If you ever thought vacationing with your dog was a walk in the park, Italy just tossed a new stick into the game. The Province of Bolzano in northern Italy is planning to charge visitors about €1.50 per day, or roughly two bucks, for the privilege of bringing along their pup. That’s right: tourists are choking on a brand-new “dog tax.” Sit. Stay. Pay.
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Houston, We Have a Tax Problem
The law has always had a problem with altitude. Here on Earth, we can draw neat little lines on a map and call them borders. We can assign them to taxing authorities and know who collects what. But the higher you go, the fuzzier things get. Airspace law is still a little like a neighborhood feud about where the fence belongs, except the “fence” is somewhere above the clouds. And if we can’t agree on who controls the sky, how do we decide who gets to tax outer space?
The Devil’s in the Deductions-Digging Into the “Big Beautiful Bill”
You already know the highlights: the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) is Congress’s latest effort to stuff 10 pounds of tax cuts into a five-pound bag. It locks in most of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Marginal rates stay low. The standard deduction stays chunky. The qualified business income deduction lives to fight another day. Cue the confetti (and another round of Roth conversions while you’re at it).
California Dreamin’
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been playing “David versus Goliath” with President Donald Trump, especially as Trump has ordered troops into Los Angeles to quell protests against his immigration raids. Now Newsom has floated a wild idea: what if California stopped sending money to the IRS?
Yes, you read that right. The head of the fifth-largest economy in the world — home of tech bros, movie stars, and $12 oat milk lattes — is making noises about withholding federal tax revenue.
May the Force Be with You
Hard to believe it is, but taxes lie at the heart of the Star Wars universe. In Episode One: The Phantom Menace, in the very first paragraph of the opening crawl, we learned that taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems was in dispute. The Galactic Senate had imposed taxes to fight interplanetary pirates, and in response, the Trade Foundation had blockaded shipping to Naboo to pressure the Senate into repealing those taxes. The Supreme Chancellor dispatched two Jedi Knights to resolve the dispute… and the adventure began!
Bucket of Tax
Summer is coming soon, and sports fans across America have a lot to look forward to. Basketball’s 13-month-long season is (finally) starting to heat up. (Do regular-season games even matter? Next you’ll tell me there’s a summer league, too.) Hockey playoffs are coming to a close. Baseball is in full swing, and NFLers are about to report to training camps. Stop at any bar or water cooler in the land, and you’ll hear talk of wins, losses, and plays that you just have to see.