Big Beautiful Bill Part V-Taxes

Fun class today. After I answered all the history questions, I asked what we needed to talk about as part of our civic class. Of course, this Bill was the main topic of consideration. I warned them I did not want to hear what they heard, but only what they looked at, too much misunderstanding out there. When we started talking about taxes one of them said this Bill only helps the rich. I asked them for evidence and they said they read that. I asked if they read the Bill and of course they said no. They asked if I had, and boom and put my 20 pages of notes on the screen. I pulled up the part on taxes (let them know I have only read half the bill) where I highlighted all the sections that penalized people who made over 100,000 or 150,000 dollars. We went line through line and then I asked them if they still agreed it was a tax break for the right. It’s hard to argue facts. I had to tell them this could change, there is still a lot to read which bring me to the next section.

If you thought I was a liability on understanding personal tax laws this next section is about business taxes. Honestly, I only did a quick glance over this. I am not going to break down each clause here and this is probably an over simplified version but is what you get for listening to a historian. Basically, 70301 to 70309 is meant to help American business. Businesses can now permanently deduct 100% of the cost of new equipment right away instead of spreading it out over years. Companies can fully and immediately deduct the cost of research and development done in the U.S. It eases limits on how much interest businesses can deduct on borrowed money. Extends and strengthens the tax credit for businesses offering paid family/medical leave. Allows full deduction (instead of 50%) for meals provided to workers in specific industries. Increases the amount small businesses can immediately write off for new equipment purchases. Businesses that build or improve U.S. based factories or production sites can deduct the full cost upfront. Raises the tax credit for investing in advanced manufacturing (e.g., semiconductors, clean energy) from 25% to 35%. Finally, it updates the law so spaceports can use tax-exempt bonds just like airports can. Basically, this section reduces taxes and increases incentives for businesses to invest in equipment and research and expand manufacturing.

Section 70311 to 70354 are about foreign taxation. I’m questioning why I started this project. Again, I am going to admit I am a bit out of my element and had to look up some this. I am just going to try to summarize all this into one paragraph that hopefully makes sense. These new tax rules change how U.S. companies pay taxes on money they make through their foreign branches and subsidiaries. They make it harder for companies to lower U.S. taxes by shifting income or deductions to other countries. The rules change how companies get credits for taxes paid abroad, how income from selling U.S. products overseas is taxed, and how certain foreign earnings must be reported. They also set clearer and sometimes higher minimum taxes on money sent to foreign related companies, fix how interest deductions work, and make some tax breaks permanent for moving money between foreign parts of the company. The rules also change how ownership of foreign companies are counted, so U.S. owners won’t be linked to stock owned by non-U.S. people, and update how U.S. shareholders report their share of foreign company income based on how much and how long they own it. These changes mostly start in 2026, and the IRS will give more guidance to help companies follow the new rules.

Not a lot today, I had to grade a bunch of papers which takes most of my time. I will try to keep going, I am only about half way done.