Still fighting over permitting reform in the stop-gap spending bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to include a provision to expedite the development of fossil fuel and other energy products in the temporary spending bill that must pass by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown. The language is part of a deal Schumer struck with Sen. Joe Manchin to win Manchin’s support for the Inflation Reduction Act. A third of House Democrats oppose the language, but party leaders want the Senate to vote first, leaving critics with few ways to block the measure.
The Inflation Reduction Act wasn’t that big. So argue TPC’s Gene Steuerle and Nikhita Airi. They calculate none of the bill’s spending or tax changes will affect the deficit by even 0.1 percent of total Gross Domestic Product over the next decade. While the new law is much smaller than President Biden’s original Build Back Better plan, it does include significant, and fiscally prudent, policy changes.
Privatizing Social Security becomes a campaign issue, again. In Arizona, Democrats have put up ads blasting Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters for endorsing the idea of shifting Social Security assets to the stock market. In a GOP debate last spring, Masters, a venture capitalist, said, “Maybe we should privatize Social Security, right? Private retirement accounts. Get the government out of it." Democrats gleefully pounced in a state with a large share of retirees and at a time when the stock market is down more than 10 percent.
Texas tax incentive program soon to expire, companies like Tesla rush to apply. The program, known as Chapter 13, was a ten-year break on property taxes designed to encourage businesses to locate operations in the state. Manufacturing and energy companies are rushing to apply before it expires at the end of the year. Tesla hopes to build a $375 million battery production plant in exchange for millions of dollars in property tax savings. Critics say the program lacks accountability.
Illinois residents start to receive tax rebates. The state has begun to distribute one-time individual income tax and property tax rebates under the Family Relief Plan. The payments go to single filers who earn no more than $200,000 or joint filers who make $400,000 or less. Single filers can expect $50, while couples may get up to $100, plus $100 per dependent, up to $300. It will take the state about eight weeks to distribute all the payments.
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