Latest news with #FinanceCommittee
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
KCMO to decide whether earnings tax goes on November ballot
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wednesday at Kansas City City Hall, FOX4 talked to Mayor Quinton Lucas about whether the earnings tax will be decided on by voters in the city in November of 2025. 'It's not currently on the ballot. It's not currently planned for the ballot, and I think we have about two or three weeks to try to figure that out if we were to want to,' Mayor Lucas said. As Mayor Lucas alluded to, figuring that out must happen by August 26. That's the deadline if the city wants it to be on this November's ballot. The 1% earnings tax is levied on anyone who works in the city, regardless of where they live. Popular Kansas City dog bar files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after closure Mayor Lucas said a lot is going on in Jackson County over the next three months. As of Wednesday, a recall election of Democratic County Executive Frank White was planned for September 30. Tuesday, November 4, Jackson County residents will be deciding on whether they want their assessor to be elected in future elections. 'You want to think about, 'How can you run a campaign?' Mayor Lucas said. 'Can you inform people well enough in time and frankly, what issues are happening right now that you don't want to get pulled into? There is a very robust tax conversation occurring right now in Jackson County and Platte County really, and that being, you know, the majority of Kansas Citians, you may not necessarily want to have a tax chat at the same time.' Besides talking to Mayor Lucas on Wednesday, FOX4 also talked to Show-Me Institute Senior Fellow Patrick Tuohey, who's not a supporter of the earnings tax. Other municipalities around the city don't have this tax. 'Kansas City needs to understand that it is competing with the metro areas around it to draw talent, to draw population, and it's not just the earnings tax that's chasing people away. It's crime. It's schools. It's infrastructure,' Tuohey said. 'If Kansas City is serious about being competitive, it really needs to think about all these things, the earnings tax included.' Mayor Lucas disagrees with the narrative that suburban cities with their new developments are competing with his city because of things like the earnings tax. 2025 primary election results across the Kansas City metro 'You go to a job because people treat you well, because you feel like you're doing outstanding work and because you're interested in what you do, your colleagues and all that surrounds you,' Mayor Lucas continued. 'Kansas City will continue to be a place that attracts great employers because we build great communities, because we invest in downtown, the plaza, so many other areas.' The last time the earnings tax was on the ballot for voters in the city, it easily passed in April of 2021. 77% of voters said yes. Just 23% said no. As of Wednesday afternoon, the earnings tax was not on the Tuesday, August 12, Finance Committee agenda. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Komatireddy meets Gadkari, seeks fast-track clearances for T road projects
Hyderabad: Roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy met Union minister for road transport and highways in Delhi on Tuesday, urging him to expedite approvals for critical national highway projects in Telangana. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Top on the agenda was the expansion of the Hyderabad–Vijayawada NH-65 corridor from four to six lanes, along with construction of service roads. Citing a recent fatal accident involving two senior police officers, Komatireddy warned that the highway risked being labelled a 'death road' if upgrades were delayed. He also discussed the regional ring road, informing Gadkari that land acquisition for the northern corridor—from Sangareddy to Choutuppal—was complete. He proposed upgrading it from four to six lanes and sought simultaneous clearance for works on the southern corridor, citing its potential as an industrial zone. For the LB Nagar–Malkapur stretch, Komatireddy recommended an elevated corridor with a double-decker flyover from Chintalkunta to All India Radio Station, drawing on models implemented in Nagpur. On the Hyderabad–Srisailam NH-765, he proposed alignment changes to shorten the route by 4 km and requested elevated corridor status near the tiger reserve. He also sought swift resolution of pending issues on the Hyderabad–Manneguda highway with the National Green Tribunal, and urged approvals under Setu Bandhan and the Central Road Infrastructure Fund. Speaking to reporters later, Komatireddy said Gadkari responded positively. The NH-65 expansion will be taken up at the Aug 15 Finance Committee meeting. Gadkari also agreed in principle to fast-track tenders, revise estimates, and clear proposals for RRR and other projects, he said. Komatireddy said Telangana's road infrastructure is progressing rapidly due to strong Centre–state coordination, and thanked Gadkari for his proactive support.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
A $715 billion tax cut turns into a $4.5 trillion sales job
Republicans minimized the size of their tax cuts when they pushed them through Congress, using a controversial accounting method to make most of them appear to cost the federal government nothing. But now a new mantra is emerging from lawmakers: Their tax cuts were huge. As they sell the package to voters, President Donald Trump and other Republicans are emphasizing how big the tax cuts are — often claiming, wrongly, that they are the largest in U.S. history. Implicit in the shift: Republicans are embracing the conventional budgeting 'baseline' they scorned during legislative debate because that now makes their tax cuts appear more impressive. Under the so-called current policy baseline Republicans used in Congress, their plan was projected to cost $715 billion over a decade — peanuts, in the world of tax cuts and a mere raindrop in the country's $36.8 trillion debt. But using a conventional yardstick means their tax cuts cost $4.5 trillion — not the largest ever, but sizable enough to at least be in the conversation. That has Democrats crying foul, with Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, complaining Republicans' boasts come after they used a 'budget gimmick' to 'claim that their massive tax giveaway to billionaires cost next to nothing.' Some Republicans aren't entirely comfortable with it either. 'I can't control what other people say,' said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), a member of the tax-writing Finance Committee. He said he instead tells voters Republicans averted a $4 trillion tax increase that would have come if lawmakers hadn't extended a slew of temporary tax cuts that were slated to expire at the end of this year. It's an ironic addendum to the long-running debate in Washington over Republicans using the current policy baseline to help pass their legislation, signed into law a little more than four weeks ago. And it comes as lawmakers now turn to selling their constituents on the package, which also includes controversial cuts in Medicaid and other programs. Early polling shows the package is not popular, though most taxpayers won't begin to benefit from the tax cuts until they file their returns next spring. Many are in line for extra-large refunds because Republicans made a number of provisions, including an enlarged Child Tax Credit and a more generous deduction for state and local taxes, retroactively available for the current tax year. During congressional consideration, Senate Republicans were adamant that the correct way to tally the cost of their plan was by comparing the changes to what the government was currently doing, not what was carved into law, as budget scorekeepers normally do. So, by that light, extending current tax policies into next year should cost nothing, and not even be seen as a reduction in taxes. The only tax cuts that counted, Republicans said, were new provisions like Trump's proposals to reduce levies on tips, overtime, auto-loans and seniors, along with enhancements of existing breaks, like a $200-per-child increase in the Child Tax Credit. The tactic drastically reduced the sticker price of the plan, no small deal given concern over federal red ink. And it made it much easier for lawmakers to make many of their provisions a permanent part of the tax code. Otherwise, under the Senate's internal rules, they would have had to find a lot more pay-fors to cover the cost of making permanent breaks for business investment, research and interest expenses. But that current policy baseline now not only makes their tax cuts look less consequential, it also shrinks the anticipated benefits to their constituents. Under the conventional baseline that Republicans spurned, people making between $60,000 and $80,000 would see their taxes fall by an average 12 percent in 2027, the official Joint Committee on Taxation said in an analysis last week. But those people would only get a 4.2 percent cut under a current policy baseline. Nevertheless, days after Trump signed the bill into law, Senate Republicans bragged on X that they had just cut taxes by $4.3 trillion. And lawmakers are now routinely claiming to have passed the largest-ever tax cut, though with a $715 billion price tag, the legislation is not significantly bigger than tax cuts passed during the coronavirus outbreak. The more conventional $4.5 billion estimate moves the legislation up the all-time-biggest-tax-cut list, though there were still larger ones, such as Ronald Reagan's 1981 tax cuts and when Harry Truman cut wartime taxes in 1945. That hasn't deterred Republican claims to the contrary. 'We delivered the largest tax cut in American history,' Trump said recently. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) called questions of which baseline Republicans should use when talking about the tax cuts with voters 'nerdy' and 'technical." 'That's a great discussion for economists — that's not necessarily a great discussion for a politician on the campaign trail,' he said. But other Republicans say they are careful to stipulate that they avoided a $4 trillion tax increase, while stopping short of claiming to have cut taxes by that much. 'I always talk about how we stopped the largest tax increase in American history — I think that's a pretty compelling argument,' said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), another tax writer. To further complicate matters, House Republicans did in fact use a conventional baseline, not a current-policy one, when they wrote their first draft of the legislation. Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said he doesn't have a problem if those GOP lawmakers tell voters they cut taxes by $4.5 trillion. The issue, he said, is when Republicans claim the tax cuts were small when they're talking about the impact on the government's debt but say they're big when talking about the benefits to voters. 'You can't jump back and forth,' said Goldwein. 'The problem is the inconsistency.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
A $715 billion tax cut turns into a $4.5 trillion sales job
Republicans minimized the size of their tax cuts when they pushed them through Congress, using a controversial accounting method to make most of them appear to cost the federal government nothing. But now a new mantra is emerging from lawmakers: Their tax cuts were huge. As they sell the package to voters, President Donald Trump and other Republicans are emphasizing how big the tax cuts are — often claiming, wrongly, that they are the largest in U.S. history. Implicit in the shift: Republicans are embracing the conventional budgeting 'baseline' they scorned during legislative debate because that now makes their tax cuts appear more impressive. Under the so-called current policy baseline Republicans used in Congress, their plan was projected to cost $715 billion over a decade — peanuts, in the world of tax cuts and a mere raindrop in the country's $36.8 trillion debt. But using a conventional yardstick means their tax cuts cost $4.5 trillion — not the largest ever, but sizable enough to at least be in the conversation. That has Democrats crying foul, with Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, complaining Republicans' boasts come after they used a 'budget gimmick' to 'claim that their massive tax giveaway to billionaires cost next to nothing.' Some Republicans aren't entirely comfortable with it either. 'I can't control what other people say,' said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), a member of the tax-writing Finance Committee. He said he instead tells voters Republicans averted a $4 trillion tax increase that would have come if lawmakers hadn't extended a slew of temporary tax cuts that were slated to expire at the end of this year. It's an ironic addendum to the long-running debate in Washington over Republicans using the current policy baseline to help pass their legislation, signed into law a little more than four weeks ago. And it comes as lawmakers now turn to selling their constituents on the package, which also includes controversial cuts in Medicaid and other programs. Early polling shows the package is not popular, though most taxpayers won't begin to benefit from the tax cuts until they file their returns next spring. Many are in line for extra-large refunds because Republicans made a number of provisions, including an enlarged Child Tax Credit and a more generous deduction for state and local taxes, retroactively available for the current tax year. During congressional consideration, Senate Republicans were adamant that the correct way to tally the cost of their plan was by comparing the changes to what the government was currently doing, not what was carved into law, as budget scorekeepers normally do. So, by that light, extending current tax policies into next year should cost nothing, and not even be seen as a reduction in taxes. The only tax cuts that counted, Republicans said, were new provisions like Trump's proposals to reduce levies on tips, overtime, auto-loans and seniors, along with enhancements of existing breaks, like a $200-per-child increase in the Child Tax Credit. The tactic drastically reduced the sticker price of the plan, no small deal given concern over federal red ink. And it made it much easier for lawmakers to make many of their provisions a permanent part of the tax code. Otherwise, under the Senate's internal rules, they would have had to find a lot more pay-fors to cover the cost of making permanent breaks for business investment, research and interest expenses. But that current policy baseline now not only makes their tax cuts look less consequential, it also shrinks the anticipated benefits to their constituents. Under the conventional baseline that Republicans spurned, people making between $60,000 and $80,000 would see their taxes fall by an average 12 percent in 2027, the official Joint Committee on Taxation said in an analysis last week. But those people would only get a 4.2 percent cut under a current policy baseline. Nevertheless, days after Trump signed the bill into law, Senate Republicans bragged on X that they had just cut taxes by $4.3 trillion. And lawmakers are now routinely claiming to have passed the largest-ever tax cut, though with a $715 billion price tag, the legislation is not significantly bigger than tax cuts passed during the coronavirus outbreak. The more conventional $4.5 billion estimate moves the legislation up the all-time-biggest-tax-cut list, though there were still larger ones, such as Ronald Reagan's 1981 tax cuts and when Harry Truman cut wartime taxes in 1945. That hasn't deterred Republican claims to the contrary. 'We delivered the largest tax cut in American history,' Trump said recently. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) called questions of which baseline Republicans should use when talking about the tax cuts with voters 'nerdy' and 'technical." 'That's a great discussion for economists — that's not necessarily a great discussion for a politician on the campaign trail,' he said. But other Republicans say they are careful to stipulate that they avoided a $4 trillion tax increase, while stopping short of claiming to have cut taxes by that much. 'I always talk about how we stopped the largest tax increase in American history — I think that's a pretty compelling argument,' said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), another tax writer. To further complicate matters, House Republicans did in fact use a conventional baseline, not a current-policy one, when they wrote their first draft of the legislation. Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said he doesn't have a problem if those GOP lawmakers tell voters they cut taxes by $4.5 trillion. The issue, he said, is when Republicans claim the tax cuts were small when they're talking about the impact on the government's debt but say they're big when talking about the benefits to voters. 'You can't jump back and forth,' said Goldwein. 'The problem is the inconsistency.'
Politico
4 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Looking toward the fall
With help from Benjamin Guggenheim NEED TO DOUBLE BACK: Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) has an idea for the GOP's potential second run at budget reconciliation — getting more of his colleagues' priorities into law. 'We didn't clear the deck in the last bill,' Crapo told our Benjamin Guggenheim when asked about his committee's biggest priorities for the fall. The Finance chair again noted that his fellow Republicans had about 200 tax policy requests for what became the GOP megabill. But lots of those ideas didn't make the cut, which gives Crapo an extensive menu if Republicans can get another fiscal package together in the fall. It's also a fitting priority for Crapo, who's known for being a consensus-builder at the Finance Committee. WEEKLY TAX is here. More on everything in a bit. And putting any politics aside, the Berniebeu is a truly wonderful play on words (or word). We're sure she valued the appreciation: Today marks 138 years since the death of Granny, a sea anemone who had been cared for by Scottish naturalists for about six decades and visited by hundreds of people over the years. (John Dalyell, who first kept Granny, was interested in how sea anemones reproduce.) Help this newsletter sprout new scoops. Email: bbecker@ bfaler@ and teckert@ You can also reach us on X at @berniebecker3, @tobyeckert, @brian_faler, @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Tax. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. WHAT DOES FALL LOOK LIKE? Crapo first broached those couple hundred ideas during a March appearance at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as he laid out the challenges that Republicans would face in crafting this year's tax law. Interestingly enough, Republicans did get around in the megabill to the three specific requests that Crapo name-checked in that appearance — further cuts to the estate tax, an expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and improvements to the Opportunity Zone program aimed at boosting investment in areas of need. That would open the door for other GOP priorities in a tax bill, though Republicans are still working through the contours of what might be in a megabill sequel. Something to watch there: Crapo reiterated his interest on Friday in taking a harder line on pharmaceutical benefit managers, the middlemen that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle believe hike prescription drug costs. Democrats and Republicans came together on a PBM overhaul last year, before it was dropped from an end-of-year spending package. Now, some Republicans, like Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, are floating the idea of going alone on that kind of legislation, adding something else to the potential mix for the fall. What about the Democrats? Their top tax priority for the year is extending enhanced incentives for purchasing health insurance, which are set to expire at the end of the year. That's an issue that could easily get wrapped into the contentious talks over how to fund the government, as our Jennifer Scholtes, Katherine Tully-McManus and Jordain Carney reported. A short-term funding punt seems the best lawmakers can hope for when they return next month, with a Sept. 30 deadline looming — meaning that there might be multiple rounds of spending talks before the expanded health care subsidies lapse at the close of the year. Either way, Democrats could easily turn the health care subsidies into their top ask in those funding negotiations. Added note: Crapo told Benjamin that he was open to the idea of offering rebates to the public, after the Trump administration's tariff expansions this year. The Finance chair has been approaching the tariff issue carefully. His comments came after Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a measure that would offer rebates of $600 per adult or dependent child, to be paid for with the influx of tariff revenues. And not for nothing: Those rebates intentionally are structured like the multiple rounds of stimulus payments that the federal government routed through the IRS during the pandemic. That's worth remembering given the recent cuts at the IRS, even if the current chatter about a new round of checks seems more speculative than anything else at the moment. ON THAT NOTE: IRS Commissioner Billy Long raised some eyebrows last week when he let slip that the agency was already planning to push back the start of next year's filing season. In recent years, the IRS has kicked off the filing season in late January. But Long told a conference of enrolled agents that agency staff was already saying they would need until around Presidents' Day, or about three weeks after that normal start time, to fully incorporate changes that Republicans made to the tax system for this year in the megabill. Those changes were far from nothing — a new deduction for seniors, as well as write-offs for tipped income and overtime pay, a larger Child Tax Credit, a bigger standard deduction and a higher cap for state and local deductions. The IRS also takes months and months to prepare for an upcoming filing season. But Long's statements also raised new questions about IRS staffing levels, given that there's still about half a year until the start of the 2026 season and thousands of jobs have been cut at the agency this year. It took a couple days before the IRS offered an official response — and if nothing else, the suggestion is that Long was broaching the topic too early. The agency's Friday statement noted that Long was in the second week of his 'boots on the ground' tour of IRS offices, which so far has made stops in Georgia and Utah. 'Billy cares about two groups of people: his employee-partners and taxpayers. He is gathering information on what enhancements can be made to provide an exceptional taxpayer experience for the American people,' the agency's statement read. 'The IRS looks forward to another successful tax filing season next year, and we will announce the timing of its opening in the regular course.' Around the World El Pais: 'This is how Colombia's super-rich evade, avoid and pay less taxes than the poor.' Financial Times: 'UK investors buy gold coins in record numbers to mitigate against tax.' Bloomberg Tax: 'Australia Mulls Slashing Small, Medium Business Corporate Tax.' Around the Nation Chicago Tribune: 'Mayor Brandon Johnson, facing a yawning budget deficit, could be in for a fight with corporate tax proposals.' Alaska Public Radio: 'Lawmakers override Gov. Dunleavy's veto of oil tax transparency bill.' News 9: 'Oklahoma Tax Commission denies school promoted by Walters from receiving tax credit.' Also Worth Your Time Bloomberg Tax: 'Book-Tax, Double-Dipping Rules Among Top Candidates for Rollback.' ABC News: ''Highballed': How disproportionate property taxes are forcing some Americans out of their homes.' Seattle Times: 'Seattle workers cautiously embrace no tax on tips and overtime.' Did you know? Sea anemone are part of the Cnidaria phylum, along with jellyfish and corals.
