One stop short of an infrastructure deal? That bipartisan group of senators still hopes to have an agreement as soon as today, but differences remain. GOP Sen. Rob Portman says one hang-up has been how much to spend on mass transit—Democrats want to spend more and Republicans want to spend less. Negotiators still say they hope to unveil a deal as soon a today. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer still plans votes on both an infrastructure bill and a larger Democrats-only social spending bill by mid-August.  

Treasury Secretary Yellen to Congress: Raise the debt ceiling or risk “irreparable harm.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in a letter to congressional leaders, warned that Treasury cannot project how long it could delay default on the national debt if Congress doesn’t raise or suspend the debt ceiling before August 1. Yellen hints the real deadline may come in September. Many outside experts think government could continue to pay its bills until October or November, but economic uncertainties make predicting harder than usual. 

In the fight against tax increases, capital gains taxes are in the crosshairs. Republicans are setting their sights on President Biden’s proposal to tax capital gains at death as a way to raise taxes on the wealthy and partially offset his proposed new spending on social programs. Republican lawmakers say that the tax would hurt family-owned businesses and farms, though Biden’s proposal already would largely protect both of those groups.

What do state budget officials think about taxes in the COVID-19 era? TPC’s Lucy Dadayan and Kim Rueben share results from their survey of state budget officials. Overall, while many were increasingly optimistic, they remained concerned about what might be called long-term fiscal covid. The survey was done in March, just before passage of the American Rescue Plan.   

What can the IRS do to enforce tax laws? In case you missed it, NPR’s Morning Edition featured a discussion on the ability of the IRS to enforce tax laws with Chye-Ching Huang of the Tax Law Center at the NYU School of Law  

For the latest tax news, subscribe to the Tax Policy Center’s Daily Deduction. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekdays at 8:00 am (Mondays only when Congress is in recess). We welcome tips on new research or other news. Email Renu Zaretsky at [email protected].