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[LIVE at 10:30AM ET] Trump to Target Banks Allegedly Discriminating Against Conservatives
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Expert: 5 Ways To Lock in Benefits From Trump's New Tax Bill
The passage of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill marks one of the biggest tax overhauls in years. The bill will reshape how high earners and business owners plan for their taxes, and smart filers are already making changes to lock in the new benefits provided by key measures like the expanded SALT deduction cap and the increased Qualified Small Business Stock exemption. Learn More: Read Next: Rachel Richards, CPA and head of tax at Gelt, shared what proactive filers should be doing now to lock in benefits for 2025. Expand Your Business With Section 179 Upgrades If you're a physician or another high-spending professional, now is a great time to grow your business. 'If you're thinking of expanding, the tax code just gave you more room to maneuver,' Richards said. 'With Section 179, expensing limits are now bumped up to $4 million from $2.5 million. Financing new equipment or opening another location could be more rewarding than ever.' Maximize SALT Deductions If you're a business owner, there are two ways you can handle your state and local taxes (SALT). One way is to list them on your personal tax return or you can let your business pay them for you using the Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET). 'Now is the time to think strategically about how you handle state and local tax (SALT) deductions,' Richards said. 'With new itemized deduction thresholds in play, comparing that route to the Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) election might open the door to greater federal savings — if you structure things wisely.' Invest In Real Estate for New Passive Loss Benefits Trump's bill provides additional tax benefits to real estate investors, making acquiring real estate more attractive. 'Owning your office building or investing in short-term rentals could unlock major tax benefits, especially if you can treat losses as active and offset other income,' Richards said. Use QSBS Rules To Plan a Tax-Free Exit The Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exemption is a special tax rule that helps entrepreneurs save on taxes when they sell their shares later. The QSBS exemption now goes up to $15 million under certain conditions 'Plan ahead if you're starting a new venture,' Richards said. 'This isn't something you want to miss.' For the more advanced, there's also a way to 'stack' QSBS benefits across shareholders. This means that if you have friends or family who own shares too, each person can get their own tax break. '[This strategy is] definitely worth discussing with your tax advisor,' Richards said. Claim Up to $15 Million in Tax-Free Gains If you're an angel or early-stage investor in a company, when you sell your shares later, you'd normally have to pay hefty taxes on the money you made. But now, you might not have to pay taxes on up to $15 million or 10 times what you originally invested — whichever is more. Only certain startups qualify for the deduction, but this has also expanded — the asset threshold has increased from $50 million to $75 million. More From GOBankingRates 5 Ways Trump Signing the GENIUS Act Could Impact Retirees6 Hybrid Vehicles To Stay Away From in Retirement This article originally appeared on Expert: 5 Ways To Lock in Benefits From Trump's New Tax Bill
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NATO Secretary General Rutte says Trump-Putin summit is about 'testing Putin'
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Friday's summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska will be an important test in ending the war in Ukraine. 'Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end,' Rutte told ABC News' 'This Week' co-anchor Jonathan Karl. 'It will be, of course, about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation, deciding on its own geopolitical future,' Rutte added. Rutte said he believes that Trump supports these terms as well. 'The president wants to end this. He wants to end the terrible loss of life,' Rutte said. The NATO chief also acknowledged the reality that Russia is in control of some of Ukraine's prewar territory. 'The question will be how to go forward past a ceasefire, including what it means in terms of security guarantees for Ukraine,' he said. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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Trump And Putin Are Meeting To Discuss Giving Away Ukraine's Land. How On Earth Did We Get Here?
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending the Ukraine war by changing its borders. This absurd situation has understandably sparked fury in Ukraine. Putin has seized four Ukrainian regions since his February 2022 invasion, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, although he does not have full control over them. Russia has also been holding onto the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea since Putin annexed it in 2014. How did we even get to this point? Here's what you need to know – and what could happen next. What's just happened with Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy? What did Trump say? The US president has been trying to orchestrate the end of the Ukraine war ever since he returned to office this year. He promised he could end the war within his first 24 hours back in the Oval office – that was seven months ago and the three-year war is still raging. Trump posted on social media on Friday that the parties, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were close to a ceasefire deal. However, he warned that it could demand Ukraine to give a significant portion of territory. He then told reporters at the White House that there would be an exchange of land, saying: 'There'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.' What did Zelenskyy say? Zelenskyy, who has been trying to stay on Trump's good side in recent months, immediately rejected the idea. He said: 'Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupiers.' In a video posted on social media, he said the country will not violate its constitution on its territory. Speaking bluntly, he said: 'They will not achieve anything. These are stillborn decisions. They are unworkable decisions. And we need real and genuine peace.' What did Putin say? Putin has not spoken himself about the arrangement, but it's likely the Russian president is delighted to have a one-on-one with Trump – without Zelenskyy's input. The Kremlin has confirmed Putin will be meeting with Trump next Friday, and they will 'focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis'. Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said: 'This will evidently be a challenging process, but we will engage in it actively and energetically.' Do we know what's actually on the table in this potential deal? As the Institute for Studying War think tank pointed out, it's very difficult to know what Putin's actual position is right now. The Trump administration has described Russia's potential peace offer in four different ways since August 6. The only consistency is that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from unoccupied parts of Donetsk, which would be a major Ukrainian concession. Confusingly, it seems different parts of the US administration believe Putin has offered to withdraw from some areas of Ukraine if he can officially claim other parts of the country as his – but the exact details have been mixed up while being relaying between officials. There's also been some talk of Russia freezing the frontline in some occupied regions. How has Europe responded? Europe quickly rallied together in response to Trump's statements, confirming their ongoing backing for Ukraine and calling for its sovereign borders to be respected. In a statement over the weekend, a Downing Street spokeswoman confirmed Starmer had spoken to the French president Emmanuel Macron about the crisis and 'reiterated their unwavering support' for Ukraine. She said: 'They welcomed President Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine and end Russia's war of aggression, and discussed how to further work closely with President Trump and President Zelenskyy over the coming days.' A subsequent statement was then issued by the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, the EU and Finland, 'welcoming' Trump's work, while insisting its diplomatic support for Ukraine was unwavering. 'We stand ready to support this work diplomatically as well as by upholding our substantive military and financial support to Ukraine, including through the work of the Coalition of the Willing, and by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against the Russian Federation,' the heads of state said. They noted that there was a 'need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.' The statement pointedly added: 'Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities. 'The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force. The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.' They also made it plain that they still believe Russia's invasion of Ukraine was illegal. What does all this mean? It certainly seems that Putin holds more of the cards right now than Ukraine, although Trump could still impose crippling sanctions on Russia's cheap oil exports. However, he seems reluctant to do that directly to Moscow, so far only slapping extra tariffs on India for continually buying the Russian produce. The US president is very keen to end the war, but appears to have a soft spot for Putin. He has repeatedly offered to conclude the conflict on Putin's terms, but the Russian president has repeatedly dragged his feet during previous attempts to negotiate a peace. After Trump's crackdown on Russia's trade with India, there's a chance this could be a turning point – but Putin is keeping his cards close to his chest once again. Meanwhile, Europe is desperately pushing to ensure the continent, which is most at risk of Putin's expansionist goals, still has a seat at the negotiation table, and trying to put Ukraine's interests at the heart of talks. Trump now seems to want to end the conflict even if it means overlooking what Ukraine wants altogether, even ditching his plan to hold a trilateral meeting between himself, Russian and Ukraine just to appease Putin. And, as a Russian researcher from the global monitor Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) pointed out, losses continue to rise on the battlefield amid all of the international diplomacy. Fedor K said: 'Despite the recent diplomatic pressure, the war wages on and civilians on both sides of the border are paying the ultimate toll.' Related... Putin's Army Is Still Taking Large Chunks Of Ukraine's Land, UK Says Trump Eases Up On Vladimir Putin By Offering The Russian Dictator 1 Major Concession Putin Has Pulled The Wool Over Trump's Eyes Before. Will He Do It Again?
