Tag: tax

GOP national sales tax talk backfires, as Dems see political gold

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Various forms of the legislation, dubbed the “FairTax Act,” have been around for decades and attracted little serious attention from Republican leaders. But a spokesperson for Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, one of the 21 GOP holdouts who initially blocked McCarthy’s speakership bid and is a co-sponsor of the legislation, said McCarthy promised that the legislation would go through the committee process.
Forcing the discussion of the unpopular tax puts the GOP in a political bind that seems doomed to repeat itself for the House’s slim majority. McCarthy must walk a tightrope between appeasing the renegade factions of his caucus and disassociating the party from policy proposals that could hurt Republicans at the ballot box.
The newly anointed chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), said he’s committed to having a committee hearing on the legislation in which members can have an open and transparent debate.
Supporters of the legislation argue that it would create a fairer, more transparent tax system. It would eliminate federal income, payroll and estate taxes and replace them with a 23 percent — or depending on the way you calculate it, 30 percent — national sales tax.
But many Republican members of Ways and Means are so far treating the legislation like it’s radioactive.
“I have no opinion yet,” said Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) when asked about the bill.
“Let me withhold that for now,” said Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa, who is one of the 10 new GOP members to join the committee this Congress.
Others were more blunt.

“There’s never going to be a vote for it,” said Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), a policy wonk on the committee who proceeded to give his view of how FairTax is technically flawed. Schweikert said a more effective version of the idea would involve taxing goods at each point that value is added to them in the supply chain, rather than all at once at the point of sale.
Sensing the political peril of the legislation, longtime tax critics from The Wall Street Journal editorial board to Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform have launched their own offensive against the legislation.
“The Fair Tax isn’t happening and won’t survive regular order, despite assertions from Democrats like Chuck Schumer and President Biden,” ATR said in an email blast. “In fact, House co-sponsorship of the Fair Tax Act is at a 20-year low. Support has been dwindling for the past decade, dropping by two-thirds since 2013.”
But the chief sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), issued his own broadside disputing what he called the “myths” surrounding the bill.
Taking on one of the biggest criticisms — that a national sales tax would hit lower-income folks as well as retirees particularly hard, while the rich would benefit disproportionately — Carter’s release said: “The FairTax is the only progressive tax reform bill currently pending before Congress.”
“Each household will receive a monthly prebate based on federal poverty levels and household size that will allow families to purchase necessary goods, such as food, shelter, and medicine, essentially tax-free. This is similar to our current individual exemption and refundable tax credit system.”
Democrats aren’t wasting time debating the fine points.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, in a Wednesday press conference, depicted the legislation as part of an extreme Republican agenda that would also target Social Security and other entitlement benefits.
“I believe it would cause the next Great Depression if we would impose it. Thank God there are firewalls in Leader Jeffries and Democrats in the House.” Schumer said of the national sales tax, contending that data shows the tax would raise the cost of a household by $125,000, the cost of a car by $10,000 and the average grocery bill by $3,500 a year.
A hearing on the FairTax bill wouldn’t be unprecedented. The Ways and Means Committee held one in 2011 when former Republican Rep. Dave Camp chaired the panel. It mostly faded from sight after that.
Camp, who is now at PwC, cited some pressing questions he thinks the legislation raises.
“Will it fill the revenue? Is it regressive? And what happens to state income tax?” he said in an interview this week.
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#GOP #national #sales #tax #talk #backfires #Dems #political #gold
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 29, 2023
J&K govt likely to impose property tax from April 1

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Srinagar: The government’s decision has been communicated to Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, Dheeraj Gupta.
Quoting Administrative Council decision No. 13/1/2023, an official memo reads ” The administrative council approved the proposal with the direction that the proposed Property Tax, which will take effect on 1st April 2023, shall be levied at half of the proposed formula.”
Numerous political parties, including the BJP, have voiced their opposition to the imposition of property taxes.
However, according to official sources, the Central Government only releases sizeable subsidies to Urban Local Bodies if they implement the Property Tax. “The ULBs will benefit greatly from the release of these grants.”
They said that the plan to impose Property Tax in the Union Territory has been under consideration by the Housing and Urban Development Department for a long time now.
However, according to sources, the Department may initially only apply Property Tax to commercial buildings and exempt residential structures due to opposition to the plan from a number of political parties and groups, including the BJP.
“We have been told to complete the groundwork for the imposition of property tax in Srinagar,” said a senior SMC official.
Additionally, in the past, prior administrations tried multiple times to impose a property tax in Jammu and Kashmir but were forced to give in to political pressure as a result of hostility to the idea.

The J&K administration was given permission by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in October 2020 to impose property taxes in the Union Territory through Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, and Municipal Committees.
With the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020, the MHA amended the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act, 2000, and the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Corporation Act, 2000.
The statutes passed by the previous Legislature also included provisions for the imposition of property taxes in the former State of J&K.
The MHA had substituted Sections 72 to 80 and now Section 72 states in the previous Acts of 2000.
“Unless exempted under this Act or any other law for the time being in force, Property Tax shall be levied on all lands and buildings or vacant lands or both situated within the Municipal area.
The Property Tax shall be levied at such percentage not exceeding 15% of the taxable annual value of land and building or vacant land or both as the Government may, by notification, from time to time specify,” the order reads.
It said the Property Tax assessed and levied shall be subject to revision once in three years by enhancing the tax by such percentage not exceeding 10 percent of the tax as may be prescribed, commencing from the financial year from which the Property Tax is determined.
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#govt #impose #property #tax #April
( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

January 26, 2023
Govt Likely To Impose Property Tax From April 1

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SRINAGAR: The Property Tax in the Urban Local Bodies of Jammu and Kashmir will be levied from April 1, 2023 as decision in this regard has been approved by the government.
However, what can be termed as some relief to the targeted tax payers, the Property Tax will be levied at half of the proposed formula for the same.
According to the reports appearing in th media the approval has been granted to the proposal with the direction that the proposed Property Tax, which will take effect on April 1, 2023, shall be levied at half of the proposed formula.

Previous articleUnfair Job Fairs

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#Govt #Impose #Property #Tax #April
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

January 26, 2023
Breaking: Proposal Approved Regarding Implementation Of Property Tax In Jammu And Kashmir- Check Order Copy Here – Kashmir News

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Breaking: Proposal Approved Regarding Implementation Of Property Tax In Jammu And Kashmir- Check Order Copy Here – Kashmir News
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#Telangana #BJP #planning #tax #farmers #income #driving #crisis #KTR
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 24, 2023

Rishi Sunak fires minister Nadhim Zahawi after tax investigation

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Rishi Sunak has fired Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi over a “serious breach” of U.K. government ethics rules relating to his tax affairs.

Zahawi has been hit by weeks of damaging headlines over an investigation into his personal taxes carried out by HM Revenue and Customs.

The party chairman and Cabinet Office minister was hit by a penalty from the tax authority while serving as a senior minister, with media reports putting the total charge at £4.8 million. An independent probe, ordered by Sunak and published Sunday morning, concluded Zahawi had not been sufficiently transparent about his private dealings with the tax authority when accepting a succession of senior ministerial roles.

In a letter to Zahawi confirming his sacking, Sunak said he had vowed to put “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level” of his administration, and that the investigation by the government’s ethics watchdog Laurie Magnus had found “a serious breach of the Ministerial Code.”

“As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government,” Sunak said.

No.10 also published Magnus’ letter to Sunak, setting out the findings of his short investigation. The ethics chief said that while Zahawi had “provided his full and open cooperation” with his own inquiry, he had shown “insufficient regard” for the ministerial code, and in particular, its requirement to be “honest, open and an exemplary leader.”

Zahawi had, Magnus concluded, failed to declare the HMRC investigation when he became Boris Johnson’s chancellor in July last year; failed to update his declaration of ministerial interests when he settled with HMRC last September; and failed to disclose the nature of the HMRC probe and penalty when Sunak was forming his own government in October 2022, “including to Cabinet Office officials who support that process.”

“Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing Prime Minister,” Magnus concluded.

Zahawi hits out at press

In his reply to the prime minister, Zahawi — who served as U.K. vaccines minister as Johnson’s government vied to get COVID-19 under control — said it had been, “after being blessed with my loving family, the privilege of my life to serve in successive governments and make what I believe to have been a tangible difference to the country I love.”

Zahawi’s own letter made no mention whatsoever of his tax affairs and instead attacked the media, saying he is “concerned” about “the conduct from some of the fourth estate in recent weeks.”

“In a week when a Member of Parliament was physically assaulted, I fail to see how one headline on this issue ‘The Noose Tightens’ reflects legitimate scrutiny of public officials,” he said, referring to the front page of the Independent newspaper, whose reporting helped bring the tax investigation to light.

The sacking was seized on by the opposition Labour Party, with Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson arguing that Sunak had taken too long to act, and is a prime minister “trying to manage his MPs, rather than govern in the national interest.”

“It’s vital that we now get answers to what Rishi Sunak knew and when did he know it,” she added. “We need to see all the papers, not just have the prime minister’s role in this brushed under the carpet.”

This developing story is being updated.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

January 24, 2023

Hyderabad: Civil society groups protest for implementation of wealth tax

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Hyderabad: Members of the Association for Socio-economic Empowerment of the Marginalised (ASEEM) held a protest in Charminar on Sunday demanding the rich be taxed according to their wealth status in order to strip down wealth inequality.

As per reports, India is currently the home to the largest number of poor in the world. ASEEM said that the wealth and income disparity can potentially impact future growth and development.

S Q Masood from the civil society organisation spoke to Siasat.com, saying, “We need to understand that wealth tax is an important redistributive policy. We demand that governments all over the world should take steps to address the growing wealth inequality. We demand that the rich be taxed as per their income status, in other words, integrate the wealth tax policy into a larger fiscal policy framework.”

Masoor added that it is the corporate sector’s responsibility to work with governments in creating an equal and stable society for a stronger economy.

According to a report, there has been an enormous concentration of wealth and income in a few hands, more so at the time of recent COVID-19 pandemic. “Every counter in South Asia has a level of disposable income inequality high enough for it to be reducing per capita GDP growth by between 1% and 4%,” the report said.

India has the highest income inequality.

One of the main reasons for income inequality is disproportionate profiting, a highly regressive tax system, and a huge budget deficit.

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#Hyderabad #Civil #society #groups #protest #implementation #wealth #tax

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 22, 2023

Hyderabad: ASEEM protest for implementation of wealth tax

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As per reports, India is currently the home to the largest number of poor in the world. ASEEM said that the wealth and income disparity can potentially impact future growth and development.

Masoor added that it is the corporate sector’s responsibility to work with governments in creating an equal and stable society for a stronger economy.

India has the highest income inequality.

One of the main reasons for income inequality is disproportionate profiting, a highly regressive tax system, and a huge budget deficit.

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#Hyderabad #ASEEM #protest #implementation #wealth #tax

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 22, 2023

Nadhim Zahawi fights for his political life after admitting tax ‘error’

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Nadhim Zahawi was battling to save his political career on Saturday night after he finally admitted reaching a tax settlement with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) following an “error” over a controversial multimillion-pound shareholding in the polling company YouGov.

In a carefully worded statement, Zahawi appeared to confirm that HMRC had carried out an investigation into his financial affairs while he was serving as chancellor last summer. Zahawi, now the Tory party chairman, said that the tax authority had concluded that he had made a “careless but not deliberate” error.

“So that I could focus on my life as a public servant, I chose to settle the matter and pay what they said was due, which was the right thing to do,” he stated. Tax experts said the statement was a tacit acknowledgment that Zahawi had paid a penalty.

The admission raises questions for Rishi Sunak over what he knew about the settlement and when. It comes with the prime minister already under pressure after being fined for not wearing a seatbelt, with MPs also unhappy over his rejection of tax cuts and the government’s allocation of levelling up funds. In an attempt to protect Sunak, Zahawi added: “When I was appointed by the prime minister, all my tax affairs were up to date.”

Zahawi’s tax affairs were thrown into the spotlight last summer when he was appointed chancellor by Boris Johnson, the day before Johnson was forced to resign. The Observer reported that civil servants in the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team had alerted Johnson to an HMRC “flag” over Zahawi before his appointment, but it had been ignored.

Zahawi faced scrutiny on a tranche of shares in YouGov, the polling company he co-founded, which were held by a Gibraltar company, Balshore Investments, and sold for about £27m between 2006 and 2018. It was estimated by the thinktank Tax Policy Associates he may have avoided £3.7m capital gains tax on the sale of these shares.

Saturday’s statement immediately set off new demands for Britain’s most senior civil servant and parliament’s standards commissioner to launch separate investigations into the affair, after questions over whether Zahawi has made the correct declarations to officials and parliament concerning his financial interests.

Zahawi has still not disclosed the size of the HMRC settlement or confirmed he paid a penalty. It follows a Guardian report that he paid about £5m in relation to the sale of shares in YouGov.

Unlike his YouGov co-founder, Stephan Shakespeare, Zahawi took no shares in YouGov. However, a 42.5% shareholding was held by Balshore Investments, an offshore trust controlled by Zahawi’s parents. As YouGov grew in value, Balshore sold all the shares by 2018.

Zahawi said his father took shares “in exchange for some capital and his invaluable guidance”. He added that while HMRC agreed that his father was entitled to shares, it “disagreed about the exact allocation. They concluded that this was a ‘careless and not deliberate’ error.”

Zahawi said HMRC had agreed he had never set up an offshore structure, including Balshore Investments, and that “I am not the beneficiary of Balshore Investments”. When asked on Saturday night, his team would not comment on whether he had ever benefited from Balshore Investments in the past.

Dan Neidle, a tax lawyer and founder of Tax Policy Associates, said: “When I first reported this, he denied it, threatened to sue me and said throughout his tax affairs were in order. It is a disgrace.”

Opposition parties are now demanding the publication of all of Zahawi’s correspondence with HMRC. They are also calling for independent investigations into whether Zahawi made the necessary declarations to officials and parliament.

Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, is facing calls to oversee an investigation into whether Zahawi should have declared any links relating to YouGov or Balshore under the ministerial code. The Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, has written to Case, calling for his intervention.

Cooper said: “Zahawi and his Conservative cabinet colleagues are arrogantly trying to brush this under the carpet. There are facts that still need to be established so there must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of this. The British public has lost all faith in Conservative ministers to tell the truth after years of scandal.”

Meanwhile, Labour has also written to Daniel Greenberg, the new parliamentary commissioner for standards, asking whether Zahawi should have declared Balshore Investments in the public register of members’ interests.

Anneliese Dodds, the Labour chair, said Zahawi’s new remarks raised more questions. “This carefully worded statement blows a hole in Nadhim Zahawi’s previous accounts of this murky affair,” she said. “He must now publish all correspondence with HMRC so we can get the full picture. In the middle of the biggest cost of living crisis in a generation, the public will rightly be astonished that anyone could claim that failing to pay millions of pounds worth of tax is a simple matter of ‘carelessness’.”

She added: “Nadhim Zahawi still needs to explain when he became aware of the investigation, and if he was chancellor and in charge of our tax system at the time.”

Several senior ministers have defended Zahawi, including the prime minister. At prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Sunak said Zahawi had “already addressed this matter in full and there’s nothing more that I can add”.

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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

January 22, 2023

Treasury study shows stark racial differences in tax breaks, credits

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The new report is part of a push by the agency to examine how race intersects with the tax system.

“Given the increased reliance on the tax system as a means of delivering benefits in recent decades, it is critical that we understand how tax policies affect different families and whether policies implemented via the tax code are reaching all families,” agency officials said Friday in a blog post.

The IRS does not know the race of filers so Treasury developed a method of estimating the likely race of the person listed first on a return based on other information. It focused on White people, Black people and Hispanic people “due to high levels of uncertainty in estimates for other groups.”

“This new research provides evidence of the disparities in the benefits of tax expenditures by race and ethnicity, but more work remains to be done to understand the reasons for these disparities and their implications,” the Treasury said.

“Differences in income, wealth, job characteristics, employer, family composition, access to credit, and so forth may give rise to these disparities in conjunction with the structure of the tax code, but more work is needed to determine which differences contribute the most.”

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#Treasury #study #shows #stark #racial #differences #tax #breaks #credits
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 20, 2023