Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
The Internal Revenue Service’s decision to haul a sitting Republican senator into court over a multimillion dollar tax bill has now ended in a costly surrender, but not a clean slate. Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia has agreed to pay roughly $5 million to resolve a long running dispute over his personal taxes, turning…
The federal judiciary has delivered a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump’s litigation tactics, leaving in place nearly $1 million in sanctions tied to his failed conspiracy lawsuit against Hillary Clinton. By upholding the penalty, an appeals court signaled that courts will not indulge sprawling political grievances dressed up as legal claims, even when they…
Millions of taxpayers walk away from tax season every year without realizing the government may still be holding their cash. Unclaimed refunds, undelivered checks, and missed credits can quietly pile up when returns are filed late, addresses change, or people assume a small refund is not worth the hassle. I want to walk through how…
The United Kingdom is discovering that tightening the screws on its non-domiciled residents can raise more money even as some of the wealthiest pack their bags. The projected tax take from this globally mobile elite is rising, not falling, as the government replaces a domicile-based system with tougher residency rules and banks on a multi-billion-pound…
Several once-routine federal tax breaks are now gone for good, reshaping how many households and investors plan for 2026 and beyond. I will walk through six specific breaks that have disappeared, explain what changed, and highlight how the new landscape affects filers who had come to rely on these benefits. 1) First Popular Tax Break…
High taxes can quietly erode paychecks, home equity and long-term nest eggs, especially in states where property levies and income brackets stack on top of steep living costs. I focus here on 15 high-tax states that can drain your savings, and on how recent policy moves and financial-planning guidance might blunt, or fail to blunt,…
For investors sitting on big gains, donating appreciated stock can turn a routine charitable gift into a powerful tax strategy. By giving shares directly instead of selling them first, I can potentially sidestep capital gains tax and still claim a deduction for the full market value, creating a kind of two-for-one benefit at tax time….
Homeowners looking for tax breaks often hear conflicting advice about whether interest on a home equity line of credit still qualifies. When a high-profile money coach like Dave Ramsey flatly tells callers there is “no tax write-off” on a HELOC, it cuts through the noise but also risks oversimplifying a rule that changed after the…
Senate Republicans are facing a rare and public break with President Donald Trump over his demand to more than triple the size of direct relief payments in the latest pandemic aid package. The clash over $2,000 checks has exposed deeper tensions inside the party about spending, political loyalty, and how to respond to economic pain…
President Donald Trump is preparing to back a two-year extension of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, a move that would temporarily shore up the law’s core subsidies even as his administration continues to criticize “Obamacare.” The plan would keep financial help flowing to millions of people who buy coverage on the individual market, while…