Tax Notes

"The old canard suggests that Supreme Court justices usually prefer to avoid tax cases if they can. If that was ever really true, it wasn’t this year. "Instead of shying away from tax, the Court leaped right into the thick of it. But ironically, the opinion that will likely have the most long-lasting significance for the federal tax system didn’t involve tax at all." Marie Sapirie reviews several high-profile cases from the Supreme Court in 2024 and considers how their decisions will affect the future of tax law. Tax Notes Federal chose three persons of the year for 2024, each embodying a different aspect of tax administration. Check out the other two profiles, now out from behind the paywall, below: 🔗 Person of the Year: Dorothy Brown, Champion for Change https://lnkd.in/gjhkD_X3 🔗 Person of the Year: Daniel Werfel Steered Modernization Effort https://lnkd.in/ew9TcfAW

Wopke Hoekstra, the new European commissioner responsible for taxation, sat down with Tax Notes reporters Elodie Lamer and Sophie Petitjean for his first tax-focused interview. Their full conversation is now available outside of the paywall ⬇️ 🔗 Part 1, Hoekstra Wants EU Taxation to Curb E-Commerce Waste https://lnkd.in/eQyDYSGm 🔗 Part 2, Hoekstra Hints at Possible Fix for EU Islands’ Energy Tax Concerns https://lnkd.in/eRFgUXpW (Photo credit: CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2023– Source: EP via Flickr)

Tax Analysts chief economist Marty Sullivan explains why it's hard to estimate exactly how Trump's proposed tariffs would affect the federal deficit. 👇 Watch the full discussion here: https://lnkd.in/eqAvv2Mf

"Melani Dewi Astuti joined the ministry’s Finance Policy Agency after spending several years with Indonesia’s Directorate General of Tax. There, as a young attorney, she represented the directorate general in litigation before Indonesia’s Tax Court. "Her caseload included numerous transfer pricing and treaty disputes, which motivated her to concentrate further on the international practice area. "She later distinguished herself within the directorate general as a senior transfer pricing analyst, mutual agreement procedure team leader, and advance pricing agreement team leader." Check out the full profile of Melani Dewi Astuti by Robert Goulder 👇 Tax Notes International chose three persons of the year for 2024. Check out the other two profiles, now out from behind the paywall, below: 🔗 Justice Eugene Rossiter: An Entrepreneurial and Multilateral Tax Judge https://lnkd.in/eg_2fykN 🔗 Achim Pross: Taking the Long Gamble on Tax Multilateralism https://lnkd.in/et4G-4mN

When David Stewart asked if I could give everyone an update on pillar 1 and pillar 2 for this Tax Notes Talk podcast, I was like, "Do you have a couple hours?? There's so much to cover!" But I ended up doing it in under 13 minutes, somehow. Enjoy! https://lnkd.in/edchyD6P

"The biggest question of all this is what happens to the two pillars under the second Trump presidency," Stephanie Soong said. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts: taxnotes.co/podcast

Some (vaguely) historical thoughts on Trump and his tariffs. https://lnkd.in/euP_JE9a

A destination-based cash flow tax could serve as an alternative to tariffs that President-elect Trump says he will impose when he gets into office, an economist told the Joint Economic Committee. Erica York of the Tax Foundation, testifying at a December 18 hearing, said that tariffs aren’t suitable to meeting the goals of the U.S. economy. Tariffs are “often presented as tools to enhance U.S. competitiveness, but history shows that they lead to increased cost for consumers, unprotected producers, and harmful retaliation,” she said. The hearing was held to address Trump’s vow to implement and increase tariffs in his second term, claiming that doing so will lower costs for Americans and bring jobs back to the United States. As an alternative to tariffs, York said the United States should use the destination-based cash flow tax — a tax applied to imports consumed domestically — and which is levied on what people spend rather than on what they earn, in order to boost productivity, opportunities for workers, and U.S. competitiveness. Read more 👇

👏 Keep up with Elodie Lamer's latest reporting here: https://lnkd.in/g86k4FP7

"The Senate confirmed IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel about seven months after the agency received a massive infusion of funding from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Tasked with stewarding the IRS through a historic modernization effort, he embraced the challenge. "'This is an extremely rewarding and challenging job, and it has tested my leadership skills, abilities, instincts, and understandings in ways that were hard to envision when I got here,' Werfel said in a November interview with Tax Notes at IRS headquarters in Washington. "On December 4, President-elect Trump said he intends to nominate former Missouri lawmaker Billy Long to helm the IRS. If Long is confirmed by the Senate, Werfel would become the first commissioner in nearly two decades to leave the post before expiration of the term. "Werfel’s legacy at the IRS includes implementation of Direct File, the agency’s online tool for certain taxpayers to file returns for free. Werfel also turned the agency’s focus to tax collection from wealthy individuals and complex businesses. Overall, his tenure featured attempts to modernize IRS systems and make efforts toward digital service, security, and access." Check out the full profile of Daniel Werfel by Ben Valdez 👇 Tax Notes Federal chose three persons of the year for 2024, each embodying a different aspect of tax administration. Check out the other two profiles, now out from behind the paywall, below: 🔗 Person of the Year: Dorothy Brown, Champion for Change https://lnkd.in/gjhkD_X3 🔗 Person of the Year: The Supreme Court https://lnkd.in/g-vqrNgY (Photo courtesy of IRS)