A Treasury report on wealthy tax evasion, division over a potential reappointment of the Federal Reserve chairman, a sharp drop in jobless claims, and how a lack of skilled workers impacts infrastructure plans are among the top business news items this morning.
National
The Treasury Department has released a report saying the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans have evaded as much as $163 billion in taxes a year. The analysis helps support the Biden administration’s call to support stronger Internal Revenue Service enforcement to narrow a “tax gap” that results in considerable missed revenues.
Democrats are split over whether President Joe Biden should retain Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board when his term expires next year. Moderate lawmakers have expressed support for giving Powell a second term, while more liberal members of Congress are hoping Biden will choose an official who can give greater attention to progressive priorities such as climate change.
Jobless claims fell sharply last week, with initial claims dropping to 310,000. Continuing claims for the previous week dropped to 2.78 million, while 11.93 million people in all remained on some sort of jobless benefit in the lead-up to the expiration of supplemental federal benefits.
Business trends
A lack of skilled workers is presenting a challenge to the Biden administration’s infrastructure plans. Construction companies anticipate that they would need to ramp up hiring if a bipartisan infrastructure bill passes, but these businesses are already coping with a lack of available labor as more people age out of the industry and fewer young people enter it.
