The U.s. Treasury Department Issued Proposed Rules On Thursday To Nix California’s Scheme To Avoid The New $10,000 Limit On State And Local Tax Deductions By Claiming Taxes Are Charitable Donations.

President Donald Trump promised in December 2017 that his $1.5 trillion Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax-reform package would unleash a new era of American prosperity by cutting the tax burden for the typical family of four earning $75,000 by $2,000. The tax cuts also aimed to drive up the average household income by $4,000 through simulative cuts on business by permanently trimming the top corporate rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.

To fund part of the resulting revenue loss, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives limited federal deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) to $10,000 for the first time. The move hammered high income tax-payers in Democrat-dominated high-tax blue states like California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey.

According to the Tax Policy Institute, the first-time ever cap on SALT deductions was expected to generate $36.1 billion more in federal tax collections in 2018. But the pain to high-income tax-payers in California and the other so-called “deep-blue” states doubles to $74.5 billion in 2021 and almost triples to $100.4 billion by 2025. – READ MORE

California’s legislature passed two bills this week that would ban employers from taking a number of steps that activists inspired by the #MeToo movement say help employers hide instances of sexual abuse.

The bills, which have been sent to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) for a signature, would ban secret settlements that require victims to stay quiet about crimes as well as mandatory arbitration clauses and nondisclosure agreements in employment contracts, BuzzFeed News reports.

The bill focusing on mandatory arbitration is supported by former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who was fired by Fox in 2016 after she says she was sexually harassed by then-CEO Roger Ailes.

“I believe that forced arbitration is not only unjust, it is un-American,” Carlson told local media in May. “I hope legislators from both sides of the aisle will get to Gov. Brown’s office and ask him to sign this bill.” – READ MORE