Tag: Joe Biden

New York business leaders push Biden, Schumer to ditch the cap on SALT deductions

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/29/new-york-business-leaders-push-biden-schumer-to-remove-cap-on-salt-deductions.html

Excerpt:

Leaders of the finance industry and other businesses in New York are pushing President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring back the full state and local tax deduction.

Schumer, who is up for reelection in 2022, has heard from business leaders across New York on multiple calls in recent weeks. Some of these people have also held talks with advisors to Biden.

The so-called SALT deduction was capped at $10,000 by former President Donald Trump’s tax reform bill, which became law in late 2017.

Author(s): Brian Schwartz

Publication Date: 29 March 2021

Publication Site: CNBC

Evaluating Proposals to Increase the Corporate Tax Rate and Levy a Minimum Tax on Corporate Book Income

Mary Pat Campbell
Evaluating Proposals to Increase the Corporate Tax Rate and Levy a Minimum Tax on Corporate Book Income

Excerpt:

President Joe Biden and congressional policymakers have proposed several changes to the corporate income tax, including raising the rate from 21 percent to 28 percent and imposing a 15 percent minimum tax on the book income of large corporations. The proposals are being considered to raise revenue for new spending programs and would repeal changes to the corporate tax made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in late 2017.

An increase in the federal corporate tax rate to 28 percent would raise the U.S. federal-state combined tax rate to 32.34 percent, highest in the OECD and among Group of Seven (G7) countries, harming U.S. economic competitiveness and increasing the cost of investment in America. We estimate that this would reduce long-run economic output by 0.8 percent, eliminate 159,000 jobs, and reduce wages by 0.7 percent. Workers across the income scale would bear much of the tax increase. For example, the bottom 20 percent of earners would on average see a 1.45 percent drop in after-tax income in the long run.

Author(s): Garrett Watson, William McBride

Publication Date: 24 February 2021

Publication Site: Tax Foundation

After $1.9 Trillion Spending Hike, Biden Is Planning $3 Trillion in New Spending

Mary Pat Campbell
After $1.9 Trillion Spending Hike, Biden Is Planning $3 Trillion in New Spending

Excerpt:

The numbers here are simply staggering. Consider the fact that in 2019, the last full budget year before the pandemic, the federal government spent a grand total of $4.4 trillion. Combined with the bill that already passed in March, this plan represents nearly $5 trillion in new spending.

Though the specifics of the proposal are in flux, it seems to bear some similarities to the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) that Biden signed into law earlier this month. That bill was ostensibly a COVID-19 relief measure, but only a small percentage of the money was actually directed toward dealing with the pandemic. The upcoming $3 trillion package will be called an infrastructure bill, but the Times says only about $1 trillion would be directed toward such traditional infrastructure items as roads, bridges, ports, and improvements to the electric grid.

Author(s): Eric Boehm

Publication Date: 22 March 2021

Publication Site: Reason

Fact-checking a GOP talking point on state, local relief in the American Rescue Plan

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/mar/19/fact-checking-gop-talking-point-state-local-relief/

Excerpt:

• The American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden allocates state and local aid based on the extent of unemployment in a state in late 2020. Critics say this punishes states that opened their economies earlier, under the assumption that their unemployment levels were lower.

• It’s not so clear-cut. Preliminary academic research shows that government policies on reopening had only a modest impact on unemployment. States that depend on especially hard-hit industries like tourism and oil and gas show high unemployment regardless of the government policy.

• Experts say that no method for targeting aid to the states is perfect; each has pluses and minuses.

Author(s): Louis Jacobson

Publication Date: 19 March 2021

Publication Site: PolitiFact

Democrats make low-tax states an offer they should refuse

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/543992-democrats-make-low-tax-states-an-offer-they-should-refuse#new_tab

Excerpt:

States are discovering and news outlets are reporting some surprising features of the new law. For starters, the President Biden-approved American Rescue Plan tweaks the funding formula to distribute funding based on average unemployment during the three final months of 2020 — rewarding Democratic-controlled states like New York, California and Illinois for their draconian COVID policies that resulted in the nation’s highest levels of unemployment. And it offers states billions more in Medicaid funding if they agree to boost their own Medicaid spending. 

Perhaps the most troubling is a legislative rider barring states that accept the aid from using the funds “to either directly or indirectly offset a reduction in the net tax revenue” derived “from a change in law, regulation, or administrative interpretation during the covered period that reduces any tax (by providing for a reduction in a rate, a rebate, a deduction, a credit, or otherwise) or delays the imposition of any tax or tax increase.” 

Author(s): MICHAEL G. FRANC

Publication Date: 19 March 2021

Publication Site: The Hill

Alicia Munnell: Biden’s Social Security Tax Hike Plan Falls Short

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/03/19/alicia-munnell-bidens-social-security-plan-falls-short/

Excerpt:

THINKADVISOR: What’s your take on President Biden’s proposal for fixing Social Security?

ALICIA MUNNELL: A step in the right direction. Good ideas but incomplete. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just not complete. He wants to have a few benefit enhancements and to increase taxes for people earning over $400,000. But I don’t think his numbers close the full 75-year Social Security [system] shortfall.

Author(s): Jane Wollman Rusoff

Publication Date: 19 March 2021

Publication Site: Think Advisor

Landmark Covid Relief Law Pumps More Than $100 Billion Into Public Health

Mary Pat Campbell
Landmark Covid Relief Law Pumps More Than $100 Billion Into Public Health

Excerpt:

The law steers $49 billion toward enhancing coronavirus testing, contact tracing and genomic sequencing, to help identify and track virus variants. Even if the number of infections declines, the money assures these efforts continue for the rest of this year and into 2022 if needed.

Another $50 billion goes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support vaccine distribution and logistical and social support in areas hardest hit by pandemic-related job loss and financial strain. This includes such activities as food distribution.

States and local government agencies are allotted $350 billion to make up for lost tax revenue amid the pandemic-caused recession. Some of that money is expected to be spent on pandemic response and public health programs, but it comes with a deadline. It must be spent by Dec. 31, 2024.

Author(s): Steven Findlay

Publication Date: 18 March 2021

Publication Site: Kaiser Health News

Wisconsin Teamsters happy with pension funds in virus bill

Mary Pat Campbell
Wisconsin Teamsters happy with pension funds in virus bill

Excerpt:

Thousands of Wisconsin Teamsters are celebrating after President Joe Biden signed the coronavirus relief bill into law.

That’s because the move ensures that the workers no longer have to worry about their pensions being cut in half.

The American Rescue Plan includes the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021. The act directs the Pension Guaranty Benefit Corp. to allocate billions of dollars to avoid the drastic cuts.

Author(s): Associated Press

Publication Date: 14 March 2021

Publication Site: KBJR6

Near-Junk Illinois Set to Sell Bonds With Stimulus as ‘Tailwind’

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/near-junk-illinois-set-to-sell-bonds-with-stimulus-as-e2-80-98tailwind-e2-80-99/

Excerpt:

Illinois plans to tap the municipal-bond market next week, just days after passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan promises to help the lowest-rated state with some near-term financial stress.

The state is expected to sell $1.26 billion tax-exempt bonds on March 17. That follows S&P Global Ratings’s decision to pull Illinois back from the brink of a junk rating by lifting the outlook on the state’s BBB- rating to stable from negative on Tuesday, citing more federal aid and the start of an economic recovery. The proceeds from the sale will be for capital projects, accelerated pension payments and refunding.

Author(s): Shruti Date Singh

Publication Date: 10 March 2021

Publication Site: MSN (Bloomberg)

Schumer spokesman: Federal pandemic relief eliminates NYS deficit

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2021/03/08/schumer-federal-pandemic-relief-eliminates-nys-deficit/

Excerpt:

The American Rescue Plan provides state government coffers with $12.6 billion in unrestricted aid, a measure championed by Schumer, the New York senior senator. The measure passed the Senate in a 50-49 vote and is expected to clear the Democratic-led House of Representatives on Tuesday and delivered to President Biden for approval.

Asked if the geyser of pandemic relief eliminates the needs for tax hikes or spending cuts, Roefaro told The Post, “the statement speaks for itself.”

Roefaro continued, “How NY decides its budgetary policy is a matter for the state legislature and the administration. Our job was to deliver resources to help NY confront and overcome Covid and it’s impacts, including the fiscal impact. And we did that fully and completely.”

Author(s): Carl Campanile, Bernadette Hogan

Publication Date: 8 March 2021

Publication Site: NY Post

The American Rescue Plan’s Money Cannon Is Great, But Not Enough

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.dailyposter.com/p/the-american-rescue-plans-money-cannon

Graphic:

Excerpt:

As a spending bill, the ARP’s impact cannot be overstated. It is the mirror opposite of the Trump tax cuts, targeting most of its benefits to the bottom end of the income ladder, rather than the top. It will send stimulus checks up to $1,400 to an estimated 280 million Americans, continue additional $300 weekly unemployment benefits until the end of August, and distribute up $3,600 to families per child through monthly payments over one year beginning on July 1.

These three measures are expected to increase the incomes of the poorest 20 percent of Americans by an average of 33 percent, while the poorest 60 percent could see their incomes increase by an average of 11 percent, according to estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. One estimate suggests that the legislation will slash child poverty in half.

Author(s): David Sirota, Julia Rock, Andrew Perez

Publication Date: 11 March 2021

Publication Site: The Daily Poster

Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax won’t work. This will

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://money.yahoo.com/elizabeth-warrens-wealth-tax-wont-work-this-will-200020382.html

Excerpt:

Biden also wants other big tax changes, such as a higher business tax rate and higher rates for households earning more than $400,000. But he might want to start with capital-gains and estate taxes because they’re easier to target at the wealthy. The top 1% of earners capture 69% of long-term capital gains, while the top 20% of earners earn 90% of the capital gains. That shareholder class has benefited most from fiscal and monetary stimulus that has propped up the stock market for the last 11 months and helped with a decade of generous gains. If anybody can afford it, they can.

As for the estate tax, only about 1,900 U.S. estates are subject to any federal tax, which is less than one-tenth of 1% of the Americans who die in a given year. The number of estates subject to this tax was three times higher in 2009, the last year the exemption threshold was $3.5 million. Since Biden wants to return to that ceiling, assume he’d triple the number of families having to pay some estate tax. It still remains a vanishingly small number. Plus, unlike the wealth tax, it has been the law before, and there’s no question of whether it would work.

Author(s): Rick Newman

Publication Date: 2 March 2021

Publication Site: Yahoo Finance