Connect with us

INTERNACIONAL

GOP push to make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, say going back would be a ‘dramatic’ change for many

Published

on


Tax season is done. 

And this year, Congressional Republicans converted tax season to «sales» season. Republicans and President Donald Trump are pushing to approve a bill to reauthorize his 2017 tax cut package. Otherwise, those taxes expire later this year.

Advertisement

«We absolutely have to make the tax cuts permanent,» said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., on FOX Business.

«We’ve got to get the renewal of the President’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That’s absolutely essential,» said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., on FOX Business.

Rates for nearly every American spike if Congress doesn’t act within the next few months.

Advertisement

CONFIDENCE IN DEMOCRATS HITS ALL TIME LOW IN NEW POLL

house speaker mike johnson

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with the media after the House passed the budget resolution on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

«We are trying to avoid tax increases on the most vulnerable populations in our country,» said Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee which determines tax policy. «I am trying to avoid a recession.»

If Congress stumbles, the non-partisan Tax Foundation estimates that a married couple with two children – earning $165,000 a year – is slapped with an extra $2,400 in taxes. A single parent with no kids making $75,000 annually could see a $1,700 upcharge on their tax bill. A single parent with two children bringing home $52,000 a year gets slapped with an additional $1,400 in taxes a year.

Advertisement

«Pretty significant. That’s an extra mortgage payment or extra rent payment,» said Daniel Bunn of the non-partisan Tax Foundation. «People have been kind of used to living with the policies that are currently in law for almost eight years now. And the shift back to the policy that was prior to the 2017 tax cuts would be a dramatic tax increase for many.»

But technically, Republicans aren’t cutting taxes.

«As simple as I can make this bill. It is about keeping tax rates the same,» said Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, on Fox.

Advertisement

Congress had to write the 2017 tax reduction bill in a way so that the reductions would expire this year. That was for accounting purposes. Congress didn’t have to count the tax cuts against the deficit thanks to some tricky number-crunching mechanisms – so long as they expired within a multi-year window. But the consequence was that taxes could climb if lawmakers failed to renew the old reductions.

«It sunsets and so you just automatically go back to the tax levels prior to 2017,» said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

A recent Fox News poll found that 45% of those surveyed – and 44% of independents believe the rich don’t pay enough taxes.

Advertisement

Democrats hope to turn outrage about the perceived tax disparity against Trump.

«He wants his billionaire buddies to get an even bigger tax break. Is that disgraceful?» asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at a rally in New York.

«Disgrace!» shouted someone in the crowd.

Advertisement

«Disgraceful! Disgraceful!» followed up Schumer.

senate minority leader chuck schumer

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., (R) speaks alongside Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., (L) to reporters during a news conference on the impacts of the Republican budget proposal at the U.S. Capitol on April 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Some Republicans are now exploring raising rates on the wealthy or corporations. There’s been chatter on Capitol Hill and in the administration about exploring an additional set of tax brackets.

«I don’t believe the president has made a determination on whether he supports it or not,» said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.

Advertisement

«We’re going to see where the President is» on this, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent while traveling in Argentina. «Everything is on the table.»

A Treasury spokesperson then clarified Bessent’s remarks.

«What’s off the table is a $4.4 trillion tax increase on the American people,» said the spokesperson. «Additionally, corporate tax cuts will set off a manufacturing boom and rapidly grow the U.S. economy again.»

Advertisement

Top Congressional GOP leaders dismissed the idea.

«I’m not a big fan of doing that,» said House Speaker Mike Johnson on Fox. «I mean we’re the Republican party and we’re for tax reduction for everyone.»

FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY RESTRICTS DOGE ACCESS TO PERSONALIZED SOCIAL SECURITY DATA

Advertisement

«I don’t support that initiative,» said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., on FOX Business, before adding «everything’s on the table.»

But if you’re President Donald Trump and the GOP, consider the politics of creating a new corporate tax rate or hiking taxes on the well-to-do. 

Capitol Dome 119th Congress

Sunrise light hits the U.S. Capitol dome on Thursday, January 2, 2025, as the 119th Congress is set to begin Friday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The president has expanded the GOP base. Republicans are no longer the party of the «wealthy.» Manual laborers, shop and storekeepers and small business persons now comprise Trump’s GOP. So maintaining these tax cuts helps with that working-class core. Raising taxes on the wealthy would help Republicans pay for the tax cuts and reduce the hit on the deficit. And it would shield Republicans from the Democrats’ argument that the tax cuts are for the rich.

Advertisement

Congress is now in the middle of a two-week recess for Passover and Easter. GOP lawmakers and staff are working behind the scenes to actually write the bill. No one knows exactly what will be in the bill. Trump promised no taxes on tips for food service workers. There is also talk of no taxes on overtime. 

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BLUNTLY SHOWS WHERE PARTIES STAND ON IMMIGRATION AMID ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION

Republicans from high-tax states like New York and Pennsylvania want to see a reduction of «SALT.» That’s where taxpayers can write off «state and local taxes.» This provision is crucial to secure the support of Republicans like Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. But including the SALT reduction also increases the deficit.

Advertisement

So what will the bill look like?

«Minor adjustments within that are naturally on the table,» said Rounds. «The key though, [is] 218 in the House and 51 in the Senate.»

In other words, it’s about the math. Republicans need to develop the right legislative brew which commands just the right amount of votes in both chambers to pass. That could mean including certain provisions – or dumping others. It’s challenging. Especially with the slim House majority.

Advertisement
protests against tax cuts

People attend a press conference and rally in support of fair taxation near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on April 10, 2025.  (Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)

«There were trade-offs and offsets within that bill that many people are dissatisfied with,» said Bunn of the 2017 bill. «And it’s not clear how the package is going to come together with those various trade-offs.»

Johnson wants the bill complete by Memorial Day. Republicans know this enterprise can’t drag on too late into the year. Taxpayers would see a tax increase – even if it’s temporary – if working out the bill stretches into the fall when the IRS begins to prepare for the next tax season.

It’s also thought that finishing this sooner rather than later would provide some stability to the volatile stock markets. Establishing tax policy for next year would calm anxieties about the nation’s economic outlook.

Advertisement

«The big, beautiful bill,» Trump calls it, adding he wants the legislation done «soon.»

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

And that’s why tax season is now sales season. Both to the lawmakers. And to the public.

Advertisement

Politics,Taxes,Congress,Donald Trump

Advertisement
Advertisement

INTERNACIONAL

León XIV canonizó a los dos primeros santos venezolanos y al «sacerdote satánico» que se convirtió al catolicismo

Published

on



Ante 60 mil fieles que llenaban la plaza de San Pedro al Vaticano, el Papa León XIV canonizó a los dos primeros santos de Venezuela y a otros cinco elevados a la santidad, en una jornada que miles de venezolanos presentes en la plaza vivieron con una ruidosa alegría y fervor religioso

Con el repicar de las campanadas como fondo el pontífice canonizó al médico de los pobres José Gregorio Hernández y a la monja Carmen Rendiles, en Venezuela el momento fue saludado con aplausos ovaciones y una gran emoción del pueblo movilizado desde la madrugada de hoy en las celebraciones.

Advertisement

Junto con el doctor José Gregorio Hernández y la monja Carmen Rendiles, el Papa elevó a la santidad al antiguo “sacerdote satánico” convertido a la fe católica, el italiano Bartolo Longo; al primer santo de Nueva Guinea, Peter To Rot; al obispo armenio Ignacio armenio Ignacio Choukrallah Maloyan, a dos monjas italianas: las hermanas Vicenza María Poloni y Maria Troncatti.

En una jornada soleada, se desplegaron enormes retratos se los siete canonizados en el frente de la basílica.

El prefecto del dicasterio para la Causa de los Santos, cardenal Marcello Semeraro, leyó en voz alta los perfiles de los elegidos en medio de los aplausos y ovaciones de la multitud, miles de los cuales comulgaron de manos de un ejército de sacerdotes.

Advertisement

El Papa leyó la fórmula de canonización. Pidió “que su intercesión nos asista en las pruebas y su ejemplo nos inspire en la común vocación a la santidad”, dijo el pontífice durante la homilía.

La tradición impone que para ser canonizado sea necesario haber realizado dos milagros, llevar fallecido al menos cinco años y haber llevado una vida cristiana ejemplar.

Venerado en Venezuela desde hace años, José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros nació el 26 de octubre de 1964 en las montanos de la población andina de Isnotu, Estado de Trujillo. Tras viajar a Caracas para estudiar, se graduó de médico en 1888. Fundó la Academia Nacional de Medicina y combatió la mortífera epidemia de gripe española que mató al uno por ciento de la población del país.

Advertisement

Fallecido en 1919 su imagen está tatuada en la cultura popular venezolana, donde los más devotos lo veneran e imitan su siempre impecable vestimenta como un acto de fe.

“El doctor” es un referente para “la gente de a pie, de la gente humilde”.

Carmen Elena Rendiles, la primera santa venezolana, fue una monja nacida en 1903 sin el brazo izquierdo, que superó su discapacidad para fundar la Congregación de las Siervas de Jesús, antes de su muerte en 1977.

Advertisement

Además de los de los siete santos de hoy, el Papa canonizó el mes pasado a los italianos Carlo AcuTis, un joven llamado “el influencer de Dios”, que murió en 2006, y a Pier Giorgio Frasssati, considerado un modelo de caridad cristiana que murió a los 24 años, en 1925.

Hay que recordar que promotor de la canonización del médico Hernández fue el papa argentino Francisco, que firmó su declaración de santidad basado en “la veneración generalizada del doctor santo”

El Papa León presentó en su homilía a los siete nuevos santos como modelos para los católicos “pues llevaron encendida la lámpara de la fe”.

Advertisement

En la ceremonia de hoy fue canonizado también el arzobispo Ignazio Choukrailah Maloyan, un católico armenio que fue asesinado por negarse a renunciar a su fé, en lo que el Vaticano ha calificado como el genocidio armenio de la era otomana.

En el marco de las celebraciones previas a la canonización de los primeros santos venezolanos, se celebró en Roma un acto académico en el que el sustituto para los Asuntos Generales de la Secretaría de Estado Vaticano, el venezolano Edgar Peña Parra, destacó que estas canonizaciones “son un ejemplo universal capaz de inspirar fraternidad, servicio y esperanza, superando toda barrera cultural y geográfica”.

Destacó que “la canonización de Joe Gregorio Hernández no solo es un momento de reconciliación y unidad para Venezuela sino también un don para toda la Iglesia».

Advertisement

A su vez el arzobispo de Carcas Raúl Biond, destacó que la canonización de los dos primeros santos venezonalos representan “una causa país” y “un momento para generar esperanza” en medio de la crisis que atraviesa Venezuela”.

Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

Israel says Hamas violated ceasefire with ‘multiple attacks’ leading to IDF response

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

`The Israeli military conducted strikes against Hamas in Gaza after accusing the terrorist organization of repeatedly violating its ceasefire agreement on Sunday.

Advertisement

An Israeli military official confirmed the strikes to Fox News on Sunday, pointing to attacks by Hamas since Friday. The IDF later confirmed that it was taking actions in Gaza. 

«Earlier today, terrorists fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire toward IDF troops operating to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area, in southern Gaza, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement,» the IDF said in a statement.

«In response, the IDF has begun striking in the area to eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel shafts and military structures used for terrorist activity,» it continued.

Advertisement

HAMAS ACCEPTS TRUMP PEACE PLAN ENDING 2 YEARS OF WAR IN GAZA, RETURNING HOSTAGES

Military vehicles are gathered near the Israel-Gaza border, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in southern Israel on Oct. 12, 2025. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

Israel has responded by striking areas in the north and south of the Gaza Strip.

Advertisement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says he has instructed the minister of defense and other security heads to «act forcefully» in reaction to the attacks.

Hamas claims it has «no knowledge» of any attacks against Israeli forces, releasing a statement on Sunday saying they were still abiding by the terms of the agreement.

«We affirm our full commitment to implementing everything that has been agreed upon, foremost among which is the ceasefire in all areas of the Gaza Strip. We have no knowledge of any events or clashes taking place in the Rafah area,» the group wrote.

Advertisement

«We have no connection to any events occurring in those areas, nor can we communicate with any of our fighters there if any of them remain alive,» it added.

The reported attacks on Israeli troops comes after Hamas spent days fighting Palestinian rival groups after the ceasefire went into effect.

ISRAELI TROOPS ‘OPEN FIRE’ ON SUSPECTS WHO APPROACHED SOLDIERS IN NORTHERN GAZA

Advertisement
Hamas executes opponents in Gaza

In this still from a verified social media video confirmed to Reuters by a Hamas source, seven men are forced to their knees and shot from behind by Hamas gunmen during public executions in Gaza on Oct. 14, 2025. (Reuters)

According to Reuters, Hamas executed at least 33 people in recent days in what officials described as a campaign to «show strength» after the ceasefire. Israeli sources say most of those killed belonged to families accused of collaborating with Israel or supporting rival militias.

The U.S. Department of State on Saturday warned on Saturday that Hamas may break the peace agreement with a «planned attack» on Palestinian civilians.

«This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts,» the department said in a statement on social media. «The guarantors demand Hamas uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms.»

Advertisement
Hamas in Gaza

Members of the Hamas militant group searching for bodies of the hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

«The United States and the other guarantors remain resolute in our commitment to ensuring the safety of civilians, maintaining calm on the ground and advancing peace and prosperity for the people of Gaza and the region as a whole,» the statement continued.

President Donald Trump warned Hamas on Friday that continued attacks on Palestinians would force the U.S. and Israel to intervene.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

«If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,» he wrote on X.

Fox News’ Brie Stimson contributed to this report

Advertisement



israel,world,middle east

Advertisement
Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

Israel bombardeó el sur de la Franja de Gaza tras un presunto ataque de Hamas y peligra el acuerdo de paz en Medio Oriente

Published

on



La Fuerza Aérea de Israel bombardeó Rafah, en el sur de la Franja de Gaza, después de que, presuntamente, milicianos atacaran a las fuerzas militares apostadas en esa zona, y peligra el acuerdo de paz en Medio Oriente, lo que genera una situación de mucha fragilidad. Hasta el momento se desconoce si hay heridos o muertos, ni tampoco si este fuego cruzado podría poner en peligro el alto el fuego que entró en vigencia el 10 de octubre.

Israel tenía el control del 30% de la Franja de Gaza, y al retirarse empezaron a haber enfrentamientos entre distintos grupos terroristas, encabezados por Hamas, para controlar la zona. Sumado a que, según Israel, hubo ataques con morteros a sus posiciones.

Advertisement

Leé también: Las claves de la advertencia de Estados Unidos de un incumplimiento del alto el fuego en Gaza

El primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu, ordenó “actuar enérgicamente contra objetivos terroristas” en Gaza, nueve días después de la entrada en vigor del alto el fuego. Un comunicado oficial confirmó: “Tras la violación del alto el fuego por parte de Hamas, el primer ministro Netanyahu celebró una consulta con el ministro de Defensa y los jefes del sistema de seguridad, y ordenó actuar enérgicamente contra objetivos terroristas en la Franja de Gaza”.

De acuerdo al texto hubo fuego cruzado entre milicianos y el Ejército israelí en Rafah, sur del enclave, después de que los primeros lanzaran contra las tropas “un misil antitanque y disparos” en la zona y “en respuesta, el Ejército empezó a bombardear el área para eliminar la amenaza, desmantelar bocas de túneles y estructuras militares utilizadas para actividad terrorista”.

Advertisement

A su vez el ministro israelí de Defensa, Israel Katz, advirtió en un comunicado: “Hamas pagará un alto precio por cada disparo y cada violación del alto el fuego. Si no entienden el mensaje se intensificará la intensidad de nuestra respuesta”.

En un video al que accedió la agencia EFE se ven a lo lejos columnas de humo en Rafah, donde según otra fuente local aterrizaron varios helicópteros para evacuar a posibles soldados heridos. Según fuentes del brazo armado de Hamas, el grupo había iniciado una operación en Rafah para eliminar a Yasser Abu Shabab, líder de la milicia rival conocida como las “Fuerzas Populares”. Pero soldados israelíes intercedieron para apoyar a Shabab, con ataques cruzados que provocaron la explosión de una excavadora israelí.

Estados Unidos había advertido sobre un incumplimiento del alto el fuego en Gaza, con acusaciones a Hamas

El gobierno de Estados Unidos, clave en el acuerdo de paz en Medio Oriente, advirtió el sábado que tenía “informaciones creíbles” que indicaban que Hamás planeaba “una violación inminente” del alto el fuego en ataque planeado contra civiles palestinos.

Advertisement

El descargo de Hamas sobre las acusaciones de Estados Unidos, con fuertes críticas al gobierno de Israel

Hamas rechazó las advertencias de Estados Unidos y culpó a Israel de haber armado y financiado a esas otras milicias que, dijo, concretaron “asesinatos, secuestros, robos de camiones de ayuda y robos contra civiles”.

Según la organización terrorista los agentes de Policía de Gaza “con un amplio apoyo civil y popular” persiguen a estas pandillas y las hacen responsables “de acuerdo a mecanismos legales claros, para proteger a los ciudadanos y preservar la propiedad pública y privada”.

Apenas un día después del alto el fuego milicianos de Hamas empezaron a reprimir a todos aquellos clanes y milicias que presuntamente colaboraron con Israel a lo largo de los dos años de ofensiva bélica, incluso con ejecuciones públicas de supuestos colaboradores.

Advertisement

El líder de Hamas, Izzat al Rishq, dijo en un comunicado publicado en el canal oficial de Telegram: “La ocupación sionista sigue infringiendo el acuerdo y buscando pretextos infundados para justificar sus crímenes. Los intentos de (el primer ministro de Israel) Benjamín Netanyahu de eludir y renegar de sus compromisos se producen bajo la presión de su coalición extremista y terrorista, en un intento de evadir sus responsabilidades ante los mediadores y garantes”.

Israel

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Tendencias