On January 3, 2009, an unknown figure calling himself Satoshi Nakamoto “mined” the first Bitcoin and launched a modern-day Gold Rush. Fifteen years later, there’s still no significant use case for cryptocurrency; wild price swings have failed to establish it as any sort of store of value, and a rogues’ gallery of actual rogues has hijacked, rug-pulled, swindled, and scammed millions of hapless “investors” across the globe. Most famously, crypto whiz kid Sam Bankman-Fried is arbitraging cans of tinned mackerel in the same prison where Epstein didn’t kill himself, while he appeals his conviction on federal fraud charges.
tax
Cool Cats
Someday, accountants will be cool. I don’t just mean in the “Oh, you’re majoring in accounting, that’s cool” sense. I mean Steve-McQueen-cruising-through-Rome-on-a-Vespa cool. Someday, little kids who dream of growing up to be accountants will collect bubblegum cards with Big Four partners’ pictures on one side and detailed career stats on the back. (Tax dollars saved, by year! Endorses checks: right-handed!) When they get to high school, they’ll be as popular as the quarterback of the football team and the Homecoming Queen. (56.8% of CPAs are women.) Someday, cool college kids will skip fraternities to party with the Accounting Club.
2025 Tax Forecast
2025 promises to be a big year for taxes. Right now, the individual provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 set our current standard deductions and tax brackets. Those rules expire, like Cinderella’s carriage at midnight on December 31. At that point, if Washington hasn’t extended them, taxes go up for as much as 80% of Americans. That’s an unacceptable result for Democrats and Republicans alike. And it promises a bruising effort ahead as Congress weighs continuing the cuts against a $36 trillion national debt.
End of an Era?
Last month, Peacock aired the series finale of their monster hit Yellowstone. (One big spoiler to come!) For five and a half seasons, the show chronicled the ups and downs of the Dutton family, heirs to the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, as they fought to defend their land. On one side, greedy developers conspired to turn it into the next Park City. On the other, the neighboring Broken Rock tribe wanted to reclaim their ancestral home. Real Montana ranchers say the show is remarkably true-to-life, especially the gunfights, beatings, explosions, and occasional “long black train” to the back of the head.
Poop. Farts. Burps.
This week’s story is mostly ridiculous, unless you’re a five-year-old boy just starting to learn dirty words. But it illustrates just how far some countries will go to find new sources of revenue. It also illustrates how precisely lawmakers can target taxes to influence their citizens’ behavior. Fortunately, we’re on your side, using our opposable thumbs every day to help you pay less!
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
Economies across the board are roaring back from the pandemic. But few have roared back faster than Ireland. The Emerald Isle is projected to grow by 2.5% this year and 3% next year. The Wall Street Journal reports the government is stashing cash in two sovereign wealth funds and regulators are warning they’re spending so fast they may overheat the economy. Still, there’s enough left over to start work on a €2.2 billion children’s hospital and spend €10 million on keeping the kids off their phones at school. (If you figure out an answer, could you maybe send it our way?)