Congress to review verification process for Affordable Care Act's tax credits
On the Hill next week:听罢丑别 House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight holds a听hearing on June 10听to review the government鈥檚 ability to verify income and insurance information when it comes to the听Affordable Care Act鈥檚听tax credits and subsidies. About two million people who purchased health care through the ACA exchange听 provided听鈥攁bout half for reported income and half for citizenship or residency status.
鈥�When a man loves a woman鈥μ�He鈥檇 trade the world for what he鈥檚 found.鈥� But would he trade marriage for domestic partnership? TPC鈥檚 Howard Gleckman听听Domestic partnerships, designed to help same-sex couples get around marriage bans, could be used in some states by heterosexual couples to avoid the federal income tax marriage penalty. Of course, you could lose the marriage bonus, too, since domestic partners can鈥檛 file jointly. Maybe tax shelters are more romantic.
Mind the gap, state governments.听罢丑别 wealth gap, that is.听听that 鈥淪ince the mid-1970s, states as a whole have cut their top individual income tax rates by nearly one-fourth, while boosting state sales tax rates by almost half鈥� That has meant lower taxes for those earning the most and a bigger proportionate tax bite for those who spend more of their income on retail sales.鈥�
Meanwhile, tax collections are up in Massachusetts.听The state collected $1.6 billion in tax revenues in May, 7 percent more than May, 2013. The听听鈥渂etter than expected corporate and business collections, withholding,听sales and use tax collections, and estate tax payments.鈥�
Spain wants to cut its corporate income tax rate.听Spain鈥檚 Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has offered an听听worth 6.3 billion euro to create jobs and make companies more competitive. Unemployment in Spain hovers at around 25 percent. The stimulus plan would cut the听 corporate income tax rate from 30 percent to听 25 percent.
How low can a corporate tax rate go?听Northern Ireland may be granted new taxing powers in the fall, and is听听from 21 percent to听 12.5 percent. That would make its tax competitive with its independent neighbor, the Republic of Ireland. Backers think the low rate will make it possible for the North to compete for companies like Google and Facebook, each with operations in the republic.听 Opponents are concerned about 鈥渂rass plating鈥濃�攚here firms set up nominal operations without employing many people. Sound familiar?
All鈥檚 fair in love and taxes?听A听听Citizens for Tax Justice and the US Public Interest Group says that 鈥淯S multinationals each year avoid paying about $90 billion in federal income tax鈥� by setting up 鈥渙ffshore tax havens鈥� and using 鈥渁ccounting tricks.鈥� They say 鈥渢ricks,鈥� corporations say 鈥渓egal practice.鈥� Either way, the corporate tax code听.
