Latest news with #DepartmentOfTreasury
Gizmodo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Silicon Valley Is Cashing Its Check After Backing Trump
The cost of living is increasing, wages for workers are stagnant, and people are looking for a break. Silicon Valley is getting one instead. According to Bloomberg, a little-known tax benefit known as the Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) that has become a favorite carve-out of tech startups would get expanded under a spending bill proposed by Republicans in the Senate and could potentially put more than $17 billion back in the coffers of Silicon Valley execs. The QSBS provision is a tax exemption that applies to the stock of qualified small businesses like certain tech startups. The rule allows shareholders in one of these businesses to sell or exchange their stock while being exempted from some or all of the capital gains tax that they would otherwise have to pay on those sales. The specifics are a bit complex, but currently, it is set up to allow early-stage investors to benefit if they hold onto their shares for five years. The proposed changes to the rule, per Bloomberg, would expand the benefit considerably. A provision slipped into the so-called 'One Big Beautiful Bill' would allow investors to come in later, cash out earlier, and still score a nice chunk of cash-free income off their investment. According to data from the Department of the Treasury, about 33,000 people have claimed the QSBS benefit in the last decade. They netted $51 billion in 2021 alone from it, which was a record year. Notably, the Treasury also found that 90% of the income claimed through QSBS came from taxpayers who were reporting more than $1 million of gains—basically, folks who are cashing out big time without paying anywhere near what an average person has to hand over to the federal government. The Treasury Department projects that the QSBS provision will keep about $44.6 billion from being taxed from 2025 to 2030. If the Republicans' proposal moves forward, that would add another projected $17.2 billion in revenue that doesn't come back to the government over that period, according to data provided by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. According to The Guardian, Silicon Valley executives and employees poured about $394 million into Donald Trump's 2024 election campaign. So scoring $17.2 billion in tax breaks certainly seems worth the spend. That's a cool 4,265% return on investment! For what it's worth, Democratic lawmakers proposed significantly rolling back the QSBS rules back in 2021, in a way that would have slashed the amount of income that could be excluded from taxes in half. Instead, the rich get richer.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Sheinbaum Disputes US Money Laundering Claims Against Mexican Banks
Mexico's president responded defiantly to US measures that could cripple three prominent local banks on accusations of potential money laundering tied to drug trafficking, arguing she's seen no evidence to support the crackdown. President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters that Mexican finance officials have found no proof of wrongdoing in their own investigations of the financial firms the US Department of Treasury accused of illicit activity.
Reuters
06-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US issues new Iran-related sanctions, Treasury website shows
WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The United States has issued a new round of Iran-related sanctions targeting 10 individuals and 27 entities, according to a post on the U.S. Department of Treasury website on Friday. The sanctions, which also target some entities in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, come as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is working to get a new nuclear deal with Tehran.
Forbes
21-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
3 Key Takeaways From The ‘No Tax On Tips' Act
IHOP (International House of Pancakes) Restaurant, April 9, 2011 in West Los Angeles, California. ... More (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images) As reported by Forbes, the Senate has unanimously passed the 'No Tax on Tips Act' in a unanimous vote. This bipartisan piece of legislation now heads to Trump's desk to be signed into law. This article highlights three key takeaways from the significant tax law change. The No Tax On Tips Act provides a tax deduction for cash tip wages reported to employers. However, there are key limitations. First, the amount that can be deducted is capped at $25,000. Thus, the bill actually means that some (rather than no taxes) will be paid on tips. Second, the deduction will not apply to taxpayers that earn more than $160,000. Third, the taxpayers who can take this deduction will be limited to certain occupations, which, according to The Guardian, will be provided by the US Department of Treasury within 90 days. The aim of these limitations is to limit loopholes. As I reported in Poole Thought Leadership, absent any limitations, high-earning individuals can game the system for their benefit. For instance, if the CEO of a company were to structure his or her's entire income as a tip, then, absent any limitations, he or she would be able to lower their tax liability considerably, even though the bill is not aimed at them. Given the limitations, the CEO would not be permitted any deduction because their occupation is not expected to be on the permitted list. The limitations also limit the wealthiest taxpayers from taking this deduction. Lastly, many tip-based taxpayers will not benefit from this bill because they make too little. With the 2025 standard deduction set at $15,000 for an individual taxpayer, Yahoo!News reports that 37% of tip-based taxpayers already pay no federal income taxes due to their taxable income already being less than the standard deduction. Once this bill is passed, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, states must conform their income taxes to the federal level for the workers to be exempt from state income taxes. This means that state legislators must begin to act soon to limit the tax liability on tip income for affected employees. For instance, if a taxpayer were to be earning $100,000 in tip income, the employee's income after the deduction at the federal level would be $75,000. However, absent any conformity, the income in the eyes of the state where they reside would be $100,000. As some states tax income of $100,000 as high as 9.30%, the taxpayer can still be subject to significant state tax burdens. States like North Carolina are already moving forward with these actions. Thus, tip-based taxpayers will need to watch whether their state allows this deduction closely. While it is required under law for tip-based taxpayers to report their tip earnings for tax purposes, they also receive benefits for having these funds reported as income. For instance, if a tip-based employee were to be trying to get a loan for a house or a vehicle, they would need to have documented income to support the lending decision. Furthermore, many taxpayers set aside some of this income to contribute to Social Security or other retirement accounts like IRAs. Early on in the legislative process for the No Tax On Tips Act, it was unclear how exactly the tips would not be subject to taxation. Specifically, the bill could have exempted the taxation from income or the bill could provide a deduction from income. While both would have resulted in the same effect on the taxpayer's tax liability, a key nuance is that exempted income (depending on how it was exempted) could affect how external entities perceive it and would potentially affect the taxpayer's ability to contribute to retirement. According to Kiplinger, the version of the bill passed by the Senate sided with the latter, protecting the tip-based taxpayer's ability to contribute the full amount to Social Security.
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Trump's healthcare order will help fix healthcare for everyone
One of President Donald Trump's most significant achievements during his first 100 days in office was his executive order requiring "radical" healthcare price transparency. The order doubles down on his first-term hospital and health insurance price transparency rules requiring the publication of actual prices of care and coverage, including discounted cash and negotiated insurance rates. This information protects patients from overcharges and empowers them to reduce inflated costs through choice and competition. The executive order requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of the Treasury to issue rules strengthening, standardizing and enforcing systemwide price transparency by the end of this month. Trump's healthcare price transparency effort will revolutionize healthcare and the entire economy. It's a pro-worker, pro-growth, free-market policy to boost worker paychecks and business earnings. When employers and unions can access actual prices throughout the healthcare system, they can spot wide price variations for the same care, expose middle players driving up costs and design affordable health plans. They can share their savings with workers in the form of lower premiums and higher wages. Under the status quo, healthcare is fundamentally un-American. It is the only economic sector where consumers cannot see real prices before they buy. No functioning market can exist under these conditions. As a result, prices for the same care can range by 10 times, even at the same hospital. For instance, C-sections vary from $6,000 to $60,000 and MRIs from $450 to $6,500. That isn't a marketplace — it's Russian Roulette that allows Big Health to profiteer off patients' misery. For decades, health insurers have hidden prices and claims information, facilitating spread pricing that robs workers and employers. Employer-sponsored family health plans now cost $25,600 annually and increase by double-digits each year. Research shows that about the same amount of compensation gains for average workers since 2000 has gone to premiums as paychecks, a major cause of wage stagnation. Unfortunately, hospitals and health insurers haven't complied with Trump's first-term rules. According to a recent study by only 21.1% of hospitals nationwide are fully complying with the hospital rule. The Biden administration didn't meaningfully enforce the rule, issuing only 25 financial penalties on the thousands of hospitals that didn't comply. Biden also rolled back the rule, allowing the posting of unaccountable estimates in lieu of actual prices needed to shop. And health insurers have buried their data disclosures in massive files full of meaningless "ghost codes" that crash computers and are nearly impossible to parse. Trump's new order increases enforcement to boost compliance, requires actual prices — not estimates — so patients can shop with financial certainty, expands transparency requirements throughout the healthcare system, and standardizes data disclosures, so consumers can make meaningful price comparisons. It gives people prices before they receive care. Trump's order will also enact overdue requirements for health insurers to provide Advanced Explanations of Benefits (AEOBs), required by the bipartisan No Surprises Act that passed at the end of 2020. AEOBs let patients know exactly what they'll owe — including their out-of-pocket patient responsibility — giving them financial peace of mind. Under the status quo, healthcare is fundamentally un-American. It is the only economic sector where consumers cannot see real prices before they buy. They also empower employers and unions to audit their health plans and verify claims payments match provider bills and posted prices. Employers and unions can then eliminate spread pricing that — as the New York Times reported last year — often requires their health plans to pay far more to middle players than providers. Drawing on a JAMA study concluding that 25% of U.S. healthcare spending ($4.9 trillion in 2023) is waste, overcharges, and fraud, economists estimate systemwide price transparency can generate approximately $1 trillion of savings. Putting $1 trillion a year in overbilling back into the productive economy, including worker paychecks and business investment, will result in an enormous annual economic stimulus. Healthcare price transparency is the most important microeconomic reform in American history. It creates a functional, competitive marketplace that restores choice, accountability and trust. When prices are clear, markets work. When markets work, costs fall. And when costs fall, wages rise. President Trump's executive order — and the ensuing federal rules issued later in May —will finally make healthcare price transparency a reality. They will solidify Trump's legacy as the president who fixed American healthcare. Cynthia A. Fisher is a life sciences entrepreneur, and founder and chairman of
