Two dozen Republican senators say there is no debt limit increase without spending cuts. The group has signed a letter to president biden warning that they will not vote to increase the nation’s debt limit unless it is related to spending cuts. But that could be good news for those who want a clean cap. It would only take nine Republican senators to raise the debt limit, assuming all Democrats vote to do so and the GOP obstructs a bill. A debt limit increase could pass the Senate without Republican votes if Republicans step aside and let Democrats do it themselves.
The EU strikes back. In response to the Cut Inflation Act tax incentives for green investment in the US, the European Union plans to relax its rules on green technology tax credits, according to a draft plan seen by financial time. You can redirect some of the €800 billion of the EU’s NextGenerationEU COVID-19 recovery fund to tax credits. The subsidies are an effort to put EU member countries on an equal footing with the US But will EU countries be on an equal footing with each other?
Will US R&D Spending Come Back? The National Association of Manufacturers is making his pitch that Congress “act without delay” to restore three expired business provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The group wants to recover full expenses for research, full deductibility for interest costs, and full bonus depreciation for capital investments.
Could marijuana taxes help reduce property taxes in Texas? The state could generate $400 million in new revenue by legalizing and taxed the sale of cannabis. The president of the Lubbock chapter of the National Organization for Marijuana Law Reform says, “If Governor Abbott wants to declare victory for all Texas homeowners, this is a good way to approach him.” Recent polls find that most Texans support marijuana reform, but the GOP-controlled legislature has yet to catch fire.
A tax exemption for tourists in Southeast Asia. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos approved tourist refunds for the country value added tax (VAT). Starting in 2024, foreign visitors will recoup the 12 percent VAT they pay on goods they bring home.
This week on the Recipe: Social Security Reform. This week’s guest on TPC’s biweekly webcast, The Prescription, will be Mikki Waid, Director of Research at the Harvey L. Neiman Institute for Health Policy, former Senior Fellow at the National Academy of Social Security, and AARP Senior Policy Advisor. She and TPC’s Howard Gleckman will go beyond all the partisan polemics and discuss how to really fix the broken system.
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