Israel, The IRS, And An Earnings Tax
House Republicans want to pay for Israeli aid with IRS budget cuts. The House proposal would pay for $14.3 billion in emergency aid for Israel’s war against Hamas by cutting IRS funds for improved taxpayer service and enforcement established by the Inflation Reduction Act. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has requested support for a full funding package for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and border funding, without offsets. The House Rules Committee will meet on the legislation today.
Former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew confirmed to be US Ambassador to Israel. The Senate approved President Biden’s nomination of Jack Lew to serve as Ambassador to Israel yesterday in a 53-43 vote. Lew served as Treasury Secretary for the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017.
IRS extends indefinitely the allowed use of electronic signatures. The agency announced this week that it has extended certain temporary flexibilities that had been put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS will accept digital signatures indefinitely until it can deploy more robust technical solutions. The use of encrypted email when sending and receiving documents with IRS enforcement personnel has been extended until Oct. 31, 2025.
Missouri lawmakers question St. Louis’ earnings tax. For decades, the city of St. Louis has levied a 1 percent tax on earnings of individuals who live or work in the city. City voters are asked to renew the tax every five years, doing so three times thus far. The tax generated $206.5 million in city revenue in fiscal year 2022. But critics of the tax question whether local voters are the ones paying the tax. The city’s budget director says 79 percent of earnings tax revenue comes from individuals, two-thirds of whom are nonresidents ineligible to vote on the tax renewal.
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