Key Takeaways
- Tax Legislation
- Tariffs
- IRS
- Tax Credits
- Mass Firings
- In the Courts
- Tourism Day
Tax Legislation
House Can Pass Tax Bill by May 26 Despite Delays, Johnson Says – Katie Lobosco, Tax Notes ($):
The date of the markups slipped, according to Johnson, because the House committees were still waiting for “key numbers and calculations” on some of the tax-related provisions and other details in the reconciliation package.
Republicans to Pay for Trump Tax Cuts with Sales of Public Land – Ari Natter, Bloomberg ($):
The plan, a late-night addition to a legislative package approved early Wednesday by the House Natural Resources Committee, mandates the sale of dozens of parcels totaling more than 11,000 acres (4,450 hectares) of federal land in Utah and Nevada.
GOP Taxwriter Pushes Overtime Tax Deduction in Reconciliation – Cady Stanton, Tax Notes ($):
The new bill from Senate Finance Committee member Roger Marshall, R-Kan., the Overtime Wages Tax Relief Act, would create an above-the-line income tax deduction for some overtime payments, with an income phaseout and a cap at $10,000 for single filers and $20,000 for joint filers.
Ways and Means optimistic about fast tax-bill timeline – Benjamin Guggenheim, Politico:
“I’m very optimistic that we’re doing it in days,” said Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) in a brief interview Tuesday, when asked if he thinks that the committee will be able to mark up the tax legislation next week.
Tariffs
Trump Is Threatening Big Pharma with Tariffs. Tax Changes Might Work Better. – David Wainer, Wall Street Journal:
For pharma, an industry in which gross margins are among the highest in the S&P 500, labor was never really the reason for moving offshore to places like Ireland—it was always about playing the global tax game.
IRS
Bessent Eyes IRS' Technology Budget for Major Cuts – Asha Glover, Law 360 ($):
Bessent defended President Donald Trump's administration's intent to cut nearly $2.5 billion from the IRS' budget compared with 2025 under the 2026 budget request, telling the House Financial Services and General Government subcommittee that the bulk of the spending reductions should come from technology funding.
Treasury to Root Out ‘Politicization’ in IRS Audits, Bessent Says – Alexander Rifaat & Benjamin Valdez, Tax Notes ($):
Bessent, speaking to the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee May 6, said that “there’s been a great deal of politicization” of audits at the IRS in recent years.
Industry Surprised by E-Filing Relief for U.S. Withholding Agents – Kiarra M. Strocko, Tax Notes ($). “Tax practitioners were shocked by an IRS official's announcement of an extension to the 2025 calendar year of an exemption for domestic withholding agents from the requirement to electronically file annual withholding tax returns.”
Tax Credits
US House Is Likely to Kill EV Tax Credit, Speaker Johnson Says – Ari Natter, Bloomberg ($):
…
Eliminating the popular tax credit of as much as $7,500 for consumers who purchase an EV has been a prime target for Republicans looking for ways to help pay for President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut package.
Farmer Support Stokes Hopes for Biofuels Tax Credit Extension – Erin Schilling & Chris Cioffi, Bloomberg ($):
House Republicans are close to wrapping up negotiations on their signature tax legislation, and the fate of billions of dollars of energy tax credits from the 2022 tax-and-climate law known as the Inflation Reduction Act are still undecided.
Actor Voight, Film Biz Adviser to Trump, Floats Tax Incentives – Kevin Pinner, Law 360 ($). “Actor Jon Voight, whom President Donald Trump tapped as an adviser on the Hollywood film industry, told Trump that tax incentives, international treaties and limited tariffs could revitalize production, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom separately floated a $7.5 billion federal film tax credit, according to statements shared Tuesday with Law360.”
Mass Firings
Judge Doubts Validity of Injunction in Mass Firings Case – Kristen A. Parillo, Tax Notes ($):
“There’s a real question here of what the federal remedy could be that wouldn’t really significantly damage the federal government’s control over the composition of its own workforce,” Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III said May 6 during oral arguments in Maryland v. Department of Agriculture.
In the Courts
4th Circ. Seems Split on BofA's Post-Merger Tax Offset Claims – Anna Scott Farrell, Law 360 ($). “The Fourth Circuit seemed split Tuesday on whether Bank of America should be able to use its tax overpayments to offset interest on tax underpayments by companies that merged into it, with one judge pressing the government to respond to what he described as the bank's ‘common sense’ argument in the $163 million case.”
Fed. Circ. Agrees Plane Taxability Patent Doesn't Fly – Adam Lidgett, Law 360 ($). “The Federal Circuit on Tuesday refused to revive an Ohio company's patent that covers using Federal Aviation Administration data to determine ‘the taxability status of aircraft,’ agreeing that it covered subject matter that isn't patentable.”
Civilian Air Force Employee Hit by TCJA Moving Loss Suspension – Nathan J. Richman, Tax Notes ($). “An Air Force employee ordered to a new permanent duty station during the pandemic couldn’t deduct her moving expenses because of a limitation imposed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the Tax Court concluded.”
What Day is it?
Time for some traveling! Its National Tourism Day!
