Taxes

With a little over nine months left in his second (and last) term, New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio has appointed a Racial Justice Commission “tasked with targeting and dismantling structural and institutional racism across the City.”  How much can New York—or any city on its own—do about this deeply embedded problem? There’s no question that cities and the

Today’s column addresses questions about how stopping work years before claiming benefits can affect benefit rates, when exactly to submit an application to begin benefits the mont you turn 70 and potential effects of marriage on existing benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic

Within the last five years, the voices calling for the repeal of sales and use taxes on menstrual hygiene products (MHPs) have grown louder and more insistent. And they are being heard. Since 2016, of the 45 states and the District of Columbia that levy sales and use taxes, 15 (including the District) have exempted

Despite the narrowest of margins in both houses of Congress, Democrats want to enact a sweeping, radical agenda that would remake the country. That’s why they want to abolish the filibuster. Instead of having to attract 60 votes to pass a measure in the Senate, Democrats would only need 51. Properly employed, the filibuster insures

Two weeks after the American Rescue Act, which authorized round 3 stimulus payments of $1,400, was signed into law, nearly 30 million Social Security beneficiaries are still waiting for their third round stimulus payments, says Rep. Richard Neal, chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, who is blaming the Social Security Administration. In a

One of the unintended consequences of the additional unemployment compensation (UC) provided as part of Congress’ Covid-related relief to taxpayers was that the extra income put many households over 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL). The income change resulted in many taxpayers having to make a full repayment of their healthcare marketplace subsidy (the

As the year anniversary for the Covid-19 crisis has passed, many Americans will experience a lingering impact on their finances.  Signed into law on March 27, 2020, the CARES Act provided a number of financial lifelines such as the stimulus checks and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).   The CARES Act also included a provision that

In this episode of Tax Notes Talk, Martin A. Sullivan of Tax Notes and Tynisa Gaines, an enrolled agent, discuss the tax provisions of the new coronavirus relief package and its impact on the economy and the tax community. David Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes Today International. This week: tax

Economists hate cliffs. Not, not the Thelma and Louise kind, but the idea that tax subsidies and other government supports end abruptly. Their fear: If by making an extra dollar of income you lose thousands in tax cuts or other benefits, you will do whatever you can to avoid making that extra dollar, including working

After passing President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, Congress is beginning to move on enacting the rest of his “Build Back Better” recovery agenda. This next bill presents a unique opportunity to finally fund long-neglected public investments in infrastructure and scientific research that lay the foundation for robust economic growth. But at a time

The recently passed American Rescue Act brings some sorely needed relief to American families, especially for lower and middle-income households. One of the most valuable pieces of the legislation for these families is the new child tax credit. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, about 80 million children live in households that

An unresolved issue in the OECD’s base erosion and profit-shifting 2.0 reform project is when and how countries will remove their unilateral digital tax measures once a solution is brokered. The OECD has made it clear that inclusive framework members are expected to revoke unilateral measures and refrain from introducing new ones when that time comes. Yet after

Many workers began working from home or some location other than their employer’s facilities during the pandemic, making them remote workers. Some level of remote work is likely to be commonplace. Also, a previous trend continues of people moving from high-tax states to lower-taxed states, and the pandemic seems to have further accelerated the trend.

As many individuals rejoiced to see the Form 1040 due date extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021, it is important to understand what the extension applies to and whether you will get the relief you expect. As highlighted above, the IRS extension only applies to 2020 federal income tax filings for individuals. For

Today’s column addresses questions about potential effects of not having income for several years before filing at 70, how extra money can affect Supplemental Security Income benefits and receiving benefits for a year before withdrawing and repaying them and refiling later. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and

The days of widespread underreporting of income from online platform work are coming to a close, but the tax challenges for individual participants in the platform-based economy and the IRS are far from over. Many more gig economy workers will start receiving tax information reporting from the digital platforms they use than before because of

We are awaiting the official IRS announcement, so don’t celebrate just yet. Taxpayers and tax professionals have been scrambling to prepare and file tax returns by April 15. The IRS said repeatedly that unlike last year, it would not extend the date. But now, the normal April 15 deadline is going to be extended to

The Internal Revenue Service’s backlog of tax returns is way down, but it’s still significant, according to IRS operations statistics updated yesterday. As of January 29, the IRS said it had 6.7 million 2019 tax returns in line for processing. The new number: As of March 5, the IRS had 2.4 million individual tax returns

The name of a tax bill introduced in the Senate says it all: the ‘End Double Taxation of Successful Consumer Claims Act.’ Should plaintiffs in consumer lawsuits have to pay taxes on money paid directly to lawyers—fees the plaintiffs don’t get to keep? It sounds like a silly question, and most people would say no. In

It’s official: The Internal Revenue Service has pushed the April 15 tax day deadline to May 17, according to a statement by U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., the chairman of the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Oversight, who had been leading a push to make tax day later this year due to the pandemic