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President Donald Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), recently signed into law, ushers in a number of new tax write-offs and credits. Some of those include the No Tax on Tips provision (which allows eligible tipped workers to deduct a portion of their income from tips on their federal income taxes), car loan and charitable donation deductions, and a child credit. However, other deductions that Trump’s tax bill did not renew will expire at the end of this year, including those related to student loan forgiveness. As a result, borrowers with certain federal student loans may have to pay more taxes. “There are two things that student loan borrowers need to know: There are changes in the way student debt is taxed, and the other is Congress didn’t extend tax-free student loan forgiveness,” Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC), told Fast Company. Some student loans may once again be taxed in 2026 “Forgiven student loan debt is generally considered taxable income in the year it’s discharged, Miryam Wisnicki, tax principal at CliftonLarsonAllen, told Fast Company. However, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 temporarily excluded certain types of student loan forgiveness from taxable income through December 31, 2025. This provision was enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and aimed to provide relief to borrowers.” But while student loan forgiveness remains tax-free through the end of 2025, it will be subject to income tax on the amount discharged starting at the beginning of 2026. Which student loan provisions will remain tax-free? The OBBBA did separately make some student-loan-related tax provisions permanent, according to Wisnicki: Loan discharge due to death or total disability will continue to be excluded from taxable income. Employer-provided student loan repayment assistanceup to $5,250 annuallywill remain tax-free under qualified educational assistance programs. This benefit, previously set to expire at the end of 2025, is now permanent and will be adjusted annually for inflation. New loan limits While undergraduate loan limits won’t change, they will for graduate students and parent borrowers, NPR reported. The new law puts a cap on unsubsidized student loans for graduate students at $20,500 per year and $100,000 for a lifetime (down from $138,500). It caps borrowing for professional degrees, for example in law or medicine, at $50,000 per year and $200,000 for a lifetime (up from $138,500). It limits federal student loan borrowing to a total of $257,500 for a lifetime (for both undergraduate and graduate studies). It also caps borrowing for parents through the federal Parent PLUS loan program at $20,000 per year per student and $65,000 for a lifetime, which, according to the SBPC, could force millions into a risky private market. The law eliminates the Graduate PLUS loan program for all new students on July 1, 2026, gutting a critical financial aid program that had previously allowed eligible graduate and professional students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance for their advanced degree. How will the new law affect repayment options? After July 1, 2026, borrowers with new loans will have only two repayment options: a new standard option and a new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) option based on income. Current borrowers with loans taken out before July 1, 2026, will continue to have access to an Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan and can continue to enroll in or remain on an Income-Driven Repayment plan, but will need to switch to IBR or RAP by July 1, 2028. Current borrowers who take on any new loan after July 1, 2026, including a consolidation loan, will be eligible only for RAP or the new standard plan, per the SBPC. According to NPR, experts have said monthly RAP payments for many middle-income borrowers will be lower compared with earlier RAP plans, but not as low as they were on the previous Saving on a Valuable Education option. Meanwhile, the lowest-income borrowers will make a minimum monthly payment of $10, or $120 per year, instead of $0. “Congress eliminated the most generous repayment terms and replaced it with a new plan that will cost more money,” Pierce explained. “It is making sure that the lowest-income borrowers have to pay something.” There are still many ways to get your student debt canceled, Pierce said, but the canceled debt will be treated as taxable income: “For example, an average borrower who earns $50,000 a year would end up paying $2,200 more in taxes a year for every $10,000 that is canceled.”
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On August 5, new automotive industry data revealed how EV brands are faring in the U.K. and Germany, and the update marks yet another chapter in the saga of Teslas terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. According to the reports, Teslas European sales slumped in July, as sales of its top competitor, the Chinese company BYD, shot up. This isnt exactly a new story: Since the beginning of the year, Teslas European sales have been trending on a sharp downward decline, while BYD has made major headway in expanding through global markets. As this pattern continues to play out, the data points to the possibility that BYD is on a fast track to overtake Tesla at the top of the EV market. Tesla continues to stumble in the U.K. and Germany According to data from the U.K.s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Teslas new car sales in the U.K. dropped by nearly 60% to 987 units in July, down from 2,462 year-over-year. The story was much the same in Germany, where the brands new car sales fell by around 55%, based on data from the road traffic agency KBA. Teslas slump cant be attributed to an overall decline in the EV market, either: Total EV sales were up by 9.1% for the month in the U.K., and up 58% in Germany. BYD, on the other hand, saw massive gains in Europe this past month. In the U.K., the brand quadrupled its year-over-year sales for the month to a total of 3,184. In Germany, sales went up almost fivefold to 1,126 cars sold. At this point, Tesla is falling solidly behind BYD in the European market. By late March of this year, Tesla had already sold nearly 43% fewer cars in the region compared to the same period in 2024. In May, its sales in the U.K. and Germany plummeted to multi-year lows, allowing BYD to surpass it on European sales for the first time ever. Now, it seems like BYDs upward trajectory is only getting started. BYD may be on a path to EV market domination Tesla and BYDs battle for market dominance in Europe might be a harbinger of whats to come for the two brands on a global scale. In 2024, BYD topped Tesla in terms of total revenue, but it still lagged behind on overall profitability. In 2025, that narrative may be shifting. Per its second quarter earnings report, published at the end of July, Tesla notched its steepest decline in quarterly revenue in more than a decade, with a 12% fall. The news has caused investors to question whether Tesla CEO Elon Musks involvement in American politics has permanently damaged the brand. Meanwhile, BYD saw its revenue rise by 37.4% year-over-year in its most recent first quarter report. As pressure continues to mount against Tesla, the brand is beginning to bet more of its resources on breaking into the nascent robotaxi industry. On August 1, though, a Florida court verdict called the safety of Teslas Autopilot function into question, a development that may stifle Teslas robotaxi plans before they even get off the ground. Teslas compounding struggles, combined with BYDs meteoric success, may result in a very different global EV landscape by the end of this year. BYDs second quarter results, which are likely to publish at the end of August, will shed more light onto how the company is currently faringand how soon it might be poised to dethrone Tesla on profit.
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E-Commerce
As artificial intelligence reshapes every industry, America stands at a crossroads. We can either double down on our greatest competitive advantage, attracting the world’s brightest minds, or watch our AI leadership slowly migrate to countries that have figured out what we haven’t: immigration policy is technology policy. After over a decade leading AI initiatives at Microsoft, democratizing natural language processing that serves millions globally, I’ve seen both the promise and the peril of our current moment. The engineers and researchers building tomorrow’s breakthroughs are increasingly weighing their options. The question isn’t whether they want to build in America, it’s whether America wants to make it possible. The Talent Pipeline America Built Let’s start with what we’re doing right. The U.S. has created an unmatched ecosystem with 59% of the world’s top-tier AI researchers. We’ve built the universities, the venture capital networks, and the innovation culture that attracts global genius. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI didn’t emerge by accident, they’re the product of decades of smart talent attraction. The data shows our success: nearly half of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children, generating $8.1 trillion in revenue and employing over 14.8 million people. In AI specifically, only 20% of top researchers earned their undergraduate degrees in the U.S., but 59% choose to do their breakthrough work here. We’re not starting from zero, we’re optimizing a proven winning formula. When we get immigration right, the returns are extraordinary. H-1B workers earn a median wage of $108,000 compared to $45,760 for U.S. workers generally, contributing significantly to tax revenue and consumer spending. Research shows that when immigrant college graduates increase by 1%, patents per capita increase by 918%. Each talented engineer who builds here creates jobs for American workers through the companies they found and the teams they build. When Timing Costs Talent The challenge isn’t our destination, it’s our process. Processing times for employment-based Form I-129 petitions, the petitions U.S. employers must file to request permission for a foreign national to work temporarily under visas like the H1B or O1, have climbed sharply. They rose more than 25% last quarter and over 80% compared to a year ago, according to USCIS Q2 FY2025 data, even though the overall backlog has decreased. At the same time, EB-1A cases, which are meant for individuals with extraordinary ability, reached a record high of 16,000 pending petitions. For the people leading advances in AI, these are not just delays. They are missed opportunities. In a field where timing is everything, a slow and unpredictable immigration process can push talent to build somewhere else. The Global Competition Advantage Meanwhile, our allies have streamlined their approach. Canada’s Global Talent Stream processes work visas in two weeks. Australia’s National Innovation Visa offers permanent residency with 13 month processing times for exceptional talent. The UK’s Global Talent visa fast-tracks digital technology experts, including those in AI and fintech. Meanwhile in the U.S., work visa petitions like the H1B and O1 often take several months to process. Employers must pay thousands in additional fees for premium processing just to reduce the wait to 15 business days. These aren’t just policy differences, they’re strategic choices. While we debate, they’re decisively capturing talent that could be strengthening American innovation. But this also represents an opportunity: if they can create efficient systems, so can we. Evolving Policies and Smarter Strategies The encouraging news is that progress is underway. In 2024, policy clarifications helped redefine specialty occupation criteria, making it easier for AI engineers and data scientists to qualify for H1B visas without triggering burdensome requests for evidence. In 2023, the Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence issued to Congress aimed to modernize immigration pathways for technical talent. In 2025, a new Executive Order on AI introduced a broader national strategy focused on innovation, safety, and global competitiveness. While the new order replaced the earlier 2023 directive, it places less emphasis on immigration and education, areas that many experts see as critical to long-term AI leadership. Forward-thinking companies are also adapting. Many are exploring O-1 visas for extraordinary ability, which aren’t subject to annual caps, or EB-2 National Interest Waivers for researchers whose work benefits the U.S. The key is matching the right visa strategy to each individual’s profile, something that requires expertise but yields dramatically better outcomes. America’s Enduring Advantage The infrastructure is already here: world-class universities, robust venture capital, and innovation ecosystems that remain the global gold standard. We need immigration processes that match the speed of the minds we’re trying to attract. According to research from the Center for Growth and Opportunity, a startup visa could create 500,000 to 1.6 million new jobs over 10 years. Our choice is simple: we can streamline the pathways for global talent to contribute to American innovation, or we can watch other nations benefit from the minds we educated and inspired. The future belongs to countries that can attract and empower the world’s brightest. America built that playbook, now we need to execute it.
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