Inflation

Several states have taken steps to temporarily roll back their gasoline taxes, a move the Biden administration is considering backing on the federal level.

Companies are undoubtedly raising prices. The question is whether they are exploiting a surge in consumer demand or merely passing on their own higher costs.

In the State of the Union, the president pitched elements of his stalled “Build Back Better” program as a means to temper the surge in prices that’s costing him support.

With inflation reaching a 40-year high, consumers are feeling its cascading effects, and internal auditors should probably start keeping tabs on inflation risks as well.

The high inflation amounts that households and businesses have been experiencing this year are likely to lead to larger increases in tax brackets and other inflation-adjusted tax items in 2022.

The president has decided against making an end-run around Congress to cut the tax on capital gains by indexing gains to inflation.

The adjustments in Rev. Proc. 2018-57 are for 2019, for returns to be filed in 2020.