Displaying items by tag: taxes

(Washington)

One of Biden’s most important campaign promises was that he would not raise taxes on the middle class…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site

(Washington)

Investors may fear it, but we all know the big tax package is coming. Personal income tax rates, and likely business rates will rise. State and local taxes will be affected too. So one big question is how this will pay out for muni bonds. The answer, at least according to Franklin Templeton, is that munis are going to do great. The reason why could not be simpler: with tax rates rising, the relative value of munis rises since their tax exempt status because relatively more valuable.

FINSUM: Anxiety about the forthcoming tax plan is rising, and that is a great tailwind for munis. Couple that with the fact that Democrats are more in favor of federal support for municipalities and you have a great combination for muni bonds.

(Washington)

One of Biden’s most important campaign promises was that he would not raise taxes on the middle class, or more specifically those earning less than $400,000. Accordingly, it is a surprise to see a new proposal from Democrats that would do exactly that. Biden and the Democrats appear to be going after “stepped up basis” in inheritance taxes as a way to raise tax revenue and fund the infrastructure bill. Right now, when inherited assets get transferred, their basis resets to whatever the market value is at the time of inheritance. In this way, heirs only pay capital gains on the increase in value that occurs while they hold the asset. Biden and his administration wants to change the rules in order to keep the basis in place from when the original buyer purchased the asset. This change would not only affect the wealthy in a big way, but also the middle class, as the basis for many assets would suddenly be very low, meaning large taxes would be due no matter the size of the estate being transferred. A good example might be an inherited condo from a parent that was bought 30 years ago and has appreciated from $100,000 at purchase to $600,000 now. Under the current system, a middle class earner who inherited and decided to immediately sell the condo would pay almost no taxes. However, under the new proposal, almost $100,000 in taxes would be due because basis would be applied to the original purchase price!

FINSUM: This is a big change that advisors need to be watching closely!

(Washington)

Many advisors may not have realized it yet, but the new COVID relief package passed by Congress recently has many benefits for upper middle class Americans and even those in the mass affluent category (which constitute tens of millions of clients for advisors). Other than the $1,400 checks, there are also two lesser known details advisors need to be aware of. If a client qualified for a check last time, but did not get one, they can claim the money they would have been entitled to as a credit against their taxes. It is a bottom line deduction that comes directly out of taxes owed. If no taxes are owed, they should get the credit as a refund check Additionally, the package offers enhanced child tax credits. This is $3,600 per child under 6 years old, and $3,000 per child between 6 and under 18 years old. The latter used to be for those under 17, so this helps those with 17 year-old children. Finally, those who have student loans that will be forgiven will not have to pay taxes on the forgiven amounts, which is a massive benefit for those who qualify.

FINSUM: There is a lot more to this package than many realize. Advisors should take a deeper dive to see what applies to their clients.

(New York)

Even before the pandemic and subsequent crisis, the high-yield Muni market failed to deliver the returns after taxes that the corporate bond market…view the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site