Deficit Hand-Wringing And Tax Cuts

Shutdown Averted, For Now

There’s a reason the enormous budget deficit continues to grow. TPC’s Howard Gleckman explains exactly why the nation’s deficit continues to increase even while Congress expresses concern about it. He argues that whether it’s an unanticipated emergency, new spending priorities, or passing one political party’s spending requests in exchange for the other’s tax cuts, lawmakers of both parties have made the nation’s fiscal matters worse. 

Gov. Brian Kemp proposes an income tax cut for Georgians. Kemp (R) says the state individual income tax cut would save taxpayers $1.1 billion next year. His plan would accelerate last year’s income tax cut, which will convert the state’s multi-rate structure with one flat rate starting in 2024. The governor’s latest proposal would)   reduce the planned tax rate for 2024 from 5.49 percent to 5.39 percent.

California Supreme Court will hear case on ballot measure restricting state and local taxation. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature want to remove the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act from California’s 2024 ballot. The constitutional amendment would set more stringent requirements for state and local tax increases, reports TaxNotes (paywall). 

Swiss bank admits to helping hide over $5.6 billion from the IRS. Banque Pictet et Cie SA admitted to conspiring with US taxpayers to hide 1,637 secret bank accounts in Switzerland and concealing from the IRS the income tax-related information in those accounts. The bank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay nearly $123 million to the US Treasury, reports TaxNotes (paywall). The case is one of a series of US investigations US tax evasion facilitated by foreign banks.

 

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