Is Cap Gains Proposal Driving Inflation?
While the country has been working to build back a post-pandemic economy, the Labor Department recently announced the startling inflation rates from June 2021. The reported 5.4% increase is the highest and fastest 12-month rate increase since the economic recession in August 2008. The President spoke earlier this morning from the White House to reassure Americans that “these disruptions are temporary.” Republicans, on the other hand, claim these rates are an indirect result of the President’s proposed capital gains tax rate changes and are consequently looking to synonymize Biden with this year’s economic inflation.
SEC & Cryptic Crypto Crackdown
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to reinforce cryptocurrency regulation after recently settling charges with a UK-based company for violating federal anti-touting provisions. According to the SEC’s charges, Coinschedule.com—which profiled initial coin offerings—failed to disclose that it had received secret compensation from issuers of the digital assets it was profiling.
This case is not the first that has sparked the federal government to question the legality of certain questionable practices within the crypto market. The IRS is also working to scrutinize its compliance efforts for crypto; the agency will be adding a new question to the federal tax return Form 1040 addressing individual taxpayers’ crypto assets.
The SEC remains concerned about the future of crypto’s cryptic nature: “There is a decided lack of clarity for market participants around the application of the securities laws to digital assets and their trading.”
Democrats’ Budget Dish Needs More SALT
It’s getting salty in Congress. Early last week, Senate Democrats met and agreed on a new $3.5 trillion federal budget and confirmed the likelihood that it will include a partial expansion of the state and local income tax (SALT) deduction. Progressives are still not entirely sold. While lawmakers from high-tax states like New York are pushing for an expansion to benefit their residents, progressives worry that a full repeal of the SALT deduction cap would supersede the importance of their agendas to provide tax breaks for lower-income communities.
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