Biden: Tax cuts to help families and reduce the deficit. In tonight’s State of the Union Address, President Biden will reframe his tax proposals as a way to assist working families and reduce the deficit. “The President will call on Congress to send him a bill that lowers costs and lowers the deficit without delay. American families need relief from higher costs, and they need it now,” according to a White House fact sheet.
Minnesota Republican lawmakers propose the largest tax cut in state history. They’d eliminate taxes on all Social Security benefits and reduce the lowest marginal income tax rate from 5.35 percent to 2.8 percent. The proposal would cut the state’s current budget surplus nearly in half, from $7.7 billion to $3.5 billion.
Kentucky Republicans would ditch the income tax. House Republicans released a bill to reduce and eventually eliminate the state’s 5 percent income tax. House Bill 8 would lower the rate to 4 percent in 2023 and eventually repeal the levy if the state meets certain economic thresholds. The proposal would make up some of the revenue loss by expanding Kentucky’s 6 percent sales tax to 38 previously untaxed services. The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy estimates the top 1 percent of earners would save around $55,000 a year if income tax is repealed. The lower 60 percent would save between $100 and $1,400.
Missouri lawmaker would exempt diapers from the sales tax. Missouri classifies diapers as a luxury item, which means they are subject to the 4.2 percent sales tax. State Rep. Patty Lewis, a Democrat, has introduced a bill to exempt diapers from the tax at a projected cost of between $16 million and $28 million.
Netflix wins a big tax credit from the California Film Commission. The streaming service won $60.3 million in credits, far more than Disney, Warner Brothers, and Amazon. The tax credits will subsidize four Netflix projects. The California Film Commission awarded $149.2 million in credits for films. California awards such credits per year in an effort to boost the state economy by keeping film and television production companies from working in other states.
A plan to levy a tax on Washington State’s exported fuel loses vital support. Washington State lawmakers have proposed a tax on fuel exported from the state’s five refineries. The 6-cent-per-gallon tax aims to share the refineries’ environmental burden. But one of the proposal’s sponsors, Rep. Jake Fey, withdrew his support in the face of fierce backlash and legal threats.
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