Free Republic

After the Internal Revenue Service issued several releases warning about potentially lower tax refunds this filing season, some analysts say that it could put strain on some families who may have anticipated an expanded child tax credit. Analysts Sound Off.. Financial expert Lynnette Khalfani-Cox told NPR on Jan. 22 that there are “four main reasons” that cause will cause 2022’s returns to be smaller. “The first is: no more stimulus checks. The second is that what was called the enhanced child credit—that’s gone,” she noted. A third reason is that a pandemic-era tax break for charitable deductions was killed for...

After more than a week of state budget negotiations, Gov. Phil Murphy and Democratic legislative leaders on Monday announced a deal to increase a popular property tax relief program and expand earned income, child and dependent care tax breaks in New Jersey. The agreement also follows through on their promise to send income tax rebates of up to $500 to many low- and middle-income taxpayers who have dependents in exchange for a tax increase on high-income earners.

Marie Davis wants better medical insurance coverage. Jimmie Pleasant has been out of work for six months. Both are among the thousands of people who are looking for jobs with Fiat Chrysler under a city program that gives Detroit’s residents first crack at the application process. It’s part of a $108 million land development deal between an automaker that’s building a massive new plant and a city where the unemployment rate is more than twice the national average. Detroit officials hope the deal with Fiat Chrysler will mean residents have a better shot at good-paying jobs with the automaker, although...

When Ronald Reagan slashed tax rates in America in the 1980s, the obvious direct effect was more prosperity in America.But the under-appreciated indirect effect of Reaganomics was that it helped generate more prosperity elsewhere in the world.Not because Americans had higher income and could buy more products from home and abroad (though that is a nice fringe benefit), but rather because the Reagan tax cuts triggered a virtuous cycle of tax competition. Politicians in other countries had to lower their tax rates because of concerns that jobs and investment were migrating to America (Margaret Thatcher also deserves some credit since...

It looks like Congress is taking steps to end some of the special tax breaks and subsidies for major sports leagues in its tax reform package. Professional sports leagues like the NFL enjoy tax exemptions on the municipal bonds that are used to build their stadiums. A provision in Sec. 3604 eliminates this perk. If sports teams want to build new stadiums, they’re now going to pay federal taxes to do it.

U.S. cities are offering Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) at least as much as $7 billion in tax breaks ahead of a Thursday deadline as they compete to house its second headquarters. The world’s largest online retailer has won promises from elected officials who are eager for the $5 billion-plus investment and up to 50,000 jobs that will come with “Amazon HQ2.” New Jersey proposed $7 billion in potential credits against state and city taxes if Amazon locates in Newark and sticks to hiring commitments, according to a Monday news release from the governor’s office. Across the Hudson River, New York City...

While we glorify football players for their accomplishments on the field, they are not heroes. I recently visited with a real hero – a young Army sergeant from my congressional district who still gets body tremors when he stands. Bombs bursting in the air exploded over his unit in Afghanistan, leaving shards of metal stuck in his skull. When I entered his room at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he proudly stood at full attention, brimming with nervous energy. I had come to thank him on behalf of a grateful nation, and the sergeant was as respectful as he...

Eventually, the NFL-protest debate was going to get to crony capitalism, right? Right. The only question is which tax incentives would come under fire, and which actually matter. Donald Trump decided to take aim at the league’s “massive tax breaks” this morning, and demand a change in law to eliminate them: Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017 “Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country?...

Indiana agreed to give United Technologies $7 million in financial incentives over a decade to persuade the industrial giant to keep roughly 1,000 Carrier jobs in the state, Carrier said Thursday. Carrier, United Technologies' heating and air conditioning unit, had planned to close a furnace plant in the state and move it to Mexico. Carrier will invest about $16 million in Indiana to keep operations there, a source told NBC News. In a statement Thursday, Carrier said the financial incentives are "contingent upon factors including employment, job retention and capital investment." The company said Wednesday that state "incentives" were "an...

The New York Times Building is a skyscraper on the west side of Midtown Manhattan, New York City that was completed in 2007. Its chief tenant is The New York Times Company, publisher of The New York Times as well as the International New York Times, and other newspapers. Construction was by a joint venture of The New York Times Company, Forest City Ratner (Forest City Enterprises's New York subsidiary), and ING Real Estate. --- snip --- The site for the building was obtained by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) through eminent domain. With a mandate to acquire and...

Government officials make phony-baloney claims that their public-private “investments” will pay for themselves. But study after study, on both the progressive left and the free-market right, shows that the economy-stimulating effect of public subsidies for private corporate preferences (movies, sports stadiums, malls, hotels, you name it) is negligible. Loan guarantees. Refundable tax credits and rebates. Tax-increment financing. Tax-exempt bonds. All these enticements dangled by thirsty bureaucrats before wealthy developers, sports team owners and Hollywood moguls who don’t need them amount to blatant redistributions of wealth. The independent California Legislative Analyst’s Office found that for every dollar California spent on the...

The chief executive of one of the nation's largest coal producers, Murray Energy, made an emotional call Wednesday for steep cuts in state mining taxes to support an industry in free fall. Raising his voice frequently during a 38-minute speech, Robert Murray blasted politicians for "platitudes and lip service" as the coal industry sheds thousands of jobs and producers go bankrupt. He called on state leaders to drop the coal severance tax from 5 to 2 percent, saying coal has paid more than its fair share to West Virginia already. "These government officials can no longer say that they support...

The European Union has ordered Belgium to recover some $760 million in illegal tax breaks from 35 multinationals, its latest ruling against the sweet deals many member states offered to some of the world's biggest companies. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Monday the tax advantage given to a select group of mainly European companies "distorts competition" by putting smaller competitors "on an unequal footing." "National tax authorities cannot give any company, however large, however powerful an unfair competitive advantage compared to others," Vestager said. "This scheme puts smaller competitors at an unfair disadvantage." ...

Big oil is taking no chances with the outcome of Alberta’s royalty review currently underway. In 2007, the industry was surprised when royalties were jacked up despite dozens of corporate presentations to the royalty review panel warning of the fragility of investment economics and the damage increased royalties would cause. Therefore producers and others with significant vested interest have already started the lobbying process. Such is the case with Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) which made a slide presentation to the new NDP Alberta government on August 20. The industry has obviously learned never to assume politicians actually understand what...

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is proposing new incentives to encourage corporations to share profits with workers. Her plan is to give businesses that offer employees a share of profits a two-year tax credit equal to at least 15 percent of their profit-sharing payments. The plan would exclude high-income workers and firms where only a small percentage of employees benefit. …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — As first lady in the final year of the Clinton administration, Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed a White House plan to give tax breaks to private foundations and wealthy charity donors at the same time the William J. Clinton Foundation was soliciting donations for her husband's presidential library, recently released Clinton-era documents show. ... White House documents in the Clinton Library reviewed by The Associated Press show Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton were kept apprised about a tax reduction package that would have benefited donors, including those to his presidential library, by reducing their tax burden....

The House voted Friday to make permanent an expired tax break designed to help small businesses invest in equipment and property, defying a veto threat by the White House. President Barack Obama objects to the bill because it would add $79 billion to the budget deficit over the next decade. The bill is part of a package of more than 50 temporary tax breaks that Congress routinely extends every year or two. The entire package expired at the start of the year. Now, House Republicans are moving to make selected tax breaks permanent. On Thursday, the House passed a $14.3...

Critics say Nevada lawmakers are gambling with taxpayers’ money, but they clearly were in the minority Wednesday night as legislators moved forward with an unprecedented package of up to $1.3 billion in incentives they hope to approve in the days ahead to bring Tesla Motors’ $5 billion battery factory to the state. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval urged legislators in the two Democrat-controlled houses to seize an “extraordinary opportunity” to land the electric car maker’s “gigafactory” and the tens of thousands of jobs he said would help pull Nevada from the worst economic crisis in state history. Legislative leaders, who convened...

Nevada looks to be the winner for Tesla Motors’ (TSLA) new $5 billion battery factory, but the win comes at a cost for state taxpayers. Tesla is seeking up to $3 billion in new tax breaks to help fund about half of its cost for the new battery factory, which Tesla has already disclosed in regulatory filings would be located outside Reno, Nev., about 235 miles from its auto assembly plant in the San Francisco Bay area. “The total capital expenditures associated with the gigafactory through 2020 are expected to be $4-5 billion (sic), of which approximately $2 billion is...

The European Commission is to launch a formal investigation into whether tax breaks used to attract international companies breach the EU’s state aid rules. The probe, which is likely to target Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, is set to be announced at a news conference on Wednesday (11 June) by EU competition chief Joaquin Almunia. Irish broadcaster RTE on Tuesday reported the launch of an investigation into the arrangements of US-based software giant Apple, but EU officials have also been gathering information on tax deals in Luxembourg and the Netherlands since last autumn. EU countries have promised to crack down...