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Why do some states still have a grocery tax?

Sep 6, 2023
The poorest Americans spend the largest share of their paychecks on food at home.
Across the U.S., state grocery taxes can range from less than 1% to 7% on non-prepared foods.
Elijah Nouvelage

Social Security has funding problems. How do we fix it before benefits are cut?

Jun 12, 2023
The trust fund supplementing income taxes could run dry within 10 years. Dennis Jansen of Texas A&M suggests reforms.
About 67 million Americans receive Social Security income.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Taxpayers aren't the only ones disappointed with taxes this year

May 15, 2023
Federal tax revenue is coming in short while the debt ceiling remains unresolved. The problem was signaled by meager refunds.
So far this fiscal year, the IRS has brought in an estimated $250 billion less than forecast, possibly caused by lower capital gains tax receipts and postponed filing in California.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

You can pay your taxes in cash — if you're up for the challenge

Apr 17, 2023
Jay Zagorsky of Boston University paid his taxes in $100 bills and exact change. A cashless society has some disadvantages, he says.
"There are some advantages of cash that we're going to lose once we suddenly go to a pure cashless economy," says Boston University professor Jay Zagorsky.
Murtaja Lateef/AFP via Getty Images

How does the tax code influence what we do with our money?

Apr 14, 2023
Get married? Buy a house? Invest or work? Tax rates and deductions reveal what behaviors society values.
A view of single-family homes in Miramar, Florida. The mortgage interest deduction is helpful for homeowners, but economists say it can actually hurt homeownership rates.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Immigrants' taxes play an outsized role in the U.S. government's fiscal health

Apr 11, 2023
Immigrant contributions to government revenues are higher than they may first appear.
 Mexican immigrants work on a housing construction site on May 3, 2013 in Denver, Colorado.
John Moore/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Your tax refund may be smaller this year

Apr 5, 2023
Pandemic tax credits have dried up, like the temporary expansion of the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit.
Without pandemic-era expanded tax credits, low- and middle-income families will likely see lower tax returns.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Were last year's state payments taxable? Taxpayers wait while the IRS decides.

Feb 9, 2023
It's will depend on why the payments were made and who got them.
The Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. Even though tax season is upon us, the agency hasn't yet ruled whether special payments from states will be exempt.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

As tax season approaches, accounting firms are short on staff

Feb 7, 2023
And maybe a branding problem, too.
"Nobody thinks about the accountants," said Adrienne Gonzales, editor for the accounting blog "Going Concern." "They think about the accountants on April 15 when taxes are due. But there’s this whole network that is the engine of the economy."
Sasirin Pamai/Getty