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Many Americans are paying to travel abroad to see a Taylor Swift concert. The Eras Tour is in multiple European cities this summer.
It’s part of a trend known as “passion tourism.”
Other recent or upcoming examples include travel for the Olympics in Paris, the total solar eclipse in North America, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the Euro Cup in Germany.

Taylor Swift performs on stage during The Eras Tour on June 28, 2024 in Dublin, Ireland. 
Charles Mcquillan/tas24 | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Taylor Swift’s European tour was top of mind for Nikita Rao when planning where to go for her family’s annual summer vacation.
Rao, her husband and two kids, who live in Bethesda, Maryland, headed overseas this past weekend: They have tickets to the pop star’s concert in Amsterdam on Thursday.

The family built a weeklong itinerary around The Eras Tour event, spending a few days in London before making their way to the Netherlands for the show. They would have likely visited the two cities at some point in the future, but the Swift concert accelerated their timeline, said Rao, 43, who also saw a performance in Cincinnati last year with her daughter.
“My view on it was, we should do this — London and Amsterdam — because she’ll be there,” Rao said. “If I can get tickets, that’ll just make the whole vacation amazing,” she said of her thought process.

Why Taylor Swift is unique to ‘passion tourism’

Taylor Swift fans gather outside Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for a concert in Madrid, Spain, on May 29, 2024. 
David Benito | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

It’s not just the Rao family.
Americans are flocking overseas to see Taylor Swift, perhaps the most prominent recent example of so-called “passion tourism,” according to travel experts.
Passion tourism revolves (unsurprisingly) around people’s passions. While place is also generally important, these trips are generally guided by personal interest, hobby or a cultural event, experts said.

This isn’t a new concept. In fact, there are many recent and upcoming examples: February’s annual Carnival festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; April’s total solar eclipse in North America; the 2024 Paris Olympics that start this month; and the ongoing UEFA European Football Championship (known as the Euro Cup) in Germany.
“Memorable events are driving travel trends, whether it is for concerts or sporting events,” Mastercard wrote recently in its annual travel trends report.
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However, what distinguishes Taylor Swift concerts in the realm of passion tourism is the broad interest and enthusiasm among Americans who want to travel abroad, according to travel agents.
“I’ve never seen this excitement to travel to go see an artist,” said Jessica Griscavage, a travel advisor and founder of Runway Travel.
The most recent example that might come close is a Spice Girls concert in the 1990s, she said.
Griscavage, who put together the Rao family’s itinerary, also assembled a separate Swift-centered trip to Paris for a daughter, mother and grandmother.    
More than half of Americans, 53%, identify as fans of Taylor Swift, according to a poll by Morning Consult. About 16% consider themselves “avid” fans.

“Beyoncé is big, too, but we don’t usually get requests like, ‘I have Beyoncé tickets for Europe and we want to build a trip around it,'” said Sofia Markovich, a travel advisor and founder of Sofia’s Travel.
She assembled trips for two U.S. clients who had tickets for Taylor Swift shows in England and Switzerland, respectively.
“Just as Grateful Dead fans were known to follow the band from city to city to be part of a unique community, Swifties — often with friends and family in tow — have made traveling to her concerts part of the experience,” Joshua Friedlander, vice president of research at the U.S. Travel Association, wrote recently about the so-called “Swift Lift.”

‘Inevitable’ that Swifties will travel to new places

About 15.9 million Americans traveled internationally in the first quarter of 2024, an all-time high, according to Mastercard’s travel report. Consumers are also spending for travel at record levels globally, it said.
Passion tourism generally provides an economic boost to host nations, experts said.
For example, spending by tourists at restaurants, bars and grocery stores during the 2024 Carnival in Rio was 156% above normal, Mastercard found. During the solar eclipse, hotel sales within the U.S. path of totality rose 71%, it said.

Spectators looking up at the solar eclipse at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 8, 2024. 
Nurphoto | Getty Images

About 1.2 million fans will see a Taylor Swift concert this summer across four cities in the United Kingdom (Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London), according to a recent Barclays analysis. Each fan will spend an average 848 British pounds (about $1,073) on tickets, travel, accommodation, outfits and other expenses, amounting to a total 997 million British pounds (about $1.3 billion), Barclays estimated.
Accommodation accounts for the largest outlay after tickets, followed by travel, according to the Barclays analysis.
Searches for Airbnb stays in European cities during Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour dates are up about 70% relative to the same period in 2023, according to a recent analysis.

Beyoncé is big, too, but we don’t usually get requests like, ‘I have Beyoncé tickets for Europe and we want to build a trip around it.’

Sofia Markovich
travel advisor

Rome and Paris are traditionally among Americans’ top destinations to visit abroad. However, it’s “inevitable” that Swift fans will end up in a city they may have previously overlooked, like Edinburgh, said Chris Nulty, global head of corporate communications and public affairs at Airbnb.
When tickets went on sale last year for Edinburgh concert dates, searches for lodging in the city by Americans jumped 500%, Nulty said.
A concert “combines the opportunity to travel somewhere incredible with the opportunity to see an artist they love,” he said.

The household economics of ticket sales are also likely playing a role, experts said. Some Swifties who were priced out of the U.S. market due to ticket expense may find it cheaper overall (or comparably priced) to buy a ticket and add on the associated travel expenses for a concert overseas.
“The resale tickets in Europe are much more reasonable than what they are in the U.S.,” said Griscavage, the travel advisor.
Additionally, “I think there’s something really exciting about seeing her in a non-U.S. city,” she added. “It’s a fun opportunity and people are willing to pay to see her.”

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Experts predicted that problems with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid would weigh heavily on enrollment and decisions between schools.
A recent study found that 76% of students said the financial aid amount awarded to them, and the overall financial aid process, was the top driver in their choice about where to go to college — and 44% said they’d switch their top choice school if offered just $5,000 more in aid.

In an already difficult year for college applicants, when it came down to picking a school, there was one factor that outweighed all others: financial aid.
Even in ordinary years, choosing a college largely hinges on the amount of financial aid offered and the breakdown among grants, scholarships, work-study opportunities and student loans.

In 2024, however, ongoing issues with the new federal financial-aid application have heightened the role of aid in college choices. Because of problems with the new form, financial aid award letters were delayed and some high school seniors had trouble applying for any aid at all.
More than three-quarters (76%) of students said the financial aid amount awarded to them, and the overall financial aid process, were the top drivers in their choice about where to go to college, according to a survey by Ellucian and EMI Research Solutions conducted in March.
That outpaces parental influence, location, campus culture and even the degree programs offered.
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“This year, we are just seeing such deep concerns around college costs, more than in the past couple of years,” said Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, which recently ranked colleges by how much financial aid is awarded. “There is a stress level that is palpable.”

Higher education already costs more than most families can afford, and college costs are still rising. Tuition and fees, plus room and board, for a four-year private college averaged $56,190 in the 2023-2024 school year; at four-year, in-state public colleges, it was $24,030 per year, according to College Board.

Experts predicted that problems with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid would weigh heavily on enrollment, although it was initially unclear how much it would play a role in decisions between schools.
Ellucian’s study found that 44% of the 1,500 students surveyed said they’d switch their top choice school if offered just $5,000 more in aid.
“It’s a surprisingly small amount when you look at the total cost,” Ellucian’s CEO, Laura Ipsen said of the difference that award money made on the decision-making process.

The FAFSA’s impact on decision-making

“It was not only about the financial aid piece, which is huge, but comparing different offers coming in at different times,” said Eric Greenberg, president of Greenberg Educational Group, a New York-based consulting firm. “It did have a big impact on the way people made decisions.”
In previous years, financial aid award letters were sent around the same time as admission letters, meaning students had several weeks to compare offers ahead of National College Decision Day, the deadline to decide on a college for most admitted students.

Because of the extensive delays this year, some students won’t get their final financial aid award letter until the end of August, by the U.S. Department of Education said in a recent update.
That could mean some students will start their fall semester before they get key information about how much that’s going to cost. It also marks “the first admission” by Education Department that the FAFSA won’t be fully functional until after the start of the 2024-25 award year, which began July 1, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. 
“Time is so critical when students are making decisions,” Ellucian’s Ipsen said.
“The sooner you can get an offer into students’ hands, the more likely they are to take it,” she said. And it’s not just about whether they will get to go to their top choice school, she added, but whether they go to college at all.

The FAFSA is still an obstacle

As of June 21, still only 45% of new high school graduates have completed the FAFSA, according to the National College Attainment Network. A year ago, that number stood at 52%.
Submitting a FAFSA is one of the best predictors of whether a high school senior will go on to college, the National College Attainment Network also found. Seniors who complete the FAFSA are 84% more likely to immediately enroll in college. 
The FAFSA serves as the gateway to all federal aid money, including loans, work study and grants, the latter of which are the most desirable kinds of assistance because they typically do not need to be repaid.
Greenberg advises the students he works with to explore other sources of merit-based aid, as much as possible.
“A lot of people assume that only the most elite students will get merit money, that’s not necessarily true at all,” he said. “We have students going to private colleges much more cheaply than they would state colleges.”
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The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS on Friday released final tax reporting rules for digital asset brokers.
Mandatory yearly reporting will phase in starting in 2026, which will cover gross sales from 2025.
However, investors need to assign basis, or original purchase prices, for each crypto wallet before 2025, experts say.

Recep-bg | E+ | Getty Images

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS on Friday released final tax reporting rules for digital asset brokers — and crypto investors have limited time to prepare, experts say.
Mandatory yearly reporting will phase in starting in 2026, with digital currency brokers required to cover gross proceeds from sales in 2025 via Form 1099-DA. In 2027, brokers must include cost basis, or purchase price, for certain digital asset sales for 2026.  

“These regulations are an important part of the larger effort on high-income individual tax compliance,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement. “We need to make sure digital assets are not used to hide taxable income, and these final regulations will improve detection of noncompliance in the high-risk space of digital assets.”
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Enacted in 2021 via the Inflation Reduction Act, yearly digital asset reporting was estimated to raise nearly $28 billion over a decade, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. However, the original start date was postponed.
The new IRS regulations come roughly four months after the agency hired two former crypto executives to improve digital currency service, reporting, compliance and enforcement programs.
“Everybody’s been waiting for the tidal wave of this enforcement activity,” James Creech, an attorney and senior manager at accounting firm Baker Tilly, previously told CNBC.

Basis will be ‘specific to the wallet’

With limited reporting on basis, crypto investors have the chance to establish a “reasonable allocation” before Jan. 1, 2025, according to an IRS revenue procedure released Friday.
Taxpayers need to assign basis for each digital currency wallet by the end of 2024, said Matt Metras, a Rochester, New York-based enrolled agent and owner of MDM Financial Services.  

If you bought digital currency over several years across multiple wallets, you currently have “different basis lots,” he said.
Crypto tax software often uses the best basis from your combined accounts to calculate gains. But going forward, each asset’s basis must be “specific to the wallet,” Metras said.
It’s important to establish digital currency basis because, generally, if you can’t prove your basis, the IRS considers it zero, which calculates a bigger profit.

‘The most important tax year’ for reporting

The new crypto tax reporting rules won’t apply to the upcoming tax season.
However, “2024 is the most important tax year for crypto investors to be reporting,” said Andrew Gordon, tax attorney, certified public accountant and president of Gordon Law Group.

2024 is the most important tax year for crypto investors to be reporting.

Andrew Gordon
President of Gordon Law Group

For 2024, you still need to collect crypto data and properly report activity, including your cost basis. Starting in 2025, the IRS will have a “firehose of information” to verify whether past reporting was accurate, Gordon said. More

Although the unemployment rate is just 4%, there is a growing share of young adults not working.
“NEETS” are opting out of the labor force by choice.
Others, referred to as “new unemployables,” are struggling to find employment despite their best efforts.

Klaus Vedfelt | Digitalvision | Getty Images

Although the unemployment rate has spent 30 months at or below below 4% — a near record — not everyone who wants a job has one. And not everyone even wants a job at all.
Some, referred to as “NEETs,” which stands for “not in employment, education, or training,” are opting out of the labor force largely because they are discouraged by their economic standing.

Others, alternatively, are well-qualified but often younger candidates who are struggling to find positions, comprising a contingent of “new unemployables,” according to a recent report by Korn Ferry. 

Among 16- to 24-year-olds, the unemployment rate rose to 9% in May, which is “typical,” according to Alí Bustamante, a labor economist and director of the Worker Power and Economic Security program at the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank based in New York City.
Although the youth unemployment rate fell below 7% in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, such lows were “emblematic of how hot the labor market was at that point,” Bustamante said.
“9% is basically what we should be expecting during relatively good economic times for younger workers,” he added.

‘NEETS’ feel ‘left out and left behind’

Still, some young adults in the U.S. are neither working nor learning new skills.

In 2023, about 11.2% of young adults ages 15 to 24 in the U.S. were considered as NEETs, according to the International Labour Organization.
In other words, roughly one in 10 young people are “being left out and left behind in many ways,” Bustamante said.
Even though “that’s typically the norm,” he said, “we should be expecting these rates to be lower.”
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Young men, especially, are increasingly disengaged, according to Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter.
“The NEET trend is mostly a male phenomenon,” she said.
Pollak explained that’s in part due to declining opportunities in traditionally male occupations, such as construction and manufacturing, while “women’s enrollment in schooling, education outcomes, and employment outcomes have mostly trended upwards.”

‘Talent hoarding’ has led to ‘new unemployables’

According to Korn Ferry’s report, a “perfect storm” has also created a glut of “new unemployables,” or highly trained workers who struggle to find job opportunities.
“Employers are holding on to the talent they have and increasingly focusing on talent mobility,” said David Ellis, senior vice president for global talent acquisition transformation at Korn Ferry.
This “talent hoarding” has led to fewer available job openings even for well-qualified candidates, he said.

At the same time, firms are scaling back on new hires, limiting the opportunities at the entry level, as well.
While the teen employment rate is the highest it has been in over a decade, early 20-somethings are struggling to find jobs, Pollak said. “It’s the 20- to 24-year-olds that saw a massive drop off in the labor force participation during the pandemic, and who have lagged behind ever since.”
Overall, hiring projections for the class of 2024 fell 5.8% from last year, according to a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE.
As more candidates compete for fewer positions, stretches of unemployment are also lengthening. Now, the number of people unemployed for longer than six months is up 21%, Korn Ferry found.

‘Unemployable’ to employable

Despite those trends in the job market, “all is not lost,” Ellis said.
“Don’t wait to reach out,” he advised. Get back in touch with former employers or colleagues through LinkedIn or email and set up informational interviews. After that initial approach, ask for any job leads or contacts.
In the meantime, make yourself more visible by writing about noteworthy topics in the industry and updating your resume to include keywords and so-called “title tags,” which highlight important elements at the top.
Finally, don’t limit yourself to roles that include a promotion or a raise, Ellis also advised. Rather, aim for a “career lattice,” which could entail taking lower position to gain skills that will pay dividends later.
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A federal appeals court will allow a key part of Biden’s student loan relief plan to resume as the legal challenges against it unfold.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Biden administration’s request to stay an order from last week that temporarily blocked a provision of its Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan.

US President Joe Biden gestures after speaking about student loan debt relief at Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin, April 8, 2024. 
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

A federal appeals court will allow a key part of President Joe Biden’s student loan relief plan to resume as the legal challenges against it unfold.
In a Sunday ruling, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Biden administration’s request to stay an order from last week that temporarily blocked a provision of its Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan.

The decision is a major win for President Joe Biden, experts say. The SAVE plan was his biggest accomplishment to date in delivering relief to millions of student loan borrowers. So far, around 8 million borrowers have signed up for the new income-driven repayment plan, according to the White House.
Last week, just as the Biden administration prepared to lower borrowers’ monthly payments under the SAVE plan, a federal judge issued an injunction blocking it from doing so.
The Department of Justice quickly appealed.
The appeals court ruling will allow the Biden administration to go ahead with lowering borrowers’ monthly payments.
Under SAVE, many borrowers pay just 5% of their discretionary income toward their debt each month, and anyone making $32,800 or less has a $0 monthly payment.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. More

Effective retirement planning largely depends on the answer to one question: How long will I live?
Yet no one truly knows the answer to that question.
Here’s what experts say you should consider to best gauge your plans.

Peopleimages | Istock | Getty Images

To effectively plan for your retirement, experts say, you need to watch your savings rate and total nest egg.
But how much you really need to have set aside depends on another number — your life expectancy.

Yet that figure is also the most elusive — no one knows how long they will live.
“Nobody really knows, and that uncertainty is uncomfortable,” said Lisa Schilling, director of practice research at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, the research arm of the Society of Actuaries.
The financial industry typically uses age 95 as a default assumption, according to research from HealthView Services, a provider of health-care cost projection software.
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Instead of planning for one life expectancy number, the Society of Actuaries and American Academy of Actuaries emphasize longevity.

Longevity risk measures the likelihood someone may live longer than expected and outlive their savings.
“If you read that life expectancy is 84 and you are planning on your money lasting until 84, there’s a big surprise behind the curtain that you haven’t opened,” Schilling said. “There’s a really good chance for a lot of reasons that you might need your money to last longer than that.”

Longevity estimates may bring surprises

The Society of Actuaries and American Academy of Actuaries recently relaunched a free online longevity illustrator.
The tool asks for basic information on either an individual or a couple: age, sex, retirement age, smoking status and a description of their general health — poor, average or excellent.
The results aim to provide a “reasonable” estimate of how long you might live, according to the organizations. The illustrations show the probability of living to certain ages, as well as the number of years of life one might live in retirement.
Generally, the higher your current age, the greater the possibility you may live longer. While life expectancy at birth may be 84, it will be even longer if you’ve already made it to age 65, Schilling said.

The results may help individuals fully understand the range of possibilities when planning for how long their money may need to last, she said.
For couples, there is also another revelation that often comes as a surprise. “The chance that at least one of you lives to 90 is even bigger,” Schilling said.
Yet the financial industry’s assumption of living to age 95 may be too generous, according to recent research from HealthView Services.
The projected life expectancy for someone who is 65 years old today with no chronic conditions is age 90 for women and age 88 for men.
Yet only around 5% of people over 60 have no chronic conditions, according to the research.

Health status affects life expectancy projections

Chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, tobacco use, obesity or Parkinson’s disease reduce an individual’s projected life expectancy.
For example, while a healthy 65-year-old man with no chronic conditions has a 19.3% probability of living to age 95 or longer, that gets reduced to a 17.5% chance if he has high blood pressure, 15.8% if he has cardiovascular disease, 12.5% for high cholesterol, 8.8% for obesity with a body mass index of 35 to 39, 7.4% for tobacco use, 2% for obesity with body mass index of 40 to 44 and to just 0.4% for diabetes, according to the research.
Those probabilities could mean a huge difference to his retirement funding needs. A healthy 65-year-old man may need around $1.1 million to maintain the 80% income replacement rate he needs if he was earning $100,000 in 2023, according to HealthView Services. This assumes he lives to age 95, has a 6% annual portfolio return, receives Social Security benefits, and inflation is 3%.

However, if that 65-year-old man has a chronic condition, his life expectancy will be lower. And that could free up more of that retirement nest egg to be spent in other ways, according to HealthView Services.
High blood pressure could reduce his life expectancy by nine years to age 86, and therefore allow for $447,469 to be used for long-term care planning, emergency savings, money for heirs or other uses, the research found.
Tobacco use could reduce his life expectancy by 13 years to 82, freeing up $616,245, the research estimates, while diabetes may reduce his lifespan by 16 years, enabling him to spend $727,947.
Most experts advise individuals to plan for outliving their assets by delaying Social Security retirement benefits or considering an annuity to amplify monthly income.

How personalized numbers can help

But considering an individual’s specific health status and how that affects their life expectancy can help personalize financial plans, according to Ron Mastrogiovanni, CEO of HealthView Services.
“During a planning process, people are more likely to take action if numbers are personalized,” Mastrogiovanni said.
That doesn’t necessarily require eliminating age 95 assumptions altogether, he said.
But letting someone know their personal life expectancy can help provide a more reasonable sense of an age to plan to.
“That doesn’t mean you choose that number” to plan to, Mastrogiovanni said.
“Whatever makes you comfortable; you want to move out four years, 10 years, you can do that,” he said.
“But at least you’re working off an actuarial base number.” More

A sign is posted in front of an Olive Garden restaurant on June 20, 2024 in Rohnert Park, California. 
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Dividend-paying stocks can help investors bolster their portfolios and boost returns.
Investors searching for these names will need to find companies that have a track record of making steady payments, backed by robust financials.

Here are three attractive dividend stocks, according to Wall Street’s top pros on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Darden Restaurants
The first dividend stock is Darden Restaurants (DRI), which operates several popular brands in full-service dining, including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Yard House. The company recently announced mixed results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. While Darden exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations, its sales slightly missed the Street’s consensus amid increased discounting by rivals.
Darden issued $628 million in dividends and committed $454 million to share repurchases in fiscal 2024. Moreover, the company announced a dividend hike of nearly 7%, bringing the quarterly dividend to $1.40 per share. The stock has a dividend yield of 3.5%.
Following the results, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh reiterated a buy rating on DRI stock with a price target of $175. The analyst highlighted that at the mid-point, Darden’s earnings per share outlook of $9.40 to $9.60 indicates double-digit total shareholder return, which is in line with the company’s long-term targets.
Saleh thinks that the company can achieve its targeted return metrics, supported by several factors, including a modest rise in pricing, advertising initiatives and easing inflation.

“We view Darden Restaurants as one of the strongest operators in the industry with historical sales and restaurant margin performance that has consistently exceeded peers,” said Saleh.
Saleh ranks No. 360 among more than 8,900 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 61% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 11.7%. (See Darden’s Financial Statements on TipRanks)
International Seaways
Next up is International Seaways (INSW), a tanker company that offers energy transportation services for crude oil and petroleum products. On June 26, the company paid a combined dividend of $1.75 per share. The company’s combined dividend represented 60% of its first-quarter adjusted net income.
In its first-quarter results, INSW highlighted that its combined dividend payments of $5.74 per share over the last twelve months reflected a dividend yield of more than 13%.
Following meetings with INSW’s management, Stifel analyst Benjamin Nolan reaffirmed a buy rating on the stock and increased the price target to $68 from $66. The analyst noted that the tanker market remains cyclically strong due to a continued increase in global oil consumption, the limited supply of new ships and the longer average voyage lengths caused by the ongoing geopolitical troubles.
Accordingly, Nolan increased his rate assumptions for 2024 and 2025. The analyst expects International Seaways to continue to deliver higher cash flows, fueled by a favorable backdrop for the tanker market.
Nolan expects INSW to sustain high supplemental dividends, given the estimated $200 million to $300 million of excess cash flow after capital expenditure (assuming there is no new debt associated with tanker acquisitions). “We are modeling $5.51/share in 2024 dividends, although there is room to be a little higher,” said the analyst.
Nolan ranks No. 68 among more than 8,900 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 67% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 19.5%. (See International Seaways’ Stock Charts on TipRanks)
Citigroup
Finally, let’s discuss this week’s third dividend stock, banking giant Citigroup (C). At a quarterly dividend of 53 cents per share, Citigroup offers a yield of 3.3%.
The bank held its Services Investor Day on June 18. Management expressed confidence about achieving the 2024 guidance, driven by revenue growth across all the core businesses despite macro uncertainty and the possibility of lower interest rates.
Following the event, Goldman Sachs analyst Richard Ramsden reiterated a buy rating on Citigroup stock and slightly raised his price target to $72 from $71. The higher price target reflects an increase in the analyst’s EPS estimates for 2024, 2025 and 2026 based on management’s commentary, which indicated that the bank’s strategic transformation plan is gaining momentum.
Ramsden noted that Citi is highly focused on its transformation efforts, with the bank making steady progress on risk control and data quality. Coming to the Services business, the analyst noted that management established strategic priorities for this vital component of the company’s financial targets. The analyst estimates that the Services business will account for 25% of the group revenue growth through 2026.
“The Services business is well positioned to maintain their market leading positions with potential to continue share gains across businesses,” said Ramsden. The analyst’s optimism is based on Citi’s extensive global network in 95 countries, well-established long-term client relationships, and market share gains that are expected to be driven by investments in technology and innovative offerings.
Ramsden ranks No. 969 among more than 8,900 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 65% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 11.9%. (See Citigroup Technical Analysis on TipRanks) More

While lawmakers have a growing interest in taxing the ultra-rich, last week’s Supreme Court ruling could threaten future wealth tax proposals, experts say.
Many tax experts watched Moore v. United States to gauge Congress’ authority to tax unrealized earnings.
While the justices didn’t comment directly on wealth taxes, the ruling scattered clues about whether certain revenue raisers could pass constitutional muster.

Spotmatik | Photodisc | Getty Images

While lawmakers have a growing interest in taxing the ultra-rich, last week’s Supreme Court ruling could threaten future wealth tax proposals, experts say.
In Moore v. United States, the Supreme Court blocked a challenge to the “mandatory repatriation tax,” a one-time levy on certain foreign investments enacted in 2017.

The case centered on a U.S. couple who incurred about $15,000 in taxes on undistributed profits from an overseas company. The Moores argued the levy violated the 16th Amendment because they didn’t “realize” or receive income.  
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Many tax experts watched the Moore case to gauge Congress’ authority to tax unrealized earnings, which could have an impact on wealth tax proposals. But the Supreme Court didn’t comment directly on the issue.
“Nothing in this opinion should be read to authorize any hypothetical congressional effort to tax both an entity and its shareholders or partners on the same undistributed income realized by the entity,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in his majority opinion.
Still, the 83-page ruling scattered some clues about whether certain versions of a wealth tax could pass constitutional muster, experts say. 

Issues with wealth tax proposals

In concurring and dissenting opinions, four justices — Amy Coney Barrett, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch — said the 16th Amendment requires realization for taxes. One more justice could create a majority in future cases.
That could be a roadblock for Biden’s billionaire tax, which calls for a 25% tax on unrealized gains for households with wealth exceeding $100 million, experts say. Biden also included a billionaire tax in his 2023 and 2024 budget proposals, but the plan hasn’t gained broad support.

No billionaire should pay a lower federal tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker or a nurse.

President Joe Biden

“No billionaire should pay a lower federal tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker or a nurse,” Biden said during the State of the Union, where he renewed his proposal. He also briefly mentioned the plan during the first presidential debate on Thursday.
However, the Supreme Court opinions and Biden’s proposal “seem like they’re probably on a collision course,” said Alan Cole, senior economist with Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy.
Of course, the future of Biden’s tax proposal is unclear with uncertain control of Congress.

Plans ‘on the wrong side of the constitutional line’

Federal wealth taxes drew national attention during the 2020 presidential primaries when Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., released dueling proposals. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has also proposed a similar tax on billionaires.
The issue is whether wealth tax proposals count as a “direct tax,” which must be apportioned, or split, among the 50 states based on their percentage of the total U.S. population, according to the Constitution.
That’s a barrier because “no taxes are ever apportioned,” said Steve Rosenthal, senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “It’s impossible.”

At oral arguments for the Moore case in December, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said a wealth tax would need to be apportioned among the states, which Rosenthal said “essentially threw the Warren and Sanders wealth tax under the bus.”
What’s more, Kavanaugh’s majority opinion, which “analytically divides direct and indirect taxes” and referenced Prelogar’s comment, could put the wealth tax proposals from Warren and Sanders “on the wrong side of the constitutional line,” Rosenthal said.

It’s not clear whether the Biden and Wyden proposals, which use so-called “mark-to-market” or yearly taxes of capital gains, would be constitutional either, experts say.
Wyden has insisted his plan is constitutional because annually taxing capital gains is already part of the tax code. 
The high court opinion “will open up the floodgates to much more litigation,” Rosenthal added.

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