Are we great yet? Tax edition

Hey, remember that awesome tax cut the Republicans passed last year? The one legislative accomplishment they actually, uh, accomplished? The one that was going to put money back in the pockets of ALL Americans and not just the rich and corporations?

How's that going?

The first U.S. tax filing season under the overhaul that President Donald Trump signed into law at the end of 2017 got off to a slow start in the first week, with data released on Friday showing a significant drop in returns and refunds.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, the total number of returns received in the week ending Feb. 1, 16.04 million, was down 12.4 percent from the week that ended on Feb. 2, 2018. Only 13.31 million returns were processed, down 25.8 percent from the year before. The average refund of $1,865 was 8.4 percent smaller than the average refund in the period last year.  Link

Check out that last sentence. The average refund was 8.4 percent smaller. That means LESS money in your pocket.

But it's not all bad news, right?

“The popular video streaming service Netflix posted its largest-ever U.S. profit in 2018­­—$845 million—on which it didn’t pay a dime in federal or state income taxes. In fact, the company reported a $22 million federal tax rebate. 

After a year of speculation and spin, the public is getting its first hard look at how corporate tax law changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affected the tax-paying habits of corporations. The law sharply reduced the federal corporate rate, expanded some tax breaks and curtailed others. The new tax law took effect at the beginning of 2018, which means that companies are just now closing the books on their first full year under the new rules.  Link

Phew! At least Netflix paid no taxes. I'm so relieved.

Oh, and in case you were wondering if they'll use that $845 million to lower their rates . . .

The service’s most popular plan will increase from $11 to $13 per month for HD streaming. Netflix’s most expensive plan, which offers 4K content and up to four simultaneous streams on different devices, will increase from $14 to $16. And the service’s basic plan, which doesn’t offer HD, will raise from $8 to $9. Link

Thanks Republicans!