Talking Tax

College football season starts this weekend and this will be the first year in which the players suiting up can earn significant income off of their name, image, and likeness. Partially in response to losing a case at the Supreme Court, the NCAA this summer lifted its longstanding ban on its student athletes generating this type of revenue for themselves.Though it may not be something most sports fans are thinking about, these newly wealthy athletes, many still in their teens, will run into a host of tax issues if they're not careful. To learn more about this, Bloomberg Tax reporter Sam McQuillan spoke with John Karaffa, the head of ProSport CPA— a firm that specializes in working with athletes—for our weekly Talking Tax podcast.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The Senate-passed infrastructure bill aims to revive nineties-era taxes on chemical companies and importers to pay for cleaning up some of the nation's most contaminated sites.While the bill still needs to clear the House, the chemicals industry claims the Superfund tax provisions are unfair because they impact a small subset of the industrial sectors that contributed to pollution. But advocates say the return of the "polluters pay" doctrine is a step in the right direction to clean up toxic sites.On this week’s episode of our podcast, Talking Tax, corporate tax reporter David Hood talks to Steve Jawetz, a principal at the environmental law firm Beveridge and Diamond PC who argues the tax is unfairly targeted. David also talks to Danielle Melgar, an advocate with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s "Zero Out Toxics” program, about how this tax is a victory for environmental groups.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The Senate-passed infrastructure bill includes contentious cryptocurrency tax reporting requirements that the industry is hoping to change when the bill is considered by the House.The requirements would apply to brokers, such as U.S. exchanges, but the industry says the current language is too broad and would hit intermediaries, like software developers and miners, who don't have access to the information they would be required to report.On this week’s episode of our podcast, Talking Tax, senior reporter Allyson Versprille talks to Denise Hintzke, a leader in Deloitte's Global Information Reporting practice.They discuss the impact the reporting requirements would have on the industry and how companies are preparing for the possible changes.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Investors interested in how companies meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards are also becoming increasingly interested in where—and whether—a company is paying tax.Witold Henisz, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and founder of the ESG Analytics Lab, argues that tax payments are a critical indicator of a company's broader social impact, and should be factored in to ESG conversations.On this week's episode of our podcast, Talking Tax, Henisz talks to reporter David Hood about how investors are turning to local disclosures to assemble "bespoke data" showing a company's tax burden and payments and why companies will likely face mounting pressure to disclose that type of information. Listen to the episode here.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

For decades retailers have held onto the sales taxes they collect from consumers for weeks before sending those funds to state revenue agencies.States are becoming increasingly impatient with this process. Some are pushing for accelerated collection schedules and a few are even talking about real-time sales tax compliance strategies.Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has long highlighted accelerated compliance as a way to realize revenue faster and reduce opportunities for tax evasion. On April 1 the Bay State launched an advance payment tax program that shortens the remittance period. Longer term, Baker is recommending a requirement that third-party payment processors convey sales tax to the state on a daily basis, beginning in 2024.On this week's episode of our podcast, Talking Tax, reporter Michael Bologna talks with Liz Armbruester, senior vice president for global compliance at tax software company Avalara, and Patrick Reynolds, senior tax counsel for the Council on State Taxation. Armbruester talks about why she believes that "all signs point to a future where payments will be defined by near-real-time tax compliance," while Reynolds highlights the business community’s concerns about the costs and burdens associated with these compliance strategies.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Thalia Smith, a partner at Deloitte, is using her experience as a Black woman in the Big Four to help students looking to break into accounting.Smith, an audit and assurance partner, is leading Deloitte's $75 million effort to close the diversity gap in the accounting profession. Just 2% of the firm's partners, principals, and managing directors are Black.On this week's episode of Talking Tax, Smith talks with reporter Amanda Iacone about her journey to becoming a Deloitte partner and the hurdles she faced as she advanced in an overwhelmingly white profession.Smith earned scholarships that helped her pay for her education and had other support as she prepared for the CPA exam. Deloitte is trying to take out the "luck" element of the process, she said. The firm has committed $30 million to scholarships for hundreds of Black and Latino students.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Tens of millions of families across the U.S. this week received their first monthly advance on the child tax credit from the IRS.The new monthly payments, which launched Thursday, are the result of a pandemic relief law that also temporarily boosted the credit's value. Households will receive up to $300 per month for each child under age 6, and up to $250 for each child ages 6 to 17.While the expanded credit is currently only on the books for this year, Democratic lawmakers are pushing to make sure it stays around long-term.House Ways and Means Committee member Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) is among the lawmakers who have long championed an expanded tax credit as a way to help reduce child poverty. On this week’s episode of our podcast, Talking Tax, DelBene talks with reporter Kaustuv Basu about why Democrats pushed for the advanced payments and whether a permanent extension is possible.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The U.S. audit regulator is slated to get fresh leadership after a turbulent few years that culminated in the removal of its chairman last month.But it could take months for a new slate of leaders to be selected and installed as members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The board faces a challenge in improving the morale of the PCAOB’s 800-person staff after a report released last month detailed leadership failures that cultivated a culture of fear and mistrust.Among other issues, the incoming board will have to address a 2020 law related to its oversight of auditors in China and international rules that lay out how firms should police their compliance with ethics and audit requirements.Lynn Turner, former SEC chief accountant, was among those who called for leadership changes at the board. Turner and Daniel Goelzer, a founding PCAOB member, spoke with Talking Tax host Amanda Iacone about what's next for the small regulator and what new board members should do to restore trust. Listen to the episode here.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Large multinational corporations have for a few years now been required to report to the EU how much they pay in taxes to each European country they operate in. But now, after an agreement last month, it looks like those reports will soon be made public.On this episode of our weekly podcast, Talking Tax, Willy de Molina, a transfer pricing partner with Deloitte, talks about the impact this new rule might have. Molina, based in Spain, told Bloomberg Tax editor Joe Stanley-Smith that the headaches this rule could cause go beyond logistics, with possible reputational risks for some companies.Have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Pandemic-related budget fears have prompted states to search for new sources of tax revenue. Lawmakers across the country are beginning to look toward social media as a mother lode of untapped corporate tax revenue.Social media tech giants, of course, aren't a fan of that approach. Maryland’s first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax has drawn legal challenges from Comcast Cable Communications, Verizon Media Inc., and other corporate heavyweights who argue the tax is unconstitutional.On today's episode of our weekly podcast, Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax's Michael Bologna hosts a pros-and-cons discussion on state digital advertising taxes. Peter Enrich, a law professor at Northeastern University, and Pilar Mata, executive director of the Tax Executives Institute, debate whether states should try to tax Twitter, Facebook, and other media giants.