Taxes

Have the Trump Tax Cuts Flopped?

By Michael Rainey

Sunday marks four months since President Trump signed the Republican tax overhaul into law. So it surprised us just a bit to see economist Andrew Hunter of Capital Economics already asking: “Have the...
Could Another Round of Tax Cuts Backfire on Republicans?

By Yuval Rosenberg

Republicans face a dilemma in their quest to pass another massive tax cut ahead of November’s midterm elections. Party leaders have pledged to make permanent individual tax cuts in the tax overhaul...
Why the Trump Tariffs Could Cost More Jobs Than They Save

By Michael Rainey

The tariffs President Trump announced – including a 25 percent levy on steel imports, with some notable exemptions – are meant to protect American jobs, but analysts at the Federal Reserve Bank of...
Banks Score Big from New Tax Law: $2.5 Billion in One Quarter

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The Wall Street Journal’s Michael Rapoport reports : “Overall, the combined earnings of Goldman and the four major national banks — JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and...
Tax Day, Take 2: Filers Get More Time After IRS Glitch

By Yuval Rosenberg

Happy Tax Day … again. The IRS e-file system that was down for most of Tuesday is back up, but the outage led the agency to extend its filing deadline by a day, meaning taxpayers have until midnight...

Why All the Warnings About Unsustainable National Debt Could Be Wrong

By Michael Rainey

International economists are warning about rising global debt levels and deficit hawks in Washington are increasingly worried about what they see as unsustainable debt levels in the U.S., but a new...
The US Has an Exceptional Debt Outlook – and Not in a Good Way

By Michael Rainey

The International Money Fund’s latest global fiscal survey warns that in five years, the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio will be higher than Italy’s, a nation not generally known for its exemplary fiscal...
Why the Media War Over Trump's Tax Cuts Is Just Getting Started

By Yuval Rosenberg

Tax Day is, of course, the perfect time for Republicans and Democrats to resume their messaging battle over the GOP tax law that passed late last year. Republicans took to TV and social media to hail...
The Biggest Winners from the GOP Tax Cuts (Hint: It Isn't Workers)

By Yuval Rosenberg

This won’t help the GOP’s tax cut message: U.S. companies are using the benefits of their tax cuts to reward shareholders and management far more than they are on hiring and pay raises, according to...
Computer Problems Plague the IRS on Tax Day … and Bigger Troubles May Lie Ahead

By Yuval Rosenberg

It wasn’t a very happy Tax Day for the IRS, which announced it was “experiencing technical difficulties” with some computer systems and temporarily couldn’t accept returns from tax preparers,...

The GOP Tax Law Is So Flawed It Must Be Completely Rewritten, Liberal Think Tank Says

By Michael Rainey

A new analysis of the Republican tax overhaul from the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reaches a simple conclusion: the legislation is so deeply flawed that it needs to be...
‘Stealth’ Tax Hikes Coming in Some States

By Michael Rainey

The Republican tax overhaul will increase income taxes in many states, thanks to state-level tax systems that are synched to the federal code. Politico’s Brian Faler explains : “When Congress pares...
Yellen, Democratic Economists Say Fixing Debt Crisis Isn’t All About Entitlements

By Yuval Rosenberg

Late last month, a quintet of big-name Hoover Institution economists warned in a Washington Post op-ed that a coming “string of perpetually rising trillion-dollar-plus deficits” could soon lead to a...
The Era of Permanent $1 Trillion Deficits Will Start in 2020, CBO Says

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Republican tax plan and increased government spending will provide a temporary boost to the economy but sharply increase the federal deficit, sending it above $1 trillion a year in 2020, two...
Congress Was Hoping to Ride the Tax Cuts to the Election, but Trump May Have Other Plans

By Yuval Rosenberg

Now that Congress’ spring break is over, Republican lawmakers back in Washington are facing pressure from the White House to tackle some big items on President Trump’s agenda, even as many of them...