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Big Take: Trump Policies to Cost US Tourism Billions

Big Take: Trump Policies to Cost US Tourism Billions

Bloomberg10 hours ago

Global tariff wars, multi-country travel bans, detentions and phone-seizures at the border. President Trump's 'America first' policies create a grim picture for one group in particular: international tourists. Foreign visitors to the US have been on the rise since the pandemic, with analysts previously expecting 2025 to be a bumper year for tourism. That is, until President Trump's second term began. This drop in tourism is forecasted to cost the American economy $12.5 billion this year. On Today's episode of the Big Take, host David Gura sits down with Bloomberg reporter and Big Take Asia host K. Oanh Ha to look at the state of the tourism industry in the US, and where in the world tourists are going instead.

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Mortgage interest tax deduction: How it works and when it makes sense
Mortgage interest tax deduction: How it works and when it makes sense

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time38 minutes ago

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Mortgage interest tax deduction: How it works and when it makes sense

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To claim the MID, you'll have to itemize your deductions on your tax returns. Itemizing can be complicated and generally makes sense only if your deductions exceed your standard deduction, which is available if you choose not to itemize. For the tax year 2024 — which you will file in 2025 — the standard deduction for most taxpayers is $14,600 for individuals, $29,200 for joint tax filers, and $21,900 for heads of household. Those amounts are "indexed" (i.e., adjusted) for inflation, so they can and typically do change from year to year. Before the TCJA changed the rules at the end of 2017, the standard deduction for most taxpayers was $6,500 for individuals, $13,000 for joint filers, and $9,550 for heads of household. The higher amounts will be in effect until the TCJA through the 2025 tax year unless Congress extends the standard deduction provisions of the law or makes other changes to the standard deduction. Since the standard deduction is indexed for inflation, it's impossible to predict in advance what the amounts will be for 2026 or subsequent years. If you itemize your deductions, you may be able to deduct some or all of your property tax as well as your mortgage interest on your tax returns. The property tax deduction could help you boost your itemized deductions to exceed your standard deduction and make itemizing worth the effort. There's also another reason the value of your MID may vary from year to year: With a typical fixed-rate mortgage, the interest portion of your monthly mortgage payment — the part that may be tax-deductible — gets smaller as a portion of your payment over time. A smaller deduction may diminish your tax savings. The MID is part of the federal tax code. State tax codes typically also allow this deduction. Special rules may apply if you rent out your home for part of the year or use part of your home as a home office for business purposes. 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Middle East tensions put investors on alert, weighing worst-case scenarios
Middle East tensions put investors on alert, weighing worst-case scenarios

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