An Inquiry, New Tax Details, And An Inflation Emergency

Impeachment for a spending bill? Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has directed House committees to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden to determine whether Biden benefited from his son Hunter’s business dealings. The move comes under pressure from some GOP lawmakers who seek leverage in funding negotiations to avoid a government shutdown. Meanwhile, the Senate held procedural votes yesterday on a $280 billion government funding package with bipartisan support.  

Treasury shares some details on the new book income tax. PoliticoPro reports (paywall) on how a new 15 percent minimum tax on large corporations’ income will work. Details include how corporations can calculate whether they meet the threshold necessary to be liable for the tax. It also explains exceptions Congress built into the tax, such as the carveout for bonus depreciation. However, details do not include what happens when corporations have investments in partnerships. Treasury expects to release proposed regulations on the book income tax later this year.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announces state of emergency and suspends gas tax. Citing high levels of inflation and negative economic conditions, the GOP governor suspended Georgia’s 31.2 cents-per-gallon gasoline tax and 35 cents-per-gallon diesel tax through Oct. 12.

Wisconsin Assembly plans to pass $3 billion income tax cut. The bill will likely be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, but the Republican-controlled chamber will vote on it anyway. Tapping the state’s projected $4 billion budget surplus, the bill would lower the state’s third income tax bracket rate from 5.3 percent to 4.4 percent and exclude the first $150,000 of a couple’s retirement income from taxes and for people over 67.

West Virginia’s tax revenues have dipped a bit this year. Tax and revenue officials expect a budget surplus at the end of the new fiscal year, but tax revenues for its first two months are 16 percent below the first two months of the previous fiscal year. Year-to-date tax collections for July and August were $745.8 million. The dip isn’t too surprising, since West Virginia’s legislature passed a personal income tax rate cut retroactive to January 2023. 

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