The government will remain open until April 28. The Senate voted late Friday night on a continuing resolution to keep the federal government operating for four-and-a-half months.. President Obama signed the bill shortly thereafter and avoided a government shut-down. The bill funds government agencies at a slightly reduced rate from last year. The bill does not extend any expiring tax provisions.
Will the law trump Trump on company-specific tariffs? House Ways & Means Chair Kevin Brady told The Hill that “The president has a great deal of authority on tariffs. We would hope he would consult with the constitutional body, the Congress, on the tariff issues.” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said that “Ultimately, major shifts in policy are decisions that will be made with the consultation of Congress.” Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware wondered: “Is the president going to spend all of his time tracking down any company that has plans to move production facilities overseas? [Trump would] have a very hard time doing that and complying with law.”
A Missouri lawmaker thinks it’s a good time to end state business taxes. State Senator Will Kraus will introduce what he calls a “job creation” bill next month to phase out Missouri’s 6.25 percent corporate income tax. The plan would reduce the rate to 4 percent in 2017, to 2 percent in 2018, and zeroed out in 2019. If enacted, Missouri would be one of three states that levy no corporate or other business income tax. Senate Majority Leader Mike Kehoe said Republicans could consider reducing the corporate income tax to boost the economy, but Republicans haven’t come to consensus on a specific plan yet.
Only 42 days till Tax Filing Season! Your filing fun officially begins on January 23. Your tax returns are due on Tuesday, April 18. That’s because April 15 falls on a Saturday, and Emancipation Day, observed in Washington DC, falls on Monday, April 17.
For under the tree. CBO has published its latest tax and spending options for reducing the deficit. Have a friend who absolutely needs to know what the government would save by eliminating human space exploration or how much it would raise by taxing carried interest as ordinary income? You can download the tome here.
Congress is in recess. The Daily Deduction will post Mondays until Congress returns.
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