House Ways & Means Committee to mark up tax package. Passage in both chambers is still uncertain. Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, told PoliticoPro that he hoped for a markup of the tax package in the Senate. This could make the bill especially difficult to pass before the IRS begins accepting tax returns from filers on Jan. 29.
“Tax our extreme wealth, please.” Over 250 billionaires and millionaires have again called on elected officials in the world’s leading economies to introduce higher taxes on the ultra wealthy. At the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the group wrote an open letter to political leaders, arguing that “inequality has reached a tipping point, and its cost to our economic, societal, and ecological stability risk is severe.”
US DOJ requests five years in prison for former IRS consultant who leaked tax records. The Department of Justice requested the maximum prison sentence for Charles Littlejohn, who for years exploited loopholes in IRS security measures. The former IRS consultant pled guilty to charges related to leaking tax records of former President Donald Trump and over 1,000 other wealthy individuals to news outlets.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt again pushes for tax cuts. He’s twice been unable to get state lawmakers to adopt major tax cuts. The Republican governor now wants the legislature to vote on a 0.25 percentage point personal income tax rate cut in a special legislative session set to begin on Jan. 29. The Senate has already expressed reluctance; the Republican leader of that chamber called the special session a waste of taxpayer money. The regular session begins Feb. 5.
In Boulder, Colorado, a healthful use of soda tax revenue. NPR reports on the Fruit and Veg Boulder program run by the county health department and community groups. Every three months, families receive up to $80 in vouchers to purchase fresh produce anywhere from farm stands to large grocery chains. The program began in 2019, after passage of the Boulder Sugary Drink tax; it serves 580 families in both Boulder and the neighboring city Longmont.
Indiana lawmakers consider allowing taxpayers to claim a fetus as a dependent on state income tax returns. The legislation is being considered in the Senate but may not advance out of committee. According to the bill, a person who wants to claim their fetus as a dependent would need to submit a radiology imaging report to prove the pregnancy.
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