Taxpayers’ heightened IRS penalty risk may continue through 2020

The Internal Revenue Service will not release an updated W-4 form to go along with the new tax law until 2020, the Treasury Department announced on Thursday, which means taxpayers may continue to be at a heightened risk of owing a year-end tax penalty. "Launching the redesigned form in 2020 will allow the Treasury and the IRS to properly implement changes to the withholding system and ensure taxpayers have a positive and simplified experience," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

How will Louisiana use its surprise budget surplus?

It will be a few weeks before the size of Louisiana's budget surplus from the fiscal year that ended June 30 gets verified, but state leaders are already contemplating how the money might be used. "We are hopeful that the surplus will be around $300 million," said Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne , who builds the state budget for Gov. John Bel Edwards .

White House tax-cut claim stirs conservative economists’ doubts

Several conservative economists, including one of President Donald Trump's campaign advisers, disputed the White House's claim that a corporate tax cut Trump signed into law last year has already paid for itself. Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, highlighted economic stimulus from the tax cuts as part of a presentation to reporters on Monday intended to strengthen Trump's claim that U.S. economic growth is due to his policies.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

The back-and-forth of the general election campaign season seems to have started Monday for Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican challenger Geoff Diehl. Warren, seeking election to a second term on Nov. 6, appeared on WGBH's "Boston Public Radio" where co-host Jim Braude picked up a question tweeted at the show by Diehl's campaign regarding specifics on how much Warren wants to see tax rates increase.

Tax Foundation report: Simpler tax code means billions of dollars saved in time

The GOP's tax cuts could save Americans billions of dollars by reducing the number of hours they spend calculating and filing their returns, according to a report released Tuesday. Millions of people will see less paperwork, amounting to as much as $5.4 billion in time-cost savings nationwide, the Tax Foundation estimated.

It’s a horrible idea to reduce the capital gains tax without a vote in Congress

There's a segment in the legendary 1990s tv show Animaniacs called "Good Idea, Bad Idea" where the character Mr. Skullhead demonstrates ideas both good and bad. The presentations are quite logical - why would someone even attempt to drink milk straight from the cow? - and narrated by the illustrious Tom Bodett of Motel 6 fame.

Prosecutors have so far offered little evidence that Manafort controlled offshore accounts

Jurors in the Paul Manafort fraud trial may have come away from the first week of testimony with a vivid impression of him as a man who spent vast sums on luxurious houses, landscaping, and clothes, and who gave lenders phony documents as he grew desperate for cash. But prosecutors for special counsel Robert Mueller, who charged Manafort with bank and tax fraud, hadn't provided much direct evidence through Friday to back their claims that he controlled the foreign shell companies that paid for those purchases.
Posted in Tax

Report Suggests More Taxpayers Will Owe Tax In 2019 Due To Insufficient Withholding

Why the confusion? In addition to the new tax rates , the TJCA made significant changes to itemized deductions normally claimed on a Schedule A. Those changes include limits on the deductions for state and local taxes, a cap on the amount that you can borrow for purposes of the home mortgage interest, and exclusions for job-related expenses. As a result, the Internal Revenue Service has encouraged taxpayers who itemize to do a checkup on their taxes .

OpinionRepublicans are trying to rig the game for the wealthy. Don’t let them | Opinion

By favoring the wealthy and corporations over working families, Washington's recent tax and budget decisions follow Harrisburg's bad example. The newly enacted Trump-GOP tax law, for instance, gives most of the benefits to the rich while driving up federal debt, threatening funding for vital public services like Medicare and Medicaid.

Top StoryAuditors: 30M taxpayers will owe more due to low withholding

Congressional auditors say about 30 million people - 21 percent of U.S. taxpayers - will have to come up with more money to pay their 2018 taxes next year because their employers withheld too little from their paychecks under government tables keyed to the new tax law. New tax withholding tables for employers were put together by the government early this year.

Auditors: 30M taxpayers will owe more due to low withholding

Congressional auditors say about 30 million people - 21 percent of U.S. taxpayers - will have to come up with more money to pay their taxes next year because their employers withheld too little from their paychecks under government tables keyed to the new tax law. New tax withholding tables for employers were put together by the government early this year.

Trump administration considers new $100 billion tax cut on capital gains

WASHINGTON The Trump administration is considering a change to tax deduction rules that analysts say would amount to a $100 billion capital gains tax cut for the wealthy. Aides said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has not decided whether to pursue a change that would allow Americans to take inflation into account when determining capital gains taxes and whether the administration could do it unilaterally, bypassing Congress.
Posted in Tax

30 million taxpayers will owe more due to low withholding

Congressional auditors say about 30 million people 21 percent of U.S. taxpayers will have to come up with more money to pay their taxes next year because their employers withheld too little from their paychecks under government tables keyed to the new tax law. New tax withholding tables for employers were put together by the government early this year.