Pennsylvania Joins IRS Direct File
IRS Direct File to be available in Pennsylvania. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) announced Pennsylvania is the next state to have access to the IRS direct, free tax filing system piloted this spring. Direct File is set to be available in all 50 states in 2025, although Republicans are seeking to block wider implementation of the program.
Michigan Supreme Court rules former property owners are entitled retroactively to profits from tax foreclosure sales. The Detroit Free Press reports on the decision. In 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for local governments to keep surplus proceeds from tax foreclosure sales. Instead, the property owners were to keep the surplus proceeds. In the new decision, the court added that Michigan residents whose foreclosed property was sold before the 2020 decision could also keep surplus proceeds.
Drafting errors could leave Nebraska’s property tax relief plan short by $139 million. To offset the cost of his tax relief plan, Republican Gov. Jim Pillen proposed a sales tax on over 100 currently tax-exempt goods and services and higher “sin taxes” on candy, soft drinks, vapes, cigarettes, and games of skill. The taxes were supposed to raise $1.15 billion in its first effective year, but that value was based on estimates that used different tax rates, likely due to bill drafting errors. An analysis by the Nebraska Examiner estimates the Pillen-led proposal would fall short of its revenue goal by $139 million.
South Africa chafes at EU’s planned tax on carbon-intensive imports. South Africa will discuss with the European Union (EU) the impact of the EU’s planned tax on carbon-intensive imports. The African nation says the tax may contravene World Trade Organization rules. They argue it would hurt BRICS nation economies, an organization that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. South Africa is the 14th largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and exports coal.
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