The federal government is funded for six more months. The House passed the $1.2 trillion package Friday morning in a 286-134 bipartisan vote. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) suspended the House’s rules, which otherwise require a two-thirds vote for passage. The Senate passed the six-bill minibus package early Saturday morning in a 74-24 vote and sent it to President Biden for his signature.
As for the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024… More than 60 senators may support action on the $79 billion tax legislation, reports TaxNotes (paywall), so it could overcome a filibuster. Plus, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) has offered to drop a provision Republicans have taken issues with: The “prior-year-income lookback” in the bill’s child tax credit expansion. Stay tuned, but action on the bill won’t likely take place until after Congress returns from its two-week break after April 8.
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau survives no confidence vote over carbon tax. The opposition Conservative Party brought the no-confidence motion last week over Canada’s carbon tax for its cost on Canadians, but the measure failed by a vote of 204-116. Trudeau’s administration seeks to cut Canada’s emissions 40–45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Its carbon tax will climb on April 1 to C$80 ($59.13) per ton, up from C$65.
French finance minister says tax increases are not needed to meet deficit goal. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told BFM TV last week, “We have a clear course to get the deficit below 3 percent of GDP by 2027 and it must be done seriously, with method and determination, but we mustn’t give in to fears or haste.” Le Maire recently shared plans for €10 billion ($10.8 billion) of emergency spending cuts. The 2023 budget deficit, according to public accounts to be published tomorrow, reached 5.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2023, beyond the government’s 4.9 percent target.
The Daily Deduction will be posted on Mondays until Congress returns the week of April 8.
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