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So, will U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' anti-pot jackboots soon be kicking in the doors of our local pot-friendly bars, yoga studios and massage parlors? Second answer: Yes, Massachusetts Cannabis Commission rules - now in their final draft stage - really would allow pot use at recreational venues like movie theaters and massage spas. Talk about "working your joints."
Makers of craft beer, artisanal spirits, hard cider and mead may lift their glasses a bit higher next year as the result of a little noticed provision in the sweeping tax overhaul the U.S. Congress passed this week. Tucked away in Part IX, sections 13801 through 13808, are sharply lowered excise taxes on a liquor cabinet full of alcoholic beverages made by small producers.
President Donald Trump's biggest religious freedom policy promise to evangelicals - repealing the Johnson Amendment - will no longer take place via Republican tax reform. A Democratic senator announced Thursday night that the repeal included in the House version of the tax bill, which would allow churches and other nonprofits to endorse candidates without losing their tax-exempt status, was removed during the reconciliation process with the Senate version, which did not include a repeal.
Sen. Ron Wyden speaks during a meeting about the GOP tax plan on Capitol Hill, Nov. 1, 2017 in Washington, D.C. House and Senate Republicans have yet to release a printed version of their final tax cut plan, which includes permanent tax cuts for businesses and temporary ones for individuals.
President Donald Trump speaks on tax reform in the Grand Foyer of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, in Washington. President Donald Trump speaks on tax reform in the Grand Foyer of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, in Washington.
In this June 21, 2017 file photo, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., listens at a committee hearing at the Capitol in Washington. Franken apologized Thursday after a Los Angeles radio anchor accused him of forcibly kissing her during a 2006 USO tour and of posing for a photo with his hands on her breasts as she slept.
President Donald Trump praised the Senate's passage of the Republicans' massive tax overall, saying people are going to be 'very, very happy' with the law. Now that the Senate passed its bill, the next step is for the House to vote Monday to send its tax legislation to conference committee.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, and other Republican senators gather to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on the GOP effort to overhaul the tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. less Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, and other Republican senators gather to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on the GOP effort to overhaul the ... more WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats on Friday successfully blocked a provision in the Republicans' sweeping tax bill designed to give a special tax break to a conservative college in Michigan.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon will receive an award for hosting the most town halls of any U.S. senator this year. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Wyden will have held 80 town halls this year after he completes two scheduled for this weekend.
President Donald Trump on Monday promised a tax overhaul by Christmas, even as a nonpartisan tax analysis group said the Senate package would leave half of taxpayers facing higher levies by 2027. Speaking before a Cabinet meeting, Trump said, "We're going to give the American people a huge tax cut for Christmas - hopefully that will be a great, big, beautiful Christmas present."
Oregon governor Kate Brown recently wrote to her state's two Democratic senators warning that federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program will run out in December. About two months after federal funding lapsed for the Children's Health Insurance Program, state officials still don't know exactly when they'll run out of money or when Congress will renew funding - leaving families that depend on the program increasingly anxious about their benefits.
From left, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland with United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexico's Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal speaks during the conclusion of the fourth round of negotiations for a new North American Free Trade Agreement in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. From left, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland with United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexico's Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal speaks during the conclusion of the fourth round of negotiations for a new North American Free Trade Agreement in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, center, makes opening remarks as he is flanked by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., left, the ranking member, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, right, as the tax-writing panel begins work on overhauling the nation's tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. The legislation in the House and Senate carries high political stakes for President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, who view passage of tax cuts as critical to the GOP's success at the polls next year.
Call it a tax rewrite, reform, revamp, overhaul or as its Republican authors label it, "The Tax Cut and Jobs Act." But the better label for it is The Great Tax Scam of 2017, or A Pig in a Poke.
A Senate Finance Committee hearing got heated Wednesday as the committee's chair, Sen. Orrin Harch, defended the decision to include in the tax bill a repeal of the Obamacare requirement for Americans to get health insurance. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., left, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, criticizes the Republican tax reform plan while Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, listens to his opening statement as the panel begins work overhauling the nation's tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in October 2017 in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, Nov. 15, Blumenthal announced alongside U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy and four other senators a proposed Consumer Privacy Protection Act that among other aims would penalize companies if they do not notify consumers promptly of breaches in their payment card systems and other databases storing sensitive information.
Congressional Republicans on Tuesday projected confidence about delivering on an overhaul of the nation's tax code with President Donald Trump planning an in-person appeal to lawmakers ahead of a crucial House vote this week. House GOP leaders rallied support with the rank-and-file at a closed-door meeting.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, left, calls for a short recess to consider his manager's amendment, to the objections of Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., right, the ranking member, as the GOP tax bill debate enters a final day, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, left, joined by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking member, and Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., offers his manager's amendment as the GOP tax bill debate enters the final stage, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017.
President and CEO of the American Gaming Association Geoff Freeman, left, leads a panel discussion with gaming leaders, including Everi president Michael D. Rumbolz, at the Special Events Stage at the Global Gaming Expo, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. @EliPagePhoto The American Gaming Association has joined a coalition of business-related organizations emphasizing the need to maintain full interest deductibility for growth investments in tax-reform legislation being debated in Senate and House committees.