The Senate passed a short-term spending plan to keep the federal government open… until February. By voice vote, the Senate passed a short-term spending bill to keep the government open until February 8. The bill does not include any money for President Trump’s border wall. The House still must pass the measure and the president must sign it to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday. The Senate’s #2 Republican, John Cornyn, says Trump supports the bill, “but he could change his mind if he wants to.”
And there won’t be any more tax bills this year. The short-term spending bill passed by the Senate does not include tax legislation—namely the House GOP’s retirement security and tax extender bill. That tax plan now seems dead for the year.
Happy birthday, TCJA. It’s been quite a year. TPC’s Bill Gale reflects on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted on December 22, 2017. Gale explains how the TCJA improved the revenue code in some ways but falls short on economic growth, fiscal sustainability, and distributional effects. “Overall.. the law makes the tax code worse, not better. The future of TCJA remains uncertain.”
Where are the “trillions of dollars” in overseas corporate cash? Still overseas. Bloomberg reports corporations are bringing far less cash back to the US than Trump predicted. For the second straight quarter, repatriations dropped. From July-September, companies brought back $92.7 billion, the lowest amount this year and down almost 50 percent from the previous quarter.
In Wisconsin, a new low. The Wisconsin Policy Forum issued a report yesterday that finds the state’s tax burden—or state and local taxes as a share of personal income—has fallen to a near 50-year low after dropping for seven consecutive years. State and local taxes took 10.5 percent of income, down a bit from 10.6 percent last year. The report shows that the 3.6 percent increase in personal income exceeded the 2.3 percent rise in state and local taxes and the 0.7 percent increase in federal taxes.
For millionaires, happy days are mostly still here. CNBC’s Millionaire Survey finds the rich still plan to give the same or more to charity this year than in 2017 despite TCJA changes that could have a negative overall effect on giving. Two-thirds of those with $1 million or more in investable assets plan to give the same amount, while 20 percent plan to give more. The survey finds that 14 percent plan to give less.
If you’d like to tell us about a new research paper or have any comments about the Daily Deduction, TPC’s summary of the day’s tax news, write Renu Zaretsky at [email protected]. You can sign up here to receive the Daily Deduction as an email newsletter every weekday morning (Mondays only when Congress is in recess) at 8:00 am.
