Tag: GOP supply side economics

IMF chief warns Trump’s tax cuts could destabilise global economy

The following article by Graeme Wearden and Larry Elliot was posted on the Guardian website January 26, 2018:

Reforms may threaten recovery and lead to bigger US budget deficit, says Christine Lagarde

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde speaking at Davos. Credit: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA

Donald Trump’s huge tax cuts are a threat to the stability of the global economy, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Christine Lagarde singled out Trump’s tax reformsas one of three risks that could destabilise the current economic recovery, especially given the boom in stock markets in the past year.

“While the US tax reforms certainly will have positive effects in the short term, for the US and other countries around, it might also lead to serious risks,” Lagarde told the World Economic Forum in Davos. Continue reading “IMF chief warns Trump’s tax cuts could destabilise global economy”

Bonuses Aside, Tax Law’s Trickle-Down Impact Not Yet Clear

The following article by Jim Tankersley was posted on the New York Times website January 22, 2018:

Employees at an Apple retail store in San Francisco in 2016. Apple is among the companies handing out bonuses to workers in the wake of the $1.5 trillion tax cut.CreditNoah Berger/Reuters

WASHINGTON — There are good ways to start measuring how much the Trump tax cuts might be helping American workers. Tracking the bonus announcements flowing from corporations is not one of them.

Those announcements, which include $2,500 in stock grants for Apple employees, up to $1,000 for certain workers at Walmart and $1,000 bonuses for Bank of America employees, are both real money and smart marketing. President Trump and top Republican lawmakers have praised many of the companies that are disclosing tax-cut-fueled bonuses and wage hikes. Continue reading “Bonuses Aside, Tax Law’s Trickle-Down Impact Not Yet Clear”

Banks Are Big Winners From Tax Cut

The following article by Jim Tankersley was posted on the New York Times website January 16, 2018:

Big banks like J.P. Morgan are reporting short-term losses as a result of the tax bill but see long-term benefits, including stronger profits, from the overhaul. Credit John Moore/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The nation’s banks are finding a lot to love about the Trump administration’s tax cuts.

The $1.5 trillion tax overhaul signed into law late last year provided deep and lasting tax cuts to all types of businesses, but financial institutions are among the biggest winners so far, reaping benefits from a lower corporate rate and more preferable tax treatment for so-called pass-through companies, which include many small banks.

While some of the biggest banks are reporting fourth-quarter earnings hits stemming from the new tax law, they see rich benefits over the long term, including effective tax rates that are even lower than the new 21 percent corporate rate. Continue reading “Banks Are Big Winners From Tax Cut”

How Republican tax reform eliminated special interest carve-outs — and created a bunch of new ones

The following article by Sam Brodey was posted on the MinnPost website January 17, 2018:

Rep. Erik Paulsen holding a press conference at Insight Brewing in Minneapolis on January 5. Credit: Office of Rep. Erik Paulsen

At Insight Brewing in Minneapolis earlier this month, 3rd District GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen was raising a glass to the Republican tax bill, signed into law by the president just weeks prior.

The assorted craft brewers and beer boosters in the room were, in turn, raising a glass to Paulsen: the Eden Prairie congressman successfully included a provision in the tax legislation that slashes the taxes that brewers — as well as winemakers and distillers — pay to the federal government.

For years, the alcohol industry had been lobbying for lawmakers to cut excise taxes, an additional sales duty they face. In prior sessions of Congress, Paulsen had introduced legislation that would have done just that. That the alcohol tax cuts got wrapped up in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which permanently cuts taxes for corporations and makes other big adjustments to the tax code, is a victory for the booze business and for Paulsen. Continue reading “How Republican tax reform eliminated special interest carve-outs — and created a bunch of new ones”

The Congressman That Sold Out Minnesota

The January 17, 2018, morningtake announced that End Citizens United has developed a 15-second ad that will be running on social media.

You can view the post below:

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”