Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
The White House is framing the upcoming tax filing season as the most generous in American history, with administration messaging suggesting that refunds tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill could jump significantly for millions of households. The law, enacted as H.R. 1, introduces new deductions for tips and overtime while raising standard deduction thresholds….
Millions of taxpayers filing their 2025 returns during the 2026 filing season are bracing for longer waits to receive their refunds, and the reasons go well beyond normal processing times. A combination of identity verification holds, legally mandated freezes on certain credits, new direct deposit rules, and math error corrections can push refund timelines from…
Washington’s Senate has approved a new tax targeting residents who earn more than $1 million a year, pushing the state closer to adopting what supporters call a long-overdue correction to one of the most regressive tax structures in the country. Senate Bill 6346 would impose a 9.9% levy on individual income above a $1,000,000 standard…
Washington Senate Democrats are advancing a bill to reverse the state’s recent estate tax increases, a move that directly challenges the logic of the federal GOP’s decision to permanently raise the estate tax exemption to $15 million. The effort, carried out through SB 6347, has drawn little public attention despite clearing a key committee vote,…
Millions of American taxpayers are discovering that this filing season comes with a punishing twist: smaller refunds, surprise balances due, and long waits for money they already counted on. Instead of the usual early-year cash cushion, many households are confronting unexpected bills and penalties just as high prices continue to squeeze budgets. Behind that shock…
A proposed federal regulation published on December 23, 2025, could change how the government intercepts stimulus-style payments, tax refunds, and other federal disbursements to collect outstanding debts. The rule arrives as roughly 1 million taxpayers await special Recovery Rebate Credit payments of up to $1,400, and as speculation grows around a possible $2,000 “tariff dividend”…
The IRS released its 2026 tax bracket adjustments with little fanfare, but the numbers reflect more than routine inflation indexing. The changes trace back to a specific piece of legislation that alters how tax parameters are set, creating a split outcome: some filers stand to keep more of their income, while others face a heavier…
The new SALT deduction rules signed into law by President Trump hand most filers a higher cap on state and local tax write-offs, but households earning between $500,000 and $600,000 face a sharp and punishing phase-down that could erase the benefit entirely. This income band sits in a policy dead zone: too high to claim…
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…
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…