IRS Service And Enforcement; Finessing The Debt Limit
Senators Collins and Thune introduce bill requiring IRS to focus on service before enforcement. The Increase Reliable Services Now Act, sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and John Thune (R-SD), would require the IRS to improve phone service and return processing before hiring new enforcement workers. It would also prohibit using Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds to boost the audits of taxpayers with incomes below $400,000. The bill comes on the heels of IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel’s testimony to the House Ways & Means Committee, during which he repeated a pledge that its audit rate for those making less than $400,000 wouldn’t increase.
Congress finesses the debt limit; ignores the debt. TPC’s Howard Gleckman recounts how even though lawmakers are looking over the House GOP debt limit bill, and President Biden’s budget (and tax increase) proposal, and the Problem Solvers Caucus plan, they will “continue borrowing while avoiding the hard choices needed to reduce deficits and slow the growth of the ever-increasing debt.”
The price of electric delivery trucks is falling thanks to Inflation Reduction tax breaks. Bloomberg reports that federal tax incentives are bringing down the cost of owning an electric delivery truck to in line with, or even lower than, diesel versions. E-truck makers can offer up to $40,000 in federal tax breaks per vehicle, and state tax incentives can also be quite generous. An e-truck manufacturing executive told Bloomberg, “We are getting close to a day where the savings is so obvious, it will be irresponsible to buy an internal combustion vehicle.” BloombergNEF estimates that 15 percent of medium-duty trucks sold globally – over 250,000 a year – will be electric by 2030.
Florida House passes $1.4 billion tax package. The chamber unanimously passed legislation that would create a permanent tax exemption for diapers and expand sales tax holidays for back-to-school items, disaster preparedness supplies, and equipment for skilled trades. It would also freeze for three years local communication services tax rates. Axios reports that the Florida Senate will align their version of the tax package with the House proposal; the legislative session is scheduled to end May 5.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signs $515 million tax cut bill into law. North Dakotans will pay less state individual income tax and see lower property tax bills over the next two years. The state will now have two lower income tax rates of 1.95 percent and 2.5 percent, down from a five-rate structure that had a top rate of 2.9 percent. Homeowners will now be able to claim a property tax credit of up to $500 on their primary residence, and more homeowners age 65 and older will now be eligible for North Dakota’s Homestead Property Tax Credit program.
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