As our team has been busy during this "sabbatical" to plan out our Quarter, we have also been assessing our World as It has been quite a few weeks. Our team continued to curate our Twitter Channel as we were witness to the devastation in Puerto Rico, The pivotal elections in Germany and the continued drama that ensued at the United Nations with President Trump threatening to destroy North Korea and tear up the Iran Deal. The drama over Brexit ensued as the British Prime Minister fought off rear guard action from Boris Johnson and as the Labor Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, went after her hard during the Labor Party Conference.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the GOP unveiled what it deemed its' Tax Reform Plan--with profound implications for State and Local Governments as captured by Politico this morning with its' Morning Briefing:
WHY PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATES WORRY ABOUT TAX REFORM: The long-awaited tax plan rolled out by President Donald Trump and Republican leadership puts public school advocates on edge - and not because it seeks to expand school choice, as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and some allies wanted. The initial proposal - which outlines principles for a tax overhaul - would eliminate the state and local tax deduction, known as SALT. People tend to think about federal support for education in the form of grant programs, said Michael Dannenberg, director of strategic initiatives for policy at the nonprofit Education Reform Now. "But they rarely consider much larger federal tax expenditures, like the state and local property tax deduction that subsidizes local school spending," he told Morning Education.
- How SALT works: It allows individuals to subtract from their federally taxable income "some or all of the amounts they paid for state and local taxes on real estate property, income, personal property (mostly vehicles), and sales (in some states that do not levy income taxes)," a 2011 paper from the Center on Education Policy explains. This provision offers "an incentive, in the form of lower federal taxes, for individuals to engage in activities that benefit education and the larger society. For example, taxpayers may be more inclined to save for their children's college education, continue their own education, or pay state and local taxes for education and other public services if they know these investments or payments will be offset to some extent by a federal tax break."
- "This is our No. 1 issue in the tax package right now," said Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director for policy and advocacy at AASA: The School Superintendents Association. "When you look at how much school districts rely on state and local funding, this is groundbreaking. Schools rely heavily on state and local taxes, and the willingness of taxpayers to pay them."
The President also suffered another setback with the defeat of Obamacare--although he's advised he would be issuing an Executive Order on it next week. President Trump suffered a profound setback in Alabama. The Esquire's Charles Pierce captured the profound challenges that Roy Moore's Nomniation presents:
The team at the Financial Times captured this in this roundup that we wanted to report on as we gear up for a very busy 4th Quarter in our World (Registration May be required):
Onward to the 4th Quarter.....
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Ahead of our annual Women of the Year list, we are collecting your nominations. We are looking for women from around the world who have had a big impact — from controversial figures to heroes of our time.
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The FT focuses on companies that are optimistic about the challenges and opportunities ahead as Britain prepares to exit the EU
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