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Business

Oil giant Saudi Aramco: Company makes $700 million in profit every single day

Oil giant Saudi Aramco: Company makes $700 million in profit every single day

Oil giant Saudi Aramco made an astonishing $700 million in profit every single day, the biggest quarterly profit of any publicly listed company in history.

The Saudi Arabian petroleum and gas company reported an eye-watering $68 billion (US$48.4 billion) of profit in the second quarter of 2022.

Its earnings were boosted by surging demand as Covid-19 restrictions were dropped around the world — and pushed even higher by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Net income leapt 90 per cent year-on-year for the world’s biggest oil producer, which clocked its second straight quarterly record after announcing $55.46 billion (US$39.5 billion) for Q1.

Aramco’s massive Q2 windfall was the biggest quarterly adjusted profit of any listed company worldwide, according to Bloomberg.

The state-owned Saudi firm heads a list of oil majors raking in massive sums after ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni also revealed multi-billion-dollar profits in Q2.

US President Joe Biden blasted ExxonMobil earlier this year as inflation surged, stating it made “more money than God”.

And the future looks bright for Saudi Aramco.

“While global market volatility and economic uncertainty remain, events during the first half of this year support our view that ongoing investment in our industry is essential,” Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said.

“In fact, we expect oil demand to continue to grow for the rest of the decade,” he added.

Net income rose 22.7 per cent from Q1 in “strong market conditions”, Aramco said.

Half-year profits were $123.41 billion (US$87.9 billion), up from $66.27 billion (US$47.2 billion) for the same period of 2021.

Aramco will pay a $26.39 billion (US$18.8 billion) dividend in Q3, the same as it paid in Q2.

It “continues to work on increasing crude oil maximum sustainable capacity from 12 million barrels per day to 13 million by 2027”, its earnings announcement said.

The quarterly profits, the highest since Aramco’s record-breaking IPO in 2019, beat a company-compiled analyst forecast of $64.86 billion (US$46.2 billion).

Aramco shares closed down 0.9 per cent at 40.5 riyals ($15.16) on the Saudi stock exchange. They are up 25 per cent this year.

‘crown-jewel’

Aramco floated 1.7 per cent of its shares on the Saudi bourse in December 2019, generating $41.28 billion (US$29.4 billion) in the world’s biggest initial public offering.

The “crown jewel” and leading source of income for the conservative kingdom temporarily supplanted Apple as the world’s most valuable company in March. It now lies second in the list with a market valuation of $3.37 trillion (US$2.4 trillion).

Saudi Arabia has sought to open up and diversify its oil-reliant economy, especially since Mohammed bin Salman’s appointment as crown prince and de facto ruler in 2017.

Despite raising production, Aramco has pledged to reach “operational net zero (carbon) emissions” by 2050. Carbon pollution is tallied in the country that uses the fuel, not where it is produced.

Saudi GDP jumped nearly 12 per cent in Q2 on the back of high oil prices, the government announced last month.

Abu Dhabi-based energy expert Ibrahim Elghitany said the oil bonanza was a “golden opportunity” for the country.

“Saudi Arabia has recently achieved financial surpluses that it did not achieve during the last decade, which helps to provide financing for its development projects,” Elghitany told AFP.

Nasser said Aramco recovered quickly from a series of attacks by Yemen’s Huthi rebels on its facilities earlier this year, including a dramatic strike in Jeddah that sent smoke billowing during a Formula One practice session in March.

“We were able to restore our production in all these facilities immediately. In a few weeks, all facilities were working and producing at full capacity,” he told a media conference call.

Oil prices have dropped by $42 per barrel from a peak in June due to growing supplies, but remain close to $140 (US$100).

The OPEC group of oil-producing countries has been gradually raising production, despite pressure from Western leaders including US President Joe Biden — who visited Saudi Arabia last month — to pump more.

Biden’s trip was seen as a climb-down after he previously promised to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Turkey in 2018.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also visited Saudi Arabia since the Russian invasion in February.

High oil prices are contributing to the inflationary pain suffered by consumers worldwide.

– with Andrew Backhouse, AFP

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Categories
Entertainment

Rushdie in hospital as outrage grows over stabbing

Rushdie in hospital as outrage grows over stabbing

Salman Rushdie remained hospitalized in serious condition Saturday after being stabbed at a literary event in New York state in a shocking assault that triggered widespread international outrage, but drew applause from hardliners in Iran and Pakistan.

The British author, who spent years under police protection after Iranian leaders ordered his killing, underwent emergency surgery and was placed on a ventilator in a Pennsylvania hospital following Friday’s assault. His agent said he will likely lose an eye.

“Salman Rushdie — with his insight into humanity, with his unmatched sense for story, with his refusal to be intimidated or silenced — stands for essential, universal ideals. Truth. Courage. Resilience,” Biden said in a statement.

On Friday, a 24-year-old man from New Jersey, Hadi Matar, rushed the stage where Rushdie was about to deliver a lecture and stabbed him in the neck and abdomen.

Beyond Rushdie’s eye injury, the nerves in one of his arms were severed and his liver was damaged, according to his agent Andrew Wylie.

The fatwa followed publication of the novel “The Satanic Verses,” which sparked fury among some Muslims who believed it was blasphemous.

“For whatever it was, eight or nine years, it was quite serious,” he told a Stern correspondent in New York.

– Assailant raised in US –

Security was not particularly tight at Friday’s event at the Chautauqua Institution, which hosts arts programs in a tranquil lakeside community near Buffalo.

Matar’s family apparently came from a border village called Yaroun in southern Lebanon.

Matar was “born and raised in the US,” the head of the local municipality, Ali Qassem Tahfa, told AFP.

“I was very happy to hear the news,” said Mehrab Bigdeli, a man in his 50s studying to become a Muslim cleric.

In Pakistan, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan –- a party that has staged violent protests against what it deems to be anti-Muslim blasphemy — said Rushdie “deserved to be killed.”

British leader Boris Johnson said he was “appalled,” while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attack “reprehensible” and “cowardly.”

– Write memoir in hiding –

But his 1988 book “The Satanic Verses” transformed his life. The resulting fatwa forced him into nearly a decade in hiding, moving houses repeatedly and being unable to tell even his children of him where he lived.

Since moving to New York, Rushdie has been an outspoken advocate of freedom of speech and has continued writing — including a memoir, “Joseph Anton,” named after his alias while in hiding.

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Categories
Business

South Korea pardons Samsung boss ‘to help the economy’

South Korea pardons Samsung boss 'to help the economy'

The heir and de facto leader of the Samsung group received a presidential pardon Friday, continuing South Korea’s long tradition of freeing business leaders convicted of corruption on economic grounds.

Billionaire Lee Jae-yong, convicted of bribery and embezzlement in January last year, will be “reinstated” to give him a chance to “contribute to overcoming the economic crisis” of the country, justice minister Han Dong-hoon said.

Friday’s pardon will allow him to fully return to work by lifting a post-prison employment restriction that had been set for five years.

The pardon was given so that Lee — as well as other high-level executives receiving pardons Friday — could “lead the country’s continuous growth engine through active investment in technology and job creation,” it added.

A total of 1,693 people — including prisoners with terminal illnesses and those near the end of their terms — were on the pardon list, the ministry said, ahead of the annual Liberation Day anniversary Monday.

Lee, 54, issued a statement after the pardon was announced saying he aimed to “contribute to the economy through continuous investment and job creation for young people.”

Lee is the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest smartphone maker. The conglomerate’s overall turnover is equivalent to about one-fifth of South Korea’s gross domestic product.

There is a long history of South Korean tycoons being charged with bribery, embezzlement, tax evasion or other offenses.

The giant Samsung group is by far the largest of the family-controlled empires known as chaebol that dominate business in South Korea.

But analysts said they simply allowed major businessmen to feel they were not “constrained by any legal norms”, Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP.

Justice minister Han said all politicians were excluded this time as the economy is the most “urgent and important” issue.

– More legal woes –

In May, he was excused from a hearing in that trial to host US President Joe Biden when he kicked off a tour of South Korea by visiting Samsung’s chip plant, alongside President Yoon.

But Lee’s imprisonment has been no barrier to the firm’s performance — it announced a surge of more than 70 percent in second-quarter profits in July last year, with a coronavirus-driven shift to remote work boosting demand for devices using its memory chips.

“The pardon weakens the rule of law, which potentially is, in fact, more detrimental than advantageous.”

…

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Categories
US

Joe, Hunter Biden staying for free at $20 million South Carolina mansion

Joe, Hunter Biden staying for free at $20 million South Carolina mansion

President Biden and his family, including disgraced first son Hunter, are spending their summer vacation at a $20 million beachfront mansion in South Carolina, The Post has learned — and they’re not paying a dime.

The president recently asked prominent Democratic donor Maria Allwin — the widow of hedge fund founder James Allwin — if he could stay at her nine-bedroom Kiawah Island estate, a source close to the family told The Post.

“They stayed here before and they’re not paying,” the source said. “They’ve never paid. They’re just friends.”

The property features a large swimming pool on two acres and is surrounded by palm trees and other lush vegetation for privacy.

The White House frustrated reporters by offering little transparency about Biden’s South Carolina trip, which is expected to last through early next week.

Associated Press emphasized Wednesday that the White House “did not respond to requests to provide details on Biden’s vacation schedule, activities or when he planned to return to Washington, nor did it provide information on the residence where he was staying.”

aerial of mansion
The property is surrounded by lush vegetation for privacy.
Charleston Trident MLS

However, the Federal Aviation Administration’s website indicates “temporary flight restrictions for VIP Movement” will be in place over Kiawah until 9:15 pm Tuesday.

The Bidens have often stayed at Allwin’s mansion, which was listed for sale earlier this year — including as early as 2009, while Joe Biden was vice president.

Maria Allwin has contributed to an array of mostly Democratic political campaigns, but her most recent donations are to Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and a PAC supporting her effort to beat back a primary challenge by Donald Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman.

Ahead of the 2020 election, Allwin generously supported Biden, sending a $35,000 check that September to the Biden Victory Fund and the Democratic National Committee, according to Federal Election Commission records.

President Joe Biden, center, waves as he is joined by, from left, are Hunter Biden, grandson Beau Biden, first lady Jill Biden, and daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen
The excursion is a Biden family getaway, with son Hunter Biden joining as well.
Susan Walsh/AP
Aerial of backyard, pool
The homeowner, Maria Allwin, is a big-time contributor to an array of political campaigns, supporting Biden in 2020.
Charleston Trident MLS

The source said, however, that the Allwins and the Bidens are not engaged in business dealings together — and added the family is not directly linked to Hunter Biden, whose foreign business deals are under federal investigation. The first sons recently paid about $2 million to the IRS in a bid to avoid tax fraud charges.

Maria Allwin has known Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden socially for more than a decade, according to the source.

The Allwin family’s firm, Aetos Capital, is currently run by Maria Allwin’s son, Chris. The firm’s holdings include California-issued carbon credits.

Biden has stayed at the homes of other wealthy benefactors before. In November, his family spent Thanksgiving at billionaire private equity investor David Rubenstein’s compound on Nantucket, drawing raised eyebrows from ethics experts.

“Just a friendly reminder, [Biden] will have to pay fair market value for the stay on Nantucket or disclose the gift of free lodging in his annual disclosure in May 2022. I’m not suggesting he wouldn’t, just reminding not to let it slip through the cracks,” Walter Shaub, director of the US Office of Government Ethics under former President Barack Obama, tweeted at the time.

Shaub added regarding that stay, “There’s a disclosure exception for personal hospitality, but that only applies if the head of the Carlyle Group is staying there with the Bidens. I suspect the WH is all over compliance with the rule — and oblivious to the ethical optics.”

President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden
A source told The Post that the Biden family has never paid for their stay in the home because they are friends with the owner.
Joshua Roberts/REUTERS
inside mansion
The home features nine bedrooms on two acres of Kiawah Island in South Carolina.
Charleston Trident MLS

The Allwin family declined to comment and the White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s inquiry.

Biden also has yet to comment on the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which reportedly dealt with the ex-president’s possession of records that may contain classified information. White House aides say Biden had no advance knowledge of the raid, which Republicans say demonstrates a double standard compared to the FBI’s investigation of the Biden family finances.

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Categories
Sports

NBA retires Bill Russell No. 6 jersey in league first after legend dies at 88

NBA retires Bill Russell No. 6 jersey in league first after legend dies at 88

The NBA will honor Celtics great and civil rights activist Bill Russell by retiring his No. 6 jersey throughout the league, making him the first player to receive the honor.

A patch commemorating the 11-time champion will be worn on the right shoulder of player jerseys and a shamrock-shaped logo with the No. 6 on courts will be used across the league as well for the 2022-23 season, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association said on Thursday.

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“Bill Russell’s unparalleled success on the court and pioneering civil rights activism deserve to be honored in a unique and historic way,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

“Permanently retiring his No. 6 across every NBA team ensures that Bill’s transcendent career will always be recognised.”

Russell, the cornerstone of a Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA titles and a powerful voice for social justice during and after his career, died on July 31 at the age of 88.

US President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama — who awarded Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 — were among those who paid tribute to Russell’s contributions on and off the court.

NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said the union was proud to support the “momentous honor” of retiring Russell’s jersey.

“Bill’s actions on and off the court throughout the course of his life helped to shape generations of players for the better and for that, we are forever grateful,” Tremaglio said.

Russell wore the No. 6 for his entire 13-season career from 1956-69. It will not be issued again by any NBA team to any player, although players who currently wear No. 6 — a group that includes Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and the Washington Wizards’ Kristaps Porzingis — can retain it.

The NBA said the Celtics plan to “separate and unique recognition” for Russell on their uniforms, which will be revealed at a later date.

While the league-wide jersey retirement is a first for the NBA, it has happened in other North American leagues.

Major-league Baseball permanently retired No. 42 in 1997 in honor of Jackie Robinson, who broke the big leagues’ color barrier.

The NHL said upon Wayne Gretzky’s retirement in 1999 that his No. 99 would be retired league-wide.

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Categories
US

Bolton ’embarrassed’ at ‘low price’ allegedly offered in assassination plot

Bolton 'embarrassed' at 'low price' allegedly offered in assassination plot

Former national security adviser John Bolton on Wednesday said that the price a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly attempted to pay people to kill Bolton was lower than he expected.

“The suspect put a $300,000 price tag on your head,” said anchor Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “Situation Room.” “What goes through your mind, ambassador, hearing the details of this plot, as explained today in great detail by the US Justice Department?”

“Well, I was embarrassed at the low price,” Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, responded. “I would have thought it would have been higher. But I guess maybe it was the exchange rate problem or something.”

The Department of Justice announced the plot publicly earlier on Wednesday, saying Shahram Poursafi started planning to murder Bolton in October in likely retaliation for his involvement in a drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, who led the IRGC’s elite Quds Force.

Poursafi also reportedly planned to target former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in the role at the time of the drone strike against Soleimani. Bolton said on CNN he had not spoken to Pompeo about the unsealed charging document and was only aware of the press reports about his alleged targeting of him.

Bolton added that the FBI warned him of foreign threats to his security, which “grew more severe” as time went on, noting that his Secret Service detail ended following his time in the White House but was recently reinstated.

“Eventually, by the late fall of 2021, I asked, ‘If it’s this serious, perhaps the Secret Service should be involved,’” Bolton said. “And ultimately President Biden made that decision. And I appreciate it, obviously.”

Bolton also slammed the Biden administration for negotiating with Iran on a new nuclear deal in the wake of the plot, saying attempts to “appease” Tehran encourage threats against US officials.

Talks led by the European Union in Vienna to negotiate the text of a potentially revived nuclear deal ended on Monday, and the EU’s foreign affairs chief said the capitals must now discuss the final text and there was no more room for negotiation.

“I think the deal was a mistake in 2015” when it was first created, Bolton said.

“It hasn’t gotten any better with age,” he continued. “The administration has been on its knees in Vienna begging to get back into the deal, which sends signals of weakness, not just to Tehran, but around the world.”

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Categories
US

Karine Jean-Pierre roasted over ‘Orwellian’ tweet touting ‘0% inflation’

Karine Jean-Pierre roasted over 'Orwellian' tweet touting '0% inflation'

President Biden’s top spokesperson was accused of lying on Wednesday in a tweet touting “0% inflation in July” — even as federal data indicated that the consumer price index rose by 8.5% year over year.

“We just received news that our economy had 0% inflation in July,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted on Wednesday.

“While the price of some things went up, the price of others, like gas, clothing, and more, dropped.”

Jean-Pierre also hailed the dip in gasoline prices, which she called “the fastest in a decade” which was “saving American families with two cars $106 per month on average.”

In the same tweet thread, Jean-Pierre wrote that “real wages went up for the first time in almost a year.” She also urged the House to pass the Inflation Reduction Act “as soon as possible” in order to “lower health care, prescription drug, and energy costs.”

But Twitter users pushed back against Jean-Pierre’s claims.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre toed the administration line that the country saw "0% inflation in June."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre toed the administration line that the country saw “0% inflation in July.”
REUTERS
Twitter users pushed back on Jean-Pierre's tweets on Wednesday.
Twitter users pushed back on Jean-Pierre’s tweets on Wednesday.

“Great. No need for the ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ anymore…” tweeted Yossi Gestetner.

Another Twitter user, Kevin Dalton, posted a link to a news article indicating that inflation was 8.5% in July, writing: “Other than the complete lie you just told, I totally believe you…”

Joel Griffith, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, posted a tweet showing the increased prices of key goods.

“Inflation this past year of 8.5% is near a 40-yr high,” he noted.

One Twitter user went so far as to add a “clown face” filter to a clip of Jean-Pierre touting the strength of the economy from the White House press room podium.

The rate of inflation was 8.5% in July -- hovering around record levels not seen in four decades.
The rate of inflation was 8.5% in July — hovering around record levels not seen in four decades.

Supporters of the administration, however, tried to clarify Jean-Pierre’s tweet. One noted that the press secretary meant that “inflation over the last month has been 0%” and that it “hasn’t increased in the past month.”

But another Twitter user responded: “You don’t compare inflation month to month. It is compared year to year. But you wouldn’t know that.”

Last month, Jean-Pierre was widely mocked for claiming that “we are stronger economically than we have been in history.”

Americans continue to be saddled with higher-than-usual food prices.
Americans continue to be saddled with higher-than-usual food prices.
Levine-Roberts/Sipa USA

She cited low unemployment as well as “more than 8.7 million new jobs created” — though critics noted that it was due to the end of pandemic-related lockdown measures and Americans returning en masse to the workforce after the vaccination drive.

The 8.5% rise in inflation last month was lower than the sharp, 9.1% increase in June, but still hovering at a high not seen since four decades ago.

Core inflation, which excludes food and gas prices, rose by 5.9% annually and by 0.3% compared to June.

Analysts said that a drop in demand has led to falling gas and energy prices, though that trend can easily reverse itself given volatile geopolitical conditions, including the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as possible hurricanes in the US.

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Categories
Sports

Little League sportsmanship hug after being hit with pitch goes viral, reaction, Isaiah Jarvis and Kaiden Shelton

Little League sportsmanship hug after being hit with pitch goes viral, reaction, Isaiah Jarvis and Kaiden Shelton

Heartwarming scenes at a US Little League playoff have shown the world there is actually hope for the future.

In the first inning of the Southwest Region Playoff final between Pearland, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma and a spot in the Little League World Series on the line, the video of a batter hugging a pitcher has gone viral.

And remember, these kids are between 10 to 12-years-old.

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A pitch got away from Texas pitcher Kaiden Shelton, slamming into the side of Oklahoma batter Isaiah Jarvis’ head, knocking his helmet off and sending a scare around the stadium.

“That’s a tough kid right there,” the commentator said.

Jarvis needed a second after the painful blow but took his place on first base.

But after looking up and seeing Sheldon was getting teary eyed on the mound, Jarvis went to console him, hugging his opponent in lovely scenes.

“This is really cool because as a pitcher, (Shelton) looks shaken up right now because of what he did and look at Jarvis. This is such great sportsmanship,” a commentator for ESPN said. “He wants him to know that it’s OK, that he’ll be fine. Amazing.”

The moment drew a standing ovation and even tears from some in the crowd.

Pearland went on to defeat Tusla 9-4 and will go into the Little League World Series but the moment has had a life of its own, getting millions of views online.

Speaking to CNN, Jarvis said it was “crazy” the video had been taken off.

Jarvis said he did it because he wanted to spread the lesson that “you should care for other people.”

“As soon as I’ve seen him get emotional because he hit me, I wanted to go over there and spread God’s love and make sure he’s okay and make sure he knows that I’m okay and that I’ll be okay,” Jarvis said.

Shelton said he didn’t know Jarvis was coming to hug him and said: “It felt like he cared.

“I also cared about him and it just shows there’s a lot of sportsmanship in baseball.”

Jarvis’ head coach Sean Kouplen said he believed it was just what the world needed.

“I believe what we are seeing is that our world is tired of divisiveness,” he said. “We all saw is friendship and love and caring trump competition. I believe that just struck a chord with everybody.”

But the world was blown away by the moment when at the professional level, it likely would have ended in heated scenes and maybe even the dugouts emptying onto the field.

While the world can quite often be termed a dumpster fire, scenes like this show the kids will actually be alright.

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Categories
US

87K new agents won’t target middle-income Americans

87K new agents won't target middle-income Americans

The head of the Internal Revenue Service said that the tax collecting agency will “absolutely not” use $80 billion in new funding to step up audits of low- and middle-income Americans.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig tried to reassure the US Senate in a recent letter about the 87,000 new agents who will be hired as part of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.

The legislation includes $45.6 billion for “enforcement-related funds”, which makes up more than half of the appropriations.

Nonpartisan tax observers say that most of the funds that the IRS will collect will come from small and medium-size businesses.
Nonpartisan tax observers say that most of the funds that the IRS will collect will come from small and medium-size businesses.
Newsday via Getty Images

“The resources in the reconciliation package will get us back to historical norms in areas of challenge for the agency — large corporate and global high-net-worth taxpayers — as well as new areas like pass-through entities and multinational taxpayers with international tax issues. , where we need sophisticated, specialized teams in place that are able to unpack complex structures and identify noncompliance,” Rettig wrote in the letter.

The letter was first reported by CNBC.

The IRS will likely receive $80 billion in funding after Senate Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act over the weekend.
The IRS will likely receive $80 billion in funding after Senate Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act over the weekend.
AP

Rettig then added: “These resources are absolutely not about increasing audit scrutiny on small businesses or middle-income Americans.”

He wrote that “our investment of these resources is designed about the Department of the Treasury’s directive that audit rates will not rise relative to recent years for households making under $400,000.”

Last week, the nonpartisan watchdog Joint Committee on Taxation said it anticipates that between 78% and 90% of the estimated $200 billion that the IRS will collect as a result of the bolstered workforce will come from small businesses.

President Biden and the Democratic Party have insisted that Americans earning less than $400,000 annually would not have to pay a cent more in taxes.

But the Joint Committee on Taxation disputes this, saying that between 4% and 9% of the money collected will come from businesses that earn above $500,000 a year.

“The IRS will have to target small and medium businesses because they won’t fight back,” Joe Hinchman, executive vice president at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, told The Post.

“We’ve seen this play out before … the IRS says ‘We’re going after the rich’ but when you’re trying to raise that much money, the rich can only get you so far.”

Hinchman told The Post that it is easier for the IRS to collect from small- and mid-size businesses since they are less likely to incur legal expenses in order to fight the agency — whereas larger and wealthier companies are much better equipped to do battle.

“The approach here is to double the IRS workforce, take the leash off, and see how much they can collect,” Hinchman adds. “I think they’ll collect it but it will be quite painful.”

Additional reporting by Lydia Moynihan

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Categories
US

Trump ties may come back to haunt in swing state Wisconsin

Trump ties may come back to haunt in swing state Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Donald Trump reasserted his grip on Republicans in Wisconsin’s primary, but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tried to play that against his newly minted Republican opponent Wednesday while observers said running too closely to Trump in the swing state could be dangerous.

Trump’s pick for governor, construction company co-owner Tim Michels, beat out the choice of establishment Republicans. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said that means Michels now “owns” Trump and he won’t be able to moderate in the general election.

“His relationship with Trump is going to drive this campaign,” Evers told reporters after eating breakfast with his running mate, state Rep. Sarah Rodriguez. “Trump owns him, he owns Trump. That’s his problem with him, that’s not mine.

Michels sought to tie Evers to President Joe Biden, releasing a new TV ad the day after his win that calls them “both career politicians in way over their head.” The ad does not mention Trump’s endorsement of Michels.

Michels’ campaign adviser Chris Walker said in a statement that Evers and Biden “are going to desperately attempt to do everything they can to distract the people of Wisconsin from their massive failures.”

Michels, in his victory speech, touted himself as the voice for a working class that he said has been left behind by Democrats. Evers mocked that message, noting that Michels owns a $17 million estate in Connecticut.

“He can wear a blue shirt so that he can have a blue collar, but at the end of the day I’m not quite sure that someone of his status with houses all over the country can say ‘I’m just one of you ,’” Evers said.

Like Trump, Michels has cast himself as an outsider. Evers dismissed that too, calling it “one of the biggest jokes of this campaign.” He cited Michels’ work of him serving on the boards of powerful lobbying groups, including the state chamber of commerce.

Trump narrowly won the state in 2016 and lost by a similar margin in 2020. A Marquette University Law School poll released in May showed Trump’s favorability rating in the state at 35%, with 61% having an unfavorable opinion.

In addition to supporting Michels, Trump is a strong supporter of the Republican US Sen. Ron Johnson, who faces Mandela Barnes, the current lieutenant governor.

“Trump cuts both ways,” Republican strategist Brandon Scholz said. “While he drives his base and supporters in the primary, will that help in the general because he turns off as many people as he turns on? … I don’t think we know yet.”

Michels would be smart to focus on Biden, Evers and the issues such as inflation, crime and the economy, not Trump, said Republican strategist Mark Graul.

Evers pointed to recent polls to argue that Michels is out of step with a majority of Wisconsin residents on key issues like abortion rights and the outcome of the 2020 election won by Biden. Trump has continued to push for decertification, which attorneys from both sides and legal experts have discounted as an unconstitutional impossibility.

Michels has been inconsistent on decertification, but he does want to dismantle the bipartisan elections commission and sign bills Evers vetoed that would make it harder to vote absentee.

Trump is popular with many because he is perceived to be a fighter, but Michels needs to spread that message, said Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. I have endorsed former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the primary and was targeted for defeat by Trump.

“If he is a perceived to be a fighter who gets things done, I think that will be a much more appealing general election message,” Vos said of Michels.

Michels’ win over Kleefisch, who was endorsed by Mike Pence and represented a continuation of former Gov. Scott Walker’s legacy, was the clearest victory for a Trump-backed candidate in Wisconsin. But every candidate who ran in support of decertifying Biden’s 2020 victory lost. That included the Trump-backed challenger to Vos, candidates for attorney general and secretary of state and legislative candidates seeking to unseat Republican incumbentsincluding one taking on Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.

In the days before the election, Vos challenger Adam Steen was joined on the campaign trail by the investigator Vos hired under pressure from Trump to look into the 2020 election. That investigator, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, also appeared at the Trump rally.

A triumphant Vos declared his 260-vote win shows “you don’t have to be a lapdog to whatever Donald Trump says.” You called a meeting of Assembly Republicans for Tuesday to discuss the future of Gableman’s contract, which has cost taxpayers more than $1.1 million and remains subject to five pending lawsuits.

Evers said Vos must fire Gableman or “I’m fearful we’re going to be talking about this election for the next 20 years.”

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