Free Republic

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday criticized a proposal to increase the amount of information the IRS receives about bank accounts, saying he thinks it is unlikely to be included in Democrats' social spending package. "I think that one's going to be gone," Manchin said at an event hosted by The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. Democrats are considering the IRS bank-reporting proposal as a way to raise revenue to finance their social spending measure. It would require banks to report to the IRS the total amount of money that came in and out of an account during a year....

New York prosecutors on Thursday unveiled the first charges in their grand jury investigation into the Trump Organization, charging the former president’s company and its chief financial officer (CFO), Allen Weisselberg, with tax-related crimes. Prosecutors allege a 15-year scheme in which the Trump Organization compensated Weisselberg in a manner that allowed the company and the executive to evade taxes. The defendants deny any wrongdoing and argue that the charges are politically motivated. The allegations stem from a years-long investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office that has involved prosecutors obtaining former President Trump’s tax returns. Thursday’s indictment doesn’t charge the...

The IRS is back in Republicans’ crosshairs following a ProPublica report based on the confidential tax records of the wealthiest Americans. Republicans have long disliked the tax-collection agency, and have been critical of President Biden’s proposal to give the IRS significantly more resources. Now, GOP lawmakers are amplifying their attacks on the IRS in light of an unauthorized disclosure of tax data to ProPublica, arguing that it undermines taxpayers’ ability to have confidence in the agency. “This is an astonishing breach of trust that should make taxpayers very concerned,” Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas), the top Republican on the House Ways...

For years, Democrats have tried to force President Trump to disclose his tax returns, and Trump has resisted. The California Legislature, aiming at the president, passed a law this year to try to force Trump’s hand. On a party-line vote, lawmakers approved a bill to require presidential candidates to disclose five years of tax returns in order to appear on the state’s primary ballot, the first such law in the nation. It did not survive even six months. California’s highest court decided Thursday that the Legislature went too far. Though legislators and analysts considered early on whether the requirement might...

California’s highest state court on Thursday struck down a law that would have required President Trump to hand over his tax returns as a condition to appearing on the state’s ballot for the Republican primaries. The California Supreme Court held that the "Presidential Tax Transparency and Accountability Act," signed into law in July, violated the state’s constitution as it related to the president's tax returns.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Thursday rolled out a proposal for a “millionaires surtax,” amid a growing interest from Democrats in increasing taxes on the wealthy. “This is a bill designed to address two major problems of public policy: the lack of revenue, and inequality,” Beyer said on a call with reporters. “It’s a laser-focused solution that requires those who benefited the most from the economy to contribute in a way they simply haven’t been asked to before.” The lawmakers’ bill, which is being co-sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), would create a 10-percentage...

Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro on Thursday released an economic plan that includes higher taxes on the wealthy and tax relief for low- and middle-class people. The rollout of Castro's economic plan comes as the former Housing and Urban Development secretary is trying to qualify for September’s third round of Democratic presidential debates in Houston. Castro needs to reach 2 percent in one more poll in order to qualify. Castro said on a call with reporters from the early voting state of Iowa that he’s confident he’ll make the debate stage next month, saying he’s been spending time in early...

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said Monday that he's planning to introduce legislation in the coming weeks to expand the electric vehicle tax credit and link it to domestic manufacturing, calling the bill a way to help both the environment and the economy. "That's a pretty concrete application of how the Green New Deal can create jobs in the United States," Khanna, the first vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters. Under current law, people who purchase new electric vehicles can receive a tax credit of up to $7,500. The amount of the credit phases out after a manufacturer...