Taxes
The Senate has narrowly passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by a 50-50 vote, with Vice President Vance breaking the tie. The bill now moves to the Joint Conference Committee for reconciliation of differences. However, one expected difference between the House and Senate versions of the bill —the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction — appears to have already been rectified. While the SALT deduction can be used for any state and local income taxes paid, the taxes paid on a home tend to be among the largest for taxpayers, suggesting this higher cap will be a welcome relief…
The Trump administration’s latest tax policy quasi-proposal, announced by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in an interview with CBS News, is for the elimination of taxes for folks making less than $150,000 per year. Trump’s previous major tax initiative, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and provided rate reductions across the board, but a closer examination reveals who really won with the new policy: corporations and the wealthy. High-income earners benefited massively, with the top 1% seeing a 2.2% increase in after-tax income, while all other taxpayers got some…
For cybercriminals, tax season means open season. And in 2025, they’ve upgraded their playbook. AI-generated phishing emails. Deepfake IRS agents. Voice-cloned tax professionals threatening you with arrest. What used to be laughably obvious scams are now chillingly realistic. If you’re still expecting scams to come in broken English from a sketchy Gmail address, you’re behind the times. According to IRS statistics, more than $37 billion in tax and financial crimes were identified in fiscal year 2023. And that’s just what they caught. Behind those numbers is a growing wave of fraud that’s smarter, faster and ruthlessly effective. Cybercriminals are tapping…
Most people are anxious for their tax refund to arrive, and want to check its status. The IRS is trying to debunk what it sees as common myths about federal tax refunds. Once you file your federal tax return, if you are due a refund, it can’t come soon enough. The IRS first says you should check the status of your refund through the Where’s My Refund? tool, the IRS2Go app, or by signing in to the taxpayer’s IRS Online Account. Those are the best and most reliable ways to get updates about when your refund might arrive. Even so,…
Over the past decade, economies across Latin America and the Caribbean have been caught in a trap, according to the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). That “trap” is punishingly stagnant economic growth, which averaged just 1 percent between 2015 and 2024, according to the organization. The good news is that economic growth is projected to accelerate this year — ECLAC projects it will hit 2.4 percent. But the organization says it’s not fast enough for a region that has chronically underperformed for so long. This begs the question: What can countries in this region do…
On March 11, 2025, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) proposal, setting the stage for significant transformations in the European Union’s VAT system over the coming years. This milestone was reached after nearly three years of negotiations following the initial proposal on December 8, 2022. ViDA represents a major step toward modernizing VAT compliance, particularly for businesses engaged in cross-border transactions within the EU. The reform package revolves around three main pillars: the implementation of digital real-time reporting and e-invoicing, the revision of VAT rules for the platform economy, and the…
In tax controversy and litigation matters, sometimes procedure trumps the merits. The statute of limitations is a great example. Even if the taxpayer made a mistake on a prior year return, the IRS generally can’t open an audit if the applicable statute of limitations period has expired. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA) has its own statute of limitations rules associated with partnerships. Because the BBA partnership rules are relatively new—they did not go into effect until the 2018 tax year—the rules contain traps for the unwary. Indeed, a recent IRS Chief Counsel memorandum shows that these traps can…
The lights are on in D.C.. With a deadline looming to avert a government shutdown at midnight, Congress reached an agreement on spending for the rest of the year–that’s after Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted on a procedure to advance a spending vote. The Senate vote follows an earlier vote in the House (☆) to fund the government through September 30, 2025. The final House vote was 217 to 213, with only one Republican, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voting no and one Democrat, Jared Golden of Maine, voting yes. You can see how your Representative voted here. The Congressional Budget…
The Trump administration is seeking more information about your financial transactions—but only if you live or do business in one of 30 ZIP codes. Beginning in April, the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will require those who in those ZIP codes—estimated to be more than one million Americans—to be reported if they try to spend more than $200 in cash or cash equivalent on items like money orders and traveler’s checks. That’s a dramatic expansion of the standard $10,000 cash reporting requirement. The new Geographic Targeting Order (GTO), which has, as its stated purpose, “to further…
The Trump administration’s latest tax policy quasi-proposal, announced by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in an interview with CBS News, is for the elimination of taxes for folks making less than $150,000 per year. Trump’s previous major tax initiative, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and provided rate reductions across the board, but a closer examination reveals who really won with the new policy: corporations and the wealthy. High-income earners benefited massively, with the top 1% seeing a 2.2% increase in after-tax income, while all other taxpayers got some…
There’s another shake-up at the nation’s tax agency. Weeks after the acting IRS Commissioner departed, another high-profile staffer is leaving. According to the Associated Press, acting chief counsel William Paul has been removed. He is expected to be replaced by Andrew De Mello. Paul was reportedly demoted because he refused to cooperate with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, as DOGE representatives allegedly sought to share taxpayer information with other federal agencies. About Chief Counsel The Chief Counsel, a position that dates back to 1866, is the chief legal advisor to the IRS Commissioner on all matters related to the…