Tag: GOP corporate welfare

The Real Reason for Walmart’s Wage Hike

The following article by Charles Fishman was posted on the Politico website January 12, 2018:

Credit: Getty Images

Was it really the tax cut? And should the motivation behind such good news even matter?

When Walmart announced that it was giving all employees raises, bonuses—or both—thanks to the new tax cut, it didn’t take long for the political spinning to start around the news. For Republicans and supporters of President Donald Trump, it added up: This was the trickle-down effect that proponents of the law promised. Many conservative websites headlined Walmart’s explanation—“Walmart Sharing Tax Cut Savings Via Pay Boost, $1,000 Bonuses,” the Fox News story read; others went a step further, offering it as proof that the “Trump tax cut is working.” Some, though, were more skeptical. Tweeters were quick to jump on the fact that Walmart sibling Sam’s Club had also shuttered 63 stores that same day as evidence that these might not exactly be boom times for the retail giant. For these people, Walmart’s announcement was political spin from a famously stingy company eager to prove that only after Walmart got the tax law it wanted would it finally be able to give its employees a little more—and do Republicans a political favor in the process. Continue reading “The Real Reason for Walmart’s Wage Hike”

New tax guidelines rely on workers to double-check their paychecks

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website January 11, 2018:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Jan. 11 said the IRS will release a “new withholding calculator” as part of the implementation of the GOP tax bill. (Reuters)

Millions of Americans will need to use a new Internal Revenue Service online calculator to ensure their new paychecks are accurate, Trump administration officials said Thursday as they issued guidelines for implementing the recently passed tax law.

The guidelines are necessary for businesses to calculate how much to withhold in taxes from employees’ paychecks beginning as soon as next month. The White House said Thursday that businesses should make these adjustments by Feb. 15, part of the administration’s push for millions of workers to see bigger paychecks as quickly as possible. Continue reading “New tax guidelines rely on workers to double-check their paychecks”

Minnesotans could face significant state tax hike next year in wake of federal changes

NOTE:  Rep. Paulsen voted for this bill in committee and on the floor of the U.S. House.

The following article by J. Patrick Coolican was posted on the StarTribune website January 11, 2018:

Without changes, that’s how much more Minnesotans could pay under new law

Minnesota legislators will have to decide how to respond to the new federal law changes, which will have an impact on the state tax system. Credit: GLEN STUBBE, STAR TRIBUNE

The federal tax overhaul passed late last year could mean a hefty state tax increase for Minnesotans.

If the Legislature simply conforms the state tax code to its federal counterpart — which has been standard practice in recent years — then state government would collect an additional $813 million in taxes next fiscal year, and $1.49 billion during the two years after that, due to major changes in federal tax law approved late last year by the Republican Congress and President Donald Trump.

That’s according to an estimate released this week by the state Department of Revenue. But Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Lino Lakes, said Minnesotans shouldn’t worry. Continue reading “Minnesotans could face significant state tax hike next year in wake of federal changes”

New tax guidelines rely on workers to double-check their paychecks

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website January 11, 2018:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Jan. 11 said the IRS will release a “new withholding calculator” as part of the implementation of the GOP tax bill. (Reuters)

Millions of Americans will need to use a new Internal Revenue Service online calculator to ensure their new paychecks are accurate, Trump administration officials said Thursday as they issued guidelines for implementing the recently passed tax law.

The guidelines are necessary for businesses to calculate how much to withhold in taxes from employees’ paychecks beginning as soon as next month. The White House said Thursday that businesses should make these adjustments by Feb. 15, part of the administration’s push for millions of workers to see bigger paychecks as quickly as possible. Continue reading “New tax guidelines rely on workers to double-check their paychecks”

Analysis: Five Ways Trump Dimmed the Tax Bill Glow

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website January 5, 2018:

Chaos returns to White House, overshadowing legislative agenda

President Trump walks along the White House’s West Colonnade of the White House on Wednesday evening. (White House photo via Flickr)

President Donald Trump was excited, beaming behind the storied Resolute Desk three days before Christmas. He joked with reporters and offered camera operators presidential ink pens. And he boasted that, after a year with more downs than ups, he was starting to figure out how to be president.

“So, you know, it’s been a process,” he said after securing his first major legislative win by signing a GOP tax bill into law — and terminating the Obama-era health law’s individual mandate at the same time. “It’s been a great process. Really beautiful.” In the days that followed, he assured members of his Mar-a-Lago club in South Florida his administration was about to have a “great” second year.

Trump and his team were riding high. The president continued to be in high spirits on Christmas Eve, boasting about his first-year achievements and predicting more in 2018. He even tracked Santa Claus with NORAD and called children, a symbolic victory lap in his self-proclaimed win in the so-called “War on Christmas.” Continue reading “Analysis: Five Ways Trump Dimmed the Tax Bill Glow”

What to look for from the Republican tax bill, month by month

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website December 22, 2017:

President Trump delivers remarks after signing sweeping tax overhaul legislation into law on Friday in the Oval Office. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

On Friday morning, President Trump signed into law the sprawling tax bill that was hastily built out by Republican leaders over the past month. In doing so, he formalized a huge range of changes to how Americans — and American businesses — will pay their taxes.

Given that U.S. tax law was not particularly user-friendly even before the Republican rehaul, we reached out to Manhattan-based tax attorneys Steven and Benjamin Goldburd to explain how the law will affect Americans over the course of the year. Or, really, the next decade. Continue reading “What to look for from the Republican tax bill, month by month”

Trump Promised to Kill Carried Interest. Lobbyists Kept it Alive.

The following article by Alan Rappeport was posted on the New York Times website December 22, 2017:

From right, Gary D. Cohn, director of National Economic Council, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin with lawmakers in November to discuss tax legislation. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s signature on the Republican tax bill marks his most important legislative achievement to date. It also represents the breaking of a signature promise that helped propel his populist presidential campaign.

This week, as senior White House officials acclaimed passage of the tax overhaul in Congress, they also expressed one regret: failing to close the so-called carried interest “loophole” that benefits wealthy hedge fund managers and private equity executives. Despite Mr. Trump’s vows to eliminate a tax rule that allows some rich business leaders to pay lower tax rates than their secretaries, the president in this case was no match for the powerful lobbyists protecting the status quo. Continue reading “Trump Promised to Kill Carried Interest. Lobbyists Kept it Alive.”

Ivanka Trump Goofs Up On Tax Law In Her Televised Boast

The following article by Mary Papenfuss was posted on the Huffington Post website December 21, 2017:

We’ll be filling out our tax returns next year on a postcard — not.

Ivanka Trump’s victory boast on “Fox & Friends” about her dad’s new tax measure included a couple of gaffes.

She spoke Thursday about Americans filing under the new law in April. In fact, the new law won’t kick in until 2018, and taxes for that year will be due in April 2019. Continue reading “Ivanka Trump Goofs Up On Tax Law In Her Televised Boast”

Ignoring the Will of the People

The following article by Susan Milligan, Senior Writer, was posted on the U.S. News and World Report website December 2, 2017:

Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The $1.5 trillion tax bill, hailed with glee and relief by Republicans eager to appease donors and desperate for the year’s first major legislative win, is the most unpopular major piece of legislation to pass in decades.

That may sound remarkable, but it’s not the only case where public opinion – exhaustively collected, analyzed and reported by pollsters, interest groups and political parties – appears to have had little impact on a matter of public interest. President Barack Obama’s Deferred Access for Childhood Arrivals program to allow certain young immigrants to stay in the country is also overwhelmingly approved of by the electorate. But Congress failed to codify that program as it prepared to wind up for the year. Background checks for gun buyers, too, enjoys widespread public approval, polls consistently show – but that idea, too, never manages to get enough votes for passage. Continue reading “Ignoring the Will of the People”