There’s a refreshing change in the air for several states that are reducing their income tax rates for 2024. This move to help their economies is what’s known in taxation circles as “Tax Cut Fever”.
14 states have enacted laws that reduce personal income tax rates. Those states include Indiana that has gone from 3.15% to 3.05%, Iowa going from 6% to 5.7%, and Kentucky moving from 4.5% to 4%.
Traditionally states that reduce their taxes become more competitive when people move. They draw in more businesses and workers which in turn broadens their tax base and improves their long-term finances.
This began during the pandemic when states realized a largess from the CARES Act and other Pandemic Assistance Programs. States that were already in decent shape found their bank accounts filled to overflowing, which led to these current actions.
Conversely, Illinois was deeply in debt, taking as many as 18 months to pay its bills. One of the items our current Governor used in his reelection campaign was the fact that they were able to get the state’s payables inside 60 days.
What he didn’t mention was that the money necessary to do this came from the Federal Government rather than anything his administration had accomplished. And now that our neighbors are further reducing their taxes, we’ll lose even more businesses and residents as a result.
Let me leave you with this.
I’m getting a lot of questions about Bitcoin. Please realize that I’m not an investment advisor. Do your own research and confirm anything I say prior to making any investment decisions. I can lose money in the stock market just as easily as anyone else, but I thought I’d take some time to go over a few of the basics.
Bitcoin is currently in the news because it just went mainstream.
Prior to the most recent actions by the CME, in order to trade this product, one needed a crypto wallet, an unregulated intermediary, and a crypto key. This led many investors to treat it like the plague. It was just too complicated for many.
But now it’s become a part of other major asset classes and can be traded in Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) that are offered by investment houses like Invesco and Fidelity. Ordinary investors will now be able to buy it and not have the problems of liquidity or using unregulated intermediaries that were prevalent before these actions.
Does it belong in your retirement strategy? If I had a crystal ball, I wouldn’t do tax returns for a living.
But the answer lies in your ability to tolerate risk.
Bitcoin is a commodity with no intrinsic value whatsoever. It goes up and down in price based solely on the forces of supply and demand.
I want to repeat that to make sure everyone understood that last statement. The price of this commodity having no intrinsic value is based only on the whims of the individuals trading the product. It’s not like other commodities that are affected by world events, economics, or even the weather.
Like many investments, it’s a gamble, and much more of a one than most. The question becomes whether or not it’s your cup of tea.
And only you can make that decision.
We’re all going to get through this. Let’s get through it together.
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