Tag: tax’
Tax Season 2024: IRS Issued $3.6 Billion in Tax Refunds in the First Week of Filing – CNET
The average tax refund is almost 29% lower this tax season, early IRS statistics show. But don’t freak out yet.
STEPHEN GLOVER: As the shadow of war grows, Rishi might win more respect – and votes – by putting defence ahead of tax cuts
This EV tax credit loophole lets more people benefit. Here’s how.
New rules regarding the sourcing of battery materials went into effect in April, and, as planned, eligibility for EV tax rebates plunged. Just a tiny sample of the EVs on the market right now — mostly just the ones from U.S. automakers — qualify to save thousands of dollars. That’s the situation for buyers who are the end consumers anyway, but what about EV buyers who are lessors? (“Lessor” means, “entity that leases something out.”)
For an EV lessor, virtually any EV qualifies for the credit, which in turn means the end consumer — the person who pays for a lease, and, y’know, drives the car — can save a lot of money. That’s if the lessor, usually a car dealership, decides to pass at least part of that savings onto the consumer. While the savings from the tax break can’t necessarily be spelled out on their receipt, it can theoretically still be significant.
According to CNET, automakers are marketing their lease terms with amounts of money that dovetail with the famous $7,500 tax benefit. Hyundai’s $499 monthly lease for the Ioniq 5 calls the consumer’s attention to a “$7,500 Complete EV Lease Reward,” and Kia is providing a $7,500 “bonus,” though it only lasts until July 5. Assuming there’s no prior markup to compensate for the discount, these are nice bargains, that are, theoretically, thanks to the tax credit.
For what it’s worth, a guy named Dave Walters who spoke to CNBC on Saturday, recently leased a South Korea-made Hyundai, Ioniq, and said that according to his own math, “It was a few hundred dollars less a month” than if the dealer hadn’t gotten the tax credit.
Tax breaks for EV purchases in the U.S. come from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was squeezed out of the U.S. legislature. So you didn’t expect this savings to be easy to get, right? It breaks down like this: Half of the “clean vehicle credit” — $3,750 — hinges on the manufacture of at least 50 percent of the battery components in the U.S. or elsewhere in North America, while the other $3,750 can be claimed if a minimum of 40 percent of vital minerals come from the U.S. or “a country with which the United States has a free trade agreement.”
But the IRA says leased cars are technically commercial vehicles, which is ostensibly why they get an exemption from all of this battery mineral sourcing rigamarole. It’s also worth noting that the rigamarole is going to get harsher. For 2023, the applicable percentage is 40 percent. In 2024, the relevant 40 percent of mineral sourcing goes up to 50 percent, then it climbs and climbs until it reaches 80 percent in 2027.
In theory, this will mean more U.S.-sourced car battery minerals in more EVs, and plenty of tax credits to go around. In practice, we’ll just have to see.
Scrap tax on sunscreen, say cancer charities
: Working mothers talk about ‘mom tax’ — the financial toll of motherhood on their careers and salaries
Rishi Sunak warned to return to traditional Tory tax cuts or he’ll lose the next election
RISHI Sunak must return to traditional Tory tax cuts and freedom or lose the next election, he will be told today.
As the Tories mark 13 years in power, the PM will be warned after last week’s dire local elections results he must buck up and listen to his grassroots Tory army.
Rishi Sunak warned to return to traditional Tory tax cuts or he’ll lose the next election[/caption]
Tory big beasts including Priti Patel, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries will call on party bosses to return to proper Conservativism or risk another drubbing at the ballot box.
The allies of Boris Johnson will speak to thousands of party members at the Conservative Democratic Organization conference in Bournemouth today, organised by big beast Lord Cruddas, and show them some love after the worse-than-expected results.
Many are furious with the party for booting out BoJo, then putting Rishi Sunak in No10 without giving them a say.
The former PM is not himself expected to attend, but allies including former MEP David Bannerman want him back in Downing Street.
Former Home Secretary Ms Patel is expected to say: “We risk losing votes if we forget who we are and what we stand for.
“The solution to these challenges is not more state control, more spending, and more taxes – which sadly have featured in recent budgets.
“As Conservatives, we must never forget that we are here to serve the public, and to do so in a way that promotes freedom, enterprise and opportunity.”
She lashed out at party chiefs who “rarely seem to be out there meeting the people”, adding: “perhaps if they did that, last week we could not have seen 1,000 of our friends and colleagues lose their seats”.
Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries told The Sun: “Members are quite bruised over what’s happened over the last year – many of those campaigned and voted for Boris and are dismayed at how the party has behaved.
“We want to prevent such a catastrophe from ever happening again.” The Tories lost more than 1,000 seats during the local elections as thousands opted to give them a bloody nose and put Labour in power.
Downing Street failed to shut down speculation of tax cuts – after DWP boss Mel Stride suggested they could slash 2p off income tax if enough Brits went back to work.
No10 insisted the PM wanted to cut taxes “as soon as possible”.
But the PM’s spokesperson said it would be a decision for the Chancellor at the next budget.
EU Crypto Tax Plans Include NFTs, Foreign Companies, Draft Text Shows
The bill, dated May 5, closely matches proposals made by the European Commission in December 2022, as part of a bid to stop EU residents stashing crypto abroad to hide it from the taxman. The commission would have to set up a register of crypto asset operators’ by December 2025, bringing forward a previous deadline by one year, and the rules will apply as of Jan. 1, 2026. Controversially, the law — known as the eighth directive on administrative cooperation (DAC8) — still includes platforms for trading non-fungible tokens that can be used for payment or investment, and providers from outside the bloc that have EU clients.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.