities. But the Senate refused to pass the House version of a continuing resolution because the GOP leadership feared it would limit their ability to amend a final spending bill. This will require the House to vote one more time to prevent a shutdown before leaving town today for a weeklong Thanksgiving break.
Going green. House Democrats rolled out a comprehensive green energy tax bill. It would restore and extend a long list of expired or soon-to-expire targeted subsidies for biofuels, solar, electric vehicles, waste recovery, fuel cells, and more. The measure has little chance of passage intact, though some pieces could find their way into an end-of-year legislative roll-up bill.
The case of the disappearing ACA taxes… Kaiser Health News reports that Congress has targeted many of the tax hikes that partially funded the Affordable Care Act, many aimed at higher-income households. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s Marc Goldwein notes that the taxes “have been eliminated, delayed or are in jeopardy… All this stuff, it turns out, is very unpopular,” he said.
IRS tells a federal court that the agency can obtain crypto exchange information. The agency argues that its investigation of Coinbase customer William Zietzke’s 2016 tax return requires the financial records held by Coinbase. Zietzke, who claimed a refund, says the IRS request is too broad and could be part of an effort to track owners of virtual currency accounts. The agency says it “seeks information to do exactly what Congress charged it to do: make an accurate determination of Mr. Zietzke's tax liability.”
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increases the after-tax cost of mortgage interest. What can homeowners do? TPC’s Chenxi Lu explains why at least some homeowners will use their financial assets to pay down their mortgage debt.
What state makes the most revenue from sports betting? MarketWatch reports that it’s New Jersey. Even though people bet more on sports in Nevada, tax rates in New Jersey are much higher. The US Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May 2018. Between June, 2018 and August, 2019, the handle was $6.6 billion in Nevada and $4.6 billion in New Jersey. But the Garden State taxes in-person sports bets at 8.5 percent and online or mobile sports wagers at 13 percent. Nevada levies a flat 6.75 percent tax on all sports bets.
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