Talking Tax

Republicans are preparing a timeline for passing a series of tax law changes, including making the tax cuts for individuals permanent and eliminating taxes that form a key part of the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, a bill that would increase the fiscal year 2019 budget for the Internal Revenue Service continues to advance in the House. Capitol Hill reporter Kaustuv Basu spoke with Talking Tax host Amanda Iacone on July 16 about House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady’s (R-Texas) plans to bring an outline of the “tax 2.0” bill to the Republican conference by the end of the month and the timing for the health care bills.

Alden Bianchi of Mintz Levin and Christopher Condeluci of CC Law & Policy join Talking Tax host Andrea L. Ben-Yosef to discuss the new rules for association health plans, which change the standards for determining which small employers are permitted to join with other small employers to form, maintain, and participate in single, large group health plans. These health care law experts discuss how association health plans work, who should consider using them, and how they will impact the health care marketplace.

Fewer opinions, frequent disputes about business expense deductions, and the importance of representation. These are takeaways from a Bloomberg Tax analysis of U.S. Tax Court opinions released during the second quarter of 2018. Legal editor Carolina Vargas and reporter Courtney Rozen reviewed every Tax Court case from early April through mid-June, tallying aspects such as judge, winner, and issue. They joined Bloomberg Tax’s Amanda Iacone on July 3 to talk about trends they spotted in their analysis of second-quarter cases.

Charles Rettig, President Donald Trump’s nominee for IRS commissioner, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee June 28. Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) told Bloomberg Tax that he wants to wrap up Rettig’s confirmation process in three to four weeks. Capitol Hill reporter Kaustuv Basu spoke with Talking Tax Host Amanda Iacone July 2 about Rettig, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady’s (R-Texas) plans for a tax cut package later this year, and the Internal Revenue Service’s new draft 1040 form.

The focus of the tax community this week will be on a June 28 Senate Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of Charles Rettig for Internal Revenue Service commissioner. In other congressional business, some lawmakers are also pondering what they can do in the aftermath of a June 21 U.S. Supreme Court decision that removed a barrier to taxation of online sales. Capitol Hill reporters Allyson Versprille and Kaustuv Basu spoke with Talking Tax host Amanda Iacone June 25 about the Rettig hearing and other Hill news.

This summer is shaping up to be an important one for tax lawyers as they await regulations on some of the new tax law's most complicated provisions. Top Treasury Department officials have said guidance on the law's 20 percent deduction for pass-through businesses could come in early summer and proposed regulations on a one-time tax on companies' accumulated offshore earnings may follow shortly thereafter. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), who played a critical role in getting the new law passed, has met with Treasury officials, including Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy David Kautter, to discuss a regulatory road map for the remainder of 2018. Hill reporters Kaustuv Basu and Allyson Versprille spoke with Talking Tax host Amanda Iacone June 11 to discuss that meeting, the outlook for tax guidance, and other Capitol Hill news for the coming week.

The advent of blockchain’s ledger technology brings both opportunities and challenges for accountants. A set of working groups has been tasked this summer to sort through those technical challenges—as many as 200 issues have been identified so far. The groups are expected to make recommendations to the American Institute of CPAs later this year. Accountants' work is expected to change dramatically in the future because of the distributed ledger system. The initiative aims to help accountants prepare to use the technology and find market opportunities for them. Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com—a technology subsidiary of AICPA—and Ron Quaranta, chair of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance, joined Bloomberg Tax’s Amanda Iacone on May 30 to talk about the working groups, the technical questions they are set to explore, and what accountants can expect.

Congress takes a look at IRS funding this week as lawmakers continue to hammer their partisan talking points on the 2017 tax act.

Tax professionals will descend on Washington, D.C., May 10 for the American Bar Association tax section's spring meeting. The conference serves as an opportunity for top government officials to address recent developments and get feedback from practitioners on the year's regulatory agenda. A topic on nearly everyone's mind this year is the new tax law enacted at the end of 2017. The tax section's chair, Karen Hawkins, joined Talking Tax host Allyson Versprille to offer a look into what those attending the conference can expect. Hawkins previously served as the director of the Internal Revenue Service Office of Professional Responsibility, but has rejoined the private sector as an educator and consultant.

The Senate could use Federal Aviation Administration legislation recently passed by the House as a vehicle for technical corrections to the 2017 tax act. The FAA bill (H.R. 4) that advanced April 27 would reauthorize the agency to collect aviation excise taxes and fund its operations with federal money deposited into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, among other provisions. Programs would be authorized through 2023; the current authorization expires Sept. 30. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration, where lawmakers could easily tack on tax law technical corrections—such as a clarification to a provision on qualified improvement property or a revision to the effective date for using net operating losses—because the bill already contains tax provisions. Reporters Laura Davison, Allyson Versprille, and Kaustuv Basu spoke with Talking Tax host Matthew Beddingfield on April 30 about this potential opportunity. They also discussed current and future openings on the House Ways and Means Committee and messaging on the tax law (Pub. L. No. 115-97) heading into the midterm elections.