Skip to main content

The Latest in Tax News for 2019: July 29 - August 04 Edition

Textbook Tax presents its weekly tax news update. A quick read discussing various tax news, tax stories, and tax events trending in the United States during the week. The following tax topics cover the week of July 29, 2019 through August 04, 2019. The tax topics presented represent my favorites in tax news for the week. Please comment any tax news stories you found interesting for the recent week. Additionally, please provide your email for weekly tax news updates sent straight to you!

Related Post:
Last week's tax news

Tax News for July & August 2019

This week in tax news focuses on the California tax return law, Elizabeth Warren's proposed wealth tax, and company movement to the United States! 

Period: July 29 - August 04

Tax Topic: California governor signs the Presidential Transparency & Accountability Act

Why is it a Tax Story?

As we all know, President Trump and his infamous tax returns have been in the news lately. By refusing to publicly release his New York State tax returns, Trump has caused quite the stir in the media. The Trump tax return story got a lot more interesting this week when the governor of California passed the Presidential Transparency & Accountability Act. The bill places direct requirements upon Trump (and any other presidential candidate) hoping to run in the California primary.

Tax Story Summary:

  • The bill is called the Presidential Tax Transparency & Accountability Act
  • The bill requires all presidential candidates to publicly provide their tax return for the past five years if they plan to run on the state's primary election ballot
  • Trump's personal attorney already put out a statement stating Trump will challenge the bill in court
  • Trump can additionally avoid the bill by simply not running in the California primary
    • With expected little competition, Trump could still win the Republican nomination without California
Will we ever see Trump's tax returns? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Tax Topic: Elizabeth Warren's Proposed Wealth Tax

Why is it a Tax Story?

We saw the second rounds of the Democratic Debate this past week, meaning we got to hear policy discussions relating to potential tax changes and tax laws. Elizabeth Warren continued to promote her plan for a wealth tax. Many people consider the tax unconstitutional, but Warren remains confident the tax plan will work. So, what exactly is Warren's wealth tax plan?

Tax Story Summary:

  • Warren's Wealth Tax implements an annual wealth tax on all assets over $50 million
    • By the way, a wealth tax is a tax on the market value of assets owned; so, for example, a wealth tax taxes your cash (checkings, savings, other funds), stocks, property, trusts, businesses, etc.
  • Warren's tax plan includes a 2% tax on all assets above $50 million, and a 3% tax on every dollar of net worth above $1 billion
  • Warren projects the wealth tax will raise $2.75 trillion in tax revenue
  • Twelve European countries experimented with a wealth tax in the 1990s but only three remain (Norway, Spain, and Switzerland)

What are your thoughts on Warren's Wealth Tax? Can such a tax work?

Tax Topic: Companies coming back to the U.S.

Why is it a Tax Story?

Back in 2017, President Trump passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The tax reform changed a lot and promised a lot, including a promise to bring companies and money back to the U.S. Trump and government officials based the promise on the implementation of a flat 21% corporate tax rate and a more competitive business environment. Now, in 2019, we are seeing inversions beginning to revert, which of course means money coming back to the U.S. Putting all our political biases aside, we should all be happy and excited about companies coming back to our country. The two companies of note include: Mylan and Allergan PLC.

Tax Story Summary:

  • Mylan
    • a pharmaceutical company
    • inverted and moved its corporate headquarters to the Netherlands in 2015
    • announced its move back to the U.S. in a merger deal this week with Pfizer Inc.
  • Allergan PLC
    • a pharmaceutical company
    • inverted to Ireland in 2015
    • announced its return to the U.S. via a sale to AbbVie Inc.
  • TCJA mostly eliminated the corporate inversion tax benefits
  • the current inversion benefits prove so minimal that companies now believe costs outweigh the benefits
    • Namely, the reputation and political costs from inverting to foreign countries

Do you see more and more companies coming back to the U.S. in the near future?

That is all for the most recent tax news, tax stories, and tax events.

Please share any and all comments below!

Labels:

Comments

  1. Accufile October 9, 2021 at 5:20 AM

    All the information you mentioned in your content it's very useful for them who have searched for this. They find best results with this. Thanks for sharing Your valuable information with us. file taxes

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cryptocurrency Taxation: How does the U.S. tax cryptocurrency? - Textbook Tax

The cryptocurrency market continues to rise in popularity in the U.S. and throughout the world. The decentralized finance ("Defi") sector has seen massive growth. Additionally, ease of access has increased as new and established companies offer crypto services and exchanges. As more and more individuals and institutions adopt cryptocurrency, it becomes more important for people to understand the tax laws and regulations governing the cryptocurrency industry. It is important to note that each country views and regulates virtual currency differently.  The scope of this article covers the crypto tax laws in the United States.  T he IRS defines virtual currencies as  digital representations of value that function as mediums of exchange, units of account, and/or stores of value. Further, t he U.S. views crypto as property subject to capital gains and losses for US federal tax purposes. Based on its designation as property, i n general, there are four taxable events when d...
18 comments
Read more

20 Tips & Tricks for Studying for the CPA Exam

For those on the way to becoming a certified public accountant, you now know it is a long and difficult journey. For those just beginning, good luck! The most difficult and time-consuming task is passing the CPA Exam. CPA candidates must spend hundreds of hours preparing for all four sections of the CPA. Each CPA section represents an entirely different topic, creating a daunting task for anyone looking to start studying for the CPA exam. I passed all four sections of the CPA with an average score of 91. Luckily, I did not have to retake any of the exams, which is a common occurrence as the average passing rate is around 40-50% per exam. Having personal experience dealing with the CPA exam process, I want to share valuable tips for conquering the CPA exam. I want you to feel confident and comfortable during the CPA exam process, and so, I believe the following tips will help you during the CPA exam process. Lets begin! Related Posts -  Preparing for the CPA Exam: How to St...
8 comments
Read more

Tax Tips for Remote Workers: Where do you pay taxes if you work remotely?

Before the COVID-19 shutdown, the ability and choice to work remotely from home was growing in popularity. The popularity of remote work continues to grow thanks to advances in telecommunication technologies, which allow individuals to work remotely outside a traditional office environment while still remaining personally and collaboratively productive. Now, as the entire workforce proved its ability to successfully work from home during the shutdown, I expect exponential growth in remote work offerings. Because of remote work culture, we will see an increase in the number of people working remotely for companies that are based in different states. Remote work outside of your company's state will affect your tax situation. Below, I will explain how and where you pay taxes if you work remotely. Related Posts -  Unemployment Income: What to know about unemployment income if you've been laid off or furloughed -  Understanding your Form W-2 -  State Tax Refunds: Are sta...
10 comments
Read more