Overview
State of the Union Address to Include Tax Proposals: The White House Office of the Press Secretary released a fact sheet Saturday night, detailing several tax proposals to be included in President Obama’s State of the Union address. The proposals include: limiting the availability of the step up in basis at death under Section 1014 by treating certain asset transfers at death as realization events; increasing the top marginal tax rate on capital gains to 28 percent; imposing a seven basis point fee on the liabilities of US financial firms with assets over $50 billion; creating a new tax credit for two-earner couples; expanding the earned income tax credit for workers without children and noncustodial parents; and other changes to child care, education, and retirement tax benefits.
IRS Issues Guidance on Employee Health Insurance Expenses of Certain Small Employers: Late last week, the IRS issued Notice 2015-8, which provides guidance on Section 45R credits for certain small employers that cannot offer a qualified health plan (QHP) through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchange because the employer’s principal business address is in a county in Iowa in which a QHP through a SHOP exchange will not be available for all or part of the 2015 calendar year.