McConnell wants to drop state and local aid and liability protections. Democrats don’t. More pandemic relief drama. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed dropping his demands for business liability protections against pandemic-related lawsuits if Democrats agree to drop state and local aid. He wants to focus on a narrow bill with additional business loans, money for vaccine distribution, and additional resources for health care workers. Senate Democrats rejected his plan out of hand.
But are stimulus payments getting a second look thanks to the oddest of bedfellows? They were excluded from the $908 billion bipartisan compromise package released last week, but now President Trump, conservative GOP senator Josh Hawley, and Sen. Bernie Sanders all say they want a payment added back in. Sometimes, you can’t make this stuff up.
CBO reports a $430 billion deficit for October and November. The deficit over the first two months of the fiscal year were 25 percent higher than in the same (pre-pandemic) period in 2019. Government revenue fell by 3 percent, largely because so many people lost their jobs and paid less in federal income tax and payroll tax. Spending climbed 9 percent, in part because of increased unemployment compensation.
How about an extra tax on online orders in New York City? Assemblyman Robert Carroll, a Democrat, proposed a $3 surtax on packages of goods ordered online, except for medicine and food. He says it would raise over $1 billion annually to fund the city’s buses and subways. Proponents argue the surtax would encourage New Yorkers buy locally and create an incentive for large-scale e-tailers like Amazon to consolidate shipments.
Amazon gets a tax break, then donates to a property tax relief fund in Nashville. The online retail giant donated $2.25 million to The Housing Resiliency Fund, a Nashville-based nonprofit. The organization will use the money for grants to help low- and middle-income families pay property taxes. The Nashville Metro council approved a 34 property percent tax increase that went into effect July 1. Two years ago, Amazon secured $102 million in state and local tax incentives in exchange for 5,000 jobs in its Operation Center of Excellence in the Nashville metro area.
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