By the thinnest of margins (215 to 214), the House of Representatives has voted to pass Trump’s domestic policy bill. According to Forbes, the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ act has trillions of dollars of impact on US taxpayers, including renewing the tax cuts from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, a deduction for income earned from tips, and increased deductions for state and local income taxation, and much more. However, the bill proposes to pay for these tax cuts by limiting the benefits from social services programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and student loan payment plans. In this article,…

In a surprise move, the Senate passed the No Tax on Tips Act. The vote was unanimous. The bill was originally introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to little fanfare. However, on May 20, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), one of seven cosponsors of the bipartisan bill, brought it to the Senate floor, where it passed by unanimous consent. Unanimous consent is a procedural tool that is exactly what it sounds like—it requires the unanimous agreement of all Senators. You don’t typically see it used in tax bills, as it’s generally used for noncontroversial resolutions and simple requests, neither of which…

The frustration on Senator Ron Wyden’s (D-Ore.) face was clear. The Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance expressed his concerns about the nomination of Billy Long, a former Republican congressman, to be IRS Commissioner. At the hearing on May 20, Wyden pulled no punches about Long, saying, “Congressman Long’s experience with tax issues came after he left Congress, when he dove headlong into the tax scam industry.” Long does not have any formal training in tax, law, or accounting, does not have a college degree, and never served in Congress on a tax writing committee. He dropped…

As reported by Forbes, the Senate has unanimously passed the “No Tax on Tips Act” in a unanimous vote. This bipartisan piece of legislation now heads to Trump’s desk to be signed into law. This article highlights three key takeaways from the significant tax law change. 1. Most Tip-Based Taxpayers Will Pay No Tax On Some Tips The No Tax On Tips Act provides a tax deduction for cash tip wages reported to employers. However, there are key limitations. First, the amount that can be deducted is capped at $25,000. Thus, the bill actually means that some (rather than no…

The Original Purpose of Social Security: A Three-Legged Stool Social Security is a cornerstone of the United States’ social safety net. Many Americans depend on this program to fund their retirement. The most recent data available from the Social Security Administration highlights the program’s critical role in retirement planning. Social Security benefits account for approximately 30% of the income for individuals ages 65 and older. Retirement income was envisioned as a three-legged stool consisting of pensions, personal savings, and Social Security, each contributing one-third. The program was never intended to serve as the primary source of retirement income. Many Lower-Income…

The application of U.S. tax laws often turns on the meaning of “residency.” Although U.S. citizens and residents are subject to federal income taxes on their worldwide income, non-residents who are not U.S. citizens (“Foreign Persons”) are generally not unless the income has a nexus to the U.S. Under the U.S. income tax regime, individuals may establish residency through their physical presence in the U.S. U.S. estate and gift tax laws—referred to as “transfer taxes”—also apply to U.S. citizens and residents. Significantly, however, the U.S. transfer tax regime defines the term “residency” different than its U.S. income tax counterpart. Here,…

More than eight in ten households would get a tax cut in 2026 under the big budget bill now being considered by the House, according to a new analysis of the reconciliation bill by the Tax Policy Center. But 60 percent of the tax cuts would go to the top 20 percent of households and more than one-third would go to those making $460,000 or more, TPC found. The average household would get a 2026 tax cut of about $2,900, compared to what it would pay if key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expire as…

In this episode of Tax Notes Talk, four policy experts discuss the Trump administration’s actions on tariffs, their economic impacts, and their effects on tax policy during a live recording from the American Bar Association Section of Taxation May meeting. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes Today International. This week: live from D.C., it’s Tax Notes Talk. We have something a bit different for you this week. On Friday, May 9, I went down to the ABA Tax Section meeting and recorded a live podcast. I was joined by four…

Moody’s has cut the U.S.’s sovereign credit rating from the highest possible rating (Aaa) to one notch below (Aa1). According to CNBC, the agency lowered the rating due to the growing burden of the federal government’s deficit and the rising costs the U.S. now faces due to interest rates. Moody’s joins Standard & Poor’s, which downgraded the U.S. in August 2011, and Fitch Ratings, which downgraded the U.S. rating in August 2023. The U.S. credit rating has significant market wide effects, as demonstrated by the Dow, S&P 500, and NASDAQ indices all being down at the start of trading. In…

To read this article with full citations, please visit taxnotes.com Several weeks ago, I used this column to suggest an unconventional idea: The taxpayers of the United States would benefit greatly from the creation of a national tariff-payer advocate. Such an officeholder would take on responsibilities that parallel those of the national taxpayer advocate — a position that has existed within the IRS since the mid-1990s — but in the tariff context. The officeholder would be supported by a professional staff and function as an independent actor, at liberty to raise whatever concerns she deems appropriate insofar as they affect…