Your author is displeased with the state of global affairs, but I’m not here to discuss the concerns you might imagine. There are troubles in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, not to mention discord here at home. At times our world seems like a mess. Amid this strife, I choose to fixate on consumption taxes. There’s a problem with VAT, and it’s driving me nuts. Admittedly that’s a peculiar fascination, as I live in the sole industrialized nation that doesn’t have VAT. This is what happens when you spend too much time reading academic literature — and Tax Notes.…

Since 2014, the IRS focus on the tax treatment and tax reporting issues for crypto has grown and become more intensity. The IRS has been forced to confront digital assets and has introduced a number of reporting requirements for holders, exchanges and others. Now, President Trump has taken a step off the required and looming reporting by signing H.J. Res. 25. The new law repeals a set of regulations introduced by President Biden in 2024 that required decentralized finance brokers to report their gross proceeds from cryptocurrency sales to the IRS using a new variety of IRS Form 1099, the…

A recent decision reminds taxpayers and the tax compliance community of the importance of filing the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in United States v. Hendler, 23 Civ. 3280 (Sept. 17, 2024) has clarified the enduring nature of penalties tied to FBAR. The court held that FBAR penalties “accrue” on the date the form is due (but fails to be filed) and not when the IRS assesses the penalties which might be years later and after the taxpayer has died. The court also determined that an individual’s…

The House of Representatives adopted the Senate Budget resolution in a razor thin vote on Thursday, April 10 after 30 members who identify themselves as fiscal hawks ultimately flipped for the promise by the Senate that they would look to cut $1.5 trillion. While the Senate and the House pledged their alignment at finding at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts and savings, the Senate budget resolution agreed to by the House only requires $4 billion in spending cuts. The House originally passed a more fiscally responsible budget resolution on February 25. Under the House budget resolution, scored using the…

The big news this week was the stock market. U.S. stocks tumbled as traders grappled with the consequences of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The S&P 500—a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 leading companies in the U.S.—which hit a record high on February 19, dropped quickly on Tuesday, the second-fastest such drop in history (lagging only behind the drop due to Covid). Stocks powered back after Trump announced a 90-day reprieve on most tariffs but dropped again. By the end of the week, investors felt like they had motion sickness after one of the most volatile periods…

IRS numbers from the tenth week of the tax filing season—the week ending April 4, 2025—suggest that taxpayers are finally ready to file their tax returns. The number of tax returns received dipped again, a trend that hasn’t changed since the season opened on January 27, 2025, but the gap is narrowing. Filing and Processing Dips The most recent tax season filing data from IRS shows that the agency still hasn’t received as many tax returns this year as last year. The data shows that the IRS received 101,422,000 individual income tax returns as of April 4, 2025, compared to…

President Trump’s decision to “pause” some of his tariffs while further raising import taxes on Chinese goods would cut in half the amount of revenue his April 2 levies could raise, according to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center. TPC found Trump’s latest plan would raise about $1.7 trillion for the 10 years from 2026 through 2035, plus an additional $125 billion for the remainder of 2025. The analysis assumed Trump’s latest tariff policy would be permanent, although Trump said his newly announced delay would last only 90 days. It assumed the President would eliminate his “reciprocal” import…

With just a few days before Tax Day, cracks are showing at the IRS. Millions of taxpayers are expected to file their federal income tax returns by the end of the day on April 15, 2025, with millions more expected to file for an extension. It’s not the ideal time for mistakes to appear on the IRS website, but that’s precisely what is happening. Potentially confusing errors are popping up on the site, including one that impacts taxpayers filing for an extension. Taxpayers who need more time to file can apply for an extension. If you make the request on…

In today’s very tumultuous landscape day traders have to think about how they will report their gains and losses. Once exclusive to professional traders, day trading is now accessible to normal people due to online platforms such as Robinhood. This accessibility increased in day trading. “Day traders” generally purchase assets and make trades multiple times daily to sell at a higher price than bought. Understanding the tax filing options available for individuals participating in day trading and treating it as a business is essential. Qualification As A Trader For tax purposes, the qualification as a trader in securities is determined…

With the 2025 regular tax season deadline just days away, the IRS is already bracing for more cuts in its workforce. Thousands of agency employees are expected to receive pink slips in mid-May, about a month after Tax Day, April 15. Losses So Far Earlier this year, the IRS fired approximately 7,000 probationary employees in response to an executive order signed by President Trump on February 11, 2025. Following the order, the Office of Personnel Management advised various federal agencies, including the Department of the Treasury (which includes the IRS), to fire non-essential probationary employees. Several legal challenges followed, and…