Is Trump’s China trade deal falling apart? After insisting for months that his tariffs on Chinese imports would drive the Asian nation to make broad concessions on intellectual property and purchases of US agricultural goods, President Trump now saysa trade agreement may not happen until after the 2020 elections. While he is lowering expectations in the midst of ongoing talks, it is unclear what Trump plans to do with the tariffs he already has imposed and others he has threatened.
In the Senate: A bipartisan paid parental leave plan. Sens. Bill Cassidy of Florida and Arizona’s Krysten Sinema have proposed a plan to allow new parents to advance their child tax credit benefits to receive a $5,000 cash benefitupon the birth or adoption of a child. In return, their child tax credit, currently $2,000, would fall by $500 in each of the following ten years. The $5,000 could be used to replace lost wages while somebody leaves work to care for a new child, or cover other expenses.
Also in the Senate: Ted Cruz calls for emergency action on indexing capital gains. Along with 20 other Republicans, Cruz urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to use his “authority” to index capital gains to inflation. According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, the move would cost an estimated $102 billion over ten years and 86 percent of the benefit would go to the top 1 percent of earners.. TPC’s Len Burman explainsfurther why indexing capital gains is a bad idea. Interestingly while Cruz and 20 colleagues back executive action, a majority of Senate Republicans do not.
Trump probably won’t drink to this. President Trump threatened to tax French wine in retaliation for France’s plan to enact a digital taxon on large US tech companies. French Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume responded with Gallic outrage: “It’s absurd… It’s completely moronic.” Plus, he insisted, “American wine is not better than French wine.” This is starting to get serious.
Newsom signs a bill to get at Trump tax returns. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that would keep Trump off of California’s 2020 presidential primary ballot if he doesn't make his tax returns public. The law is probably unconstitutional and Trump will almost surely challenge it in court. The president already has gone to court to block a New York State law that would require him to turn over state tax returns if Congress requests them.
Tesla pays up on its tax bill in China. Toavoid tariffsand keep its prices down, the electric automaker has agreed to pay China an annual tax of $323 million starting in 2023. China will allow the firm to build an electric vehicle factory outside Shanghai. But the firm must spend $2 billion on the plant over the next five years. If the plant is not generating sufficient taxable revenue by the end of 2023 Tesla must hand the land back.
About that spending deal and all that debt… A new surveyby the Peter G. Peterson Foundation finds that 83 percent of Americans think politicians should spend more time addressing the nation’s growing debt. More than half (56 percent) think efforts are going in the wrong direction. “The vast majority of voters across party lines are urging lawmakers to stop piling on to our already high national debt,” said foundation president Michael A. Peterson.
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