IRS to pursue 1600 millionaire tax cheats – National & International News – FRI 8Sep2023

IRS to pursue 1600 millionaire tax cheats.

GA grand jury recommended charges for Sen. Graham, other Trump allies.

Mexico: Abortion decriminalization may draw US patients over the border.

NATIONAL NEWS

IRS to pursue 1600 millionaire tax cheats

A 2021 study found the top 1% of US income earners fail to report more than 20% of their earnings to the IRS. Wealthy individuals and businesses are getting better at dodging their taxes and staying one step ahead of the auditors. The new IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel wants to change that. Since taking over the agency in March, Werfel has been spearheading efforts to crack down on wealthy tax dodgers.

In July, the IRS announced it had collected $38 million in delinquent taxes from more than 175 wealthy individuals and entities in just a few months. Werfel wants to scale up that effort to examine about 1600 US millionaires as well as 75 major business partnerships. By using emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), agents can “see patterns and trends that we could not see before,” Werfel said. This gives the agency an edge in tracking down how and where wealthy Americans and businesses are shielding their income.

This enhanced enforcement has been made possible by $80 billion in new IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act last year. This year, Republicans in the House have been trying to claw back that new funding ever since, first by attempting threating to force the country into debt default and now threatening to force a government shutdown.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Georgia grand jury recommended charges for Sen. Lindsey Graham, other Trump allies

Today, the full report of a Fulton County special grand jury became public, months after the panel recommended charges for dozens of people tied to a conspiracy to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. The report has been under court-ordered seal until today, weeks after charges were announced against 19 people, including Trump himself. The report reveals that the panel recommended charges against 21 additional people who ultimately weren’t charged. Among them were Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is still in office, and former US Senators from Georgia David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

Like Trump, Graham had called Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger to press him on how the voting outcome might be changed. Raffensperger says Graham wanted him to disqualify thousands of write-in ballots. Graham has denied that accusation.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Mexico: Abortion decriminalization may draw US patients over the border

In a landmark ruling this week, Mexico’s Supreme Court has decriminalized abortion nationwide. This makes Mexico just the latest Latin American country to expand access to the procedure after decades of prohibition. The news will likely draw even more desperate patients from states like Texas and Mississippi where abortions are banned and where they would otherwise have to travel many states away.

However, pro-choice advocates say Americans should do their homework before making a dash for the border. Although the procedure has been decriminalized throughout Mexico, some states still have bans in place that must be struck down in the courts one-by-one. Additionally, some states limit abortions to 15 weeks’ gestation.

Currently abortion is legal in Mexico City and the states of Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Coahuila, Colima, Baja California, Sinaloa, Guerrero, Baja California Sur, Quintana Roo, and Aguascalientes. Only Baja California and Coahuila share a border with the US.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).