Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
The Internal Revenue Service is warning tax filers that phone lines will likely see a sharp spike in call volume during the week of February 16, 2026, a period the agency considers one of the busiest stretches of every filing season. For millions of Americans trying to check refund status or resolve account questions, that…
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is urging Albany to raise taxes on high-income New Yorkers and large corporations, arguing that additional revenue should be on the table as state lawmakers consider the city’s fiscal needs. Speaking after the 2026 Joint Legislative Budget Hearing, he said he supports increasing taxes on New Yorkers earning $1 million or more…
The wealthiest people in the United States, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and George Soros, have paid zero federal income taxes in certain years, despite holding fortunes that dwarf the lifetime earnings of most American families. The mechanism behind this outcome is not some shadowy offshore scheme but a structural feature of the U.S. tax…
A single filer earning $250,000 a year currently hands over a significant share of that income to the federal government before spending a dime. If federal income taxes were eliminated entirely, as has been floated in political discussions, that same earner would see a dramatic jump in take-home pay. But the math behind replacing nearly…
The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act is already reshaping how millions of American workers think about their tax bills. Under its new deductions for tips and overtime pay, some households could see their federal income tax drop to zero when they file 2025 returns next year. The real question is not just who qualifies on…
The Social Security Fairness Act promised to right a decades-old wrong for millions of retirees who had their benefits reduced under two controversial provisions. But the law’s rollout has created a new problem: large lump-sum payments that could push recipients into higher tax brackets, effectively shrinking the very benefits they were owed. For retirees counting…
California’s progressive income tax structure, which tops out at 12.3% before a millionaire surcharge kicks in, has earned a reputation as one of the harshest in the country for people living on retirement income. But the actual bite depends heavily on where a retiree falls in the bracket ladder, how they manage withholdings, and whether…
One-time tax rebate checks could soon start arriving in Wisconsin mailboxes if lawmakers approve a plan to tap a projected state budget surplus. The proposal has exposed tensions inside the GOP while also prompting direct negotiations between Gov. Tony Evers and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos over how much to send back and how much to…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been telling television viewers that the “average tax refund” is up 22 percent, a headline-friendly figure that grabbed attention in a CNBC appearance. The IRS’s own early-season dataset tells a more modest story so far, with the average refund up 10.9 percent as of February 6, 2026, to $2,290 and…
The tax bill that Republicans pushed through the House arrived with a simple promise: bigger refunds and new Trump-branded savings accounts for families, starting in 2026. Treasury officials have talked up “bigger refunds in 2026” and a flagship “Trump Accounts” program as proof that working parents will come out ahead. Buried fine print in the…