January 1, POLL: FEW AMERICANS THINK THEY’RE GETTING ‘TRUMP TAX CUT’

(CNBC) – No wonder the 2017 Republican tax cut remains so unpopular – the vast majority of Americans don’t think they got one at all.

As the annual IRS filing deadline of April 15 approaches, just 17% believe their own taxes will go down, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll found. By contrast, 28% believe they’ll pay more, 27% expect to pay about the same and 28% don’t know enough to say.

Mar-a-Lago Infiltrator Had Hidden-Camera Detector

(AP) – A Chinese woman recently arrested at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club lied repeatedly to Secret Service agents while carrying computer malware unlike anything a government analyst had ever seen and had more than $8,000 in cash at her hotel room, along with an electronic device that detects hidden cameras, federal authorities told a judge Monday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rolando Garcia told Magistrate Judge William Matthewman during a bond hearing that “there are a lot of questions that remain” about 32-year-old Yujing Zhang.

He said the FBI is still investigating whether Zhang is a spy.

White House Blocks Deal for Major League Baseball to Sign Cuban Players

(REUTERS) – Trump administration on Monday blocked a historic agreement between Major League Baseball and the Cuban Baseball Federation that would have allowed Cuban players to sign with U.S. teams without needing to defect.

The existing deal will not be allowed to go forward because it was based on an erroneous interpretation by the former Obama administration that the Cuban baseball federation was not part of Cuba’s communist government, a senior U.S. official said.

HarrisX Poll: Biden Leads Dem Pack After Women’s Accusations

Joe Biden leads the pack of Democratic presidential contenders despite a week of several accusations by women that he made them feel uncomfortable with his uninvited hugs and kisses, a new poll showed Monday.

In the HarrisX survey for The Hill, the former vice president – who has yet to announce his candidacy – garnered 28% support, ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who pulled in 20%.

The Top 15 States For Business-Friendly Taxes

Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, and Nevada top a recent poll of the states with the most business-friendly taxes.

Business.org teamed up with CPA Logan Allec of MoneyDoneRight.com to delve into tax rates and find which states have the most business-friendly taxes.