Treasury Department Archive
The UK is breaking up Facebook/Meta and (almost) nobody noticed
January 18, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares We’re sharing the latest edition of The Counterbalance, the newsletter of the Balanced Economy Project, a global antimonopoly initiative. This article was originally published here. You can sign up for their newsletter here. Frances Haugen, the celebrated Facebook whistleblower, briefly became a bit of a cult hero for exposing the giant platform’s toxic
Wealth Taxes in the OECD and Lessons for the U.S.
January 18, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares Recent discussions of a proposed wealth tax for the United States have included little information about trends in wealth taxation among other developed nations. However, those trends and the current state of wealth taxes in OECD countries can provide context for U.S. proposals. The OECD maintains detailed tax revenue statistics for its 38
State Corporate Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2022
January 18, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares Key Findings Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax. Rates range from 2.5 percent in North Carolina to 11.5 percent in New Jersey. Six states—Alaska, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—levy top marginal corporate income tax rates of 9 percent or higher. Eleven states—Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North
Only in Florida: DeSantis’s Proposal to Suspend the Gas Tax with ARP Dollars is Doubly Wrong
January 14, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to use $1 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to suspend Florida’s gas tax for five months. Suspending the gas tax is a bad idea, full stop. Funding a gas tax suspension with federal funds intended to address a public health crisis, in the middle of the
An Investigation, A Low Federal Budget Deficit, Some State Budget Surpluses
January 14, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden launches investigation into Opportunity Zones. The Oregon Democrat wants to know whether the Opportunity Zone Program, enacted under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, delivered on promises to create jobs and drive investment into low-income communities, instead of creating a loophole for wealthy investors to avoid paying taxes.
A Low Federal Budget Deficit, Some State Budget Surpluses
January 14, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares The US monthly budget deficit narrowed sharply in December to $21.3 billion. Treasury Department data reveal the lowest monthly budget deficit in two years, thanks to a rebounding economy and slower spending as some COVID relief programs expired. Prior to December 2021, the lowest monthly budget deficit occurred in December 2019 at $13.3
IRS Backlog, Pandemic Tax Relief
January 13, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares Taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are set to face a bumpy 2022 tax filing season, which the IRS announced will begin January 24th and run through April 18th. Two major challenges await taxpayers: a second year of navigating pandemic-related tax relief on their returns and IRS backlogs that may delay processing
Washington State Vapor Tax Increase Proposal Gets Base, Rate Wrong
January 13, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares Just like last year, Washington lawmakers will consider a bill (HB 1676) which would change the vapor tax base and increase the tax rate on vapor products. Both these changes would be steps in the wrong direction, as they would negatively impact smokers’ decision to switch from more harmful combustible products to harm-reducing
Public Safety or Speed Traps? The Conflicts of Interest Behind Fines and Fees
January 13, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares If you have ever been issued a speeding ticket, you probably grumbled about the government using you as a piggy bank. In our new research report, we found that, in many cases, you were right. We first looked closely at how much states and localities collect from all fines, fees, and forfeitures. Then
IRS In “Crisis,” Taxing The CTC… And The Unvaccinated
January 13, 2022
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TweetShareSharePin0 Shares National Taxpayer Advocate: 2021 was the “most challenging year ever” for taxpayers. National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins’s 2021 Annual Report to Congress said the agency is “in crisis.” The most serious problems: “taxpayer service and IT challenges, including processing and refund delays, inadequate taxpayer service, limited functionality of online taxpayer accounts, and the
