WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Christmas has come early for the vast majority of Americans whose paychecks are barely rising: a temporary tax cut of sorts in the form of plunging gasoline prices. The surprisingly large drop in the price of oil since midsummer is a boon for most consumers and U.S. businesses. Economists calculate that households have already saved about $100 billion so far, a windfall that could help produce the best holiday shopping season since the Great Recessi

Certain Medicaid Waiver Payments May Be Excludable From Income On January 3, 2014, the IRS issued Notice 2014-7 addressing the income tax treatment of certain payments to an individual care provider under a state Home and Community-Based Services Waiver (Medicaid waiver) program. The notice provides that the IRS will treat “qualified Medicaid waiver payments” as difficulty of care payments excludable from gross income under § 131 of the Internal Revenue Code. For purposes

New and existing small employers who do not yet benefit from the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit should look into whether the credit can help them provide insurance to their employees. For tax years beginning in 2014 and after, the maximum credit is 50 percent of premiums paid for small business employers, and 35 percent of premiums paid for tax-exempt small employers, such as charities. Beginning in 2014, a small employer may qualify for the credit if: It has fewer tha

The Congressional Budget Office released its annual study of the distribution of income and federal taxes. It tells us what we’ve long known: The rich pay a lot of federal taxes, much more than the middle class and the poor. President Obama for many years pushed his infamous Buffett Rule, which said that the highest-earning Americans should pay at least 30 percent of their income in federal taxes. According to CBO, the average tax rate of the top 1 percent was 29 percent in 2

Policymakers have the difficult task of generating adequate tax revenue without excessively hampering economic growth and employment. States can promote business in various ways, but the tax system is one of the key elements encouraging economic activity. According to The Tax Foundation, a think tank that advocates for lower taxes and a simpler tax code, some states remain much more tax friendly to business than others. The Tax Foundation's 2015 State Business Tax Climate Ind