The Treasury Department on Monday said reports of a reduction in average tax refunds in 2019 are “misleading.”
In a tweet, the department said refund amounts have been consistent with 2017 levels and “down slightly” from last year, something it blamed on a small sample size. Continue reading “Treasury calls reports on dip in tax refunds ‘misleading’”
As survey data continues to show that raising taxes on the wealthy is extremely popular among the U.S. public, new research by inequality expert and University of California, Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman found that the richest 0.00025 percent of the American population now owns more wealth than the 150 million adults in the bottom 60 percent.
Zucman, who helped Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) develop her “Ultra-Millionaire Tax” proposal, observed in a working paper (pdf) that “U.S. wealth concentration seems to have returned to levels last seen during the Roaring Twenties.” Continue reading “Richest 0.00025 percent now owns more wealth than bottom 150 million Americans: study”
Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refunds will be less than expected or that they owe money to the Internal Revenue Service after years of receiving refunds.
People have already taken to social media, using the hashtag #GOPTaxScam, to vent their anger. Many blame President Trump and the Republicans for shrinking refunds. Some on Twitter even said they wouldn’t vote for Trump again after seeing their refunds slashed.
The uproar follows the passage of a major overhaul to the tax code in December 2017, which was enacted with only Republican votes and is considered the biggest legislative achievement of Trump’s first year. While the vast majority of Americans received a tax cut in 2018, refunds are a different matter. Some refunds have decreased because of changes in the law, such as a new limit on property and local income tax deductions, and some have decreased because of how the IRS has altered withholding in paychecks.
View the complete February 10 article by Heather Long on The Washington Post website here.
Trump promised taxpayers they would take home more money because of his tax law. Now, millions of Americans who have filed their taxes are receiving refunds that are less than they expected.
Millions of Americans who have filed their 2018 taxes are learning their refunds are less than expected—or that they actually owe the IRS money.
Washington Post: “Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refunds will be less than expected or that they owe money to the Internal Revenue Service after years of receiving refunds.”
Americans’ tax refunds are hundreds of dollars less than last year, and millions fewer taxpayers are getting refunds at all.
USA Today: “The average tax refund issued so far fell to $1,865, down 8.4 percent from $2,035 at the same time last year, according to IRS statistics. The number of refunds issued also dropped by 24.3 percent.” Continue reading “Americans Outraged Over GOP Tax Scam: ‘I Got Screwed’”
Even as the Republican Party pushed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through Congress in December 2017, critics were pointing out that it was filled with tricks and gimmicks meant to obscure the fact that it was a massive giveaway to corporations and the wealthy.
Now that the act has been law for more than and a year, the extent of its deception is coming into focus.
Writing for Vox, Matt Yglesias explained that the online furor from many supporters of President Donald Trump now filing their taxes appears to be a direct result of some accounting chicanery from the IRS designed to make the law more popular.
View the complete February 6 by Cody Fenwick on the AlterNet website here.
A new poll is finding broad support for an annual wealth tax on people with assets of at least $50 million, underlining support for taxing the rich.
The Hill-HarrisX survey released Wednesday found that 74 percent of registered voters back an annual 2 percent tax on people with assets over $50 million, and a 3 percent tax on people with assets in excess of $1 billion.
The poll showed support for the idea among people of all ages and races and from both political parties.
View the complete February 6 article on The Hill website here.
Well, we found one industry that benefitted from the Republican tax scam: U.S. banks.
According to Bloomberg News, major U.S. banks saw a $21 billion tax cut in 2018, beating the tax cut estimates the banks themselves projected they’d receive from the new law, all thanks to the Republican-passed tax bill.
And what did the banks do with that massive windfall?
View the complete February 6 article by Emily Singer on the Shareblue website here.
Take a break from Trump and hear from regular Americans about the real state of our Union. Watch Mark Thornberry, who works at a General Motors supplier, talk about how everyone in his community has been hurt by recent layoffs at local manufacturing plants.
“It affects everybody. It’s not just GM. This is a trickle-down effect.” – Mark Thornberry, who works at a GM supplier
Donald Trump’s tax cut for the rich and the corporations they control is turning out to be a bust for the American economy.
It will burden taxpayers with at least $1.5 trillion more federal debt because, instead of boosting tax revenues through increased economic activity as promised; it has caused a sharp drop in revenue.
In addition, millions of residents of blue states are about to get hit with big federal income tax increases while many American expatriates who own businesses overseas are also facing unexpected new tax bills, especially if they prudently saved for old age under the systems of the countries where they now reside.
View the complete January 31 article by David Cay Johnston on the DCReports.org website here.
On December 20, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a new tax law, commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).1Since the fall of 2017, the legislation, which provides huge tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, has been consistently unpopular with voters.2 Its proponents, however, frequently pushed claims and promises that ranged from aggressive puffery to outright lies. A year after the law’s passage, the major promises made by the TCJA’s proponents have been exposed as hollow.3 Here is the reality of the TCJA’s impact thus far.
Promise: “Any reductions we have in upper-income taxes will be offset by less deductions, so there will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class.” – Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, November 20164
Reality: The TCJA showered massive tax cuts on the richest Americans. The highest-earning 1 percent can expect tax cuts averaging more than $51,000 in 2018 alone—more than what the median American worker makes in a year.5 Even when considering the tax cuts as a percentage of income, the benefits for the richest far exceed those for the middle class. (see Figure 1) American voters have overwhelmingly recognized the tax bill as primarily a giveaway to the wealthy. President Donald Trump essentially admitted as much when he floated the idea of a 10 percent tax cut for the middle class only weeks before the 2018 midterm elections.6 The Administration has since dropped the idea.7
