On the Hill: A budget vote in the House. The chamber expects to vote on a short-term spending bill this week that would extend government funding through November 21. But the bill won’t fund President Trump’s demands for border wall construction. The Senate GOP leadership has not indicated whether it will go along or propose its own continuing resolution before the government shuts down on September 30. Negotiations, as ever, continue.
Trade war trials trickle on. The Chinese government seems willing to accept slower growth due to President Trump’s tariffs rather than given in to US demands. While Trump delayed for two weeks a 5 percent increase in existing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing exempted from its tariff increases more than a dozen US goods including pork and soybeans, a comprehensive deal remains elusive.
Inspirational tax cuts to come? Speaking at a GOP retreat this past weekend, Trump said he’s planning for a "very substantial tax cut for middle income folks" in the next year that will be “very, very inspirational.” He did not elaborate further on his plan.
A hearing on the tax code and hate. The House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Sept. 19 entitled “How the Tax Code Subsidizes Hate.”
Did changes to the mortgage interest deduction change borrower behavior? To some extent, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s $750,000 cap on tax deductible mortgages may be encouraging high end buyers to take out mortgages of…$750,000. But TPC’s Robert McClelland and Safia Sayed explain why it will take a few more years to know whether the TCJA reduction of the cap from $1 million will overcome the lingering effects of the prior law and lender habits.
The European Commission will begin work on a carbon tax in November. Under new leadership of Ursula von der Leyen, it may invest €1 trillion in green technologies during the coming budgetary period, which ends in 2027. A quarter of EU spending during that time will be linked to climate protection. It also hopes to establish a new kind of “tariff” on carbon dioxide, in which countries with poor emissions ratings would be taxed accordingly. But will European Union finance ministers all agree?
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