Latest news with #taxes
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Property assessments up 7.5% in Daviess
Inflation is causing property assessments in Daviess County to soar. Rachel Pence Foster, Daviess County's property valuation administrator, says property assessments are up 7.5% this year. That's the sixth straight year that assessments have grown by 5% or more. And the most one-year increase in decades. If nothing changes, city and county governments and school districts will get an increase in the amount of taxes collected without raising their rates. And home owners will pay more in taxes. PVAs are required to assess property at its fair-market valued. They do not set tax rates. The county is divided into four quarters and one quarter has its property reassessed each year. This year, it was the area south of Parrish Avenue and east of Frederica St. Foster said homes in that area may have seen an increase of 10%, 22%, 35% or more. 'This new assessment was an increase over a four-year period and the numbers in this article are for the entire county as a whole for one year,' she said. 'Three-fourths of the county and city was not in the re-assessment area. The increases also include all new home sales.' When property is sold, it is reassessed at the sale price. And new buildings are assessed when they are completed. In dollar terms, assessments this year increased by $594 million. That's up from $436.28 million last year. The total value of all taxable property in Daviess County is now $8.5 billion. That's up from $7.89 billion last year. Realtors say the problem is a shortage of homes on the market for the past five or more years. Supply and demand means houses will sell for more money with demand for them rising. Residential property up 8.1%Foster said residential property values were up 8.1% or $412.9 million to a total of $5.5 billion. Last year, it increased by $320.99 million. Foster said the value of commercial property was up $151.5 million — 6.9% — to $2.3 billion. Last year, it was up $33.7 million. And the value of agricultural property was up $29.7 million or 5.2% to a total of $600.7 billion. Last year, it was up $81.57 million. The number of $1 million — or more — homes continues to climb. In 2021, there were only six. Last year, there were 11. And this year, Foster said, there are 19. That's just the homes, not any land other than yards. Kentucky allows people who are 65 and older or disabled to lower the assessed value of their homes by $49,100 under the Homestead Exemption Act. The amount increases every two years. Foster said this year there are 11,023 homes that have qualified for the exemption — up from 10,820 last year. That breaks down as 10,207 for age and 816 for disability. Foster said the exemption lowered the value of those homes by $534.9 million. That's up from $495.8 million last year. Government buildings, churches and certain nonprofits don't pay taxes. That took $1.75 billion off the tax rolls — down from $1.78 billion last year. People can check their assessments — and their neighbor's — on the PVA's website — The site also has a tax calculator that lets people see roughly what their property taxes will be this year — if the rates don't change.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats propose tax hikes on cigarettes, vaping and gambling to balance $55B budget
SPRINGFIELD — With a little more than 24 hours remaining before their Saturday deadline, Democratic state lawmakers unveiled a $55 billion spending plan balanced with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases. Heeding Gov. JB Pritzker's warning that he would veto a plan that relied on increases to the state's sales or income taxes, legislators produced a package that employed one-time tactics, such as an amnesty for delinquent tax filers, coupled with increased taxes on cigarettes, vaping and gambling, according to Sen. Elgie Sims, a Chicago Democrat and top budget negotiator. 'What we're trying to do is make sure that this budget is balanced, and it is balanced, it is responsible, and it's a statement of our priorities,' Sims said. Sims didn't go into specifics about the sin tax increases included in the plan. While the Democrats' spending plan was unveiled Friday evening, hours later separate legislation including the revenue proposals had yet to be introduced. The proposed spending package stuck closely to the broad outlines Pritzker presented to lawmakers in February. However, with revenue projections for the budget year that begins July 1 dimming in the months since the governor made his proposal, legislators also were considering some new ideas to bring in more money, including changes that would allow Illinois to tax offshore and out-of-state corporate profits. Aside from wrangling over the state's main operating budget, lawmakers continued to work on a plan to overhaul governance and increase funding for Chicago-area mass transit. It also remained to be seen whether there would be a late push for legislation to aid the Chicago Bears with the team's proposed move to a new stadium in the northwest suburbs. The legislative budget proposal, negotiated among the Democratic House and Senate leaders and the governor's office, deviates from Pritzker's original plan in certain areas, including funding for elementary and secondary education. Pritzker proposed a $350 million increase as required under a 2017 school funding overhaul. But the measure introduced late Friday would boost funding by only $300 million over the current year, pausing a $50 million-per-year grant program designed to help school districts with high property tax rates and low real estate values. 'But it also includes the ability for us to have a study that talks about the efficacy of that program, making sure it is having the desired impact and reducing property taxes for hardworking homeowners across the state,' Sims said. The proposal surfaced several hours after Pritzker met in his statehouse office with the legislature's top Democratic leaders, House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch of Hillside and Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park. The trio emerged from the meeting expressing confidence they'd reach a deal before the calendar turns to June but offering no details. Welch, whose House Democrats last year had to suspend chamber rules to round up the votes needed to pass a tax-hike package, said he didn't anticipate similar issues this time. 'We're getting close to a budget that I believe our caucus can support,' Welch said after the meeting. It remains possible, however, that certain factions of the Democratic Party could dig in their heels over aspects of the proposed deal. For example, the plan would make good on Pritzker's recommendation to zero out funding for a state program that provides Medicaid-style health insurance for noncitizens ages 42 to 64. When Pritzker proposed the cut in February, his office estimated it would save the state about $330 million from its general fund. The move, which would eliminate coverage for more than 30,000 residents, is unpopular among Latino lawmakers and progressives, but it was unclear whether they would withhold votes on the broader budget over the issue. At the same time, some lawmakers are pushing to boost funding for hospitals that serve low-income patients and communities. Sen. Lakesia Collins, a Democrat whose district includes a swath of Chicago's West Side, said Mount Sinai Hospital in her district is facing financial troubles but she's hopeful the hospital and others like it, collectively, will be able to get more than $160 million from the state budget to operate. Collins also noted the uncertainty over how much federal health care funding Illinois will receive under President Donald Trump's administration. 'Right now, as a state, we're trying to figure out how do we maneuver around all of the challenges that we're facing from the federal government while making sure that they're sustainable here in Illinois,' Collins said. It wasn't immediately clear how much funding went to Mount Sinai and other safety-net hospitals, which typically treat the uninsured or Medicaid patients, often in low-income communities, but Sims suggested Friday evening the funding would be substantial. 'There are significant increases, investments in our hospital systems. Our safety-net hospitals are on the front lines,' said Sims. 'They are caring for our most vulnerable. And we are making sure that we made investments in those safety-net hospitals because they carry a large volume of Medicaid clients. So, we want to make sure they have the resources necessary to be successful.' With the clock running out on the legislature's scheduled spring session, there also was a sense of urgency to address a looming $771 million fiscal cliff for the Chicago area's mass transit system and to overhaul the system's disjointed board structure. Lawmakers, advocates and transit officials were working through competing House and Senate proposals Friday, with negotiations possibly moving away from a proposed increase on Chicago-area toll roads toward a new fee on deliveries. That came after labor groups and suburban officials criticized the proposed additional fee for tollway drivers. Kirk Dillard, chair of the Regional Transportation Authority that oversees train and bus service across the city and suburbs, on Friday criticized the initial Senate plan to close the budget gap, saying in a statement that it would lead to 'significant service cuts' next year. Dillard suggested that less than half of the new revenue in Senate proposal would actually go toward funding transit operations, with the majority of the money going toward nonoperational and capital causes. 'While the bill also requires the regional entity to take on additional costs for new initiatives like a police force without dedicated funding, which could further limit available funding, our focus today is closing the budget gap to avoid service cuts in 2026,' Dillard said Friday. Sen. Ram Villivalam, a Chicago Democrat, said Friday the Senate is committed to addressing transit funding and that lawmakers were working to address the pushback from critics. 'Our focus in the Senate is funding and reform. We always said, 'No funding without reform,'' Villivalam said. Late Friday, Republicans in the legislature's superminority were trying to make sense of the 3,000-plus-page budget proposal. While Rep. Norine Hammond, a Republican from Macomb, said she was 'getting some little bits of information' on the overall plan, she was aware it contained 5% pay increases — to a base salary of $98,304 — for lawmakers. She said that if Democratic leaders are truly trying to be fiscally responsible, those raises shouldn't be in the budget. The plan includes similar increases for the governor, other statewide elected officials and the heads of state agencies. Pritzker, a billionaire Hyatt Hotels heir, does not take a state salary. Hammond said she's anxious to see what cuts were made by Democrats to close the budget hole. 'I would like to see the cuts that they have made. We have a billion-dollar, at least a billion-dollar deficit that we're looking at. What cuts have you made?' Hammond said. Tribune reporter Talia Soglin contributed.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The 20 counties where taxpayers netted the highest capital gains
The more value that investors can receive in the form of long-term capital gains rather than ordinary income, the less they will pay back to Uncle Sam. Those in the 20 counties below ranked by the average net capital gains reported on their federal returns to the IRS are getting above-average appreciation on their assets with much lower tax rates, generally, than their incoming income, according to a study last month by advisor lead generation and client matchmaking service SmartAsset. The mix of areas known for a large concentration of wealthy residents and regions that don't immediately come to mind as a home to lots of rich people offered only more evidence of the investment industry's national scope. For financial advisors and their clients, the list provided geographic insights into the potential wealth management client base in the areas, and a reminder of important state-level variations in taxes that could affect portfolios and after-tax yields. "Net capital gains represent the profits a taxpayer recognizes from selling a capital asset after offsetting capital losses. These gains are often created by highly appreciated assets," Kathy Buchs, a senior tax advisor, team leader and managing director with Cleveland, Ohio-based registered investment advisory firm MAI Capital Management, said in an email. "We take geography into account when advising clients to sell an asset or consider tax loss harvesting due to state income tax ramifications," Buchs continued. "For example, California is a high-tax state that does not have preferential rates for capital gains. Therefore, it tends to be much more expensive to recognize gains in that state as compared to others." That difference in tax rules at the state level raises the possibility of strategies such as an incomplete gift non-grantor trust that, in some areas, could "eliminate the state taxation of the trust-owned portfolio," said Richard Austin, an executive director for estate and business planning with San Diego and Waltham, Massachusetts-based RIA firm Integrated Partners. In some cases, investors can even offset their capital gains for federal tax purposes based on losses in other holdings, he noted in an email. "Tax efficiency significantly impacts the performance of a client's portfolio by maximizing the after-tax return on investments," Austin said. "Investing across different countries and regions can reduce portfolio volatility. Markets in different parts of the world often have low correlation, meaning they don't always move in the same direction at the same time. If one market experiences a downturn, others might perform well, potentially stabilizing overall returns and the potential for future capital gains. State-specific tax rates impact tax efficiency of a portfolio. The difference in state income taxes creates a significant layer of complexity in achieving tax efficiency for a client's portfolio." Even though any type of data presents the possibility of noise factors affecting any particular region, the study "highlights that taking geography into account is essential when advising clients on their asset allocations," said Michelle Ash, a senior wealth advisor with the Jacksonville, Florida-based office of RIA firm Mercer Advisors. "Net capital gains is measured when a person is selling assets, and so it requires past investment success to be in that position," Ash said in an email. "It's no surprise to me that Florida would be the top state by this metric. Florida has no state income, inheritance or estate taxes, and so it's a beneficial place to live when you're selling assets. These Florida traits also attract a lot of retiring individuals who may be selling assets like homes and businesses when they retire or move." In focusing on capital gains, SmartAsset sought to home in on the areas where investors netted the most gains with preferential rates compared to ordinary income, according to the report's author, SmartAsset Director of Economic Analysis Jaclyn DeJohn. "Net capital gains, the profits from selling assets like stocks, real estate or businesses, are a key measure of investment success and regional wealth," DeJohn wrote. "Overall, high net capital gains can signal robust markets and affluent populations, with realized gains potentially boosting local economies through tax revenues and spending." Besides the listing below, here are some of the other interesting takeaways from the study: Three Georgia counties, Chattahoochee, Quitman and Taliaferro, displayed the smallest average net capital gains, at $2,400 or less. Fewer than 10% of returns in the counties had net capital gains. At the state level, West Virginia tax returns had the lowest average net capital gains at $14,612, followed by Wisconsin with $19,590 and Iowa with $20,220. On the other end of the spectrum among the states, federal returns out of Florida ($84,911), Wyoming ($84,246), Nevada ($77,491), the District of Columbia ($58,733) and Texas ($52,926) reported the highest average net capital gains. Scroll down the slideshow for the ranking of the top 20 counties in the U.S. in terms of average net capital gains. To see a list of the top 10 cities with the highest income among retirees, click here. For the group of the top 20 metropolitan areas where financial advisors' median pay increased the most last year, follow this link. Note: The below rankings are based on a report by SmartAsset called, "Where Americans Earn the Most From Investments." The study crunched the latest tax return data for the 2022 tax year released by the IRS across 3,022 U.S. counties and for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data include average net capital gains and investment-yield figures like taxable and tax-exempt interest and ordinary and qualified dividends. # of returns: 15,180# of returns reporting net capital gains: 6,010 (40%)Mean taxable interest: $40,033Mean tax-exempt interest: $39,659Mean qualified dividends: $167,921Mean ordinary dividends: $196,121Average net capital gains: $515,267 # of returns: 2,390# of returns reporting net capital gains: 150 (6%)Mean taxable interest: $977Mean tax-exempt interest: $1,600Mean qualified dividends: $4,055Mean ordinary dividends: $6,336Average net capital gains: $317,793 # of returns: 10,480# of returns reporting net capital gains: 4,170 (40%)Mean taxable interest: $30,111Mean tax-exempt interest: $28,688Mean qualified dividends: $53,044Mean ordinary dividends: $67,047Average net capital gains: $312,592 # of returns: 1,480# of returns reporting net capital gains: 300 (20%)Mean taxable interest: $6,082Mean tax-exempt interest: $13,317Mean qualified dividends: $11,627Mean ordinary dividends: $16,190Average net capital gains: $233,680 # of returns: 24,870# of returns reporting net capital gains: 9,370 (38%)Mean taxable interest: $9,425Mean tax-exempt interest: $22,022Mean qualified dividends: $36,713Mean ordinary dividends: $47,348Average net capital gains: $219,262 # of returns: 45,760# of returns reporting net capital gains: 12,220 (27%)Mean taxable interest: $13,432Mean tax-exempt interest: $29,645Mean qualified dividends: $66,673Mean ordinary dividends: $75,201Average net capital gains: $191,886 # of returns: 784,220# of returns reporting net capital gains: 216,920 (28%)Mean taxable interest: $16,155Mean tax-exempt interest: $29,882Mean qualified dividends: $42,043Mean ordinary dividends: $50,783Average net capital gains: $186,281 # of returns: 1,436,490# of returns reporting net capital gains: 202,220 (14%)Mean taxable interest: $13,127Mean tax-exempt interest: $23,350Mean qualified dividends: $29,924Mean ordinary dividends: $38,036Average net capital gains: $184,899 # of returns: 213,630# of returns reporting net capital gains: 73,450 (34%)Mean taxable interest: $12,151Mean tax-exempt interest: $29,690Mean qualified dividends: $47,507Mean ordinary dividends: $57,951Average net capital gains: $184,017 # of returns: 4,500# of returns reporting net capital gains: 1,560 (35%)Mean taxable interest: $9,440Mean tax-exempt interest: $17,268Mean qualified dividends: $25,636Mean ordinary dividends: $37,121Average net capital gains: $183,261 # of returns: 13,540# of returns reporting net capital gains: 4,910 (36%)Mean taxable interest: $10,555Mean tax-exempt interest: $19,372Mean qualified dividends: $38,999Mean ordinary dividends: $48,990Average net capital gains: $176,812 # of returns: 10,580# of returns reporting net capital gains: 1,720 (16%)Mean taxable interest: $1,262Mean tax-exempt interest: $4,845Mean qualified dividends: $3,916Mean ordinary dividends: $5,540Average net capital gains: $150,127 # of returns: 846,440# of returns reporting net capital gains: 302,610 (36%)Mean taxable interest: $19,397Mean tax-exempt interest: $18,965Mean qualified dividends: $32,211Mean ordinary dividends: $42,540Average net capital gains: $149,273 # of returns: 40,310# of returns reporting net capital gains: 10,470 (26%)Mean taxable interest: $8,426Mean tax-exempt interest: $17,430Mean qualified dividends: $21,624Mean ordinary dividends: $27,814Average net capital gains: $140,537 # of returns: 84,420# of returns reporting net capital gains: 28,290 (34%)Mean taxable interest: $10,613Mean tax-exempt interest: $19,398Mean qualified dividends: $32,712Mean ordinary dividends: $39,381Average net capital gains: $130,146 # of returns: 85,800# of returns reporting net capital gains: 25,510 (30%)Mean taxable interest: $9,009Mean tax-exempt interest: $23,468Mean qualified dividends: $35,483Mean ordinary dividends: $42,487Average net capital gains: $126,594 # of returns: 16,800# of returns reporting net capital gains: 4,520 (27%)Mean taxable interest: $5,083Mean tax-exempt interest: $10,513Mean qualified dividends: $13,262Mean ordinary dividends: $17,528Average net capital gains: $113,429 # of returns: 4,920# of returns reporting net capital gains: 1,480 (30%)Mean taxable interest: $1,936Mean tax-exempt interest: $10,200Mean qualified dividends: $17,662Mean ordinary dividends: $18,627Average net capital gains: $111,880 # of returns: 1,213,090# of returns reporting net capital gains: 188,570 (16%)Mean taxable interest: $7,393Mean tax-exempt interest: $14,890Mean qualified dividends: $20,200Mean ordinary dividends: $24,441Average net capital gains: $110,534 # of returns: 636,070# of returns reporting net capital gains: 172,730 (27%)Mean taxable interest: $5,131Mean tax-exempt interest: $9,958Mean qualified dividends: $12,869Mean ordinary dividends: $16,792Average net capital gains: $109,439
Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Rachel Reeves on course for £24bn tax raid, warns JP Morgan
Rachel Reeves is on course to raise taxes by £24bn this autumn as she launches a fresh raid on working people to fund higher welfare spending. JP Morgan said the Chancellor was quickly becoming boxed in by pledges from Sir Keir Starmer, including proposals to reverse cuts to winter fuel payments for pensioners as well as the suggestion that he will remove a cap on benefits for families with more than two children. The moves have widely been seen as a bid to ward off the threat from Nigel Farage's Reform UK, which made significant gains in the recent local elections. However, Allan Monks at JP Morgan said the strategy would force Ms Reeves to increase taxes again, just a year after her record £40bn raid. Sir Keir's pledge to look again at eligibility for winter fuel payments and the benefit cap could cost up to £5bn a year by the end of the decade, JP Morgan said. Mr Monks said the Ms Reeves was also under pressure as a result of Donald Trump's trade war, which has taken a toll on the economy. An expected £2.4bn boost to growth from trade deals with the EU, US and India will fail to offset a £7.3bn hit from higher tariffs. JP Morgan believes the US president will be able to keep his 'liberation day' tariffs in place, despite a US court ruling they were illegal. He was granted a legal stay by an appeals court on Thursday. The investment bank said: 'There is continued uncertainty about the tariff regime in light of this week's US court ruling, but for now we assume the universal 10pc baseline will stay.' Weaker growth is set to blow a further £9bn hole in the public finances, leaving Ms Reeves on course to have to raise taxes by a total of £24.5bn to restore a £9.9bn buffer she currently has to balance the books, Mr Monks said. The economist predict that Ms Reeves would extend a freeze on income tax thresholds until the end of the decade in a move that could raise just shy of £10bn. Thresholds have already been frozen until 2028, a policy that will drag 4m people into paying higher rates of income tax between now and then. It means the number of workers paying tax on their incomes is on course to climb above 40m for the first time, with 9.2m paying the higher or top rate. Frozen thresholds are not likely to be sufficient and JP Morgan believes the Government may be forced to impose a gambling tax and a further squeeze on welfare to balance the books. Ms Reeves's options are limited by Labour's manifesto pledge not to raise taxes on working people, including income tax, National Insurance and VAT. However, the Government has already found loopholes in its pledge after raising National Insurance on employers by £25bn last October. Further pressure to spend more may yet build between now and the Budget. Ms Reeves is already facing a rebellion over £5bn of welfare cuts as she tries to stop the sickness and disability benefits bill from rising above £100bn by the end of the decade. Sanjay Raja at Deutsche Bank also warned that higher taxes in the autumn were now 'a near certainty'. He said Ms Reeves would face further pressure ahead of the spending review on June 11 where she will set out detailed plans for Whitehall expenditure over the next three years. 'Undeniably, the Spending Review will likely leave the Chancellor with a tricky autumn Budget to navigate,' said Mr Raja. 'Tax rises look a near certainty. And pressure to reform the Chancellor's [ borrowing rules ] will only increase from here on out.'
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Activist Investor Meidar Leads More Finance Veterans Quitting UK
One of Britain's most prominent activist investors has relocated to the US, becoming the latest finance professional to leave the country at a time when many of its richest residents are facing higher taxes. Liad Meidar, the managing partner of Gatemore Capital Management, has moved with his family to Colorado after 15 years living in the UK, according to people familiar with the matter.
