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After the Trump administration and Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gutted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by firing an estimated 7,000 workers, the agency responsible for collecting our nation’s taxes is now poised to close audits on some of the wealthiest taxpayers, who may not have paid their fair share. Democrats are warning that wealthy tax dodgers could soon benefit from fewer compliance staff, which would dismantle President Bidens efforts to strengthen tax enforcement on the rich. During the Biden administration, the IRS received $80 billion, in part to help the under-resourced agency hold these high-income individuals and large corporations accountable, which resulted in collecting $1.3 billion in back taxes, according to the Internal Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Last week, more than 130 House Democrats sent a letter to Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause questioning the mass firings at the “already overburdened agency,” saying the move “threatens to undermine the IRSs capacity to serve the American people effectively” right before tax season, “including ensuring that taxpayers receive timely services and refunds.” (The last thing financially struggling Americans need right now is an IRS that can’t process our tax refunds promptly.) “These efforts are not only a matter of fairness but also a necessity for addressing our nations debt and revenue shortfalls,” the letter continued. “The loss of thousands of compliance staff . . . could cripple this progress, emboldening tax evasion, and depriving the U.S. of urgently needed resources.” Senate Democrats are also worried about the cuts hampering the IRS’s ability to function properly during the upcoming tax season, prompting 18 Democrats to send a letter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, saying the recent layoffs would “likely reverse recent improvements in taxpayer service, causing phone wait times to increase.” In 2022, the average phone wait time was 28 minutes, but it went down to just 3 minutes during the 2023 filing season, which was maintained through 2024. They also argued that the layoffs would interfere with the agency’s ongoing efforts to crack down on highly sophisticated tax-evasion structures used by ultra high-wealth taxpayers and companies, including offshore tax evasion, large opaque partnerships, and abuse of luxury assets like private jets.
Category:
E-Commerce
President Donald Trump, who’s buying a Tesla to show loyalty to company CEO Elon Musk, has had plenty to say about electric vehicles over the years. Most of it is not good. Of course, Trump was once a sharp critic of Musk, too, which is especially notable given how tight the pair are now. A look at some of Trump’s comments on EVs and Musk: Trump includes electric cars in a sour Christmas message Trump marked Christmas 2023 with a social media post lumping All Electric Car Lunacy in with a number of political enemies that he said are looking to destroy our once great USA. MAY THEY ROT IN HELL. A few weeks earlier, during a rally in Ankeny, Iowa, Trump said of EVs: They dont go far. They cost a fortune. He also suggested that the U.S. military was looking at making Army tanks all electric and scoffing, youre in the middle of the desert and you say, You know what, were running low on electric. Do they have a charger around anywhere? In November 2023, at a Claremont, New Hampshire, rally, Trump similarly picked up on distance being an electric vehicle issue: You cant get out of New Hampshire in an electric car. Where are you going? Im going to Massachusetts. Well, you better get yourself a gas turbine because this car is not going to get you there,” he said. Well, you could, if you stop about four times. That followed his joke during an event in Clive, Iowa, the previous month: “Electric cars are good if you have a towing company.” Trump bashes Biden’s electric car Hoax Electric vehicles were an especially attractive Trump target during the six-week United Auto Workers strike in September 2023. That’s when he told a rally in Clinton Township, Michigan, You go all electric so you can drive for 15 minutes before you have to get a charge. Trump, a Republican, also posted on his social media site that then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat, sold autoworkers “down the river with his ridiculous all Electric Car Hoax.” He suggested that promoting electric vehicles was the idea of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, & Communists” and that “Within 3 years, all of these cars will be made in China. Trump has also praised EVs at times As on many top issues, Trump has been inconsistent on electric vehicles. During his first term, in September 2020, Trump cheered an all-electric Lordstown Motors Endurance truck at an event outside the White House, calling it an incredible vehicle. After Musk endorsed the former president’s bid to return to the White House, Trump began suggesting that electric vehicles could work for some buyers. Im for electric cars. I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly,” Trump said during an August rally in Atlanta. In a subsequent conversation on X, the social media platform Musk also owns, Trump called Tesla a great product while noting, That doesnt mean everybody should have an electric car. During his inaugural address, Trump promised, We will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry,” but he also said that Americans will “be able to buy the car of your choice. While there was no Biden mandate to force the purchase of EVs, his policies were aimed at encouraging Americans to buy them and car companies to shift from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars. Trump has previously pilloried Musk, too Just like he had a change of heart about EVs, Trump has changed his tune about Musk, who’s now one of his advisers. When the pair got into an online feud in 2022, Trump ridiculed Musk for seeking support during his first term. When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether its electric cars that dont drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies hed be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, drop to your knees and beg, and he would have done it, Trump wrote then. Will Weissert, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
The Girl Scouts have been sued by consumers over the alleged presence of “heavy metals” and pesticides in its popular Thin Mints and other cookies. A proposed class action lawsuit was filed on Monday night in federal court in the New York City borough of Brooklyn against the 113-year-old nonprofit and the cookies’ licensed producers, ABC Bakers and Ferrero USA’s Little Brownie Bakers. It cited a December 2024 study commissioned by GMO Science and Moms Across America that tested samples of 25 cookies from three U.S. states. The study said Girl Scout cookies contained at least four of five heavy metals – aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury – that can harm people’s health or the environment, often at levels exceeding regulators’ recommended limits. It also said all samples contained glyphosate, a pesticide used in some weed killers, with Thin Mints containing the highest levels. “While the entire sales practice system for Girl Scout Cookies is built on a foundation of ethics and teaching young girls sustainable business practices, defendants failed to uphold this standard themselves,” the lawsuit said. The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Girl Scouts, short for Girl Scouts of the United States of America, addressed the study in a February 6 blog post. It said heavy metals occur naturally in soil, with trace amounts not a safety issue, while glyphosate is found “nearly everywhere” in the food chain. Girl Scouts also said its bakers are committed to complying with all food safety standards. “The health and safety of Girl Scouts and cookie customers is our top priority,” the New York-based nonprofit said. “Rest assured: Girl Scout Cookies are safe to consume.” Cookies are sold by registered Girl Scouts from January to April, with net proceeds supporting councils and local troops. About 200 million boxes are sold annually, NPR reported in 2023. The lawsuit is led by Amy Mayo, a resident of Bayside, New York. Mayo said she bought numerous Girl Scout products such as Adventurefuls, Peanut Butter Patties and Caramel deLites, believing they were “quality and safe cookies.” She said she would not have bought the cookies or “would have paid substantially less” had Girl Scouts disclosed the presence of “dangerous toxins.” The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages for U.S. cookie purchasers, for alleged violations of New York consumer protection laws, and an injunction requiring accurate labeling. Blake Yagman, a lawyer for Mayo, in an interview said the government does not adequately regulate many privately sold products such as Girl Scout cookies. “Lead is our foremost concern, but the presence of the other four heavy metals and pesticides is deeply concerning, especially because these products are marketed to and sold by children,” he said. Several chocolate makers including Hershey faced lawsuits after Consumer Reports in December 2022 found elevated levels of cadmium, lead or both in their products. The case is Mayo v Girl Scouts of the United States of America et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 25-01367. Jonathan Stempel, Reuters
Category:
E-Commerce
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