Newsom's Politically Dubious Defense of Pot Growers
Federal agents last week arrested more than 300 allegedly illegal immigrants at pot farms in the Santa Barbara area. The Homeland Security Department says Glass House Farms is under investigation for child-labor violations and 10 undocumented minors were found there. Glass House has a state license to grow marijuana and denies knowingly employing undocumented workers or minors.
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Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Bill Maher clashes with liberal actor over Trump, immigration policy
Bill Maher and liberal actor John Leguizamo clashed over their perceptions of President Donald Trump and the country's immigration system on Maher's latest "Club Random" podcast episode. Leguizamo blasted top Trump official Stephen Miller as a racist and architect of Trump's mass deportation policy, but Maher retorted that the last administration bore blame. "Part of this is a backlash to how badly Biden handled the immigration situation. It can't just be like 'Come one, come all,'" Maher said. "There's plenty of room here," Leguizamo told a skeptical Maher. "There's plenty of room in America, come on. There's no lack of room in America." "It's never about room. It's about resources … Countries have to have a border," Maher said. "I mean, they've done surveys and something like 200 million people around the world when asked, 'Would you come to America if you could?' 'Yes, I would.' Why wouldn't they? Lots of countries, excuse me, are s--tholes, and they would love to be here." Trump was fiercely criticized by the left during his first term when he used that disparaging term for countries like Haiti and El Salvador. "The places aren't s--tholes," Leguizamo replied to Maher. "Well, they are," Maher said. "That's why they want to come." Leguizamo, an outspoken liberal activist, claimed that issues in Latin American countries were often because of actions taken by the United States. Leguizamo also recounted meeting Trump before he entered politics and claimed Trump had once called him "so articulate," which he took as a racist slight against Latinos to suggest they generally weren't. He added he found Trump "so meek," which surprised him. "I wouldn't call it meek," Maher said. "What I would call it is knowing how to make everybody – it's ironic because he's known as the greatest egomaniac, and he is quite an egomaniac – and you're interested in what they're saying. He's good at that." Maher met with Trump at the White House earlier this year and recounted that the president was "gracious and measured," although Maher said he wouldn't pull his punches in criticizing Trump going forward. Leguizamo countered that Trump was "obsequious," and Maher conceded that Trump's alleged remarks about the actor being articulate were "just obnoxious." Maher added that Trump, who turned 79 last month, was also not a racist but rather a "product of his time," to which Leguizamo shot back, "Some of us overcome our times." "That is true and fair to say," Maher said. Leguizamo hosts an MSNBC program, "Leguizamo Does America," where he travels to different Latino communities across the country in an effort to spotlight their culture.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
IRS Taxes Apply After You Leave U.S. & Departure Can Trigger More
United States of America permanent resident card, green card, displayed with a US flag in the ... More background and a passport in the foreground. Immigration concept. A recent article notes that denaturalized citizens forced to exit could still face exit tax. The author flags Department of Justice plans for denaturalization proceedings against naturalized citizens who obtained citizenship through fraud or misrepresentation, or who are national security threats. There may be arguments that the tax should not apply in such cases, but if it does--or if you are leaving voluntarily--how does it work? If you leave the U.S. voluntarily or because the government makes you, how could you still be taxed by the IRS? Several ways, actually. First, if you are a U.S. citizen, the mere fact that you live abroad—even forever—does not mean that you avoid U.S. taxes or the annual slog to file IRS returns. You might be paying tax in two places, to the IRS and to your country of residence. If you want to stop paying U.S. tax, you have to go a step further and give up your passport or your green card. Moreover, any income tax you owe from the past is still due, and so are taxes on income you earned up to the date of your departure. But more surprisingly for many, the U.S. has an 'exit tax' that can hit you, depending on your assets and income. The exit tax applies only to U.S. citizens and to longer term (8 years or more) green card holders. The exit tax is like an estate tax on the gain in your assets, even though you are not actually selling anything. It is the IRS's last chance to tax you. Citizens and green card holders leave for many reasons. Common reasons for renouncing are family, tax and legal complications for people who generally live outside the United States. They can include the pressures of America's global tax reporting and compliance, including FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. It is easy to think that leaving the U.S. to live abroad means no longer paying IRS taxes—especially if you are paying taxes somewhere else. The Exit Tax is computed as if you sold all your assets on the day before you expatriated, and had to report the gain. Net capital gains can be taxed as high as 23.8%, including the 3.8% net investment income tax that applies to some types of gains. For a time, Congress talked of hiking the exit tax to 30% after Eduardo Saverin of Facebook decamped for Singapore. Triggers for Exit Tax There are three triggers for the Exit Tax, and any one of them will make you a covered expatriate. First, is your net worth over $2 million? This is the aggregate net value of worldwide assets. It is not just your U.S. assets. For a married couple, each spouse's net worth is calculated separately. If they own their assets relatively equally, a married couple could have a total net worth of up to $4 million without triggering the Exit Tax. On the other hand, if one spouse owns most of the assets, that spouse could be a covered expatriate, even if the other spouse owns significantly less than $2 million of assets. Thankfully, some couples can gift assets to each other to bring both spouses' net worth below $2 million. If the spouse receiving the gifts is a U.S. citizen, these gifts may escape U.S. gift tax. On the other hand, if the spouse receiving the gift is not a U.S. citizen, spousal gifts may be subject to gift tax even if the spouse receiving the gift is a U.S. green card holder. For 2025, there is an annual exclusion of $190,000 for gifts to non-citizen spouses. If you need to transfer more than that amount to your spouse to bring your net worth to below $2 million, you would have to rely on your unified tax credit to avoid gift tax, or you would need to plan in advance to make the transfers over multiple years before expatriating. Second, is your average net annual income tax liability over $206,000? This is not your taxable income, but your tax liability on that income. If you are married and filing taxes jointly, you must use your net tax liability on your joint returns, even if only one of you is expatriating. This trigger can sometimes be avoided with careful planning. Filing separate tax returns (not joint returns) often makes sense. As the trigger is your average tax liability over the last five years, you may need to file separately for several years before you expatriate. The third way you can be a covered expatriate is if you do not (or cannot) certify five years of U.S. tax compliance. If you haven't filed, or haven't filed properly—say you didn't report an offshore bank account—you will need to fix that before you are in compliance. Fortunately, you can amend your prior tax returns (and other forms) and simultaneously also file an IRS Form 8854 to expatriate. In effect, you sign your Form 8854 last, after you've signed the amended tax documents. What if you trip any of these tests? You need to calculate the Exit Tax. If you are not a covered expatriate, it does not matter. If you are a covered expatriate, the first $890,000 of gain is shielded from the Exit Tax for 2025 expatriations. For spouses who expatriate, each spouse files a separate Form 8854, and each spouse can exclude $890,000 of gain (or nearly $1.4 million of gain combined). The Exit Tax on certain assets, notably 401(k) plans, can be deferred. Thus, you may not have to pay the Exit Tax on the plans' values when you expatriate, and would only pay U.S. tax on the 401(k) plan as distributions are made out of the plan. However, the tax on the future distributions is generally 30%, and you cannot claim a treaty benefit to reduce the tax. For most other assets, you can make an irrevocable election to defer payment on the Exit Tax owed. Still, the IRS wants a bond or adequate security for any deferred Exit Tax, and interest accrues until it is paid. Even if a covered expatriate has less than $890,000 of gain in his or her assets, being a covered expatriate has negative consequences. If you have friends or family in the U.S., being a covered expatriate could result in your gifts to them coming with a tax bill that they would have to pay. Even if your Exit Tax may be slight, or you would not owe any Exit Tax (for example, because of the $890,000 gain exclusion), avoid being a covered expatriate if you can. A goal of many expatriating taxpayers is to have a final, clean break from the U.S. tax system. Certifying five years of tax compliance can be difficult. U.S. taxes are complex, and if you live or have assets abroad, there are extra levels of complexity. You must report your worldwide income, wherever it is generated. And FATCA requires an annual Form 8938 filed with the IRS if your foreign assets meet a threshold. Then there are annual foreign bank account reports called FBARs. They carry big civil and even potential criminal penalties if you fail to file them or file them falsely. The civil penalties can consume the entire balance of an account, so be careful.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Democrats seize on Epstein files drama with new transparency calls
Democratic lawmakers are lining up with new vigor to demand the release of all files on Jeffrey Epstein as the topic continues to fracture the right. Some prominent figures within the GOP's rightmost flank are up in arms after a leaked Department of Justice (DOJ) memo reportedly showed there was little more to Epstein's case than already known. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, announced he would be filing a resolution on Monday to demand the Trump administration release all files related to the late pedophile's case. "Either [President Donald Trump] and his acolytes fueled the rumors of the significance of these Epstein files to help his campaign, or something is there!" Veasey wrote on X. "Put up or Shut up!" Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., similarly posted on Saturday, "Why are the Epstein files still hidden? Who are the rich & powerful being protected? On Tuesday, I'm introducing an amendment to force a vote demanding the FULL Epstein files be released to the public. The Speaker must call a vote & put every Congress member on record." Meanwhile, progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., caused a firestorm of controversy online when she referenced past allegations of sexual assault against the president, all of which Trump previously denied. "Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?" she wrote. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who is running for re-election in a swing state that voted for Trump in 2024, took a similar swing during a recent campaign stop. "He promised to release the Epstein files. Did anyone really think the sexual predator president who used to party with Jeffrey Epstein was going to release the Epstein files?" Ossoff said. A civil war has broken out within the GOP over the Trump administration's handling of Epstein's case, with figures like Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer accusing Attorney General Pam Bondi of mishandling something that's long been seen as a priority for Trump's base. Others, however, like attorney Mike Davis and even Trump himself, are defending the attorney general and calling for an end to the Republican infighting. "If predators or victims won't talk, then what? The Trump Justice Department has to deal with evidence that exists. Not evidence they wish they had. Nor conspiracy theories. Do you think Pam, Kash, and Bongino are covering for… Bill Clinton?" Davis wrote on X. Trump released a statement on Truth Social over the weekend, "LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB – SHE'S GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 – That's what she is looking into as AG, and much more." And Democrats appear to have seized on the public back-and-forth as a political cudgel. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., shared a heated exchange with the White House on X over the weekend over an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on what authorities say was a marijuana farm – but Gomez contended the migrants there were picking strawberries. "If you're now concerned about child exploitation, release the Epstein Files. Your base wants to know," Gomez replied at one point. It was reported Friday that Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino was considering resigning amid the fallout. Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, however, have signaled they are confident in their work and will remain in place. "The conspiracy theories just aren't true, never have been. It's an honor to serve the President of the United States [Donald Trump] – and I'll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me," Patel wrote on X. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Democrats' efforts.
