Talking Tax

Gasoline prices have reached record highs in recent weeks, spurring lawmakers across the country to look for ways to offer some relief.A popular target: the excise taxes the federal government and states collect to fund transportation programs. Some congressional Democrats have floated a suspension of the 18.3 cent-per-gallon federal gas tax, while many governors are pursuing state holidays that could provide some temporarily relief to drivers.Temporarily ditching the gas tax would offer some obvious political benefits for lawmakers running for re-election this year. But how much would it actually help consumers with the national average for regular gasoline up to well over $4 a gallon and gas prices nearing $6 a gallon in California?Lucy Dadayan and Howard Gleckman of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center appear on the latest episode of our weekly Talking Tax podcast to talk about proposed gas tax holidays. Gleckman argues that suspending the federal excise tax could actually fuel further price increases, while Dadayan suggests states should instead look at targeted tax rebates to help low-income families struggling with inflation.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The accounting profession offers career options that go beyond working for a CPA firm or corporate finance.George Azih found that his years of working in both arenas built the perfect launch pad to start his own business, and solve some complex financial accounting problems along the way.Azih is the founder and CEO of LeaseQuery, an Atlanta-based company that provides lease accounting software to businesses. In just a decade, Azih turned his startup into a business that Deloitte ranked among the 100 fastest-growing tech companies.On today’s episode of our weekly podcast, Talking Tax, Azih talks with reporter Amanda Iacone about why he got into accounting and his experience as a Black entrepreneur. He also talks about the value of diversity in accounting and of searching for your diversity blind spots.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Courts in Canada have been making high-profile rulings on a key area of corporate tax law in recent years and the federal government could be making even more changes.Transfer pricing—the rules governing how entities within the same corporate group must make transactions as if they were arm’s length—represents a sizable chunk of the money the Canada Revenue Agency collects in tackling aggressive tax avoidance by companies. A court submission by the agency in 2021 said adjustments from transfer pricing over the three previous years increased government revenue by C$11.84 billion ($9.3 billion).But judges have been dismissing the agency’s arguments when companies have decided to fight those adjustments in courts. Two decisions, one dealing with the uranium miner Cameco Corp. and a second with herbicide supplier Agracity Ltd., have grabbed tax practitioners’ attention because of how the courts interpreted Canada’s transfer pricing laws.The federal government has promised a reform of the underlining legislation in light of its courtroom losses, but Ottawa’s options for rewriting the rules are anything but simple. On the latest episode of Talking Tax, David Hogan, partner at Richter LLP, talks about the impact the latest court decisions have had on transfer pricing and where the legal fight could be headed.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Corporations and wealthy taxpayers breathed a sigh of relief when Democrats' economic agenda stalled in the Senate late last year.The roughly $2 trillion package—which the Biden administration branded "Build Back Better"—included a variety of tax hikes, including major changes for pass-through entities.While corporations and high earners may have dodged anticipated tax increases last year, they aren't necessarily off the hook. The legislation remains stalled, but labor and environmental advocates are pushing for President Joe Biden to re-engage with holdout Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in an effort to find a deal.A pair of tax professionals appear on the latest episode of Talking Tax to discuss the Biden administration's stalled tax plans. Laura Zwicker, chair of the Private Client Services Group at Greenberg Glusker, covers how the proposals would effect her high-net-worth clients and what she is advising them to do while the legislation remains in limbo. Then Sarah Brodie, a partner at Morgan Lewis, highlights how partnerships dodged major changes to how they are taxed.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The European Union wants to harmonize how companies issue electronic value-added invoices across the bloc as part of a broader push to make VAT easier to pay.The EU is hoping e-invoicing will help ease complexity and close the gap between expected VAT revenue and what countries actually collected. Lost VAT revenue reached 135 billion euros ($152 billion) in 2019 alone, according to the European Commission.The Commission in January launched a public consultation to explore its role in reducing the administrative burdens of VAT compliance—including harmonizing e-invoicing rules—for businesses and in helping member countries fight VAT fraud. At least 13 EU countries already have, or plan to implement, e-invoicing systems, but variations in rules across the bloc are creating administrative headaches for companies.The deadline for comments is April 15 and the Commission plans a legislative proposal in summer or fall.On the latest episode of Talking Tax, Ellen Cortvriend, director of indirect tax technology at PwC Belgium, talks about what countries are doing on the e-invoicing front, what's ahead for the EU, and what businesses could expect this year. Cortvriend also leads PwC’s global e-invoicing and e-reporting division.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The Biden administration made headlines last year with its plan to provide $80 billion to the IRS to bolster audit and enforcement activities, and tackle the so called “tax gap”—the difference between the amount taxpayers owe and how much they actually pay. It's estimated at $600 billion annually.But what about the states?State revenue departments will face some significant challenges, such as years of chronic underfunding by state legislatures, the loss of experienced auditors, practical limitations resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, and the growing complexity of state tax codes.To learn about how states are dealing with these state audit and enforcement challenges, we hear from Greg Matson, executive director of the Multistate Tax Commission, and Nancy Prosser, the commission's general counsel. They talk with Bloomberg Tax's Michael J. Bologna about their priorities for this year and why working remotely just isn't as satisfying for tax auditors.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The tax filing season that just kicked off is the third that is being affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Kelly Phillips Erb, Bloomberg Tax editor and host of the Tax Girl podcast, says we haven't yet returned to the way things worked pre-pandemic.In addition to a paper return backlog and understaffed IRS, this year's returns will also be complicated by stimulus checks and advance child tax credit payments. Erb joins our weekly podcast, Talking Tax, to talk about what filers and tax pros can expect in the coming weeks and about why, this year, it may not necessarily be a good idea to file early.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Companies operating in the EU are facing a changing tax landscape in the years ahead, which means they must prepare now to set up systems to report and comply with the new measures.The European Union is targeting 2023 to implement the OECD’s 15% minimum tax. Companies will have to overhaul the way they collect information internally to be able to accurately calculate their effective tax rate for each jurisdiction. In addition, a public country-by-country reporting requirement and possibly another directive targeting shell companies are looming on the horizon.Marlies de Ruiter, global international tax policy leader at EY in the Netherlands, talks about what companies need to focus on now to comply with the coming changes, what important additional information on the minimum tax to watch for from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and why some companies are already choosing to disclose their tax information before it's required.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, is planning one final legislative push before he retires at the end of this Congress.During the Trump administration, the Texan was instrumental in shepherding the Republican-led 2017 tax law and working across the aisle on a retirement policy overhaul. An outspoken fan of the Houston Astros, Brady has also been a longtime cornerstone for the GOP in the annual Congressional Baseball Game.On the latest episode of our weekly Talking Tax podcast, Brady discusses his impending retirement, the legislation he hopes to advance before he leaves, and his thoughts on how to make the IRS more customer friendly.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Tax preparers are bracing for another frustrating filing season as the IRS warns of unprecedented challenges driven by the pandemic and staffing shortages.The IRS is facing some major issues ahead of the Jan. 24 launch of tax season. The agency entered the new year with millions of unprocessed paper tax returns and has long struggled to keep up with a deluge of phone calls from people and tax pros looking for assistance.National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins recently described the agency's telephone service as "the worst it has ever been." The IRS only answered about 11% of the 282 million phone calls it received in fiscal 2021—and those who did get through spent more time than ever on hold.St. Louis-based tax practitioner Jan Roberg is the guest on the latest episode of our weekly Talking Tax podcast. Roberg speaks with Bloomberg Tax reporter Kaustuv Basu about the upcoming tax filing season, offers advice to taxpayers on how to best communicate with the IRS, and shares thoughts on what Congress can do to improve the agency's customer service.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690