Tax Stats, Budding Businesses, and Streaming Services
Behind The NumbersApril 22, 2024
- Tax Fraud Fighters – The IRS’s tax processing system was effective at stopping $2,697,130,305 in fraudulent payments during 2023. The dollar amount of fraud stopped in 2023 was up from $1,476,528,206 in 2022 and $908,912,798 in 2021 (source: Treasury Inspector General For Tax Administration).
- Ballooning Bonds – The 10-year Treasury yield ended Q1 2024 at 4.20%, with a consistent uptick in yield over the past four years. Q1 2020 ended at a yield of a mere 0.70% (source: Ycharts).
- Craving Capital? – The SBA issued $52 billion in capital to small businesses in 2023. This is up from the $43 billion in capital issued during 2022 (source: U.S. Small Business Administration).
- Moving Money – Loans from domestically chartered banks rose 0.8% between the end of 2023 and March 27, 2024. Similarly, deposits at domestically chartered banks increased by 1.1% between the end of December 2023 and March 27, 2024 (source: S&P Global).
- For Sale – New home sales in February 2024 totaled 662,000, which is 5.9% higher than the 625,000 homes sold in February 2023 (source: United States Census Bureau).
- It’s Go Time – The United States Census Bureau clocked 435,629 new business applications in March 2024. This follows 436,358 new business applications in February 2024 and 450,078 in January 2024 (source: United States Census Bureau).
- Toppling Expectations – The stock price for Nvidia, an AI chip maker, was up 82.5% from January through March 2024. This follows a 239% increase in stock price in 2023 (source: Yahoo Finance).
- Live Action – Ticketmaster reported their biggest year ever, selling more than 620 million tickets, which is up from 2022 ticket sales by 13%. One of the main factors driving the revenue increase was concert ticket sales up by 20% in 2023 compared to 2022 (source: The Guardian).
- Sit Back and Relax – Netflix holds strong as the most popular streaming service, with 260.28 million subscribers as of December 31, 2023. The United States and Canada make up 80.13 million subscribers, while Europe, the Middle East, and Africa comprise 88.81 million subscribers (source: Digital Trends).
- Core Commitment – On April 17, 2024, DonnaJean Wilde, a 59-year-old grandmother of 12, broke the Guinness World Record for the longest plank held by a woman, planking for 4.5 hours (source: USA Today).
This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation regarding any specific product or security. Past performance is not indicative of future results. You cannot invest directly in an index. All references to tax or legal matters are provided for informational purposes only. You should consult your legal or tax professional regarding your specific situation. All investing is subject to risk, including possible loss of principal.
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