Latest news with #U.S.TreasuryDepartment
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Shootout on high seas leads to seizure of 2,300 pounds of cocaine, 3 suspects killed off coast of Haiti
Three suspected drug traffickers were killed in an exchange of fire as police in Haiti confiscated more than 2,300 pounds of cocaine aboard a boat, officials said Tuesday, in a rare drug seizure in the troubled Caribbean country. The police raid took place off the coast of northern Haiti near Tortue Island where traffickers are suspected of transferring drugs, Port-de-Paix prosecutor Jeir Pierre told Radio Caraïbes on Tuesday. Pierre said police have long postponed any action at that location because of a lack of resources, but noted that a regional police director recently requested a boat to use around Tortue Island. "We have had this area in our sights for a long time," Pierre said. Police approached a suspected drug trafficking boat on Sunday and ordered the suspects aboard to raise their hands, but they did not comply and instead opened fire at the officers, Pierre said. Officers returned fire, with two suspected drug traffickers jumping into the ocean and later dying. A third suspected drug trafficker died on shore while a fourth one, from the Bahamas, was injured and later arrested, Pierre said. Police said on social media that one of suspects who died was a man from Jamaica. Police also released images on social media of the seized cocaine. The photos showed officers next to stacks of drugs, with some of the packages labeled "Rolex" on the front. Pierre said no Haitian police officers were injured. The U.S. government has previously noted that powerful people in Haiti are involved in the country's drug trade. In August 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned former Haitian President Michel Martelly, accusing him of abusing his influence to facilitate the trafficking of drugs, including cocaine, destined for the U.S. "Many of Haiti's political and business elites have long been involved in drug trafficking and have been linked to the gangs responsible for the violence that has destabilized Haiti," the Treasury Department said. Haiti has long served as a transit hub for the movement of cocaine and other illicit drugs to the U.S. and Dominican Republic, according to a report by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. The U.N. office has also noted that some of Haiti's gangs have bigger arsenals than the police as they have become "stronger, richer and more autonomous."
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Police in Haiti seize a ton of cocaine in a boat raid that leaves 3 suspects dead
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Three suspected drug traffickers were killed in an exchange of fire as police in Haiti confiscated more than 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of cocaine aboard a boat, officials said Tuesday, in a rare drug seizure in the troubled Caribbean country. The police raid took place off the coast of northern Haiti near Tortue Island where traffickers are suspected of transferring drugs, Port-de-Paix prosecutor Jeir Pierre told Radio Caraïbes on Tuesday. Pierre said police have long postponed any action at that location because of a lack of resources, but noted that a regional police director recently requested a boat to use around Tortue Island. 'We have had this area in our sights for a long time,' Pierre said. Police approached a suspected drug trafficking boat on Sunday and ordered the suspects aboard to raise their hands, but they did not comply and instead opened fire at the officers, Pierre said. Officers returned fire, with two suspected drug traffickers jumping into the ocean and later dying. A third suspected drug trafficker died on shore while a fourth one, from the Bahamas, was injured and later arrested, Pierre said. Police said on X that one of suspects who died was a man from Jamaica. Pierre said no Haitian police officers were injured. The U.S. government has previously noted that powerful people in Haiti are involved in the country's drug trade. In August 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned former Haitian President Michel Martelly, accusing him of abusing his influence to facilitate the trafficking of drugs, including cocaine, destined for the U.S. 'Many of Haiti's political and business elites have long been involved in drug trafficking and have been linked to the gangs responsible for the violence that has destabilized Haiti,' the Treasury Department said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Memo: Trump adopts new aggressive stance on Russia
President Trump moved to a more aggressive footing with Russia on Monday, promising to funnel weapons through NATO allies to Ukraine and threatening to hammer Moscow's trading partners with sanctions. Even though there is a lengthy hiatus of 50 days before those sanctions would take effect, it's still a notable shift from the president. Trump had long been skeptical of the pace and scale of U.S. aid to Ukraine. It has been only a little more than four months since he and Vice President Vance had a famously fractious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. In the aftermath of that meeting, where Zelensky was assailed for his supposed ingratitude and the weakness of his bargaining position, it seemed like the choking off of U.S. military aid to Kyiv was near-certain. That, in turn, would make a Russian victory in the war begun by President Vladimir Putin's February 2022 invasion equally inevitable. Now, the picture looks very different. Trump — for reasons that appear personal as much as strategic — has become increasingly irritated with Putin's refusal to bring the war to an end. On Monday, meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump complained that he enjoys 'very pleasant' phone calls with Putin only to see Russian 'missiles go off that night.' The accusation of double-dealing or disingenuousness on the part of Putin has become more of a centerpiece of Trump's rhetoric recently. On Monday, he contended that Putin 'didn't fool' him, even as he held that the Russian leader had pulled the wool over the eyes of past Presidents Biden, Obama and George W. Bush. Just last week, Trump made a similar point in even more pointed terms, saying, 'We get a lot of bulls‑‑‑ thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He's very nice all the time but it turns out to be meaningless.' Now, of course, the question is how meaningful Trump's own shift will be. The most obviously substantive move is the provision of weapons — notably Patriot air defense systems. The deal by which those, and other weapons, will be bought by European NATO members and then transferred on to Ukraine seems to resolve one central tension in the conflict. It enables Trump to vastly reduce the cost to the U.S. Treasury Department — and thus to U.S. taxpayers — of military aid to Ukraine, while bolstering Ukraine's defenses and ameliorating the panic from U.S. allies in Europe that Trump's isolation would invite greater Russian expansionism. Referring to NATO allies, Trump said Monday, 'We are going to be sending them weapons, and they're going to be paying for them. We're not buying it, but we will manufacture it, and they're going to be paying for them.' The Wall Street Journal, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the upcoming weapons transfers, reported that the package could be worth about $10 billion. The Department of State says the United States has provided almost $67 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia's invasion. The sanctions element of Monday's proposal was a bit more vague. Trump initially used the word 'tariffs' to describe what he had in mind as a tactic to deepen Russia's economic isolation. But it fell to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to clarify that Trump was in fact suggesting the imposition of economic sanctions on Moscow's trading partners. Those sanctions are supposedly going to take effect if a peace deal is not arrived at within Trump's 50-day time frame. There are a few obvious caveats. The most obvious is whether Trump will follow through given his propensity to move in unpredictable ways. A second is whether Putin would try to persuade the president, during that period, that it is actually Ukraine that is being the more stubborn party. A third mixed signal came even Monday, when Trump appeared lukewarm about the proposed congressional legislation that would ramp up sanctions on Russia directly. Even so, it's notable that the more hawkish members of the GOP, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have been vocally enthusiastic about Trump's apparent shift. There are, too, some in Republican circles who believe Trump's instinctive isolationism has been diluted somewhat by the perceived success of the recent U.S. airstrikes against targets in Iran — strikes that resulted neither in any casualties for the U.S. nor created any serious danger of getting sucked into a longer war. The American public also seems to have an appetite for tougher economic measures against Russia. An Economist/YouGov poll last month found that 44 percent of Americans surveyed favored increasing sanctions on Russia and 19 percent wanted to maintain sanctions at their current level, while only 15 percent wanted to reduce or eliminate sanctions. Much remains uncertain, including how Putin will react to Monday's announcements. And, of course, the biggest vexing question is how many concessions either Russia or Ukraine are willing to make to end the war. But Trump, long derided by critics for his softness on Putin, is this time taking a harder line than he ever has before. The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
What to know -- and what isn't known yet -- about tax deductions for tips and overtime pay
Millions of U.S. workers who earn tips and overtime pay may be eligible for a federal tax break when they file their 2025 income taxes next year. But which workers will qualify for the new deductions is among the details the government has to work out after President Donald Trump's signature spending and policy package won final congressional approval. Under the bill Trump signed into law on July 4, the U.S. Treasury Department must publish a list by Oct. 2 of occupations that qualify for tax-free tips. The department is also expected to publish guidance on how to report tips and overtime pay, and what documentation will be required. The deduction provisions are not permanent but were written to expire after the 2028 tax year. Overtime pay isn't currently separated out on an employee's W-2 tax form, for example, but employers generally keep track of it and itemize it on employees' pay stubs, said Miguel Burgos, a certified public accountant with TurboTax. Employers should continue to withhold taxes while waiting for guidance, Burgos said. The bill doesn't apply to state and local taxes or to federal payroll taxes, which help fund Social Security and Medicare. Here's what we know about tax-free tips and overtime: The bill says eligible workers are those who already regularly received tips before December 2024. In the restaurant industry alone, there are 2.1 million tipped servers and bartenders, according to the National Restaurant Association. Barbers, hairdressers, nail technicians and delivery drivers are also expected to be included. Workers must include a Social Security number when they file their taxes to be eligible, and a spouse's Social Security number if they're married and filing jointly. Workers will be able to deduct up to $25,000 in tips if they make less than $150,000 (or $300,000 if they're married and filing jointly). The amount workers can deduct is reduced by $100 for every $1,000 they make over $150,000. The change will not affect around 40% of tipped workers since they already pay little to no income tax, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The other 60% of tipped workers are expected to see an average tax cut of $1,800 per year. Both cash tips and credit cards are included. Tips pooled together and then distributed to a restaurant's employees are also included, although servers may be less inclined to participate in tip pooling now that they are eligible for a tax deduction. Service charges – such as an automatic gratuity for a large party – aren't included because the bill makes clear that eligible tips must be 'paid voluntarily.' The Budget Lab at Yale estimates that 8% of U.S. hourly workers and 4% of salaried workers are regularly paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires overtime pay of at least time and a half once employees have worked 40 hours in a week. People working in many jobs, including clergy, teachers and executives, are exempt from federal overtime rules. Workers can deduct up to $12,500 in overtime (or up to $25,000 in a joint return). Like the tip measure, the amount workers can deduct is reduced if they make more than $150,000. And they must include a Social Security number when they file. The average worker is expected to see a tax cut of between $1,400 and $1,750 per year, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers. According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, tax-free tips would reduce federal revenue by $31 billion between the 2026 and 2029 fiscal years, while tax-free overtime would reduce federal revenue by $90 billion during the same period. Durbin writes for the Associated Press.
7 days ago
- Business
What to know -- and what isn't known yet -- about US tax deductions for tips and overtime pay
Millions of U.S. workers who earn tips and overtime pay may be eligible for a federal tax break when they file their 2025 income taxes next year. But which workers will qualify for the new deductions is among the details the government has to work out after President Donald Trump's signature spending and policy package won final congressional approval. Under the bill Trump signed into law on July 4, the U.S. Treasury Department must publish a list by Oct. 2 of occupations that qualify for tax-free tips. The department is also expected to publish guidance on how to report tips and overtime pay, and what documentation will be required. The deduction provisions are not permanent but were written to expire after the 2028 tax year. Overtime pay isn't currently separated out on an employee's W-2 tax form, for example, but employers generally keep track of it and itemize it on employees' pay stubs, said Miguel Burgos, a certified public accountant with TurboTax. Employers should continue to withhold taxes while waiting for guidance, Burgos said. The bill doesn't apply to state and local taxes or to federal payroll taxes, which help fund Social Security and Medicare. Here's what we know about tax-free tips and overtime: The bill says eligible workers are those who already regularly received tips before December 2024. In the restaurant industry alone, there are 2.1 million tipped servers and bartenders, according to the National Restaurant Association. Barbers, hairdressers, nail technicians and delivery drivers are also expected to be included. Workers must include a Social Security number when they file their taxes to be eligible, and a spouse's Social Security number if they're married and filing jointly. Workers will be able to deduct up to $25,000 in tips if they make less than $150,000 (or $300,000 if they're married and filing jointly). The amount workers can deduct is reduced by $100 for every $1,000 they make over $150,000. The change will not affect around 40% of tipped workers since they already pay little to no income tax, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The other 60% of tipped workers are expected to see an average tax cut of $1,800 per year. Both cash tips and credit cards are included. Tips pooled together and then distributed to a restaurant's employees are also included, although servers may be less inclined to participate in tip pooling now that they are eligible for a tax deduction. Service charges – such as an automatic gratuity for a large party – aren't included because the bill makes clear that eligible tips must be 'paid voluntarily.' The Budget Lab at Yale estimates that 8% of U.S. hourly workers and 4% of salaried workers are regularly paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires overtime pay of at least time and a half once employees have worked 40 hours in a week. People working in many jobs, including clergy, teachers and executives, are exempt from federal overtime rules. Workers can deduct up to $12,500 in overtime (or up to $25,000 in a joint return). Like the tip measure, the amount workers can deduct is reduced if they make more than $150,000. And they must include a Social Security number when they file. The average worker is expected to see a tax cut of between $1,400 and $1,750 per year, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers. According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, tax-free tips would reduce federal revenue by $31 billion between the 2026 and 2029 fiscal years, while tax-free overtime would reduce federal revenue by $90 billion during the same period.
