Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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A 1 percent federal tax has applied to cash sent abroad since January, under rules Treasury has not finalized
A federal tax of 1 percent has been collecting on certain money sent abroad since the first day of 2026, even though the Treasury Department’s rulebook for it is still a draft. The charge lands on senders who hand cash to a transfer company, and it is added at the counter rather than reported on…
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The $2,000 tariff rebate bill has sat in three House committees since September 17 with no cosponsors
H.R. 10494, the American Tariff Rebate Act, was introduced in the House on September 17, 2026, and the official record shows nothing since. It proposes a $2,000 credit per filer, and it is parked in three House committees with no cosponsors attached. Nothing in it has been enacted, no agency has a payment page for…
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The new scholarship tax credit is nonrefundable, so a household with no federal tax bill gets nothing from it until it owes tax, and unused credit carries forward only five years
A tax credit can sound like a gift and still carry a gate. The Treasury Department and the IRS published temporary regulations on October 2 for a new federal scholarship tax credit, and the credit is nonrefundable: it can wipe out federal income tax that is owed, but it can never be paid out as…
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Seven Ohio counties hit by August flooding now qualify for FEMA individual assistance
Households in seven Ohio counties can now apply to FEMA for help with flood damage, after a federal major disaster declaration dated October 2. The declaration, numbered DR-4945-OH, covers an incident period of August 10 through August 22 and names Clermont, Franklin, Hamilton, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum and Perry counties. It activates the Individuals and Households…
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New York returned 131 apartments to rent stabilization since May 2025
Apartments that the law treats as rent stabilized, but that landlords have been renting at market prices, are being pulled back under the rules by the New York Attorney General’s office. Its running tally since May 2025 stands at 131 units returned to rent stabilization, 27 evictions prevented and 30 landlords who certified compliance. The…
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San Diego’s adult monthly transit pass rose from $72 to $85 on October 1
The price of a 30-day adult regional transit pass in San Diego County went up on the first of the month, from $72 to $85. The change took effect October 1, 2026, and it is the first of two scheduled steps, with the same pass set to reach $95 a year later. The reduced-fare pass…
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Target cut prices on nearly 2,000 home and clothing items, taking a Threshold queen comforter from $89 to $69
Target has lowered the price on a long list of bedding, home and clothing basics, and the retailer put specific before-and-after numbers on a handful of them. The cuts were announced in Minneapolis on September 29, 2026, and cover nearly 2,000 items. The headline example is a Threshold queen comforter, which dropped from $89 to…
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UGI gas customers in Pennsylvania see a typical monthly bill rise from $113.76 to $117.69 on October 1
A typical residential gas bill from UGI Utilities in Pennsylvania moved from $113.76 to $117.69 a month on October 1, 2026, the first of two steps in a rate increase the state’s utility regulator approved that day. The monthly figures are the commission’s own, built on a stated level of household gas use. A second…
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Florida approved a 12.8 percent renters insurance rate cut at American Modern Home from October 11
Renters in Florida have a rare piece of insurance news to read this month: a price going down. The state insurance regulator has approved an average 12.8 percent rate decrease on renters policies written by one company, American Modern Home Insurance Company, and the lower rates begin on October 11. The approval was announced on…
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Providence Health Plan will discontinue individual and family policies on January 1, forcing members to re-shop
Providence Health Plan is leaving the individual health insurance market, and the date on the calendar is close. Policies sold to individuals and families will be discontinued on January 1, which forces every member of those plans to re-shop for coverage that begins with the new year. The insurer has not said how many people…