Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
California is preparing for a 2026 ballot fight that could redefine how the state treats extreme wealth, pitting a one-time 5% levy on billionaires against fears of capital flight and economic fallout. The proposal, framed as a way to stabilize public services without touching middle-class taxpayers, has already drawn sharp lines between unions, ultra-high-net-worth residents,…
President Donald Trump’s latest tax overhaul is poised to shrink the pool of money flowing from the wealthiest Americans to charities by billions of dollars, just as nonprofits are still adjusting to earlier changes in the code. The plan leans on a new incentive for smaller donors, but the math is stark: a multibillion dollar…
The U.S. Treasury has opened a high-stakes inquiry into whether Minnesota tax dollars were siphoned off through welfare fraud and routed toward the terrorist group Al-Shabaab, turning a long-running state scandal into a national security story. At the center of that escalation is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has ordered a federal review of allegations…
Long-term capital gains tax rules sit at the center of many investment decisions, from when to sell a rental property to how to rebalance a 401(k) rollover. For 2025 and 2026, the basic rate structure is stable, but the way those brackets interact with income, holding periods, and surtaxes will shape how much of an…
Swiss voters have decisively turned down a sweeping new inheritance levy on multimillionaires, choosing to protect the country’s role as a magnet for global wealth rather than test how many rich residents might walk away. The result leaves the existing patchwork of cantonal rules intact and signals that fears of a millionaire exodus carried more…
President Trump’s promise of “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime” is finally moving from campaign slogan to practical reality, as the Internal Revenue Service begins spelling out how workers and employers should handle the new deductions. The latest guidance clarifies who can claim the breaks, how much income can be shielded, and…
Nancy Pelosi’s increasingly tense exchanges with CNN over stock trading have crystallized a long‑simmering question in Washington: should members of Congress be allowed to buy and sell individual shares while they write the laws that move markets. The clash has unfolded against a backdrop of bipartisan bills, viral trading trackers, and seven‑figure bets that have…
Millions of Americans are poised to see bigger spring tax refunds, and the gains will not be limited to a narrow slice of filers. I will walk through six key groups highlighted in recent reporting, showing how each stands to benefit from richer credits, inflation adjustments, or shifting withholding patterns so you can see where…
The Trump administration is moving to shut off a little understood but politically explosive corner of the tax code, targeting refundable credits and other tax-based benefits that officials say have been flowing to people who are in the country illegally. The Treasury Department’s new push, framed as a crackdown on “abuse,” could reshape how undocumented…
Estate and gift tax rules are shifting quickly, and the window to lock in today’s generous exemptions is closing as the 2026 changes approach. I focus here on eight concrete estate tax tactics that can be executed before year-end so families can use current rules to reduce future estate tax exposure. Each strategy is grounded…