New from me: Trump's media company's plan to offer faster access to Truth Social posts to Wall Street firms in exchange for a fee is drawing scrutiny from lawmakers. Rep. Raskin, top Dem on House Judiciary, is pressing the company for answers. Gift Link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

House Democrats Seek Answers on Faster Access to Trump’s Posts

House Democrats are opening an inquiry into a plan by President Donald Trump’s media company to offer faster access to posts on its social media platform to Wall Street firms in exchange for a fee.

bloomberg.com

New tax cuts are a focal point of Republicans’ pitch to voters heading into the midterms, nowhere more so than in Nevada, where Trump first pitched no-tax-on-tips in 2024. But there are signs economic headwinds are blunting the impact of the tax relief. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Trump’s No Tax on Tips Gamble Risks Falling Short With Disgruntled Vegas Voters

Higher prices and tourism declines are blunting the financial impact of the president’s tax relief.

bloomberg.com

Happy Tax Day! Average refunds are up compared to last year, thanks to last year's GOP tax law. But there are signs that some taxpayers have missed the memo. Interesting polling from Bipartisan Policy Center that could have midterm implications. Free link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Tax Refunds Are Up, But Many Americans Aren’t Feeling It

Americans rushing to meet Wednesday’s tax filing deadline are getting bigger refunds on average thanks to President Donald Trump’s tax law, though the savings are falling short of his promises and man...

bloomberg.com

The IRS has an early present for Santa: tax deductible tips. The agency's final rule on jobs that qualify for Trump's tips tax break has some fun nuggets, including clarity for Santa and celebrity impersonators, horse groomers and the clergy. Free link: bit.ly/4cBOdU4

Corporate tax revenues tumbled following the GOP tax law. I dug through filings and earnings calls of the 50 biggest US-listed companies to figure out where those tax savings went. Nearly a dozen credited the law for a drop in their 2025 taxes with some paying billions less than the year before.

Trump’s Tax Cut Delivers at Least $65 Billion Windfall to Corporations

Some of the country’s wealthiest corporations are calculating they owe far less to the Internal Revenue Service as a result of President Donald Trump’s overhauled tax code, underscoring how a law bill...

bloomberg.com

With the threat of the government shutdown rising, a lapse in funding would undercut the IRS during an already challenging filing season, thanks to leadership turnover, staff cuts and new tax breaks. Here's what that would mean for taxpayers (gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NEW: The Treasury Department is preparing to release a corporate tax workaround that would deliver big tax savings to companies including Salesforce and Qualcomm. The change would let companies deduct old R&D investments without triggering the 15% corporate minimum tax. Gift link:

Trump Administration Plans to Boost Tax Break for Corporations

The Treasury Department is preparing to release a corporate tax workaround that would deliver large tax savings to companies including Salesforce Inc. and Qualcomm Inc.

bloomberg.com

Small business owners and workers, who make up nearly half Obamacare enrollment, will be hit hard when enhanced subsidies expire in Jan. I spoke to a few owners who are facing tough decisions about what do when their health care costs skyrocket next year. Free link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

US Health Care Premium Spikes to Squeeze Main Street Businesses

Gladys Harrison, owner of Big Mama’s Kitchen and Catering, was already struggling to cover rising food prices for ingredients at the Omaha restaurant that’s been in her family for two generations. The...

bloomberg.com

Last week the White House acted on its threats to eliminate the CDFI Fund, laying off its entire staff. But CDFIs have strong bipartisan backing, and at least one GOP senator is fighting back. Read @emilyflitter.bsky.social and @caitlinreilly.bsky.social: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Republican to Pressure Trump to Reverse Some Treasury Job Cuts

A top Senate Republican will push President Donald Trump to reverse firings at the Treasury Department that targeted the staff overseeing a fund for financial services in economically disadvantaged co...

bloomberg.com

I dug into @kff.org data on the expiring health care subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight and found their expiration would most affect residents in GOP states and districts, which could have implications for next year's midterm elections. Free story here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

GOP Districts ‘Supercharged’ Obamacare Use Is Risk in Shutdown Fight

The health insurance subsidies at the center of the US government shutdown fight disproportionately benefit areas of the country represented by Republican lawmakers, posing a potential vulnerability f...

bloomberg.com

Tune into this conversation with my Bloomberg News colleagues Nathan Hager, @caitlinreilly.bsky.social and @steventdennis.bsky.social and me as we dive into the impacts of the government shutdown. Link below 👇

Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com · last yr.

Hours into the US government shutdown, what are we watching from Wall Street to Washington? Bloomberg journalists will answer your questions in a Live Q&A conversation today at 10 a.m. EDT. ⏰ Set a reminder and stream here: bloom.bg/4mOAYkX

A deeper look at how the Trump administration is targeting liberal groups, with @caitlinreilly.bsky.social and @simonefoxman.bsky.social: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Readies Tax, Criminal Crackdowns on Liberal Groups After Kirk Killing

The Trump administration is making plans for how to go after left-wing groups it says are fomenting political violence following the killing of Charlie Kirk, while nonprofits prepare to defend themsel...

bloomberg.com

News: Hours after we published, Treasury shared a statement saying upcoming formal guidance would exclude tips connected to "illegal activity, prostitution or pornography" from the tax break. The department did not respond to an earlier request for comment. I guess tax is not sexy after all.

Caitlin Reilly@caitlinreilly.bsky.social · last yr.

This is definitely the first time I’ve interviewed a dominatrix for a story. But OnlyFans creators and others in the digital content creation space could be big winners in the rollout of Trump’s no-tax-on-tips. Who says tax isn’t sexy? Free link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

This is definitely the first time I’ve interviewed a dominatrix for a story. But OnlyFans creators and others in the digital content creation space could be big winners in the rollout of Trump’s no-tax-on-tips. Who says tax isn’t sexy? Free link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Podcasters and OnlyFans Creators Stand to Win Big Under Trump’s Tax Law

Katherine Green, a dominatrix who creates online adult videos, wasn’t expecting a windfall from President Donald Trump’s signature push to make tips tax-free.

bloomberg.com

Medicare cuts in play as Senate GOP hones budget bill. (@jessiehellmann.bsky.social @sandhyawrites.bsky.social @caitlinreilly.bsky.social Roll Call) rollcall.com/2025/06/05/m...

Medicare cuts in play as Senate GOP hones budget bill - Roll Call

As Senate Republicans go deep into reconciliation bill-drafting mode, Medicare is increasingly coming up as a potential pay-for.

rollcall.com

Full story on CQ: plus.cq.com/doc/news-81694…

Caitlin Reilly@caitlinreilly.bsky.social · 2y ago

Scoop: As House GOP huddled with Trump on reconciliation today, Senate Budget Rs quietly met to hammer out their budget blueprint, aiming for a Wednesday markup. The tentative plan includes $175B for border, $150B for defense and $17B for the Coast Guard over 4 years, fully offset.

Scoop: As House GOP huddled with Trump on reconciliation today, Senate Budget Rs quietly met to hammer out their budget blueprint, aiming for a Wednesday markup. The tentative plan includes $175B for border, $150B for defense and $17B for the Coast Guard over 4 years, fully offset.

Senate Majority Leader Thune was noncommittal when asked about reports that House and Senate leadership agreed to a one-bill reconciliation strategy. “Well, I think that discussion is always predicated on what we can get done,” he said.

Finance ranking member @wyden.senate.gov, D-Ore., seemed to indicate following the markup Democrats are in no rush to strike a deal with Republicans that would speed up Bessent's confirmation on the floor. “Every day seems to yield some additional questions,” Wyden said.

Caitlin Reilly@caitlinreilly.bsky.social · 2y ago

The Senate Finance Committee voted 16-11 to approve Scott Bessent’s nomination to be Treasury secretary, clearing the way for floor consideration. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire voted to advance the nomination.

The Senate Finance Committee voted 16-11 to approve Scott Bessent’s nomination to be Treasury secretary, clearing the way for floor consideration. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire voted to advance the nomination.

Governors Tate Reeves, R-Miss., Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., Brian Kemp, R-Ga., Ned Lamont, D-Conn., Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., are down here too, as is former GOP Arizona senate and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. House and Senate spouses are also seated in the overflow space.

Caitlin Reilly@caitlinreilly.bsky.social · 2y ago

Here’s who we’ve spotted in the inauguration overflow viewing space in the Capitol Visitor Center so far: Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang Open AI CEO Sam Altman MMA fighter Conor McGregor Influencers Logan & Jake Paul Podcaster Theo Von NY Mayor Eric Adams Former race car driver Danica Patrick

Here’s who we’ve spotted in the inauguration overflow viewing space in the Capitol Visitor Center so far: Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang Open AI CEO Sam Altman MMA fighter Conor McGregor Influencers Logan & Jake Paul Podcaster Theo Von NY Mayor Eric Adams Former race car driver Danica Patrick

House Republicans are examining hundreds of policy options across 11 committees for possible inclusion in their one-bill reconciliation package, according to a document compiled by the House Budget Committee. Full story here: plus.cq.com/doc/news-815...

So it’s less clear whether it survives past this year. Bessent only committed to this filing season, which starts in a few weeks, and said he would review the program after that. It’s an uphill battle beyond that because Republicans (and tax prep software providers) are pretty dug in against it.

Jim Saksa@jimsaksa.com · 2y ago

This is good news and you can bet Trump will claim credit for this Biden-era program. The bad news is DC isn't part of this year's expanded pilot, so I still gotta fork over way too much money to file my taxes this year (the existing online free file system is a goddamn mess)

Sen. Cassidy, R-La., asked Bessent whether he would support imposing trade duties on carbon-intensive imports, a concept that in theory could find some support among Dems. Bessent called it an “interesting idea” that could fit within a broader tariff program.

A little news from this hearing: Bessent commits that the IRS Direct File program allowing taxpayers to file directly online with the IRS, a target of GOP attacks, will be available and operable this tax season.

Ranking Dem @wyden.senate.gov painted Bessent’s handling of his taxes as emblematic of a system with one set of rules for the rich and another for the working class. “This is exactly the kind of abusive scheme that leaves Americans feeling disgusted with the tax code,” he said.

Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury nom, is appearing before Senate Finance this morning. Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, opened the hearing, saying Bessent had cooperated with the committee on its “exacting” vetting process. “It’s clear you followed all applicable law,” Crapo said.

Now in front of the paywall: rollcall.com/2025/01/15/d...

Democrats: Bessent avoided Medicare tax on hedge fund earnings - Roll Call

Senate Democrats are gearing up for a fight against Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary.

rollcall.com

Caitlin Reilly@caitlinreilly.bsky.social · 2y ago

NEW: Senate Democrats are gearing up for a fight against Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, with questions about his fitness to hold the office based on a review of his tax returns. He's due before the Finance Committee tomorrow. plus.cq.com/doc/news-815...

NEW: Senate Democrats are gearing up for a fight against Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, with questions about his fitness to hold the office based on a review of his tax returns. He's due before the Finance Committee tomorrow. plus.cq.com/doc/news-815...