earners

Tim Henderson | Stateline.org (TNS) Pay hikes over the past four years have lifted the wages of people who work in hospitality — the nation’s lowest-paid industry — nearly 30% on average, reversing much of the wage inequality that has been growing for decades in the United States. In 40 states, even those that haven’t raised their minimum wage beyond the $7.25 federal floor, the recent pay jumps outpaced those of earners in each state’s highest-paying industry, usually energy, technology or the federal government. The…

It might be on your mind this month as you weigh claiming a tax deduction for those new windows in your home office, or read about the Internal Revenue Service’s plans to beef up enforcement.The audit rate sounds straightforward: the share of taxpayers with a given level of reported income who are audited. In fact, a look at how that number is calculated reveals some important challenges for U.S. tax collection.…

SACRAMENTO —  It turns out high-income people are also fleeing the state — a new twist in the California exit.That should worry ruling liberal Democrats who love to tax wealthy people and spend their money, especially on social programs.Some golden geese are taking flight.For years, once-burgeoning California has been hemorrhaging population. This has been happening on several fronts.More people are leaving for other states than are moving here.The inward flow of foreign immigrants has slowed substantially.Fewer babies…

WASHINGTON—President Biden’s coming budget blueprint will propose extending the solvency of a key Medicare trust fund by at least 25 years, according to the White House, in part by increasing tax rates on people earning more than $400,000 a year. The plan would raise Medicare taxes to 5% from 3.8% for those top earners and effectively expand the reach of the tax so it applies to business income as well as investments, wages and self-employment income. Mr. Biden would also redirect some existing taxes from the government’s…

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Cyclone Gabrielle's trail of misery and destruction presents a major fiscal and political dilemma for the government: how should the country pay for the recovery? Does it borrow now and spread repayment over generations, or raise taxes in an election year? Either way, the cost is significant. Finance…

Black workers, young workers and people on the bottom of the income scale were among those who saw the largest pay increases last year, when employers were readily handing out raises in a tight labor market and high inflation environment. Median weekly earnings for all workers were 7.4% higher, year over year, at the end of 2022, according to an analysis of newly released Labor Department data. That outpaced the consumer inflation rate of 7.1% in the fourth quarter, from a year earlier.   For some workers, the gains were…

South_agency | E+ | Getty ImagesMore than a third of high-earning American workers feel strapped for cash — a share that has risen dramatically in recent years.Thirty-six percent of U.S. employees with salaries of $100,000 or more are living paycheck to paycheck — twice as many who said they were in 2019, according to a survey conducted by Willis Towers Watson, a consulting firm.That's more than the 34% of workers who earn $50,000 to $100,000 a year who are living paycheck to paycheck, though lower than the 52% of…

Jeffrey Coolidge | Photodisc | Getty ImagesThe IRS is working to boost its audit rates for the wealthiest Americans, according to a statement recently released with the agency's annual Data Book, covering activities for the 2021 fiscal year.While plummeting audits have drawn scrutiny from Congress, percentages have doubled for filers making over $100,000 to more than $10 million over the past seven months, according to the statement. What's more, audits of higher-income taxpayers often come later in the statutory period —…

If you've ever wondered who would top the video game character rich list in real life, then you're in luck. A new study conducted by online gaming company Solitaired has explored which video game icons would earn the most money if their virtual profession was real, plus who would earn the least. Top of the rich list is Handsome Jack from Borderlands, with estimated earnings of £333,043 as a CEO. Special Forces soldier Solid Snake is next with earnings of over £100,000, followed by Virologist Albert Wesker from Resident…