Key Takeaways
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Treasury leaks jobs eligible for tip break.
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Home electricians and plumbers make the list.
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Appeals court upholds Court of International Trade, says IEEPA tariffs are illegal.
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Effect of ruling stayed to permit Supreme Court appeal.
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Congress returns; shutdown, tax provisions on agenda.
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OBBBA fallout.
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Minnesota woman sentenced for collecting deceased mom's Social Security.
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Telephone Day.
Tomorrow! "New Tax Legislation: Key Considerations for Your Business - Continued" - An Eide Bailly CPE Webinar. Topics include the increased SALT deduction cap, entity tax SALT cap workarounds, the tip and overtime deductions, and an ERC update. 1.5 hours CPE, no charge, 1:00 p.m Central time September 3. Register here.
Scoop: List of jobs covered by Trump's "no tax on tips" (See if you qualify) - Mike Allen, Axios (free, but you have to sign up for a free email newsletter):
Why it matters: Until now, the administration hadn't specified the exact occupations that are eligible for the tax cut in the megabill. There's good news on the list for everyone from golf caddies to party DJs to home electricians.
Some of the jobs qualifying for the tip deductions have traditionally received tips, like bartenders, wait staff, and gambling dealers. Some are, well, less traditional, like "digital content creators" (A nod to the economically-critical OnlyFans sector) and "self-enrichment teachers." A few never struck me as tippable, like home plumbers and electricians, but now I suppose tips will be expected when the toilet backs up.
Sadly, accountants and tax pros don't make the list, unless I rebrand as a "self-enrichment teacher." I should have thought of that when I chose my major.
Who made the no tax on tips list? - Bernie Becker, Politico. "For starters, it’s clearly a sweeping interpretation of what positions should be eligible for the incentive that was enacted as part of the GOP megabill, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent himself acknowledged."
Appeals Court Say Trumps Tariffs Illegal, But Not Stopped Pending Appeal.
Trump Tariffs Issued Illegally, Appeals Court Holds - Paul Jones, Tax Notes ($):
But the court also vacated the U.S. Court of International Trade’s (CIT’s) grant of a permanent injunction against the tariff orders, remanding that to the CIT to reconsider.
Split Fed. Circ. Backs Limits On Presidential Tariff Powers - Hailey Konnath, Law360 Tax Authority ($):
The majority said Friday that IEEPA "bestows significant authority on the president to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax." In drafting the law, Congress didn't use the terms "tariff," "duties" or "tax," the majority said. It noted that there are plenty of statutes that do delegate such power to the president, and each of them uses "clear and precise terms to delegate tariff power."
"The absence of any such tariff language in IEEPA contrasts with statutes where Congress has affirmatively granted such power and included clear limits on that power," the majority said.
Appeals court strikes down Trump’s tariffs as illegal but leaves them in place - Rachel Lerman and David Lynch, Washington Post:
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The decision throws the future of Trump’s foundational economic policy into uncertainty once more, only weeks after the president unveiled increased levies on more than 60 countries around the world. Those tariffs spared many countries from even higher levels first proposed by Trump in April, but still added much higher taxes than the country has imposed in recent decades.
Trump posted Friday on Truth Social criticizing the decision, writing that a “Highly Partisan Appeals Court incorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end. If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country.”
Why the Supreme Court Could Uphold Trump’s Tariffs - Jonathan Adler, Wall Street Journal. "Were the justices writing on a clean slate, one would expect them to draw clear constraints on presidential authority. But the slatAPcap20250829e is far from clean. Congress has been delegating tariff authority to the president since the 18th century, and the Supreme Court has long held that delegation concerns are less constraining in the foreign-affairs and national-security context."
Federal Circuit Rules Against Trump's Massive IEEPA Tariffs in Our Case Challenging Them - Ilya Somin, The Volokh Conspiracy:
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The majority did however vacate the trial court's universal injunction against the tariffs, and remand the issue of the scope of the injunction to the trial court to determine how broad it should be, in light of the Supreme Court's recent ruling restricting universal injunctions, in Trump v. CASA. We have a variety of arguments as to why a broad injunction is appropriate in this case, even after CASA (see relevant section of our brief).
They're Baaa-ack
Capitol Hill Recap: The Months Ahead - Alex Parker, Eide Bailly:
Year-end Expirations
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act took care of most of the tax credits that had been set to expire at the end of the year. But not quite all. The expanded eligibility for premium tax credits to purchase health care through Affordable Care Act exchanges–often called enhanced premium tax credits–will expire at the end of the year, after being extended from 2021-2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. If Congress doesn’t act, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 5.6 million enrollees will lose coverage due to the change.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, a $2,400 credit for businesses to hire individuals from certain disadvantaged groups, is also set to expire at the end of the year. These expirations could force the parties to come to an agreement on the issues, although some conservatives would be willing to let them phase out.
IRS Funding on Tap as Congress Returns From Summer Recess - Zach Cohen, Bloomberg ($):
Lawmakers must agree on government-wide funding by Sept. 30 or risk a funding lapse. The tax collection agency tasked with implementing breaks created by President Donald Trump’s new signature law ranks among many contentious items on their plate.
House Republicans are seeking to cut billions from the IRS budget, while Democrats oppose further hampering its workforce after months of leadership turmoil and layoffs.
Six Tax Changes Congress Could Tackle This Fall - Katie Lobosco, Tax Notes ($):
There’s bipartisan support behind tax incentives for nonprofits that offer retirement plans, for example, as well as the reversal of a gambling tax change made by the OBBBA (P.L. 119-21). And while several of President Trump’s campaign promises made it into the reconciliation package, his pledges to make in vitro fertilization more affordable and to change the way expats are taxed weren’t addressed.
It’s unclear what tax-related legislative vehicle could make its way through Congress before the end of the year, but there are at least three possibilities. Republicans have talked of a second reconciliation bill, which could pass without any votes from Democrats. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., has mentioned the potential for a bipartisan tax bill. There’s also the possibility of an extenders package, which Congress typically passes at the end of the year to avoid the expiration of temporary tax provisions.
OBBBA Fallout
Companies Reap Cash Savings From Trump’s New Tax Law - Richard Rubin, Wall Street Journal:
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Companies relying on renewable-energy tax credits or government healthcare spending face financial headwinds from the law, which partially paid for tax cuts by curbing breaks for wind and solar energy and lowering future Medicaid spending. But across many industries—including oil, retail, telecommunications and chemicals—the tax law means quick cash.
EV Deals Are Booming Ahead of Tax-Credit Expiration - Ryan Felton, Wall Street Journal. "The final days of the $7,500 federal tax credit for electrical-vehicle purchases, which expires Sept. 30, have set off a frenzied last-ditch car-buying spree, with buyers like McCabe and others trying to get an EV at a steep discount before it is too late."
Related: The Impact of New Tax Legislation on Energy Efficiency Incentives.
Blogs and Bits
5 tax moves to make this September - Kay Bell, Don't Mess With Taxes. "1. Make your third 1040-ES payment. Millions of us must make multiple tax payments each year. One of them is the estimated tax payment due on Sept. 15."
Disguised Sale Rules Negate Taxpayer's Loss - Parker Tax Pro Library. "The Second Circuit affirmed the Tax Court and held that a taxpayer's transfers of distressed foreign trade receivables through several purported domestic partnerships was a disguised sale under Code Sec. 707 and Reg. Sec. 1.707-3. As a result, the taxpayer (1) was not entitled to deduct the losses incurred in those transactions, and (2) was liable for related penalties."
Nvidia, Intel, and Trump’s Backdoor Tax Hikes - Adam Michel, Liberty Taxed. "The recent industrial deals illustrate the risks of novelty. When a president can dictate that leading American firms must pay the Treasury a couple of billion dollars in exchange for merger approval, market access, or other regulatory relief, tax policy becomes indistinguishable from extortion."
Jones Day Easement Valuation Theory Faces Eleventh Circuit Test - Peter Reilly, Forbes. "There is a theory that an easement on a property can be worth more than what the entire property will sell for. Until very recently that theory has only been heard in the court of public opinion from industry advocates. The Tax Court has rejected the theory in two cases. Both cases are on their way up to the Eleventh Circuit. If this theory is accepted it could have profound effects beyond the SCE industry."
Best Actress in a Fraud Scheme
Austin woman sentenced in 25-year Social Security scam - IRS (Defendant name omitted, emphasis added):
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According to court documents, beginning in 1999 and continuing through June 2024, Defendant devised and carried out a 25-year scheme to steal the Social Security Retirement Insurance Benefits intended for her deceased mother. Through lies and deceit, Defendant fraudulently collected $360,627 in Social Security funds.
From the outset, defendant Defendant’s fraud began with a lie. In 1999, following her mother’s passing, Defendant reached out to the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) and posed a hypothetical—if her mother had passed away, what would she need to do? The SSA told Defendant that she needed to inform the SSA so that her mother’s SSA benefits would be terminated. Despite specifically seeking out and learning the lawful and appropriate thing to do, Defendant instead chose to defraud the government. She did so for more than two decades and at great length.
Over the years, defendant Defendant’s lies and deceitful actions grew. Defendant posed as her deceased mother, again and again. She used her mother’s identity as her own, forged her mother’s signature, and used her mother’s documents and biographical information, including her mother’s date of birth and social security number, on official forms. Defendant would change her mother’s address to reflect Defendant’s own address changes. Moreover, when Defendant needed to, she posed as her mother, both over the phone and in-person.
Assuming the mother started collecting Social Security at age 65 and died shortly thereafter, she would have been about 90 years old had she lived to 2024, when the scheme came to an end. Court papers say the defendant was 54 years old during 2024. If she successfully claimed to be that much older in person, she should be in line for an Academy Award for acting after prison.
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