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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) defended her dismissal of the $1,000s in bonuses and tax cuts flowing to the middle class from the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as “crumbs.” Using herself as an example, Pelosi observed that “the pittances being received by members of the working classes are dwarfed by the hit I’m taking. By limiting the deductability of mortgage interest to only $10,000 on only an owner-occupied home, those of us who own multiple houses worth millions of dollars are losing far more than these commoners are gaining. My tax accountant tells me I’ll have...

Allow me to confess that I’ve been right out there with the best of them (or is it the worst?) when it comes to high-fiving and back-slapping over the positive results of the tax cuts enacted before Christmas. Businesses are hiring, handing out bonuses and onshoring capital. Workers are seeing more money in their paychecks and will see significant benefits when they file their taxes next year. Yes, there is plenty to celebrate, but there’s also a second, far less pleasant reality to contemplate.As the WaPo reports this weekend, the federal government is now on track to borrow a massive...

If you were worried that the wealthiest California taxpayers were paying too much in Federal taxes, the Democratic dominated California State Senate apparently has been equally concerned and has proposed a "tax" law change that would allow California taxpayers to deduct 85% of their California state taxes as "contributions" in their federal income tax returns. In short form, the proposal is for California taxpayers to pay an amount equal to their California taxes to a non-profit "charity" that will in turn donate the money to the state. Of course, the California Senate has found a couple of tax professors to...

By now you probably know that the 2017 Tax Act significantly limited the deduction of state and local taxes against your federal income. For most Americans -- particularly ones in low-tax states or states with no income taxes -- these new rules will have little effect on your life. For high-income individuals in high-tax states, they will suffer dearly from this policy. There has been speculation of how many will relocate. How bad will the impact be to the states they are leaving? That is another question. We do not know how many people will leave states like New York,...

Ahmed Mohamed’s shop in the farthest reaches of West Seattle is so small you can easily miss it. But he’s nevertheless Ground Zero for Seattle’s latest economic experiment. “Here is the precious fluid,” Mohamed laughs, showing me around the store. He holds up a two-liter plastic bottle of Coke. He once sold it for $2.79. Now it is $4 — a 43 percent increase, due to the city’s new tax on sugary beverages that went into effect Jan. 1. “The customer — they look at the price and then they don’t even talk to you,” Mohamed said. “They just walk...

Has anybody here used an online tax service to file their taxes?

A Republican congressman says the U.S. government should significantly raise the gas tax in order to fund President Donald Trump's ambitious infrastructure plan. Rep. Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania told Bloomberg TV that the tax should be increased by 15 cents per gallon of gasoline. The current rate is 18.4 cents, and hasn't seen a hike since 1993. Shuster said Thursday at a Republican congressional retreat in West Virginia that for the average American, a 15-cent increase would equal the cost of 'a cup of coffee a week that they might have to forgo.' 'Or if you're a Starbucks person, half...

"This $12 billion investment program is an outgrowth of the opportunity for tax savings created by the Tax and Jobs Act," said David Abney, UPS Chairman and Chief Executive Officerbs Act.. "We will increase network investments and accelerate pension funding to strengthen the company for the long term, so that we maximize the benefit to our global customers, employees and shareowners." UPS also recently made a $5 billion tax-qualified contribution to the company's three UPS-sponsored U.S. pension plans. This represents about $13,000 per participant. The voluntary contribution raised the funding level to above 90-percent, securing retirement benefits on behalf of...

There really should be a job posting coming up soon for a new DNC strategist because somebody has gone off their meds. The phrase “repeal and replace” is coming back into vogue, but this time we’ll be hearing it from the Democrats. At first glance I had to double check to make sure this wasn’t an article from The Onion. But it’s really published at The Hill and deals with the Democrats’ overarching strategy heading into the midterms and perhaps even the 2020 elections. They’re counting on Americans being so unhappy with their “crumbs” from the tax cuts that they...

“What is good for the United States is good for the rest of the world,” has been Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s mantra. Americans know how stock prices have exploded in the United States since President Trump’s election, but stock prices started rising at the same time around the world. To the shocks of Trump’s American opponents, he was greeted by the international elites at the gathering in Davos, Switzerland as almost a conquering hero. Meanwhile, George Soros told people at the meetings that he thought that Trump was a “danger” to the world. So many people view economics as a...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) continued minimizing $1,000 bonuses as "crumbs" in a town hall event on Thursday morning. Vice President Mike Pence had attacked her for this rhetoric on Wednesday, but she doubled down. "There’s some tax advantage in the beginning for families, and that’s their enticement," Pelosi said at the "TrumpTax Town Hall" in Cambridge, Mass. "While they give banquets to the high end, to the top one percent to corporate America, I say crumbs — they mock me in ads for saying — compared to the banquet they give at the high end."

Your Paycheck Could Increase Very Soon -- Here’s How Much You Can Expect New IRS federal tax-withholding guidelines should give millions of Americans higher paychecks in 2018. Matthew Frankel Jan 12, 2018 The Treasury Department recently released new withholding tables based on the recently passed tax-reform bill. These tell employers how much to withhold from their employees' paychecks, and 90% of workers should see an increase when the new guidelines are implemented. Here's what this means, when you should expect the change to affect your paycheck, and how much of an increase you should expect. New IRS federal tax-withholding guidelines...

Ahmed Mohamed’s shop in the farthest reaches of West Seattle is so small you can easily miss it. But he’s nevertheless Ground Zero for Seattle’s latest economic experiment. Mohamed runs West Seattle Halal Market, a two-aisle store specializing in meats and poultry butchered according to Islamic rules. A few shelves in the middle of the store, though, are given over to a popular side product that now has his neighborhood, White Center, literally divided.

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While the rest of us were popping champagne to celebrate the arrival of 2018, Seattle greeted the New Year with a 1.75 cent per ounce tax on sweetened beverages. It was needed, former Mayor Ed Murray once said, for a host of noble reasons: to reduce sugar consumption; to raise revenue for important projects like a year of “free” community college for all graduating public high school students; and, to subsidize purchases of healthy foods by low-income families.Before he resigned in disgrace over multiple allegations of personal misconduct, Murray considered the soda tax one of his greatest accomplishments, a “cutting...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has done away with 2% miscellaneous deductions for taxpayers who itemize. This includes employees who drive for their job and are not reimbursed for the use of their personal vehicle or receive far less that the standard mileage rate of 55 cents a mile and recoup their costs through a hefty reduction in taxable income when they itemize their deductions. Think drivers who deliver pizza, for example. If they don't live in a state (e.g. California) that requires employers to reimburse their employees for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, they end...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Monday defended her previous comments that workers' $1,000 bonuses and wage increases are "crumbs."Earlier this month, Pelosi slammed the recently passed Republican tax reform legislation, calling the wage increases and bonuses that were attributed to the legislation "crumbs" and "so pathetic." She would go on to repeat this comment last week at a Florida Atlantic University town hall."There's a cartoon that I just love," Pelosi said, adding on to comments from another panel member. "There's a little mousetrap who's got a little piece of cheese on there, and there's a mouse about to...

I've really been curious as to how the new tax law would effect my take home pay. I really believe that this mid-term election is going to focus on the law. I'm starting this thread to see what kind of effect the new tax law is having on people's actually take home pay. My last paycheck was net 2940, and my post tax bill check is 3093, that is an increase of $153, or 5%! If everyone is getting these kinds of 'crumbs', I think the Democrats may be in a world of hurt come November. So, for anyone OK...

Energy giant Exxon Mobil announced plans Monday to spend $50 billion to expand its domestic business operations, citing the recently passed tax cut legislation."At ExxonMobil, we plan to invest more than $50 billion over the next five years to expand our business in the United States. These investments are underpinned by the unique strengths of our company and enhanced by the historic tax reform recently signed into law," Chief Executive Office Darren Woods said in a posting Monday on the company's website. "For instance, we will be investing billions of dollars to increase oil production in the Permian Basin in...

In light of complaints surrounding tax reform, the IRS has published an updated Form 1040. Please ensure you file using the following: