Two dozen GOP Senators say no debt limit increase absent spending cuts. The group has signed a letter to President Biden warning they will not vote to raise the nation’s debt limit unless it’s connected to spending cuts. But that might be good news for those who want a clean limit. It only would take nine Republican senators to raise the borrowing cap, assuming all Democrats vote to do so and the GOP filibusters a bill. A debt limit hike could pass the Senate with no GOP votes if Republicans stand out of the way and let Democrats do it on their own.
The EU strikes back. In response to the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax incentives for green investment in the US, the European Union plans to loosen its rules on green tech tax credits, according to a draft plan seen by The Financial Times. It may redirect some of the €800 billion in the EU’s NextGenerationEU COVID-19 recovery fund to the tax credits. The subsidies are an effort to put EU member countries on a level footing with the US. But will countries within the EU be on level footing with one another?
Will R&D expensing return in the US? The National Association of Manufacturers is making its pitch for Congress to “act without delay” to restore three expired business provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The group wants to bring back full expensing for research, full deductibility of interest costs, and full bonus depreciation for capital investments.
Could pot taxes help lower property taxes in Texas? The state could generate $400 million in new revenue if it legalized and taxed the sale of cannabis. The president of the Lubbock chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws says, “If Governor Abbott wants to declare victory for all property owners in Texas, this is a good way to approach it.” Recent polling finds a majority of Texans support marijuana reform, but GOP-controlled legislature has yet to light up.
A tax break for tourists in Southeast Asia. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos approved tourist refunds for the country’s value-added tax (VAT). Starting in 2024, foreign visitors would get back the 12 percent VAT they pay on goods they bring home.
This week on the Prescription: Social Security reform. This week’s guest on TPC’s biweekly webcast The Prescription will be Mikki Waid, Research Director of the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, formerly Senior Fellow for the National Academy of Social Insurance and Senior Policy Advisor at AARP. She and TPC’s Howard Gleckman will go beyond all the partisan polemics and discuss how to really fix the troubled system.
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