A suspension of the 18.4 cents a gallon federal gasoline tax would require congressional approval. Photo: Nick Rohlman/The Gazette/Associated Press WASHINGTON—President Biden is planning to call for a temporary suspension of the federal gasoline tax, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Biden and his advisers have been discussing the issue for months in … Read more
WASHINGTON—President Biden said Monday that he may make a decision on seeking a pause to the federal gasoline tax by the end of the week, as Americans deal with soaring gas prices. Mr. Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Del., that he is considering a gas tax holiday. “I hope to have a decision based … Read more
WASHINGTON—The federal budget ran a $66 billion deficit during May, a 50% decline from a year earlier as the government slashed spending on pandemic programs. Federal outlays in May fell by 24% to $455 billion, not adjusting for calendar differences, the Treasury Department reported Friday. That reflected a reduction in spending on pandemic programs at … Read more
WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Biden administration is considering ways to reconfigure tariffs on imports from China as a means of helping to ease decades-high inflation. Ms. Yellen, speaking at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, said she expected the administration to have additional information on its plans in the coming … Read more
WASHINGTON—An unprecedented gush of income tax revenue is flowing into the federal government, driven in part by investors and business owners, and the size and speed of the increase has surprised even the nation’s fiscal-policy experts. Individual income tax collections are poised to reach $2.6 trillion, or 10.6% of the economy in the fiscal year … Read more
WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen denied that she tried to decrease the size of the $1.9 trillion rescue package Democrats approved in early 2021, defending legislation that is now a focus of debate about the causes of currently high inflation. Ms. Yellen’s statement Saturday comes after Bloomberg News reported that a forthcoming biography about Ms. Yellen … Read more
A federal pandemic aid program aimed at boosting small businesses’ access to capital is getting off the ground more than a year after it was authorized, when firms are now facing the headwinds of high inflation and the growing risks of an economic downturn. The Treasury Department this month began distributing nearly $200 million to … Read more
Billionaire Robert Brockman is competent to stand trial for tax evasion, a federal judge ruled, finding that the Texas automotive-software mogul was exaggerating his symptoms of dementia in an effort to avoid prosecution and a potentially lengthy prison sentence. Mr. Brockman was indicted in October 2020 on charges that he used a web of offshore … Read more
Americans reported the highest level of financial well-being last fall than at any point in almost a decade, according to a Federal Reserve survey, bolstering households ahead of growing economic uncertainty. The survey, conducted in October and November of last year and released Monday, is a sign that households entered 2022 in good shape, ahead … Read more
WASHINGTON—Top U.S. officials who oversee the Internal Revenue Service are expressing growing dismay with a year-old D.C. mystery: how confidential information about the nation’s wealthiest and highest-income taxpayers—including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk —became public. Extensive disclosures to news organization ProPublica made public the tax figures of many of the most well-known ultrawealthy Americans, showing … Read more