Is Apple underpaying taxes in China?

Jeb Bush backers say his tax plan could cost up to $3.4 trillion over ten years. As TPC’s BillGale notes, “Bush’s plan is a welcome addition to the policy debate. It is rare to see a candidate propose to eliminate or curtail provisions for state and local taxes, business interest payments, carried interest, a capital gains loophole, and mortgage interest. But revenue-losing, regressive tax change is not what the country needs.” TPC’s Howard Gleckman has a more detailed look at those revenue estimates.

Will Ryan introduce an international tax bill this year? Maybe not, the Ways & Means Committee chair told PoliticoPro’s Brian Faler. Ryan faces an uphill battle in his efforts to link a plan with funding for the Highway Trust Fund. Meanwhile, committee member Charles Boustany says he’s revising his innovation box idea that would cut taxes on income from intellectual property.

Chicago faces a legal challenge to its “Netflix tax.” The Liberty Justice Center says the city has no authority to extend its amusement and personal property lease transaction taxes. The two levies now cover, respectively, streaming internet and professional services such as electronic property databases. The lawsuit claims city aldermen should have voted on the changes. It also argues the taxes violate the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, as some Internet-based streaming media are taxed at a higher rate than similar non-Internet services.

China to Apple subsidiary: You underpaid taxes by $71 million in 2013. China’s Finance Ministry says Apple paid its overdue taxes, as well as 65 million yuan in late fees. China has been cracking down on foreign firms that it says underpay taxes.

Finland fights deficits by taxing richer Finns. The nation’s public debt-to-GDP ratio will exceed 60 percent this year, and Prime Minister Juha Sipila wants to extend a temporary tax on Finns earning more than 72,300 euro ($81,500) a year. He’ll also give government workers a pay cut equivalent to one week’s salary, and raise taxes on housing, some fuels, and tobacco. Sipila also plans for spending cuts of 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) by 2019.

Next week at Urban Institute: The State of the States. On Thursday, September 17, TPC and the State and Local Finance Initiative will host a forum examining how tax and budget pressures affect the way state and local governments make spending decisions. Panelists include Joseph Henchman of the Tax Foundation, Nick Johnson of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Ryan King of the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center, David Quam of the National Governors Association, and Kim Rueben of the State and Local Fiscal Initiative. TPC’s Howard Gleckman will moderate. To learn more and register, click here.

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