TaxMama® wants to bring some pending and potential tax legislation to your attention, today.
Dear Family,
On June 14th, I told you about the Taxpayer First Act that was waiting to be signed by the President. He signed that bill into law on July 1st.
But there is still a lot that needs to be done on the tax front. Will the Legislature stop squabbling long enough to pass a coherent budget, some much needed tax legislation, and other key legislation to make life smoother for Americans? Heaven only knows.
Regardless, this week, in the #TaxBuzzChat on Twitter, tax professionals around the country discussed their views about several pending pieces of tax legislation. Lauren @ CountingWorks PRO was kind enough to provide links directly to the various laws under consideration, including the just passed Act. Here are the proposed laws and a brief description of their purpose.
- The Secure Act – The Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement Act Of 2019 (increasing the limits and benefits for us to actively save for our retirements) and perhaps increasing the amount of time for beneficiaries to cash out inherited IRAs.
- Performing Arts Legislation – Increasing the income level allowing ‘starving artists’ to claim their job-related deductions without itemizing – from $16,000 (per person OR per couple) presently, to $100,000 per person ($200,000 per couple)
- The Gig Act – Designed to establish clear(er) definitions of whether a worker (think Uber or Lyft) is an employee or not. From the summary description, it appears designed to protect the companies from all the employee lawsuits going on.
- The Extender Act – Still trying to extend certain tax provisions that expired on 12/31/2017. Considering that about 92% of all 2018 tax returns have already been filed…it’s too little, too late. But, it would also include extenders for 2019.
- College Admissions Fairness Act – Essentially to disallow charitable contributions deductions for parents buying their way into colleges for their children. (It’s already part of the law that you cannot get a deduction for contributions where you get a benefit. So…how about just enforcing the present law?)
- The Taxpayer First Act – we have already outlined that.
- Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act – interestingly enough, this includes the extenders, and a several other provisions relating to tax breaks for people experiencing disasters, including addressing drawing funds from retirement accounts. It also contains a provision that ends the $10+ million estate tax limit in 2023, instead of 2026. (I am not certain if that means it will bring the exclusion down to $5 million or $1 million.)
These are just the high points. The proposed laws contain many more provisions. You have the access to read them all, starting with the #TaxBuzzChat summary. This affects your life. So, consider taking the time to understand what’s being done to you, or for you, and let your legislators know. You can find them here, if you don’t know where else to look.
And remember, you can find answers to all kinds of questions about taxes and business issues, and EA Education, free. Where? Where else? At https://iTaxMama.com/AskQuestion
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