The Department of Government Efficiency’s proposal to cut up to 25% of IRS staffing earlier this year is a textbook case of false economy. Among the casualties in the fiscal pruning is the IRS Criminal Investigation division—one of the few federal agency divisions that, rather than costing money, regularly recovers more money than it spends. In 2024 alone, CI helped claw back $9.1 billion in fraudulent proceeds—with a budget of less than $800 million. Raw numbers only tell part of the story, as IRS-CI plays a central role in dismantling financial networks behind everything from international drug trafficking and terrorism…

To read this article with full citations, please visit taxnotes.com As global trade tensions swirl around us, it’s a good time to highlight one of the seldom discussed features of the U.S. trade environment: duty drawbacks. Many of the tariffs charged on imported goods don’t stick; they’re subsequently refunded to the importer. This occurs through a process known as duty drawback, and Congress is poised to change how it works. It’s tempting to describe duty drawbacks as the best kept secret in U.S. trade law, except that there’s nothing clandestine about the practice. Federal law has permitted drawbacks, in one…

For anyone with employees, paying employment taxes is inevitable. You withhold taxes from employee pay, then send the money to the IRS. The taxes are withheld from wages and are supposed to be promptly paid to the government. This is trust fund money that belongs to the government, and no matter how good a reason the employer has for using the money for something else, the IRS is strict. If you are in business, it can be tempting to figure that you have to keep the rent paid and the supplies ordered, and that the IRS won’t miss the payroll…

Small business loans Small businesses require financing, often using equity or debt. Financing decisions can significantly influence business outcomes. High-interest or unstructured loans have been linked to increased business insolvency rates over time. Interest deduction limitations on some larger businesses The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 placed new limitations on how much interest certain businesses can deduct. These changes are outlined in Internal Revenue Code section 163(j). Businesses with gross receipts averaging $31 million or less over the prior three tax years are not subject to these limitations. Loans from business owners Many owners lend money to the…

Illinois lawmakers appear to be considering a revival of the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax—an idea that was first floated in 2019 but proved dead on arrival. Instead of recoiling from it as “just another tax,” perhaps we should ask a more interesting question: what if the VMT tax is exactly what is needed to internalize the actual cost of road usage—not only in Illinois, but nationwide? Illinois already levies the second highest gas tax in the nation, behind only California. Since 2019, that tax has been set to climb automatically each year. This has generated about $2.8 billion annually…

More than a decade into America’s state-by-state experiment with cannabis legalization, the results are no longer theoretical. Government data now confirms what early advocates envisioned—and what critics warned against: legal cannabis is reshaping public policy. The numbers tell a clear story, one grounded in billions in state tax revenue and a measurable decline in teen marijuana use. According to two reports from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), legal adult-use cannabis sales have generated more than $24.7 billion in state tax revenue since 2014. Much of that money is being directed toward education, healthcare, infrastructure, substance use prevention and community reinvestment.…

I’ve been covering tax and financial crimes for some time now and it’s rare that those convicted of white collar crimes net significant jail time. That’s why I was surprised to see a judge hand down a 65 year prison sentence to a 69-year-old who was found guilty of fraud and tax evasion. Judge Maryellen Noreika handed down the lengthy sentence to Robert Leroy Higgins, citing the “scope and brazenness” of Higgins’ crimes in what prosecutors called “the largest theft from a precious metals depository in the history of the United States.” Tax-favored Delaware has long attracted metals traders and…

It’s 2025, and a gay financial advisor just might be right for you. If nothing else, they may make financial planning fun enough for you to take the steps necessary to reach financial freedom and enjoy it along the way. The gay community faces a unique set of challenges when it comes to careers and finances that deserve the best advice available to them, and that may mean choosing an LGBTQ+ friend or even, if available, a gay financial advisor. I’m writing this article during Pride Month, which, despite misinformation circulating on the web, has not been canceled. We also…

A 69-year-old West Chester, Pa., man has been sentenced to 65 years in prison after being found guilty of wire fraud, mail fraud, and five counts of tax evasion. Judge Maryellen Noreika handed down the lengthy sentence to Robert Leroy Higgins, citing the “scope and brazenness” of Higgins’ crimes in what prosecutors called “the largest theft from a precious metals depository in the history of the United States.” The jury took less than four hours to convict Higgins on fraud and tax evasion charges related to the activities of gold and silver storage companies he founded in Delaware. Background Tax-favored…

The Senate has officially confirmed that former Missouri Congressman Billy Long will serve as the IRS commissioner in Trump’s second term. While some cabinet appointees have cruised through their confirmation hearings with limited scrutiny, Long did not have the same luck as many Senators expressed concerns over his checkered past. Long ultimately prevailed under the platform of reshaping the taxing authority to be more like a private sector entity. This article discusses why he faced so much scrutiny, what his vision can look like once instituted, and what recently published academic research says about the current and future state of…