Key Takeaways
- IRS Commissioner Future
- Trump Accounts
- Proposed Legislation
- Tariffs
- No Tax on Tips Difficulties
- In the Courts
- Napping
IRS Commissioner Future
Trump Is Skirting Rules on IRS Commissioner Nomination, Dems Say – Cady Stanton, Tax Notes ($):
The administration is ignoring or avoiding requirements for IRS leadership by keeping Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the role of acting IRS commissioner and failing to nominate a replacement, a trio of Senate Democrats wrote in a March 9 letter to Bessent and to Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff and director of the Office of Presidential Personnel.
What’s Next as Bessent Hits Acting IRS Chief Limit: Explained – Erin Slowey, Bloomberg ($):
Commissioner is one of two IRS positions requiring Senate confirmation, and both roles are being held by acting officials. Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Ken Kies has been filling the vacant IRS chief counsel job. No one is nominated for either IRS role.
…
That raises the question of what happens at that limit. Bessent became acting commissioner Aug. 9, according to the IRS website, meaning he hit 210 days in the position on March 7. Treasury and the White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump Accounts
Nondeductible Trump Account Donations Still Deemed Appealing – Trevor Sikes & Kelsey Brooks, Tax Notes ($):
Observers highlighted several benefits offered by the Trump accounts program that can motivate individual donors to contribute despite the lack of a charitable deduction, as well as create valuable opportunities for families looking to participate.
Proposed Legislation
No Tax on $75,000 of Income? Dem Proposes Big Standard Deduction – Katie Lobosco, Tax Notes ($):
The legislative proposal, and others recently unveiled by Democratic lawmakers, may signal where the Democratic party is focusing ahead of the 2026 midterm and 2028 presidential elections, but they have little chance of becoming law while Republicans control Congress and the White House.
Booker’s proposal would increase the standard deduction to $75,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $32,200 in tax year 2026, and proportionally for single filers and heads of households, according to a March 9 release from his office.
Booker’s Standard Deduction Proposal Sparks Pushback – Kay Steiger, Bloomberg ($):
The planned legislation, dubbed the Keep Your Paycheck Act, also would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit eligibility to younger and older workers as well as boost the child tax credit to $4,320 for children under 6 and to $3,600 for those from 6 to 17 from the current $2,200 credit for children under 17.
Tariffs
Legal Fight Reopens Over Trump’s Push to Tax Low-Value Imports – Erik Larson & Zoe Tillman, Bloomberg ($):
Litigation over what’s known as the de minimis exemption was on hold while the US Supreme Court considered a broader dispute over Trump’s global tariffs. The justices in February struck down his use of an emergency powers law to impose duties, but didn’t address his authority to halt the exemption for low-value packages — a related but separate question.
Kate Hudson's Activewear Co. Sued For Tariff Refunds – Lauren Berg, Law 360 ($). “Fabletics LLC, the activewear company cofounded by actress Kate Hudson, faces a proposed class action in Illinois state court from customers who say the company passed the cost of President Donald Trump's 'illegal' 2025 tariffs onto customers and should be forced to refund those overages.”
No Tax on Tips Difficulties
‘No Tax on Overtime’ Isn’t All It Seems for Some Workers – Andrew Duehren, New York Times:
Even with those and other restrictions, the overtime deduction is among the biggest new tax cuts that the law is offering this year. Mr. Trump and Republicans are betting that changes like the overtime deduction, once they translate into larger-than-usual refunds in Americans’ bank accounts this spring, will stimulate the economy and help the party in the midterm elections.
In the Courts
Partnership Notice Valid Despite Flaws, Tax Court Says – Kristen A. Parillo, Tax Notes ($). “An IRS notice of final partnership adjustment (FPA) to a conservation easement partnership was still valid even though the proposed notice had been addressed to the wrong partnership representative, the Tax Court held in a precedential opinion.”
Tax Court OKs IRS Partnership Procedures In Easement Fight – Kat Lucero, Law 360 ($). “The IRS properly notified a partnership of tax deficiencies tied to a 2018 conservation easement deduction under the 2015 centralized partnership audit regime, the U.S. Tax Court unanimously ruled Monday, saying the entity failed to prove that agency mistakes had hindered its audit response.”
DC Circuit Questions If Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Fee Is a Tax – Andrew Kreighbaum, Bloomberg ($). “A federal appellate panel focused Monday on whether a $100,000 Trump fee on H-1B worker petitions should be considered a tax, or a use of presidential authority to restrict entry to the US.”
SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein To Be Sentenced In June – Emily Sawicki, Law 360 ($). “SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein, currently under home confinement in Washington, D.C., after a Maryland jury convicted him on tax evasion and mortgage fraud charges, will face sentencing in June.”
What Day is it?
Finally. The most wonderful day of the year. It’s National Napping Day! Celebrate early and often!
Make a habit of sustained success.
