Business

Tax deal could get new life under top-line spending agreement on January 11, 2024 at 11:00 am Business News | The Hill

Published

2 years ago

January 11, 2024

Senate and House tax experts met Wednesday as they pushed to strike a tax deal that could reinstate business deductions in exchange for an enlargement of the child tax credit (CTC).

After failing to emerge from the yearly tax extenders debate at the ends of 2023 and 2022, the potential deal is getting new life as Congress attempts to pass a bipartisan spending bill ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline to avoid a partial shutdown.

Experts say the tax deal is closer to happening now in the wake of a $1.66 trillion top-line spending agreement announced over the weekend and a flurry of House and Senate meetings.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to brief the Senate Finance Committee on the employee retention tax credit (ERC). The ERC has been a locus of bogus business activity, and experts have considered changes as a way to pay for the CTC and business credit trade-off.

Werfel told Senate Finance about the effect of pausing ERC claims processing following concerns about fraud, which resulted in a 40-percent decline in average weekly claims, according to a readout provided to The Hill.

“This month, the IRS will be sending more than 3,000 new compliance-related letters to companies with both processed and unprocessed claims. At the same time, we are working to put in place protections against fraud that will eventually allow us to process additional legitimate ERC claims,” Werfel told the committee.

Tax experts say they think a deal could be just around the corner and that the ERC could factor into it.

“We feel closer to a bipartisan agreement on the CTC and these big three business provisions than at any point in the last two and a half years, going back to late 2021,” Andrew Lautz, a fiscal policy analyst with the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank, told The Hill.

Lautz said he thought lawmakers were considering making changes to the ERC to help pay for the tax cuts coming out of the potential deal.

“The trend with the ERC is that it started as a pandemic-era tax break targeted at employers to make sure they kept workers on payroll during that really challenging time, and now it’s morphed into something different for the claimants, given the aggressive marketing and promotion around the credit,” he said.

However, political and practical obstacles to a deal remain, including potential resistance from state and local tax advocates as well as pushback on changing the tax code right before tax filing season opens on Jan. 29. What exactly the legislative vehicle would be is another open question, as House conservatives revolt against the agreement struck by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

Despite the House tension, staffers on Capitol Hill tell The Hill that the broad contours of the tax deal are still in place.

“Senator Wyden is focused on getting the biggest possible cut to child poverty through the CTC in exchange for a handful of business provisions,” a Democratic aide on the Senate Finance Committee told The Hill on Wednesday morning ahead of a meeting of the committee’s Democrats, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

The CTC was expanded during the pandemic shutdown and raised millions of children above the poverty line, motivating many economic progressives, as well as some Republicans, to argue for a more permanent expansion.

The credit was made fully refundable under the 2021 American Rescue Plan and was boosted from $2,000 to $3,600 for children younger than 6 years old and to $3,000 for children under the age of 18.

“One year on, the Census Bureau confirmed child poverty in 2021 was cut almost in half (a 46 percent reduction) from 2020 levels, down to the lowest levels on record. Census notes that approximately 90 percent of this historic reduction can be attributed to the expanded credit,” researchers from Columbia University wrote in a 2022 study of the CTC.

Child poverty rose fast in that year after the expiration of the expanded credit, with 3.7 million more American children below the poverty line in January 2022 than in December 2021, the researchers noted.

Of the 2.9 million additional children kept above the poverty line by the CTC in 2021, about two-thirds were Black or Hispanic, with 716,000 Black children and 1.2 million Hispanic children lifted from poverty, according to a census study.

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) found that after accounting for macroeconomic effects, the expanded CTC would reduce federal revenues by $1.4 trillion between 2022 and 2032.

The JCT analysis admits that it ignores “potential human capital losses from parents leaving the workforce” as well as “any potential long-run benefits from a reduction in child poverty.”

“Policymakers should prioritize the 19 million children who currently get only a partial Child Tax Credit or none at all because their families earn too little,” Chuck Marr, a vice president for tax policy at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning nonprofit, wrote in a Wednesday policy note.

The business deductions up for discussion in the deal are for research and experimentation costs, interest payments, and sped-up depreciation scheduling. While they apply to businesses across the economy, each provision has advantages for particular sectors.

Research and experimentation write-offs are favored by companies with intensive research and development, such those in the pharmaceutical and technology industries.

The interest deduction can boost profits for companies that use a lot of debt to transact their business, such as the leveraged buyouts undertaken by private equity firms.

Deducting depreciation costs more quickly helps companies with a lot of fixed capital investment, like those in manufacturing and real estate.

All three deductions were taken away in the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) — the Republican tax cut bill enacted by former President Trump — to help pay for the large reduction to the U.S. corporate tax rate, which was slashed to 21 percent from 35 percent.

All told, the TCJA will have added $1.46 trillion to the national deficit between 2018 and 2027, with $653 billion of that due to business tax reforms, according to the JCT.

Taking away the research write-offs gave the government $119.7 billion in revenue through 2027, while limiting interest deductions produced $253.4 billion, according to the JCT, though these numbers are likely to change substantially in the current deal-making process, especially if the timing of it is limited to 2025 when the larger provisions in the TCJA are set to expire.

“The research credit … is by far the biggest,” Howard Gleckman, a tax analyst with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told The Hill in an interview. “JCT estimates it’s around $140 billion between 2023 and 2025. The bonus depreciation is about half that, about $65 to $70 billion between ‘23 and ‘25. Business interest deduction is about $14 billion.”

Beyond speculation about the ERC, it’s not clear how the resumed business deductions or the CTC expansion would be paid for, or whether the tax cuts will simply be added to the deficit.

“I would be shocked if they paid for it,” Gleckman said. “This is why the budget deficit keeps going up. Instead of paying for new tax cuts, the deal that they make is, ‘You get yours and we get ours.’”

Business, Domestic Taxes, News, business taxes, Child Tax Credit, Danny Werfel, IRS, Senate Finance Committee, Ways and Means Committee Senate and House tax experts met Wednesday as they pushed to strike a tax deal that could reinstate business deductions in exchange for an enlargement of the child tax credit (CTC). After failing to emerge from the yearly tax extenders debate at the ends of 2023 and 2022, the potential deal is getting new life…

Business

How Trump’s Tariffs Could Hit American Wallets

Published

2 days ago

July 11, 2025

Bolanle Media Staff

As the debate over tariffs heats up ahead of the 2024 election, new analysis reveals that American consumers could face significant financial consequences if former President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs are enacted and maintained. According to a recent report highlighted by Forbes, the impact could be felt across households, businesses, and the broader U.S. economy.

The Household Cost: Up to $2,400 More Per Year

Research from Yale University’s Budget Lab, cited by Forbes, estimates that the average U.S. household could pay an additional $2,400 in 2025 if the new tariffs take effect and persist. This projection reflects the cumulative impact of all tariffs announced in Trump’s plan.

Price Hikes Across Everyday Goods

The tariffs are expected to drive up consumer prices by 1.8% in the near term. Some of the hardest-hit categories include:

Apparel: Prices could jump 37% in the short term (and 18% long-term).
Footwear: Up 39% short-term (18% long-term).
Metals: Up 43%.
Leather products: Up 39%.
Electrical equipment: Up 26%.
Motor vehicles, electronics, rubber, and plastic products: Up 11–18%.
Groceries: Items like vegetables, fruits, and nuts could rise up to 6%, with additional increases for coffee and orange juice due to specific tariffs on Brazilian imports.

A Historic Tariff Rate and Economic Impact

If fully implemented, the effective tariff rate on U.S. consumers could reach 18%, the highest level since 1934. The broader economic consequences are also notable:

GDP Reduction: The tariffs could reduce U.S. GDP by 0.4% annually, equating to about $110 billion per year.
Revenue vs. Losses: While tariffs are projected to generate $2.2 trillion in revenue over the next decade, this would be offset by $418 billion in negative economic impacts.

How Businesses Are Responding

A KPMG survey cited in the report found that 83% of business leaders expect to raise prices within six months of tariff implementation. More than half say their profit margins are already under pressure, suggesting that consumers will likely bear the brunt of these increased costs.

What This Means for Americans

The findings underscore the potential for substantial financial strain on American families and businesses if Trump’s proposed tariffs are enacted. With consumer prices set to rise and economic growth projected to slow, the debate over tariffs is likely to remain front and center in the months ahead.

For more in-depth economic analysis and updates, stay tuned to Bolanlemedia.com.

Business

U.S. Limits Nigerian Non-Immigrant Visas to Three-Month Validity

Published

4 days ago

July 9, 2025

Bolanle Media Staff

In July 2025, the United States implemented significant changes to its visa policy for Nigerian citizens, restricting most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas to a single entry and a maximum validity of three months. This marks a departure from previous policies that allowed for multiple entries and longer stays, and has important implications for travel, business, and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Key Changes in U.S. Visa Policy for Nigerians

Single-Entry, Three-Month Limit: As of July 8, 2025, most non-immigrant visas issued to Nigerians are now valid for only one entry and up to three months.
No Retroactive Impact: Visas issued prior to this date remain valid under their original terms.
Reciprocity Principle: The U.S. cited alignment with Nigeria’s own visa policies for U.S. citizens as the basis for these changes.
Enhanced Security Screening: Applicants are required to make their social media accounts public for vetting, and are subject to increased scrutiny for any signs of hostility toward U.S. institutions.

Rationale Behind the Policy Shift

Security and Immigration Integrity: The U.S. government stated the changes are intended to safeguard the immigration system and meet global security standards.
Diplomatic Reciprocity: These restrictions mirror the limitations Nigeria imposes on U.S. travelers, emphasizing the principle of fairness in international visa agreements.
Potential for Further Action: The U.S. has indicated that additional travel restrictions could be introduced if Nigeria does not address certain diplomatic and security concerns.

Nigeria’s Updated Visa Policy

Nigeria Visa Policy 2025 (NVP 2025): Introduced in May 2025, this policy features a new e-Visa system for short visits and reorganizes visa categories:
- Short Visit Visas (e-Visa): For business or tourism, valid up to three months, non-renewable, processed digitally within 48 hours.
- Temporary Residence Visas: For employment or study, valid up to two years.
- Permanent Residence Visas: For investors, retirees, and highly skilled individuals.
Visa Exemptions: ECOWAS citizens and certain diplomatic passport holders remain exempt.
Reciprocal Restrictions: Most short-stay and business visas for U.S. citizens are single-entry and short-term, reflecting reciprocal treatment.

Impact on Travelers and Bilateral Relations

Nigerian Travelers: Face increased administrative requirements, higher costs, and reduced travel flexibility to the U.S.
U.S. Travelers to Nigeria: Encounter similar restrictions, with most visas limited to single entry and short duration.
Diplomatic Tensions: Nigerian officials have called for reconsideration of the U.S. policy, warning of negative effects on bilateral ties and people-to-people exchanges.

Conclusion

The U.S. decision to limit Nigerian non-immigrant visas to three months highlights the growing complexity and reciprocity in global visa regimes. Both countries are tightening their policies, citing security and fairness, which underscores the need for travelers and businesses to stay informed and adapt to evolving requirements.

Business

Nicki Minaj Demands $200 Million from Jay-Z in Explosive Twitter Rant

Published

4 days ago

July 9, 2025

Bolanle Media Staff

Nicki Minaj has once again set social media ablaze, this time targeting Jay-Z with a series of pointed tweets that allege he owes her an eye-popping $200 million. The outburst has reignited debates about artist compensation, industry transparency, and the ongoing power struggles within hip-hop’s elite circles.

The $200 Million Claim

In a string of tweets, Minaj directly addressed Jay-Z, writing, “Jay-Z, call me to settle the karmic debt. It’s only collecting more interest. You still in my top five though. Let’s get it.” She went further, warning, “Anyone still calling him Hov will answer to God for the blasphemy.” According to Minaj, the alleged debt stems from Jay-Z’s sale of Tidal, the music streaming platform he launched in 2015 with a group of high-profile artists—including Minaj herself, J. Cole, and Rihanna.

When Jay-Z sold Tidal in 2021, Minaj claims she was only offered $1 million, a figure she says falls dramatically short of what she believes she is owed based on her ownership stake and contributions. She has long voiced dissatisfaction with the payout, but this is the most public—and dramatic—demand to date.

Beyond the Money: Broader Grievances

Minaj’s Twitter storm wasn’t limited to financial complaints. She also:

Promised to start a college fund for her fans if she receives the money she claims is owed.
Accused blogs and online creators of ignoring her side of the story, especially when it involves Jay-Z.
Warned content creators about posting “hate or lies,” saying, “They won’t cover your legal fees… I hope it’s worth losing everything including your account.”

She expressed frustration that mainstream blogs and platforms don’t fully cover her statements, especially when they involve Jay-Z, and suggested that much of the coverage she receives is from less reputable sources.

Satirical Accusations and Industry Critique

Minaj’s tweets took a satirical turn as she jokingly blamed Jay-Z for a laundry list of cultural grievances, including:

The state of hip-hop, football, basketball, and touring
The decline of Instagram and Twitter
Even processed foods and artificial dyes in candy

She repeatedly declared, “The jig is up,” but clarified that her statements were “alleged and for entertainment purposes only.”

Political and Cultural Criticism

Minaj also criticized Jay-Z’s political involvement, questioning why he didn’t campaign more actively for Kamala Harris or respond to President Obama’s comments about Black men. While Jay-Z has a history of supporting Democratic campaigns, Minaj’s critique centered on more recent events and what she perceives as a lack of advocacy for the Black community.

The Super Bowl and Lil Wayne

Adding another layer to her grievances, Minaj voiced disappointment that Lil Wayne was not chosen to perform at the Super Bowl in New Orleans, a decision she attributes to Jay-Z’s influence in the entertainment industry.

Public and Industry Reaction

Despite the seriousness of her financial claim, many observers note that if Minaj truly believed Jay-Z owed her $200 million, legal action—not social media—would likely follow. As of now, there is no public record of a lawsuit or formal complaint.

Some fans and commentators see Minaj’s outburst as part of a larger pattern of airing industry grievances online, while others interpret it as a mix of personal frustration and performance art. Minaj herself emphasized that her tweets were “for entertainment purposes only.”

Conclusion

Nicki Minaj’s explosive Twitter rant against Jay-Z has once again placed the spotlight on issues of artist compensation and industry dynamics. Whether her claims will lead to further action or remain another dramatic chapter in hip-hop’s ongoing soap opera remains to be seen, but for now, the world is watching—and tweeting.