Los Angeles' Measure ULA has collected more than $1 billion for affordable housing since 2023, and the City Council just declined to fast-track exemptions sought by developers and homeowners.
At the 60th Heckerling Institute, a leading panel warned that OBBBA's 2/37 itemized deduction haircut may reach trust distributions, as planning shifts from estate tax toward income tax.
The 2025 tax law cut individual taxes by about $129 billion, but paycheck withholding was never updated, so much of that cut, including the $40,000 SALT cap, arrives as a refund this spring.
Eight states cut individual income tax rates for 2026 while New York extends its temporary surtaxes on high earners, reshaping the state bill for affluent households and anyone weighing a move.
From 2026 the AMT exemption starts phasing out at $1 million for joint filers and disappears twice as fast, so the bargain element on incentive stock options is far more likely to trigger AMT.
Starting in 2026, itemized gifts face a 0.5%-of-AGI floor and a benefit capped near 35 cents per dollar for top-bracket donors, which makes December 2025 gifts and donor-advised fund bunching more valuable.
The new deduction limit loses 30 cents for every dollar of income above $500,000, and a faster AMT exemption phaseout from 2026 adds pressure on high earners in high-tax states.
The new tax law restores full first-year write-offs for property acquired after January 19, 2025, and more than doubles Section 179, changing how owners time big purchases.
For startup stock acquired after July 4, 2025, founders and early investors can exit sooner with partial tax relief and shelter more gain, but older shares keep the old rules.
The new tax law sets the federal estate, gift and GST exemption at $15 million per person in 2026 with no sunset, removing the pressure that drove a surge in lifetime gifting.
The Social Security Administration told beneficiaries the new tax bill ends tax on benefits for most. It does not, and the new senior deduction disappears for couples earning $250,000.