A cosmic convergence of events in Washington and Sacramento last week demonstrated how strongly federal and state tax systems are interconnected. President Joe Biden, it was revealed, will ask Congress this week to nearly double taxes on capital gains of the highest-income taxpayers, on top of an increase in taxes...
Walters : Would Fed Change Make Higher State Taxes More Likely?
California has long held the dubious honor of having the nation’s highest income tax rates — 13.3% for those at the very top of the income ladder. However, New York is coming closer to California. Its governor, Andrew Cuomo, and legislative leaders have agreed to boost state income tax rates...
Will Biden Give Californians Some Tax Relief?
Seven Democratic governors called on President Joe Biden to lift the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions Friday that was a part of former President Donald Trump's massive 2017 tax law, arguing the “assault” disproportionately targeted Democratic-run states and ultimately increased taxes on families. The letter comes a...
This Is Not the Time to Propose More Tax Increases
This is a year most Californians would like to forget. Plans have been scrapped, the new “normal” is anything but normal, and we all know a coffee shop, deli, bar or restaurant that has closed permanently or may not survive the next six months. With 2.5 million Californians unemployed, many...
NY Times: Trump Paid $750 in US Income Taxes in 2016, 2017
President Donald Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes the year he ran for president and in his first year in the White House, according to a report in The New York Times. Trump, who has fiercely guarded his tax filings and is the only president in modern times not...
Walters: Supreme Court Makes Local Tax Hikes Easier
In a roundabout, passive way, the California Supreme Court last week handed a big victory to the advocates of higher taxes. Without comment, the justices declined to take up a state appellate court decision that would allow specialized local government taxes to be increased by a simple majority of voters,...
Walters: Misusing Taxpayer Dollars for Campaigns
Four of the 12 measures on California’s November ballot were placed there by the Legislature. Let’s assume that legislators had also appropriated $100 million in taxpayers’ money for campaigns to persuade voters to approve the four. It would have been an outrageous and likely illegal misappropriation of public funds under...
Bill Would Add Taxpayers to List for Juries in California
SACRAMENTO — Paying taxes in California could make you eligible for jury duty under a proposal backed by some prominent state lawmakers on Wednesday who worry the people deciding criminal and civil cases are “wealthier and whiter” than the population. People selected for jury duty in California come from two...
Income Tax Filing Deadline Moved to July 15 From April 15
WASHINGTON — The income tax filing date has been pushed back from April 15, to July 15, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. Mnuchin announced the decision in a tweet Friday saying that at President Donald Trump’s direction “we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers...
Amazon Is Big … Really, Really Big; Workforce Hits 500k
NEW YORK — Need more proof that Amazon is big? It came this week. Amazon's U.S. workforce has topped 500,000 for the first time, up 43% from the year before and more than triple what it was five years ago, the company said Friday. It gained 150,000 workers last year,...