Talking Tax

The SEC’s Paul Munter set a blistering pace for accounting guidance during his two years as acting chief accountant—issuing blockbuster guidance on digital assets, SPACs, and more.Now the job of chief accountant is his, as of January, and he joined Bloomberg Tax reporter Amanda Iacone to discuss his goal to ensure investors get reliable and actionable financial reports from corporate America. He expects, for example, companies to disclose risks that could threaten their ability to operate and auditors to fully vet threats facing their clients, like rapidly rising interest rates.Munter also weighed in on the question of whether bank accounting for long-term investments should change, the potential break-up of Ernst & Young, and his concerns about private equity investing in accounting firms.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

For the OECD's tax policy chief, years of negotiations on the global corporate tax deal has been a "roller coaster ride" of different approaches by the nations involved. The organization is hoping to see efforts come together with major parts of it resolved this summer, says Grace Perez-Navarro, who is retiring Friday.Countries are pushing to meet a midyear deadline on the remaining key pieces of the deal, including what is known as Amount A—the reallocation of some multinational profits—and Amount B, a plan to streamline some transfer pricing.Perez-Navarro sat down with Bloomberg Tax reporter Isabel Gottlieb this week ahead of her last day as director of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Center for Tax Policy and Administration. She stepped into the director role last year after serving as deputy director since 2007.She talked about the status of remaining work on the agreement and what issues countries are still negotiating, as well as remote work taxation, and how the OECD is helping governments discuss carbon taxes.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The US tax code doesn't take race into consideration, but should it?In this episode of Talking Tax, Georgetown Law professor Dorothy Brown argues the case for why the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service should make race a factor in tax policy. Brown, author of the 2021 book, "Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans—and How We Can Fix it," sits down with Bloomberg Tax editor Yuri Nagano.Brown discusses how her book inspired a recent Stanford University study showing Black taxpayers are audited at higher rates, a topic at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of now-confirmed IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. She also touches on how Treasury's Greenbook of 2024 revenue proposals doesn't reflect data from the department's January report on tax impact by race and ethnicity, and grades efforts by the Biden administration, Treasury and IRS on their progress.Brown is a member of the recently formed Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

To help reduce poverty, many states have modeled their own versions of tax relief for lower and middle-income workers on an enhanced federal earned income tax credit that expired last year. Rising inflation, pandemic hardships, and increasing economic disparities have intensified calls to create or expand these credits along with child tax credits in both Democratic and Republican-led states.To date, 11 states have enacted their own child tax credits and more than 30 now have an earned income tax credit, according to a report by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.On this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax reporter Donna Borak speaks with Connecticut's new state comptroller Sean Scanlon, who says there's no one "silver bullet solution" to tax policy. The former state legislator discusses his involvement in creating the state's first child tax credit and the Biden administration's latest attempt to reinstate a federal enhanced child tax credit. Scanlon also speaks on why he thinks historic surpluses make it possible for Connecticut lawmakers to create both a permanent child tax credit (SB 771) and pursue Gov. Ned Lamont's (D) plans to cut income taxes and raise the earned income tax credit.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Looking forward to a mint julep on Kentucky Derby Day? You might be interested to know that a bit of each bourbon-soaked cocktail funds school districts, police departments, and other local services in the Bluegrass State. The money flows through Kentucky’s one-of-a-kind bourbon barrel tax, a levy on spirits aging in barrels. It’s a big deal for distillers, who must pay the tax, and municipalities, which derive significant revenue from the roughly 11 million barrels of bourbon inventoried across Kentucky.That could change soon. After a Bourbon Barrel Taxation Task Force studied the matter last year, senior lawmakers recently introduced legislation to gradually phase out the tax until it's eliminated in 2039 with the aim of giving local jurisdictions time to adjust to lost revenues.On this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax senior reporter Michael J. Bologna digs into the unusual history of the tax and the current efforts to repeal it with Mark F. Sommer, tax practice group leader with Frost Brown Todd LLP in Louisville. BONUS: Sommer shares his mint julep recipe! (Derby Day is May 6, in case you haven't put it on your calendar yet. )Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

California cities have made deals with retailers—Best Buy Co. Inc., Apple Inc., QVC, Walmart Inc., and others—to be the point of sale for statewide e-commerce purchases in exchange for a cut of the sales tax proceeds. But who really benefits?On this episode of Talking Tax, senior reporter Laura Mahoney sits down with Bloomberg Law editor Bernie Kohn to talk about her closer look at Dinuba, a small city in California's Central Valley, and its tax-sharing deal with Best Buy. Dinuba gives half of its influx of sales tax money to Best Buy and 10% to the lawyer who brokered the deal. Tens of millions of dollars are involved in an agreement that will last 40 years.They discuss what Dinuba's deal with Best Buy means for its fiscal health and quality of life compared with its neighbors, and how the tension between the haves and have-nots is part of a statewide debate about sales tax rules in California.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Tax practitioner Tifphani White-King is strongly invested in increasing diversity and equity in the world of tax."I don't lose sight of the fact that I don't see many people that look like me in this field," she said.White-King, principal at Mazars USA, has over two decades of experience in tax, and as a Black woman, has extensive experience navigating a historically white male-dominated profession to become a leader in tax.She chatted with Bloomberg Tax reporter Jeff Leon to share more about her experiences in the profession, lessons learned, and being a woman of color in tax. White-King shares insights on how tax organizations can meaningfully level the playing field and embrace the strength of a diverse workforce, and where she sees the tax profession going.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

State sales taxes are now a fact of life for online buyers and sellers, since the US Supreme Court's 2018 Wayfair decision created a framework for remote-sales tax collection. It might look simple to customers, but for remote sellers and sales platforms—especially small businesses—the massive patchwork of state and local sales tax regimes can be daunting.How much of an "undue burden" on interstate commerce is the patchwork, and should Congress intervene to reduce the inconsistencies across sales tax regimes without stepping on state sovereignty? Some, including the US Government Accountability Office, have suggested it.This episode of Talking Tax explores the complicated requirements businesses have to deal with and the steps roughly half the states have taken to simplify their sales tax codes and streamline their processes.Bloomberg Tax senior reporter Michael J. Bologna speaks with Craig Johnson, executive director of the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, which administers a 24-state compact that strives for state sales tax harmony, and Diane Yetter, a self-described "sales tax nerd" and founder of the Sales Tax Institute, which educates and advises businesses. They were among witnesses at a Senate Finance Committee hearing last year on Wayfair impacts.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Tax transparency is on the rise, and companies are figuring out how to adapt.Large multinationals will soon have to publicly report their tax information in the EU. The pressure for more information isn't just coming from governments. Investors, too, are pushing for greater disclosure of companies' tax arrangements.Companies have long worried that reporting their tax information could set them up for a reputational hit. But now, with public reporting requirements on the horizon, some are choosing to put the information out themselves ahead of the mandate.KPMG's Anu Varadharajan sat down with Bloomberg Tax's Isabel Gottlieb to talk about why the tax transparency measures worry companies, and what they're doing to prepare for the requirements.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Though never popular with neighboring state officials, New York's tax on the income of out-of-state residents working for Empire state companies is being scrutinized more closely. A post-pandemic shift to remote work — as a choice by either the employee or employer — has meant that many former commuters rarely if ever set foot in a New York workplace.There are winners and losers in the current situation and billions of dollars at stake. Officials in both New Jersey and Connecticut have recently revived efforts to keep their resident's income taxes within their own borders regardless of where the person works.New York isn't expected to relinquish these revenues without a fight. The state got roughly 17% of its income tax revenue from non-residents in fiscal 2020.On this episode of Talking Tax, our weekly podcast, podcast producer David Schultz talks with Andrew Silverman, a tax policy analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, about the particular dynamics of the tri-state region. Silverman also examines why the US Supreme Court opted not to weigh in on a similar challenge by New Hampshire to end a Massachusetts commuter tax in 2016, how remote work impacts what's called the "convenience-of-the-employer" rule, and why this disagreement between a number of states will be up to the high court resolve.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.