The Senate Finance Committee has issued draft reconciliation text that mirrors much of the narrowly passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act from the House. Both would increase the maximum child tax credit and restrict eligibility among citizen children who live in families whose parents are not both U.S. citizens. Neither would increase benefits for the 17 million children who live in families that receive less than today’s $2,000 per child credit maximum —though Congress has options to do so. Increasing the CTC for very low-income families could also help offset program cuts elsewhere in the legislation that would affect these…

According to the National Taxpayer Advocate’s Mid-Year Report to Congress, the 2025 tax filing season was a success. Nearly 141 million individual returns were received, 138 million were processed, and over 95 percent of those processed returns were filed electronically. In a world where headlines touting a functioning government is relatively rare, this performance from the IRS is worth a note. That said, success is relative. Peeling back the topline numbers, a different story emerges—exposing gaps in IRS staffing, technology adoption, and taxpayer support. More than 13 million returns were “suspended” during processing—not processed—triggering refund delays. Identity theft victims can…

The Senate takes a more balanced approach to SALT and PTET rules—avoiding punitive carveouts and restoring deductions for traders and service professionals. Senate Republicans released a draft tax reform bill on June 16 that sharply diverges from the House’s approach to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and the pass-through entity tax (PTET). Unlike the House version, which aggressively targets specified service trades or businesses (SSTBs), the Senate draft restores PTET deductions for all pass-throughs—offering welcome relief to traders, CPAs, and other professionals. Senate Holds the Line on $10,000 SALT Cap The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA),…

As reported by Forbes, Zohran Mamdani appears to have won the New York City Mayoral Democratic Primary and may be poised to become one of the most powerful mayors in the United States. What makes his campaign unique is that Mamdani ran on a more socialist-type platform, which raises taxes on some to pay for enhanced services. This article discusses who Mamdani is, what about New York City taxes Mamdani proposes to alter, and three key issues with his plans to increase taxes on New York City taxpayers. Who Is Zohran Mamdani? Mamdani is a 33 year old politician. He…

In a stunning result, 33-year old Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist in his third term in the New York State assembly, defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor. He won with a progressive platform that energized voters, but which many observers think is impractical or actually dangerous for the city. Can he deliver? Can Mamdani Deliver Practical Solutions? In an interview with journalist Derek Thompson, who has criticized Mamdani’s policy ideas, Mamdani directly addressed the problem of how he would govern. He said “leadership can…be someone who recognizes what they know and what they don’t know…

Billy Long is now officially the 51st Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Long was confirmed by the Senate on June 12, and was sworn in a few days later on June 16, 2025. Long told employees he plans to develop a more taxpayer-friendly agency by transforming the culture at the IRS during his tenure. “In my first 90 days I plan to ask you, my employee partners, to help me develop a new culture here. I’m big on culture, and I’m anxious to develop one that makes your lives and the taxpayers’ lives better,” Long wrote in a message…

In this episode of Tax Notes Talk, Jonathan Samford and Kevin Klein of the Global Business Alliance discuss the proposed section 899 retaliatory tax and other international tax provisions included in the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Tax Notes Talk is a podcast produced by Tax Notes. This transcript has been edited for clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes Today International. This week: two big beautiful bills. We’ve been closely following the progress of the reconciliation bill, with episodes on Opportunity Zone changes and clean…

With less than a week remaining before U.S. Senators return to their home states for the summer, there is still work to do. The Senate has not yet passed a version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), and once it does, it must precisely match the House-passed version to become law. Republicans in the Senate remain optimistic about their chances, but they first need to wait for the final word on what’s allowed in the bill before voting. Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate Parliamentarian, has been reviewing the hundreds of pages in the proposed bill and has already flagged…

Partnerships are an enigma under federal tax law. Although the partnership files an annual income tax return (i.e., Form 1065), the partners report their allocable share of the partnership’s tax items on their income tax returns (e.g., Form 1040). Due to the complexity inherent in partnership income tax reporting, Congress has historically struggled in attempting to find an appropriate examination tool to provide to the IRS to audit partnerships. After more than three decades under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), Congress changed the partnership audit and collection rules through passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act…

The litigation funding industry—and many lawyers and law firms—are worried about a provision inserted in the pending tax bill. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the Tackling Predatory Litigation Funding Act in the Senate, you can read the text here. A companion bill was introduced in the House by Kevin Hern (R-OK). The litigation funding tax was not in the House passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but the Senate’s Reconciliation Bill includes it. Its ostensible goal as described by Senator Tillis when he introduced it is to prevent foreign influence in the US court system and stem frivolous lawsuits. Some…