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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
AICPA backs SAFE Act to aid tax filing for domestic abuse survivors
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has announced its support for the bill introduced by Senator John Fetterman that aims to provide a critical tax filing option for individuals who have experienced spousal abuse or abandonment. The Survivor Assistance for Fear-free and Easy Tax Filing Act of 2025 (SAFE Act), identified as S. 2129, proposes that survivors of domestic violence or spousal abandonment be allowed to file their taxes as if they were single. Currently, the tax code mandates that married individuals file under one of two categories: married filing jointly or married filing separately. These requirements can compel survivors to engage with an abusive or absent spouse, complicating the filing process. The SAFE Act intends to empower survivors by enabling them to file their tax returns independently, thereby granting them access to tax benefits such as credits and deductions without being financially linked to their abusive or absent partners. This legislation seeks to enhance the autonomy of survivors in managing their tax obligations, thereby reducing the influence that abusive or absent spouses may have over their financial matters. AICPA Tax Policy & Advocacy senior manager Daniel Hauffe said: 'Many tax practitioners have one or more clients to which this legislation is applicable in some form and they are restrained due to current law in how to best help these clients. 'This legislation addresses a critical gap in the US tax system that affects survivors of domestic abuse or spousal abandonment. 'This is a practical step toward tax equity and survivor protection, ensuring that the tax system does not unintentionally perpetuate harm or dependency in abusive situations. We are grateful to Senator Fetterman for his leadership on this issue and ask that other members of Congress join us in supporting this bill.' "AICPA backs SAFE Act to aid tax filing for domestic abuse survivors" was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Democrats use obscure law to seek release of Epstein files
Democrats moved Wednesday to force Donald Trump to release files from the investigation into notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, invoking an obscure law to keep up the pressure on an issue that has roiled the US president's administration. The White House has been facing increasingly intense demands to be more transparent about the disgraced financier, who died in federal prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The president raised further questions about his past relationship with Epstein on Tuesday when he told reporters he fell out with his former friend after the disgraced financier "stole" employees from the spa at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The Justice Department angered Trump supporters earlier this month when it said Epstein had died by suicide and had no "client list" -- rebuffing conspiracy theories about the supposed complicity of high-profile Democrats that leading figures in Trump's MAGA movement had been pushing for years. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee wrote to the Justice Department asking for the materials under a section of federal law known as the "rule of five." The measure -- introduced a century ago but rarely used -- requires government departments to provide relevant information if any five members of the Senate's chief watchdog panel request it. It is not clear if it could be enforced in court but even if the effort fails it keeps the spotlight on an issue that has upended Trump's summer, dividing Republicans and leading to the early closure of the House of Representatives. Trump has urged his supporters to drop demands for the Epstein files, but Democrats in Congress -- with limited Republican support -- have been seeking a floor vote to force their release. House Oversight Committee Democrats, backed by some Republicans, approved a subpoena last week for the Justice Department to hand over the documents, although the demand has yet to be sent. Lawmakers have also been seeking testimony from Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison for her role in his crimes. Maxwell's lawyer has said she would speak to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee if granted immunity for her testimony. "The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell's attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony," a spokesman for the panel said. Democrats have also sought to attach votes on the Epstein files to unrelated bills multiple times, prompting Speaker Mike Johnson to send lawmakers home for the summer a day early last week rather than risk them succeeding. "Donald Trump promised he would release the Epstein files while he was on the campaign trail. He made that promise, and he has yet to do it," Schumer said in a speech Tuesday on the Senate floor. ft/dw
CNN
26 minutes ago
- CNN
Electricity costs are rising under Trump. Democrats want to make it an issue for the midterms
President Donald Trump came into office promising to lower energy and electricity costs. But with the cost of electricity rising, congressional Democrats and left-leaning groups see an opening to go on the offense ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. A Wednesday letter led by Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to six of Trump's cabinet secretaries asks administration officials to explain why they are cutting programs to help Americans pay for high energy costs, while passing a tax cut bill that eliminated incentives for cheaper forms of energy like wind and solar. The letter was signed by three other Democratic senators: Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. The letter was first provided to CNN. 'Rather than keeping his campaign promise to 'cut the price of energy and electricity in half,' President Trump's shortsighted approach to energy policy is driving prices higher and doing so quickly,' the letter reads. 'Instead of feeling relief, families are paying higher and higher utility bills.' Warren's letter asks the Trump administration about several of its actions that could contribute to raising electricity costs, including mandating aging fossil fuel power plants to continue operating and proposing cutting federal programs that help low-income Americans pay their energy bills. Since 2022, retail electricity prices have increased faster than the rate of inflation, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which predicts prices will continue to rise through next year. Electricity prices are Americans' second biggest annual energy expense, after paying for gasoline to fuel their vehicles, the EIA found. An independent analysis from think tank Energy Innovation shows that US household energy bills will be higher over the next decade now that Republicans have passed Trump's tax and spending bill, which shredded incentives for cheap forms of energy like wind and solar as well as electric vehicles and energy efficient appliances. Trump's tax changes are expected to reduce the amount of cheap renewables on the grid and increase the cost of building them. Wind and solar are now largely cheaper than fossil fuels like natural gas and coal, and adding more renewable energy to the grid helps keep utility bills lower, experts say. A White House spokesperson repeated administration officials' claims that wind and solar have increased electricity costs because they are intermittent and don't stay on 24/7. That intermittency has diminished with the entrance of battery storage, which allows renewable energy to power the grid even when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow. 'The previous administration's reliance on unreliable wind and solar, while dismantling American energy dominance, led to higher costs,' White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told CNN in a statement. 'The Trump administration is working tirelessly to undo this damage and continue the success of lowering prices for consumers.' Prices for US natural gas, which generates most US electricity, have also gone up, and the EIA predicts they will continue to do so next year. 'You're moving from not using a lot of fossil fuels to using a lot of fossil fuels. That makes the price go up a lot,' Robbie Orvis, Energy Innovation's senior director of modeling and analysis, told CNN recently. Congressional Democrats and Democratic-aligned groups are pouncing on the rising electricity costs ahead of the 2026 midterms. 'We know that this issue of rising utility bills is top of mind for voters and we know Republicans voted to raise their utility bills,' said Alex Witt, the senior advisor for accountability campaigns at Climate Power, a left-leaning group focused on clean energy and climate. 'We're doing everything we can to make sure they pay the political price for that.' Climate Power is focused on states that are already seeing electricity prices spike, Witt said, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey. 'In terms of the impact of (Trump's) bill, it's only going to become more real for folks,' Witt said. 'As long as that's the case, we're going to be driving that accountability.'
