There’s more bad news for taxpayers. A government report has revealed that 11 million taxpayers are losing out on $323 billion worth of deductions due to a punishing change in President Donald Trump’s tax law.
The hard news comes after early filers were stunned by shrinking — to vanishing — tax refunds.
The deduction wallop detailed in the government report centers on capped deductions for state and local taxes — including real estate taxes. Formerly, all local taxes could be deducted from federal taxes; now it’s capped at $10,000, which particularly hurts homeowners in major metropolitan areas — especially in the Northeast and California — where housing tends to be more expensive.
The cap was imposed to help pay for huge tax cuts to corporations, whose tax rates were slashed from 35 percent to 21 percent.
The deduction hit is so staggering that it could end up swamping modest gains taxpayers had expected to enjoy due to tax cuts. …
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Tax Expert Who Wrote Trump Biography Says Public Would Be ‘shocked’ By Trump’s Real Financial Status
By Walter Einenkel
The Daily Kos (1/3/19)
Donald Trump has surrounded himself with a revolving-door cast of billionaires. One of the silver linings of this disastrous administration is that it has exposed the billionaire class for what it is: just selfish and relatively unimpressive men (and a couple of women) mostly interested in making money for themselves, with virtually no meaningful ethical code.
David Cay Johnston is a Trump biographer who has spent a considerable amount of time over the past few decades poking holes in the financial dealings and claims the Donald has made over the years. Michael Cohen’s testimony in front of Congress on Wednesday reminded Americans that Mr. Trump is very likely some kind of financial criminal. Calls for his tax returns to be investigated and released have picked up new steam. CNN’s Alisyn Camerota interviewed Johnston Friday morning to talk about Cohen’s testimony and how it supported many of Johnston’s assertions about Trump over the years. …
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