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The GOP tax plan and the federal debt … why does it matter?

Dec 4, 2017
The tax cuts the Senate approved in the wee hours of Saturday morning are expected to add at least $1 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. That’s according to the Senate’s own Joint Committee on Taxation. And that’s after taking into account a boost to economic growth generated by tax cuts. So […]

What a small business owner makes of the tax overhaul.

Dec 4, 2017
Is the proposed tax overhaul really a boon for small business? We checked in with Austin Golding, co-owner of Golding Barge Line in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to find out his perspective. “It seems like every time there’s a discussion about it, there’s a different provision or different nuance to it, but we’ve definitely been trying to […]

The AMT is a flashpoint between the two tax bills

Dec 4, 2017
So now we have two GOP tax plans that must now become one. Among the variations between the House and Senate bills is the individual alternative minimum tax. That’s the idea that there should be some minimum tax rate so the wealthy can’t deduct or exempt their way out of taxes entirely. Doing away with […]

How many tax brackets do we need?

Dec 4, 2017
The GOP has promised its tax plan would ultimately create a simpler tax system for individuals. Key to that is a reduction in the number of tax brackets from the current seven. The House bill does that, taking them to four and lowering the rates. The Senate, though, sticks with seven, albeit at slightly lower […]

Lawmakers vote through sweeping tax changes, but much work lies ahead

Dec 4, 2017
Now that the House and Senate have each passed their own version of a sweeping tax bill, everyone is going to have to work out what the proposed changes means for the rest of us. And the lawmakers have still to iron out some key differences. Click the audio player above to hear the full […]

The GOP's tax reform bill could pass the Senate tonight

Dec 1, 2017
What could final legislation look like?
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, walks from the Senate chamber to his office today at the Capitol.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Is this the right time for a tax cut?

Dec 1, 2017
The GOP tax cuts may add about 0.8 percent to GDP growth during the next 10 years, according to several budget models. But that’s economic growth for an economy that’s already heating up. And you know who you call when the economy gets too hot? The Federal Reserve. It’s the Fed’s job to come in […]

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How will corporations spend their tax cuts?

Dec 1, 2017
History points to companies spending tax cuts on paying dividends to shareholders.
 Legislation and regulation books related to the GOP's planned tax overhaul are stacked and ready in the House Ways and Means Committee hearing room in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

What Congress could learn from Kansas

Nov 30, 2017
Making the rounds on Capitol Hill yesterday was Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback. He was talking up his tax cuts in Kansas from 2012 as a model for the GOP to follow in its national tax plan. Thing is, the five years since those Kansas tax cuts were put in place have not been kind to […]

Congressional tax proposals wouldn't do much to help low-income families with children, study says

Nov 30, 2017
Low-income families with young children wouldn’t see a lot of benefit from the House or Senate tax overhauls, according to a new study from the left-leaning Tax Policy Center. It found the tax cut proposals tilt heavily toward middle- and upper-income families. That’s even if the final version of the tax overhaul increases the child […]