Tax Policy & IRS News
The Daily Signal reports on tax legislation, reform efforts, and tax enforcement by the IRS. Get conservative analysis on how tax policies and cuts affect families, businesses, and America’s fiscal outlook.
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Van Hollen’s Office Mum on Cost to Taxpayers for El Salvador Visit
Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s office is mum about how much the taxpayers had to shell out for his trip to El Salvador — or whether he or someone else paid — in a failed effort to win the release from prison of a former illegal immigrant who resided in his state. Spokespersons for the Maryland…Fred Lucas -
Democrats Mislead Public About Benefits of GOP Tax Cuts
It’s Tax Day in the United States. “Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the Democrats believe every day is April 15,” President Ronald Reagan quipped during his 1984 reelection campaign. But Tax Day will be much worse next year if Republicans don’t extend our signature 2017 legislation—the Tax Cuts and Jobs…Rep. Ron Estes -
About-Face? Republicans Weigh Raising Taxes on Top Earners
Some Republicans are considering a new way to free up space in the budget—raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. The idea of raising taxes—which goes against long-held assumptions about the Republican Party’s fiscal policy—appears to be gaining some traction in both the White House and within GOP congressional leadership. Axios first reported on this shift…George Caldwell -
Solar Picnic Tables? How the Federal Government Has Treated Your Tax Dollars With Utter Disdain
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—The House Oversight Committee’s subpanel on government efficiency held a hearing Tuesday exposing billions of taxpayer dollars wasted annually on outdated federal buildings. Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who leads the Subcommittee on Delivering Government Efficiency, opened the hearing by slamming federal agencies for maintaining a bloated real estate footprint. She…Thomas English -
Washington’s Leading Tax Cut Advocates Cheer Trump’s Tariffs Pause
Minutes after President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on most of the tariffs he had imposed, Washington’s most prominent tax-cut advocates cheered the dramatic reversal. President Donald Trump announced on social media that tariffs will fall to a baseline of 10% for 90 days, except for China's, which will be raised even higher,…George Caldwell -
Tariffs Are a Reason to Cut Taxes and Red Tape
If there’s one thing supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump’s tariffs should agree on, it’s the need to unchain prosperity at home while international trade is in flux. That means renewing the president’s first-term tax cuts, for a start, but it also calls for sweeping regulatory reform—a DOGE-like approach to slice the red tape…Daniel McCarthy -
As Tariffs Tank Markets, Economy Craves Tax Cuts
More carrots, please. Feeling flogged by sticks, Wall Street greeted President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” with a bellowing Bronx cheer. On Wednesday, Trump unveiled 10% across-the-board tariffs on all imports, plus reciprocal taxes tailored to foil foreign tariffs on U.S. goods. Financial markets opened Thursday and swiftly wilted. After China slapped a retaliatory 34% tariff…Deroy Murdock -
I Worked at Planned Parenthood for 15 Years—Here’s Why It Shouldn’t Get Taxpayer Dollars
Do states have the right to refuse to give taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities within their borders? As someone who worked at Planned Parenthood for more than 15 years and who knows what they do with that money, I can say unequivocally that they should have that right. One of the…Mayra Rodriguez -
Supreme Court Justices Seem Inclined to Uphold Religious Charity’s Claim for State Tax Exemption
The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday, on one of its last days of oral arguments for cases from the October 2024 term, in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission. The case concerns the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s state unemployment tax exemption as applied to the work of the Catholic Charities Bureau. At…Sarah Parshall Perry -
Lawmakers Call for Defunding as Report Reveals Millions of Taxpayer Dollars Spent on Gender Ideology
The federal government spent more than $174 million promoting gender ideology in the past three years, according to a new report. In one example of many, the State Department issued a taxpayer-funded grant to premiere “The Vagina Monologues” in India. Two lawmakers say the waste must end. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, and Sen. Jim Banks,…Moira Gleason -
Supreme Court Should Uphold State’s Rights to No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Businesses
Next month, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a case challenging South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s 2018 executive order disqualifying abortion businesses from receiving taxpayer dollars. As a homegrown South Carolinian, there is nothing more pervasive to my state’s values, nor diametrically opposed to our health…Macy Petty -
Tax the Past?
Climate activists have found a new way to force us to pay more for energy. New York and Vermont passed laws that will raise the price of oil, gas, and electricity by taxing the past. New York’s new law demands fossil fuel companies pay $75 billion for carbon emissions dating back to the year 2000….John Stossel -
Inspector General Could Probe $6B in Tax Dollars Fueling Immigration Crisis
The government should investigate how $6 billion in tax dollars funded the nongovernmental organizations to move illegal immigrants across the country, Mike Howell, executive director of The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, told a House panel. Congress has a role, and so does the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, Howell told the House…Fred Lucas -
Forgive Me If I’m Not Sad to See Gender Clinics in India Close Because They’re Finally Losing My Tax Dollars
Did you know that the very first gender clinic—established to pump people full of experimental drugs to make their bodies resemble those of the opposite sex—in India opened thanks to your tax dollars? Meanwhile, “independent media outlets” in Ukraine have been forced to shut down because President Donald Trump froze U.S. foreign aid. Don’t buy…Tyler O’Neil -
EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Watchdog Debunks Argument Defunding Planned Parenthood Hurts Taxpayers
Pro-lifers continue to urge the Department of Government Efficiency to defund Planned Parenthood, but they aren't putting all their eggs in Elon Musk's basket. As pro-life groups fight for a provision in the budget reconciliation package to remove federal funding from Planned Parenthood, conservatives warn against allowing pro-abortion misinformation to derail efforts to defund the…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
‘No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act’ Aims to End Foreign Aid to Taliban, Others
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., has introduced legislation to prevent taxpayer dollars and foreign aid funding from going to terrorist groups. Walking up to a microphone outside the Capitol to speak about his bill, Burchett was accompanied by Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Eli Crane of Arizona, and Ralph Norman…George Caldwell -
House Republicans Agree on Budget Resolution With Tax Cuts, Spending Reductions
House Republicans on Thursday approved a budget resolution that aims to fulfill much of President Donald Trump’s MAGA agenda. Fiscal hawks in the House of Representatives have been warning repeatedly that any budget bills need to show reform through spending cuts if they are to win their support. On Thursday, they successfully negotiated $1.5 trillion…Jacob Adams -
Taxpayer-Subsidized College Tuition for Illegal Aliens—but Not for Citizens
Did you know that 25 states offer in-state college tuition to illegal aliens? Probably not. And did you know that there is a federal statute that prohibits states from offering in-state tuition to illegal aliens unless a state offers the same tuition break to students from other states? Didn’t think so. One of the…Hans von Spakovsky -
Ending the Taxpayer-Funded Blue Pipeline
This week, a massive firefight broke out between Democrats and Team Trump over the White House takeover of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The USAID managed approximately $40 billion in fiscal year 2023; its original mandate, established under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, was to spread American influence across the globe through aid…Ben Shapiro -
How Taxpayers Bankroll Luxury Travel for State AGs and Family Members
Taxpayers are funding expensive international travel of state attorneys general and family members—or what some critics call “junkets”—by paying for their membership in the Attorney General Alliance, a group that has come under scrutiny for ties to lobbyists and corporate donors in recent years. States pay annual $18,000 membership dues to the AGA, which covers…Fred Lucas