Debt Ceiling Talks, Big Pharma, Small Businesses
The next meeting between President Biden and congressional leaders was delayed until next week, but staffers are making progress. Even though time is running short, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) signaled that the delay of the next meeting between the White House and House and Senate leadership is for good reasons. “There have been very good discussions over the last few days at the staff level,” Jeffries told Politico. “And I think the decision was collectively made, led by the White House, to allow those staff conversations to continue.”
If the country avoids defaulting on its debt, thank Main Street, not Wall Street… TPC’s Howard Gleckman writes about the enormous influence Main Street businesses have on their members of Congress. He argues that Main Street might not be willing to pay the price of default for only slightly improved odds of shrinking the government the way they prefer.
Report: TCJA cut big Pharma’s tax rates by over 40 percent since 2017. A report from Senate Finance Committee Democrats finds that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act allowed US-based pharmaceutical companies to access lower tax rates on their foreign income. The panel shared at a hearing yesterday that AbbVie, Abbott Laboratories, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck all report most of their tax income overseas.
Gov. Lee signs Tennessee’s “single largest tax cut in state history.” Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed the Tennessee Works Tax Act. The legislation provides over $400 million in tax cuts. That includes $273 million for a one-time, three-month sales tax holiday on grocery items from August through October.
Indiana’s gas tax will soon go up. Starting July 1, Hoosiers will pay an additional penny per gallon in state gas taxes, for a total of 34 cents per gallon. It’s an inflation-related annual increase that funds infrastructure projects. State data show the one-cent increase will generate around $30 million in revenue. Annual inflation-related adjustments are set to expire in 2027.
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