Talking Tax

Time is running out to file your taxes to the IRS as the April 15 deadline approaches. But for the IRS, the work is only just beginning and it's off to a rocky start. Elon Musk's Department Government Efficiency in 2025 pressured about a quarter of the IRS's workforce to leave, and the agency is on its seventh leader in the span of a little over a year. The agency also managed during one of the longest shutdowns in US history and a presidential-mandated hiring freeze. That meant the IRS had to change direction for the 2026 filing season. IRS workers from the human resources and technology divisions were told they'd be helping out process tax returns—an unusual move for the agency. Customer service workers at the start of the season weren't fully trained and critical tax season tech also wasn't ready. Bloomberg Tax's Erin Schilling and Erin Slowey spoke with David Schultz about the implications of the decisions of DOGE and what that means for taxpayers. Do you have feedback on this episode o

Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are taking a closer look at a range of bipartisan IRS administration changes. House tax writers have advanced several pieces of legislation that would fix problems identified by taxpayer advocates and tax professionals. Some have become law. Senate Finance Committee lawmakers, meanwhile, recently introduced a large package that includes dozens of provisions that include digitizing more paper returns, providing more online information about refunds, and enhancing standards for tax return preparers. The interest in tax administration suggests there's a willingness among tax writers to try to take action—the key question is how. The two chambers' different approaches show an emerging disagreement over strategy. On this episode of Talking Tax, host David Schultz talks to Bloomberg Tax reporter Chris Cioffi about how a tax administration legislation has been taking shape, as well as the path forward in Congress. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talki

States are struggling to make up for revenue gaps in the wake of federal cuts and President Donald Trump's tax-and-spending law. In Washington state, lawmakers have answered the challenge with a novel tax on millionaires. The legislature recently sent a bill (S.B. 6346) to Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) that would create the state's first income tax. If Ferguson signs it, which he is expected to do, individuals and households in Washington making more than $1 million a year will be subject to a 9.9% income tax. But things won't change in Washington right away. The tax will likely be challenged both in court and at the ballot box, where 10 previous attempts at an income tax have failed. Proponents of the bill say the measure helps correct the state's regressive tax structure that is heavily reliant on sales tax, while opponents say the tax will make the state less competitive. On this episode of Talking Tax, Correspondent Casey Murray discusses the politics and long path ahead for the tax. Do yo

There are about five weeks left in tax filing season — the busiest time of year for the IRS and tax preparers. IRS CEO Frank Bisignano told lawmakers earlier this month the tax season has so far been a success, with quick refund turnaround times and a shrinking backlog. That is despite a tumultuous 2025 for the agency, when the IRS lost about a quarter of its workforce to resignation offers, began implementing the GOP's new tax-and-spending law, and managed the fallout of the longest government shutdown in US history. Tom O'Saben, director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals, said tax preparers also aren't hearing a ton of complaints from clients either. On this episode of Talking Tax, O'Saben joined Bloomberg Tax reporter Erin Slowey to discuss how filing season is going, the impact of changes from the 2025 law, and what to do if you don't have the money to pay taxes by the deadline. "Don't put your head in the sand and say 'I know I am going

Tax-filing season is well underway, and yet many states are still figuring out whether to conform to or decouple from provisions in last year's GOP-led tax overhaul, especially the deductions and other breaks for corporate taxpayers. The upshot is one of the more complicated filing periods in recent years. Corporate taxpayers are watching which states reject federal tax policy changes, such as those related to immediate expensing for research and development or property investments. Just in the past week, lawmakers in Republican-controlled states like Florida and Democrat-led states like Oregon moved ahead in decoupling from some of those corporate tax provisions to preserve billions of dollars in state revenue. Then there's the unique situation in Washington, DC, where a local law severing the city's tax code from more than a dozen provisions in the 2025 federal tax rewrite was met with Congress's formal disapproval. That set off a dispute between Capitol Hill and city leaders over whether the district

The Supreme Court's decision to nix a wide swath of the Trump administration's tariffs comes with some big tax and transfer pricing questions for tax executives as companies battle to collect refunds from the government. The court's 6-3 ruling sets up what would be a messy refund process, though the justices basically said nothing about it, leaving companies to take their claims to court. If the refunds come in, businesses will have to figure out how to apportion funds across subsidiaries —sometimes across borders — without breaking transfer pricing rules, which govern the pricing of affiliate transactions and ultimately determine where taxes are owed. The rules say related-party transfers must be priced as though they were done at arm’s length, in the open marketplace. Companies that don't do it right risk a tax agency audit. On this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax transfer pricing reporter Caleb Harshberger discusses the sticky tax and transfer pricing issues surrounding tariffs and the

Tax enforcement has entered a new age. The decades-old Justice Department Tax Division is now split between the broader civil and criminal divisions. Critics say the reorganization sends a signal that tax enforcement won't be a priority. While the reorganization may mean tax attorneys are pulled into different DOJ priorities, it also could mean more investigations will include tax charges, said Karen Kelly, who was the top official at the DOJ Tax Division before she joined Kostelanetz as a partner in August. DOJ tax attorneys are prioritizing immigration, fraud, and investigations into tax-exempt organizations that may have ties to "Antifa," Kelly said. The latter refers to an informal collection of people with left-leaning views that was a focus of a recent directive from Attorney General Pam Bondi. On this episode of Talking Tax, Kelly sits down with Bloomberg Tax reporter Erin Schilling to discuss DOJ's tax enforcement priorities, changing strategies, and how taxpayers should prepare. Do yo

Data centers have emerged as a major political target in state capitals as they proliferate across the country and elected officials hear complaints from their voters about the massive, energy-guzzling warehouses. That has put tax breaks for data centers—which can amount to hundreds of millions of dollars annually in some states—squarely in the legislative cross hairs. State lawmakers in more than a dozen states have introduced legislation to repeal sales tax exemptions or raise the bar to qualify for them. Support for rolling back incentives cuts across party lines, with Republicans and Democrats expressing opposition to subsidizing a rapidly growing industry. But the industry's boosters also cross party lines, and two Republican governors have vetoed attempts in previous years to repeal the tax breaks. On this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax reporter Daniel Moore discusses how these tax exemptions work, why they've grown so much, and how they could change this year. Do you have feedback

A new slate of leaders is poised to make its mark on the US audit board and launch the next chapter for the embattled regulator. Among those set to serve on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are two administration officials who have held key roles at federal agencies targeted by a White House campaign to hobble federal agencies and derail regulations. Those agencies include the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Credit Union Administration. The PCAOB last year was also caught up in the administration’s efforts to rein in the federal bureaucracy. Republican lawmakers attempted to sunset the board and hand its duties over to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees the board and named the new leaders. On this episode of Talking Tax, Senior Reporter Amanda Iacone discusses the incoming board members and what this latest leadership shake-up means for the future of the independent audit regulator. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us

Trump administration cuts to federal funding are trickling down to cities and states across the country—and a top public-sector accounting leader is taking note. Governmental Accounting Standards Board Chair Joel Black is leading his team in crafting public sector financial reporting rules at a time when local governments are assessing resource constraints following cuts to funding resulting from the 2025 GOP tax law. The board establishes financial reporting and accounting rules for state and local governments that follow generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. Municipal bond insurers, taxpayer groups, and research institutes are among those that use government financial reports to analyze fiscal health. The board's work during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic informs its efforts now during another period of strain for governments. "It really honed us in to be sure we're working on only those things that are significant improvements, only those things our stakeholders are really a

A global minimum tax deal that exempts American companies from key provisions is a better outcome for European business than the alternative of US retaliatory taxes, the co-chair of the OECD’s business committee said. The package agreed to this month by more than 145 countries at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development headed off a threat of steep US taxes on foreign companies if global concessions weren’t made. In this episode of Talking Tax, Christian Kaeser, global head of tax at Siemens AG, told Bloomberg Tax reporter Ryan Hogg that some of his European counterparts regarded the deal as “lopsided” but welcomed new permanent safe harbors that were created with input from Business at OECD, known as BIAC. Kaeser is co-chair of BIAC’s tax committee. “I’m pretty happy with the outcome,” he said. Competitive disparities created by the deal can be remedied by simplification of the EU’s own rules, including scrapping of the bloc’s controlled foreign companies anti-tax avoidance regi

Republicans on Capitol Hill are keenly watching how other countries implement a long-sought OECD agreement that exempts US companies from parts of the global minimum tax framework. Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.), a member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, hasn't ruled out resurrecting legislation imposing retaliatory taxes on firms from nations that slow-walk codifying the deal. The deal was reached earlier this month after the Trump administration demanded a carve-out for American companies and for the US tax system to work alongside the global minimum tax framework without interference. Estes sat down with Bloomberg Tax Congress reporter Zach C. Cohen in his Capitol Hill office to talk about the importance of the agreement to American businesses and how he will "trust, but verify" other countries' tax code changes, especially if they pursue the same kind of exemption Washington just secured. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-36

The OECD just published the parameters of a deal that would exempt US companies from two key enforcement rules in the global minimum tax framework. The deal, which spans 88 pages in the form of administrative guidance, includes a slew of safe harbor rules that address everything from how US companies can get the exemption to more advantageous treatment of substance-based tax incentives like the US R&D credit. It includes a permanent, simplified global minimum tax calculation. Other countries would be able to obtain carve-outs like the ones obtained by the US and its multinational companies—if they meet certain criteria. This week on Talking Tax, reporters Lauren Vella and Somesh Jha discuss why the deal and the timing of its release is important, what it means for multinational businesses, how key US lawmakers reacted, and what the deal means for the efficacy of the global minimum tax going forward. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690

We're off for the New Year holiday, so we're serving up an encore presentation of a Talking Tax podcast about challenges with paying student athletes. Ever since student athletes gained the right to be compensated for use of their image in advertisements and merchandise sales, the money has flooded in, but so have some problems. The athletes can now be compensated for their name, image, and likeness—or NIL—but schools still can’t directly pay them for playing. Instead, athletes can receive compensation when merchandise with their name or number is sold, or for showing up in advertisements or social media posts for businesses. But the line between legitimate NIL and illegitimate pay-for-play can get blurry. On this episode of Talking Tax, University of Kentucky professor Stephen Lusch talks with reporter Caleb Harshberger about how transfer pricing and tax law concepts can show whether the deals are done at reasonable prices that really reflect the value the student brings. Do you have feedback on

PwC's new training program aims to give early-career recruits hands-on experience integrating artificial intelligence tools into everyday work. The Big Four accounting and advisory firm started piloting AI immersion sessions in October, with a full rollout to new US associates slated for July. The sessions are happening across PwC's tax, assurance, and advisory business. "We truly believe that the role of the new associate will be changing with AI and that their role will become somewhat elevated, and we need to make sure that we're really training them on those skills to work and think differently," said Margaret Burke, the firmwide talent acquisition and development leader for PwC US. Like its competitors, PwC has recently funneled resources into next generation autonomous tools aimed at handling routine tasks solo. The firm said in November it shed about 150 jobs across marketing, human resources, and other US support roles as part of a longer-term effort modernizing its back-office unit, inc

A slew of big tax disputes and the worldwide upheaval brought on by the Trump administration's aggressive trade policy made for an exceptionally interesting year for transfer pricing professionals, and left them with lingering questions heading into 2026. President Donald Trump's April tariff announcements sent shock waves through the global economy and forced corporate tax heads—and C suites—to start figuring out what it all meant for their tax and transfer pricing positions, and whether they needed to make changes to fend off potential audits. At the same time, companies are seeing a growing number of audits and transfer pricing disputes—often with big dollar figures—as tax authorities around the world beef up their auditing and enforcement capabilities with staff, AI, and stronger reporting requirements. Auditing multinationals can bring them big tax rewards. That might be less true at the IRS, where the Trump administration has drastically reduced resources and staffing. On this episode of T

Anyone thinking about pushing the boundaries of tax law should remember that there's no federal statute of limitations on prosecuting fraud, even with weakened IRS enforcement, said Carolyn Schenck, who spent 20 years at the agency primarily combating tax evasion. "If people think that a current administration or a past administration might go soft on tax fraud, that's still an awfully big gamble," said Schenck, who's now at Caplin & Drysdale. "And I know that that's not one I personally would want to take." The IRS is coming off a tumultuous year with deep staffing cuts from the Trump administration's efforts to downsize the federal government and a parade of new commissioners. But increasing IRS staff and resources would be one of the best ways the government could combat fraud and collect more of the money it's owed, Schenck said. On this episode of Talking Tax, Schenck sat down with Bloomberg Tax reporter Erin Schilling to discuss what Trump administration workforce cuts mean for IRS enforcement

For the holidays, we serve up an encore presentation of a Talking Tax podcast that shows cross-border tax fraud has been around a long time. When researchers studied a previously mislabeled scroll, they discovered detailed attorney notes for a case against taxpayers accused of using forged documents and sham transactions between the Roman provinces of Judaea and Arabia to escape taxes on their assets. The assets in question were enslaved people. The potential punishments included distinctly unmodern measures. Anna Dolganov of the Austrian Academy of Sciences talked with reporter Caleb Harshberger about how scholars made the discovery, details of the scheme, and what they’re hoping to uncover next as they continue their research. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Congress is back after ending the longest shutdown in US history. But the bipartisan accord left funding for the IRS and Treasury Department ending in less than three months and the fate of the enhanced premium tax credits at the center of the crisis still unresolved. On this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax Congress reporter Zach C. Cohen and Bloomberg Government health policy reporter Erin Durkin discuss next steps for appropriating funds for the IRS and Treasury after current funding runs dry Jan. 30, and potential legislative solutions to rising health-care premiums. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani ran on an expansive affordability agenda that would be paid for by higher taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals. The democratic socialist's vision will be tough to realize, though, because any tax hikes would have to be approved by the New York State legislature and tax hike-averse Gov. Kathy Hochul (D). Local tax practitioners are emphasizing this political reality to worried clients who called and emailed in a hurry after Mandani won the Nov. 4 mayoral contest. “There’s been kind of some demystifying as to how can or how will the mayor be able to make these ideas or proposals law," Jeremy Gove, a state and local tax counsel at Eversheds Sutherland, tells Bloomberg Tax editor Benjamin Freed on this week's episode of the Talking Tax podcast. "Explaining this to taxpayers is what we’ve been tackling over the past week or so.” Gove says that while higher taxes could compel some New York companies and wealthy individuals to decamp for lower-tax states, th