The House Ways and Means Committee’s tax bill will likely have no offsets. Tax Notes reports (paywall) that the panel’s business-oriented tax package that would restore certain tax breaks that were reduced under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would likely not include traditional offsets. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the most costly tax break is the restoration of extended additional depreciation, which would cost $325 billion.
IRS: $1.5 billion in tax refunds are waiting to be claimed. Taxpayers who did not file an income statement in 2019 have until July 17 to file it. The IRS says nearly $1.5 billion in refunds remains unclaimed. Taxpayers typically have three years to file taxes and claim a refund, but the deadline has been extended by a year for 2019 returns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS estimates that about 1.5 million people have yet to file their 2019 tax returns, with an average refund of $893. Of these people, many are low- and moderate-income workers who may also be eligible for the earned income tax credit, worth up to $6,557.
A capital gains tax in Seattle? Councilman Alex Pedersen proposed 2 percent capital gains tax that would replace the $40 million in revenue currently collected through a 15.54 percent tax on water bills. The city’s capital gains tax would be modeled after the state’s 7 percent capital gains tax, which is levied on gains of more than $250,000 from the sale of assets.
A bill to strip the PGA Tour of its tax-exempt status. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) introduced the legislation after the professional golf league announced its merger with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League. Founded in 2021, LIV Golf is backed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, an entity led by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The “Law of No Exemption from Corporate Tax for Professional Sports” tax of a league’s annual corporate revenue in excess of $100 million.
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