Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
A sweeping tax package now moving through Congress is being marketed as a way to unlock four major new write-offs, and the latest committee summaries suggest that millions of households and businesses could qualify if the provisions become law. The proposals build on existing credits and deductions but would restore or enhance them in ways…
Workers keep hearing about “no taxes on overtime in 2026,” but the reality is more complicated: President Trump has promoted the idea, yet available reporting shows only proposals and commentary, not a fully documented, verifiable law. Based on the sources here, I treat any specific dollar thresholds, timelines, or bill names as unverified unless explicitly…
Gov. Kathy Hochul has staked out a clear line in New York’s budget fight, choosing to tax nicotine pouches like Zyn while refusing to raise income taxes on the wealthy. The clash has put her on a collision course with Assembly socialist Zohran Mamdani, who is demanding higher levies on top earners to close looming…
President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, often touted by him as a “big beautiful bill,” reshaped the tax code in ways that can still shower the middle class with cash if used strategically. I will walk through six specific provisions that remain central to household tax planning, focusing on how they cut…
Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires from 24 countries have chosen the World Economic Forum in Davos as the stage to deliver a blunt message to political and business elites: tax us more, and use that money to repair the social contract. Their open letter argues that extreme wealth is not a private achievement to be…
President Donald Trump has signed a new law tightening the rules around IRS “math error” notices, forcing the agency to show its work and giving taxpayers a clearer, enforceable 60-day window to push back. The change turns what used to be a confusing, high-stakes form letter into a more transparent process that taxpayers can actually…
For Americans 65 and older, the 2025 and 2026 tax years are unusually generous. A new senior-focused deduction stacks on top of already elevated standard deductions, creating a chance to shield tens of thousands of dollars from federal income tax. The challenge is less about finding tax breaks and more about understanding how they interact…
Wealth league tables promise clarity, ranking countries by how fairly they share prosperity. Yet when those scorecards label the Netherlands and the USA as outliers, they often obscure more than they reveal. I argue that the way we measure inequality, and the stories we tell around those numbers, misfires badly in both places. Instead of…
President Donald Trump’s signature tax package, The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, is quietly reshaping how retirees are taxed, from their Social Security benefits to the deductions they can claim. The law layers new breaks on top of existing rules, but many of the most generous provisions are temporary, which means waiting to adjust your…
Pulling more than $5,000 in cash out of a checking or savings account feels like a simple errand, but inside the banking system it flips a series of quiet switches that can slow you down. I am looking at what actually happens when you ask for that kind of money, from branch cash shortages to…