Government

Justices take up cases on veterans’ education benefits and 16th Amendment – SCOTUSblog

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Justices take up cases on veterans’ education benefits and 16th Amendment – SCOTUSblog

In Moore v. United States, the justices agreed to hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a provision of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act known as the “mandatory repatriation tax,” which required U.S. taxpayers who owned shares in foreign corporations to pay a one-time tax on their share of the corporation’s earnings, even if those earnings were reinvested in the corporation and the taxpayers did not receive them.

Article I of the Constitution requires Congress to apportion any “direct taxes” among the states. The 16th Amendment carves out an exception to that rule, allowing Congress to tax “incomes, from whatever source derived,” without apportioning that tax among the states.

A Washington state couple, Charles and Kathleen Moore, went to federal court to challenge the tax. They own a 13% stake in an Indian corporation that supplies power tools to small Indian farms. The corporation reinvested its earnings rather than distributing dividends, and the Moores never received any income from their shares. The couple contended that the mandatory repatriation tax – which increased their tax liability by approximately $15,000 – violated the 16th Amendment. Under the Supreme Court’s cases interpreting the 16th Amendment, they argued, income must be distributed before it can be taxed, and therefore the mandatory repatriation tax is a direct tax that is not apportioned among the states.

It’s early, likely to be big, sloppy and add even more heat to a warming world | AP News

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Here comes El Nino: It’s early, likely to be big, sloppy and add even more heat to a warming world | AP News

FILE - People walk along the oceanfront at Jensen Beach Park, where waves were reaching the dune's edge as conditions deteriorated with the approach of Hurricane Nicole, Nov. 9, 2022, in Jensen Beach, Fla. After months of gradually warming sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, NOAA officially issued an El Nino advisory Thursday, June 8, 2023, and stated that this one might be different than the others. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File) 1 of 4 FILE - People walk along the oceanfront at Jensen Beach Park, where waves were reaching the dune's edge as conditions deteriorated with the approach of Hurricane Nicole, Nov. 9, 2022, in Jensen Beach, Fla. After months of gradually warming sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, NOAA officially issued an El Nino advisory Thursday, June 8, 2023, and stated that this one might be different than the others. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

An early bird El Nino has officially formed, likely to be strong, warp weather worldwide and give an already warming Earth an extra kick of natural heat, meteorologists announced.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Thursday issued an El Nino advisory, announcing the arrival of the climatic condition. It may not quite be like the others.

It formed a month or two earlier than most El Ninos do, which “gives it room to grow,” and there’s a 56% chance it will be considered strong and a 25% chance it reaches supersized levels, said climate scientist Michelle L’Heureux, head of NOAA’s El Nino/La Nina forecast office.

Supreme Court Rules That States Are Not Entitled to Windfalls in Tax Disputes – The New York Times

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Supreme Court Rules That States Are Not Entitled to Windfalls in Tax Disputes – The New York Times

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that states that seize and sell private property to recoup unpaid taxes violate the Constitution’s takings clause if they retain more than what the taxpayer owed.

The case concerned a 94-year-old woman in Minnesota who had stopped paying property taxes on her condominium after moving into an assisted-living center.

By the time Hennepin County seized the property, the woman, Geraldine Tyler, owed about $2,000 in taxes and another $13,000 in penalties and interest. The county sold the condo at auction for $40,000, and it kept not only the $15,000 that all agreed it was due but also the remaining $25,000.

Retaining the entire value of a confiscated property, even when the debts owed amounted to a small portion of it, is authorized by Minnesota law.

NPR

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The IRS is working on software to allow taxpayers to file online : NPR

The IRS is developing a system that would let taxpayers send electronic returns directly to the government for free, sidestepping commercial options such as TurboTax.

The agency plans a pilot test of the program next year.

Many other countries already offer taxpayers a government-run filing system. But the IRS plan is likely to face stiff opposition from the $14 billion tax-preparation industry.