Talking Tax

Wealthy taxpayers are preparing for a potential decrease in the estate tax exemption. Deloitte's Laura Hinson explains popular trust strategies. The recent Supreme Court decision will impact estate planning. Various trust options are explored for effective estate planning. Guidelines for managing trusts and adapting to changing tax laws are discussed.

Countries are under pressure to finalize and sign the text of the OECD's multilateral tax treaty, one part of the international tax deal known as Pillar One, by the end of June. Several OECD officials, including Manal Corwin, director of the organization's Center for Tax Policy and Administration, have reported significant progress on finalizing the document. But negotiations have hit a snag.The problem area is treatment of another part of Pillar One, known as Amount B, that's meant to simplify the way businesses value intercompany marketing and distribution transactions. The US and India, in particular, have butted heads over whether the measure should be mandatory. In this week's episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax reporter Lauren Vella sits down with Dr. Santiago Gomez Cifuentes, head of congressional affairs at the Colombian Embassy in Washington, to talk about progress made on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-led deal and what's holding back the completion of Pillar One.Gomez Cifuentes is in close contact with the Colombian delegation to the OECD, and serves as a go-between representing Colombian interests in conversations with US lawmakers. He spoke with Bloomberg Tax on his own behalf and doesn't represent the official position of the Colombian government.They also talk about Colombia's interest in the US Inflation Reduction Act and tax incentives that could boost mineral exports from Latin American countries.Produced by Matthew S. Schwartz.

Six months into implementation of the new global corporate minimum tax, countries are racing to craft incentives to attract and maintain outside investment. Companies, too, are pouring resources into complying with the tax.The tax took effect in January in dozens of countries across the globe, with a goal of "raising the floor" tax rate to 15% in every country that a multinational company operates in, to reduce profit shifting to low-tax countries.In this podcast episode, Bloomberg Tax reporter Lauren Vella talks through all the ways companies and countries are responding to the new global tax regime, and what new guidance companies can expect in the future.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

AI companies are training models on copyrighted works sparking lawsuits and concerns. Authors like George R.R. Martin are suing AI firms for imitating their styles. Ethical challenges of using pirated ebooks in AI training. Exploring mechanics of language models and authors' lawsuits against AI companies for copyright infringement.

The new 15% global minimum tax that took effect this year is turning out to be compliance beast.The tax, which is part of an international tax deal agreed to by more than 140 countries in 2021, contains a slew of new technical terms, complex rules, and hundreds of pages of administrative guidance.Now, some of the largest accounting firms in the world have been tasked with interpreting these rules, educating their clients, and building complex data systems to help multinational companies calculate their global minimum tax bills.In this week's episode of "Talking Tax," reporter Lauren Vella sits down with Danyle Ordway, principal of tax technology and data analytics at Ernst & Young LLP, to talk about how the firm is helping clients adapt to the new levy.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

A looming decision from the US Supreme Court on federal agency rulemaking power is fueling chatter on just how much it could upend the regulatory process at these agencies.Justices in January heard two cases, Relentless v. Dept. of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which challenge the decades-old landmark administrative principle known as the Chevron doctrine saying that federal courts should defer to agency interpretation when a law is vague.Bloomberg Tax reporter Erin Slowey spoke with Kristin Hickman, a University of Minnesota law professor who specializes in tax and administrative issues, on the background of Chevron in the tax context and how the Treasury Department and the IRS are expected to be largely insulated from the ruling, no matter the outcome.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

A seven-year-old lawsuit aimed at forcing overhaul of New York City's complicated property tax system has gotten a new life, after the state's high court ruled last month it could move forward.Tax Equity Now New York, a broad housing coalition, sued the city and the state in 2017, arguing that the city's method for collecting property taxes favors wealthy, white homeowners at the expense of owners and tenants in lower-income neighborhoods. But the suit was dealt a blow in 2020, when a mid-level state appeals court dismissed it.But in March, the Court of Appeals, the state's top court, revived two causes of action against the city under the state property tax law and the federal Fair Housing Act, sending the lawsuit back to Manhattan trial court for further proceedings. It held that claims against the state and constitutional claims against the city were properly dismissed.On this episode of Talking Tax, reporter Danielle Muoio Dunn spoke with Martha Stark, the policy director of TENNY and a former New York City finance commissioner, about the court's findings and how the current tax structure impacts homeowners and renters in different parts of the city. Stark said the ruling not only allows the case to proceed, but shows that "the city can act on its own" to create a fairer property tax system without a rewrite of the state's property tax law.Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesperson for the New York City Law Department, said the department is "carefully reviewing the court ruling and evaluating next steps."Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

While senators quibble over the $78 billion bipartisan tax package, the House is turning to next year, when a swath of tax cuts from the Republicans' 2017 law expire.Congress returns next week, and it's unclear if the full Senate will vote on the tax bill, which is stalled over GOP objections despite getting an overwhelmingly bipartisan House vote in January. The fate of the package of tax breaks for families and businesses likely has ramifications for 2025 tax talks, as Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has said retroactivity for the business breaks would be too challenging to do next year.But Senate Republicans—such as Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), who's running to replace Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)—say the GOP may be able to get a better deal in 2025, if they gain control of the White House or the Senate.Bloomberg Tax reporter Samantha Handler talks with former House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Todd Metcalf, former Democratic chief tax counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, about what's next for the deal, how what happens with the legislation now may affect 2025 negotiations, and what the tax committees are already doing to prepare for next year. Camp and Metcalf are both now at PwC's Washington National Tax practice.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The corporate jet industry is the latest to be targeted by the government's efforts to make the rich pay the taxes they owe.The IRS began an audit campaign in February to clamp down on executives abusing corporate jet tax breaks for personal use. President Joe Biden's proposed budget would tighten depreciation rules and increase the tax rate on private jet fuel, and Senate Democrats sent a letter urging the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service to change how corporate jet owners deduct certain costs.Bloomberg Tax reporter Erin Schilling spoke with Michael Kaercher, a senior attorney adviser at the Tax Law Center at New York University, about a regulatory change the IRS could pair with its enforcement efforts and why the industry has landed in the spotlight for tax reform.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Coming soon to corporate financial statements: a lot more tax transparency.After seven years and three rounds of proposals, the Financial Accounting Standards Board in December published new rules requiring companies to shed light on the income taxes they pay to federal, international, and state governments.The disclosure rules, which kick in as early as 2025, are a response to years of complaints that current financial reporting rules offer too few details about tax obligations. Soon, companies will have to separately list any jurisdiction that accounts for more than 5% of their total tax obligations. Publicly traded companies will have to further break down how they calculated their effective tax rate, so investors and other financial statement readers can contrast it with their statutory rate.Bloomberg Tax reporter Nicola M. White spoke with David Gonzales, a vice president at Moody's Investors Service, about what kind of details companies will have to provide and how investors and analysts could use them.Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.