Talking Tax

Thousands of furloughed employees could soon be called back to join the Internal Revenue Service’s skeleton staff as the partial government shutdown enters its third week. The IRS is poised to release an updated contingency plan for the tax filing season, when more employees will be considered essential and allowed to work during a funding lapse. Bloomberg Tax’s Lydia O’Neal joins host Amanda Iacone to discuss the shutdown and the latest developments on Capitol Hill. Last week, the Senate Finance Committee added some new members, while House Democrats introduced legislation that would require presidential candidates to disclose 10 years of tax returns. In the coming days, watch out for a decision on who will fill open spots on the tax legislation-writing House Ways and Means Committee under new Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass). Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

The 115th Congress is coming to a close and many of the tax items lawmakers hoped to address during lame-duck are still on the table. Bloomberg Tax’s Allyson Versprille discusses the measures that may get picked up again by the new Congress beginning Jan. 3 and other priorities that could garner bipartisan support in a split Congress. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

Kate Kraus joins Andrea L. Ben-Yosef to talk about the partnership audit regulations. Kate recently joined Allen Matkins as a tax partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. There have been several rounds of proposed, temporary, and final regulations, with the most recent ones issued in August. Kate discusses some key issues to take into account under the new guidance, such as what happens if the partnership representative leaves, taking favorable adjustments into account, and other issues that tax practitioners are dealing with.

Software upgrades, bug fixes, and a global search for lease data were among the challenges United Parcel Service Inc. faced in preparing to adopt new accounting rules for leases. Beginning in January, public companies will have to report leased assets and liabilities on their balance sheet regardless of the length of the lease, under rules issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in 2016. Susan Ward, chief accounting officer for UPS, sat down with Bloomberg Tax’s Amanda Iacone Dec. 11 at the American Institute of CPAs’ Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments in Washington to discuss implementation of the lease accounting standard. She also spoke about the use of robotics process automation in the accounting department, and why a historic change in the auditor’s report represents a “natural extension” of the company’s financial disclosures. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

In the second episode of The Over/Under, Bloomberg Tax’s Ryan Prete heads into a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on sports betting and discusses how lawmakers felt about regulation thereafter. Ryan also sits down with Dustin Gouker, managing editor at Legal Sports Report, a sports betting-centric online news source, to talk about a sports book error that resulted in an $80,000 payoff. Later, Ryan talks with Richard Auxier of the Tax Policy Center about what states can do to slow Congressional intervention. Host: Ryan Prete. Producer: RJ Jewell and Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

The Center for Audit Quality is working on a quality indicator framework that could be used to compare accounting firms' performance. Setting quality metrics has long been discussed but until recently hadn't gained traction in the U.S. audit market. The center plans to issue its tool in early 2019. Cindy Fornelli, executive director of the Center for Audit Quality, spoke with Bloomberg Tax’s Amanda Iacone about why audit quality indicators are getting so much attention lately. She also discussed how camaraderie and diversity among the members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board could lead to better audit oversight, and the role U.S. regulators play in the ongoing audit debate in the UK.

Michael Hadley and Adam McMahon of Davis & Harman join Andrea L. Ben-Yosef to talk about the key provisions in the Family Savings Act, how it was influenced by RESA, and its prospects for enactment after the mid-term elections. With the Congress racing to stop a government shutdown, does Congress have the attention span to focus on bipartisan retirement plan reforms? For more information, see their Daily Tax Report Insight: Are We on the Verge of the Next Big Pension Bill? A Review of the House-Passed Family Savings Act.

Halliburton Co. is consulting with numerous external advisers to help understand the 2017 tax overhaul, especially provisions for which the IRS hasn’t issued final rules. The law cut Halliburton’s effective tax rate by 10 percent this year and gave the company a more level playing field against its foreign-based competition. Still, it presents continuing business-planning challenges as the new tax code provisions are fleshed out. Myrtle Jones, Halliburton’s senior vice president of tax, joins Bloomberg Tax to discuss how the company is reacting to regulatory challenges and how diversity can drive company innovation. Host: Siri Bulusu. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

Lawmakers have just a few weeks to pass a year-end tax package, amid a calendar shortened by observances honoring the late former president, George H.W. Bush. Bloomberg Tax’s Kaustuv Basu and Allyson Versprille join host Amanda Iacone to discuss the prospects for a lame-duck tax package in the House and Senate. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch

Kate Kraus joins Andrea L. Ben-Yosef to talk about the partnership audit regulations. Kate recently joined Allen Matkins as a tax partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. There have been several rounds of proposed, temporary, and final regulations, with the most recent ones issued in August. Kate discusses some key issues to take into account under the new guidance, such as what happens if the partnership representative leaves, taking favorable adjustments into account, and other issues that tax practitioners are dealing with.