Taxes & Budget
Coverage of the national budget and your taxes.
IRS agents say Justice Department brass nixed felony charges against Hunter Biden
Federal prosecutors had agreed to bring felony tax charges against Hunter Biden but higher-ups at some point reduced those to two misdemeanors, an IRS special agent told Congress on Wednesday.
Feds use pandemic fraud charges to bust Step or Die street gang
They got Al Capone on tax evasion, and now federal prosecutors have managed to bust up a Louisiana street gang by charging two dozen people with pandemic benefit fraud.
IRS says it collected $38 million from more than 175 high-income tax delinquents
The IRS is showcasing its new capability to aggressively audit high-income tax dodgers as it makes the case for sustained funding and tries to avert budget cuts sought by Republicans who want to gut the agency.
House tees up NDAA fight over Pentagon’s woke policies, military abortion, Ukraine cluster bombs
The annual Pentagon policy bill is back on track after a House panel advanced a slew of hot-button amendments, signaling that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck a deal with hardline conservatives.
Most populous U.S. states and city ask for census corrections over misplaced ship, missed students
A misplaced naval ship in California. Overlooked college students in New York City. Missed inmates in Texas. These are some of the reasons why the two most populous states and the largest city in the U.S. filed last-minute requests for corrections to their 2020 census figures right before the deadline at the end of last month.
House Republican infighting trips up must-pass National Defense Authorization Act
Division among House conservatives has hobbled the passage of a critical Pentagon policy bill.
House GOP advances hundreds of amendments to NDAA, delays votes on banning woke Pentagon policies
The House Rules Committee has advanced less than a quarter of the 1,500 proposed amendments to the annual Pentagon policy bill, moving the less partisan add-ons to a floor vote before tackling hot-button issues such as banning drag shows on military bases.
3 tax prep firms shared ‘extraordinarily sensitive’ data about taxpayers with Meta, lawmakers say
A group of congressional Democrats reported Wednesday that three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over the course of at least two years.
Jordan sends budget recommendations to Appropriations, would move FBI to Alabama
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent several fiscal 2024 recommendations to the House Appropriations Committee, including one that would relocating the FBI to Huntsville, Alabama.
Warfighters vs. woke-fighters: House enters crunch time for Pentagon policy bill
House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise on Monday blamed President Biden for the brewing fight over the annual Pentagon policy bill, saying he had turned the U.S. military into a proving ground for a left-wing social agenda.
Average income taxes in Wisconsin to go down $3 a month under cut signed by Evers
Income taxes in Wisconsin will go down an average of $3 a month under the greatly reduced tax cut Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed into law after rejecting a much larger cut that Republicans wanted, an analysis released Friday shows.
Food stamp errors soar since pandemic onset; 10% overpaid
The food stamp program was slammed with fraud and bungling during the pandemic, leading to the highest rate of “improper payments” on record last year, according to new government data.
New state laws target contentious topics of gender, guns and abortion
New state laws taking effect Saturday target some of the most divisive topics in America including abortion, gender and guns. Meanwhile, some motorists heading out for an extended Independence Day vacation may face higher taxes at the fuel pump.
‘Woke’ Pentagon in the crosshairs: GOP wields leverage in spending, policy bills
Conservatives have singled out left-wing military policies that they say have taken hold under President Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
