Latest news with #Shapley
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New Water Quality Regulations in New York Won't Necessarily Make Water Any Cleaner
Just a handful of relatively short miles upriver from New York City's outer-borough surf breaks, a tiny little sliver of river is the involuntary recipient of about two billion gallons of untreated sewage and polluted storm water per anum. Yes, it should come as no surprise to anyone that when it precipitates on New York City, the Harlem River gets dumped on in every sense of that phrasal verb. And, what with that river being so naturally close to the color of our refuse, who is at all the wiser? Apart from those with an acute sense of smell, probably not many of us, save for when we find out the hard way by entering it and emerging with staph infections, E. coli, and, well, you name it. Still, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has drafted a proposal to update and upgrade water quality ratings throughout the state. A number of bodies of water within New York City are receiving newer, more dignified distinctions, some of which—like the one suggested for the Harlem River—deem that with the exception of 'wet weather' events due to combined sewer (storm runoff and raw sewage), once unfathomably foul waterways are now suitable for recreational fishing and even bathing. The newly introduced measure comes under a sweeping measure to improve water quality in and around New York City and is a celebration of how far our waterways have come, particularly since the Clean Water Act of 1970. But as is often the case in bureaucracies, 'The devil is in the details,' as Dan Shapley, Senior Director of Advocacy, Policy, and Planning at Riverkeeper, a veteran (and storied) nonprofit environmental-watchdog organization founded shortly after the Clean Water Act with the Hudson River's interests in mind. 'And unfortunately,' Shapley explains, 'the details here would allow for all of the currently programmed pollution for the Harlem River to continue indefinitely. Further, and where surfing and surf-bathing interests are concerned, he says '...that will set the benchmark for what we will see elsewhere in the city as other waterways come up next for their spotlight. And so that means Coney Island Creek and the East River and Bronx River, several tributaries of Jamaica Bay'—just around the corner from our usually small and gutless but nevertheless beloved surf zone—'and other places that are likely to have a similar prescription.' 'Riverkeeper is calling on NYC and NYS to take real, lasting action to fix this,' the organization wrote in an Instagram post. 'The Harlem River deserves better. So do the people who live, work, and play along it,' it continued. And play we do, even on surfing sticks along beaches here in the Big Apple, however septic and fetid it may be on any given day. Granted, it could stand to get a little less septic and fetid. Downriver in the Rockaways, where it could well be firing during, say, a tropical storm or hurricane, which, yes, is about the only source for summer swell in the Northeast and tends to bring rain—lots and lots of it, as a matter of how are surfers and surf-bathers to take caution? One could suppose that, like our cousins in Southern California, we might be best behoven by staying out of the water when it rains. But would be no testament to our eastern seaboard grit, would it? Not in the least. Regardless of new labeling, New York's water quality standards are sure to stay the same for the time being, which, with more than 21 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted runoff flowing annually, cannot and should not stand. Riverkeeper has drafted a letter on behalf of one and all entitled 'Don't give up on the Harlem River,' which you can edit and sign here. After all, today's Harem River, Coney Island Creek, and Jamaica Bay are tomorrow's Rockaway jetties.A virtual hearing will be held on Monday, June 16 at 2:00 p.m. (EST), and an in-person hearing will take place on June 18, 2025 2:00 p.m. at the below address: NYS DEC – Region 2 Office8th Floor Conference Room 83447-40 21st StreetLong Island City, NY 11101More details on the DEC DEC events calendar.
New York Post
01-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Hunter Biden abruptly drops lawsuit against IRS — a move the whistleblowers say shows ‘everything you need to know'
Hunter Biden abruptly dropped his lawsuit Wednesday against two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers who alleged a wide-ranging cover-up in the Department of Justice to stonewall the tax fraud investigation into him. The Biden scion had slapped a lawsuit against the two whistleblowers in 2023, alleging that they 'targeted and sought to embarrass Mr. Biden via public statements to the media in which they and their representatives disclosed confidential information about a private citizen's tax matters.' Without detailing a specific reason why, the scandal-scarred 55-year-old voluntarily moved to dismiss his lawsuit against Gary Shapley, who was an IRS supervisory special agent at the time in question, and Joe Ziegler, who was an agent. 'It's always been clear that the lawsuit was an attempt to intimidate us,' the two men said in a statement. 'Intimidation and retaliation were never going to work. We truly wanted our day in court to provide the complete story, but it appears Mr. Biden was afraid to actually fight this case in a court of law after all.' Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to all the tax-related charges he faced last year. Getty Images 'His voluntary dismissal of the case tells you everything you need to know about who was right and who was wrong.' The dismissal comes about a month after Biden's four attorneys on the lawsuit, Abbe David Lowell, Christopher Man, David Kolansky and Isabella Oishi filed a motion to withdraw as his counsel. Shapley and Ziegler had complained to their chain of command about the handling of the government's investigation into Biden. Eventually, they reached out to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), a federal watchdog and Republican lawmakers in Congress. Shapley gave a public interview with CBS in May 2023, outlining his accusations that the Justice Department 'slow-walked' the probe. Later that year, the DOJ slapped charges against Biden after his plea deal and pretrial diversion agreement with the feds fell apart. The tax charges included nine counts alleging that he bilked Uncle Sam $1.4 million from 2016 to 2019. He later paid those taxes back. Greg Shapley and Joe Ziegler were thrust into the national spotlight in 2023 with their bombshell testimony against the Biden administration. AP Biden pleaded guilty to all counts last year and then his father, former President Joe Biden, granted his son a 'full and unconditional' pardon. Shapley and Ziegler's legal team underscored that the former first son 'dismissed his case with prejudice—meaning he can never bring it again' and did so 'in exchange for nothing at all.' 'Hunter Biden brought this lawsuit against two honorable federal agents in retaliation for blowing the whistle on the preferential treatment he was given,' the lawyers said in a statement. 'Shapley and Ziegler did nothing wrong, never had to seek a pardon, and their actions have now been entirely vindicated once again.' Earlier this month, President Trump briefly tapped Shapley to serve as the acting commissioner at the IRS before replacing him with Michael Faulkender. The Post contacted attorneys for the Biden scion for comment.
Forbes
26-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Tax Breaks: The Not So Many Rules And Regulations Edition
Cutting through the red tape. Tax Day may have come and gone, but tax news hasn't slowed down. Even as taxpayers and tax professionals were winding down from tax season, there was chaos at the IRS. President Donald Trump replaced IRS Acting Commissioner Gary Shapley, who was backed by Elon Musk, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent complained to Trump that Shapley was picked without his permission. Trump replaced Shapley with Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender. Faulkender is the fifth IRS Commissioner or Acting Commissioner since January. (If you're keeping count, the others are, in order, Werfel, O'Donnell, Krause, and Shapley.) Rule changes were afoot, too. In response to an Executive Order to review and rescind regulations that are deemed unconstitutional or undermine national interests, the IRS issued IRS Notice 2025-23. The notice announces the intent to remove the regulations related to certain basis-shifting actions that imposed reporting obligations and potential penalties. The notice also withdraws IRS Notice 2024-54, which had outlined new proposed regulations addressing partnership-related-party basis shifting transactions that will now, presumably, never occur. While this may provide immediate relief for taxpayers, the future of partnership tax enforcement is now far from settled. The IRS also released guidance providing clarification on the deductibility of theft losses for scam victims. The guidance, in the form of a legal memo, makes clear that taxpayers who were tricked in a traditional investment scam may be entitled to tax relief. However, taxpayers who lost money through personal scams, such as romance or false kidnapping schemes, likely do not qualify for the deduction. Key to claiming the deduction? The losses must be associated with a profit motive—by the victim (yes, you read that right). Previously released guidance from FinCEN is also getting a second look. Months after the Treasury announced it would not enforce the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) against domestic companies, a new lawsuit aims to block a new rule requiring data collection—this time focused on reporting for cash residential real estate purchases, claiming the rule is burdensome and unconstitutional. The 2024 rule—which is effective at the end of this year—requires title companies to collect and report detailed information about non-financed residential real estate sales to legal entities (including small businesses), trusts, and shell companies. The rule would not require the reporting of sales to individuals. For purposes of the rule, non-financed means that it does not involve an extension of credit secured by the transferred property and extended by a financial institution—that would exempt commercial mortgages, for example, but would include cash transactions and transfers financed by private lenders. If some of this sounds familiar, it's because there are similarities between the largely gutted Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) reporting requirement and this rule. For example, for purposes of the real estate reporting rule, information that must be reported includes the identity of the reporting person, the legal entity or trust to which the residential real property is transferred, the beneficial owners of that transferee entity or trust, the person that transfers the residential real property, and the property being transferred, along with certain transactional information. Also giving deja vu? The case (East Texas Title Co. v. Bessent) is assigned to Judge Jeremy Kernodle. On January 7, 2025, Kernodle granted a preliminary injunction and stay in Smith v. U.S. that prohibited FinCEN from enforcing the CTA. In global news, the death of Pope Francis made an impact all over the world. In a few weeks, the conclave will gather in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to cast a series of votes to choose the next pope. One of the questions that will surely be top of mind for those tasked with the choice is whether the next pope will carry on the legacy of Pope Francis. During his lifetime, Francis consistently emphasized that taxation is a moral imperative and has called for a fairer tax system to benefit everyone, especially the poor. That means, he has insisted, that the wealthy should contribute to the common good. As part of his overall message, he has argued against tax evasion and tax havens, causes that other world leaders and organizations have also made a priority. As we watch for the white smoke, it's worth contemplating what it could mean for global tax policy. A little closer to home, Forbes published its first-ever Best-In-State CPAs. It's our sequel to last year's inaugural Forbes Top 200 CPAs list, identifying 1,000 of the finest CPAs from across all 50 states. You can check it out here. And lastly, my son was recently stunned to learn that I had, years ago, written about the tax consequences of one of his favorite movies, 'Ratatouille.' It was part of a series where I evaluated the tax consequences of movies referred by readers—those included 'Trading Places,' 'Blow' and 'Casablanca.' For each film, I focused on the tax considerations and consequences of the plot as well as how the decisions made by the characters would play out in real life, tackling issues like presumption of death, international tax treaties, illegally gained income, commodities markets, and estates. It was great fun, so I'm easing back into it for the summer of 2025. If you have a movie for me to review—especially those with an interesting tax or financial crimes twist—send me an email (kerb@ for consideration. A quick caveat: I won't do anything too racy as my review needs to be safe for work (also, my mom could be reading). I'm not a fan of extremely violent films because I'm super squeamish—and a scaredy cat. But otherwise, I'd love your suggestions, so nominate away. I hope you find the feature fun and informative. Welcome to (almost) summer! Kelly Phillips Erb (Senior Writer, Tax) Articles marked with (☆) are premium content and require you to log in with your Forbes membership credentials. Not a subscriber yet? Click here to sign up. The administration has announced they will take steps to collect outstanding student loans. This week, a taxpayer asked: I don't have the money to pay my student loans, so I have not been paying them. What does the news about student loan collections mean for my taxes? The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that it will resume collection actions for student loans in default status beginning on May 5. The Department had previously not collected on defaulted loans since 2020 due to the pandemic. For purposes of the announcement, loans in default status are those loans without a payment in 270 days, or about nine months. The Department has suggested that more than five million borrowers have not made a monthly payment in over 360 days, and 4 million borrowers are in late-stage delinquency (91-180 days). As a result, there could be almost 10 million borrowers in default in a few months. As part of the collections process, the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) will restart the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) on May 5. Here's where your taxes come in. If you don't pay your debt, it can be turned over to TOP, which helps collect the debt by holding back money from a federal payment, like a tax refund. That process may be referred to as offsetting the payment, administrative offset, or offset. Up to 100% of your federal tax refunds can also be seized to pay federal non-tax debts, child support, state income tax, and unemployment insurance debts. (Your Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits can also be seized for federal tax and non-tax debts—but those seizures are limited to 15% of the benefit. Other payments that can be seized all or in part, depending on the kind, include vendor and federal employee travel-related payments, federal salaries (including military pay), Office of Personnel Management retirement, and state payments.) Your debt will remain in the TOP database until the original agency tells TOP to stop collecting it. That typically happens once the debt has been paid in full, is subject to a bankruptcy stay, or if there are other reasons to pause or stop collection. If you can't pay your student loans, don't reach out to the IRS—the agency can't help you. You should work with your lender to get on a payment plan, sign up for loan rehabilitation, or explore other options. Good luck! — Do you have a tax question or matter that you think we should cover in the next newsletter? We'd love to help if we can. Check out our guidelines and submit a question here. The economy continues to be a concern for most Americans. A recent Gallup poll indicated that, along with the economy and healthcare, public concern about Social Security is up significantly, with Social Security registering a 15-year high. According to the poll results, the top-ranking worries include the economy (60% worry a great deal), healthcare costs (59%), inflation (56%), federal spending and the budget deficit (53%), and the Social Security system (52%). One of the reasons for the concern isn't just deep cuts to staffing at the Social Security Administration, but a genuine worry that benefits may be on the chopping block. By law, Social Security benefits are supposed to be paid even if there's a deficit and even if Congress doesn't pass a budget. That's why you'll hear benefits called 'entitlements.' The word triggers a lot of emotional responses, but it simply means those dollars aren't generally part of the budget discussion because they are mandatory expenditures. The tricky part? Mandatory spending—like those entitlement programs—is much more expensive than discretionary spending. Mandatory spending far outpaces discretionary spending. Social Security and Medicare are examples of entitlement programs with a dedicated funding source—those payroll taxes that we (workers, employers, and self-employed persons) pay into the system make up a "trust fund." Like a bank deposit, your actual contributions don't sit in a vault waiting for you to claim them. Instead, your money is used to pay benefits for other taxpayers, and future collections will be used to pay your benefits—at least, that's the hope. The problem? Social Security's total costs now exceed its total income—that's been the case since 2021. The trustees for that money—remember there's a trust fund—expect to pay costs using a combination of sources, including trust fund asset reserves from the General Fund of the Treasury through 2035. That's when, without any further action, the trust fund reserves will run out. What happens then? Remember that workers are still paying in as we go. That money, however, will only be sufficient to pay about three-quarters of scheduled benefits through 2098. There's a similar problem with Medicare since expenses per beneficiary will exceed receipts. However, as the population gets older and healthcare costs go up, total Medicare costs will increase. The result? The Trustees anticipate that Medicare will face a substantial financial shortfall. To keep the trust funds for Social Security and Medicare solvent, there will have to be changes. There are a number of ways to do that, including raising payroll taxes, lowering the cost-of-living adjustments, raising the ages for eligibility, and taxing benefits. As you can imagine, none of these options is particularly popular. These aren't small problems. Entitlements are the most significant part of the federal budget. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid make up nearly half of the budget, costing a whopping $2.7 trillion. Making cuts will have a cost–including a political one. Fast fashion is cheap to make—and to ship. When President Trump announced his tariffs—especially those on imports from China—discussions almost always focused on automobiles, electronics, and some food items. But one industry that might be impacted was missing from those discussions: fast fashion. Fast fashion refers to the rapid production and distribution of inexpensive, trendy clothing. Despite the potential downsides, including significant environmental impact, magazines and television shows continually promote fast fashion. You may have purchased a fast fashion item—or considered it—after seeing how you can 'buy it for less' or 'steal the look' from a celebrity. Most fast fashion items are made cheaply in other countries and shipped to the U.S. If sent in smaller packages, they also get a break on tariffs since, traditionally, packages valued at under $800 have escaped tariffs, a loophole sometimes described as the de minimis exemption. In an April 2 executive order, Trump announced that commercial packages worth $800 or less would be subject to a minimum level of tariffs, starting at either a flat fee of $25 per postal item or 30% of the postal item's value—in June, the flat fee figure would increase to $50 but the 30% figure would stay the same. Then, on April 8, Trump announced that he would triple the tariff rates. The same packages would be subject to a flat fee of $75 per postal item or 90% of the postal item's value—in June, the flat fee would increase to $150, but the 90% figure would remain the same. On April 9, Trump increased the rates yet again. Now, the 90% figure will increase to 120%, and the flat fee will increase to $100 per postal item—in June, the flat fee will increase to $200. The problem for U.S. lawmakers is that the country receives a substantial amount of those goods. A report by the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party found that approximately 30% of de minimis shipments come from Shein and Temu—fast fashion providers. To put that into context, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in 2024, the United States received over 1.36 billion de minimis shipments. If 30% of those packages originated from Shein and Temu, they sent around 408 million packages to the U.S. that year. The revenue generated from those packages would be significant, but enforcing the tariffs could prove challenging. One of the reasons the exemption existed initially was to facilitate the flow of commerce and not get bogged down with the small stuff. But it turns out that the small stuff is actually pretty big. 📅 May 1, 2025. Due date for individuals and businesses in the entire states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and parts of Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia affected by severe storms and flooding from Hurricane Helene (☆) and Hurricane Milton. 📅 June 16, 2025. Due date for individuals living and working abroad to file their 2024 federal income tax return and pay any tax due. 📅 September 30, 2025. Due date for individuals and businesses impacted by recent terrorist attacks in Israel. 📅 October 15, 2025. Due date for individuals and businesses affected by wildfires and straight-line winds in southern California that began on January 7, 2025. 📅 November 3, 2025. Due date for individuals and businesses affected by storms in Arkansas and Tennessee that began on April 2, 2025. 📅 May 8-10, 2025. American Bar Association Section of Tax May Meeting. Marriott Marquis Washington, DC. Registration required. 📅 May 13-14, 2025. National Association of Enrolled Agents 2025 Capitol Hill Fly-In, Washington, DC. Registration required (NAEA members only). 📅 June 16-19, 2025. Latino Tax Fest. MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada. Registration required. 📅 July 18-19, 2025. Tax Retreat 'Anti Conference.' Denver, Colorado. Registration TBA. 📅 July 21-23, 2025. National Association of Tax Professionals Taxposium 2025, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada. Registration required. VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - OCTOBER 22: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, CEO of FC Bayern Muenchen hands over a gift to Pope Francis during an private audience with the team of FC Bayern Muenchen in the Palace of the Vatican on October 22, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images) By all accounts, Pope Francis was a huge soccer fan. During a meeting with the Argentina and Italy national teams, Francis told the players to remember that, 'for better or worse' they are role models. Which of the following soccer players who met the Pope is the only one to not be accused of tax evasion? (A) Gianluigi Buffon (B) Diego Maradona (C) Lionel Messi (D) Ronaldhino Find the answer at the bottom of this newsletter. The IRS has published Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-18. EY has appointed Martin Fiore as Americas vice chair for tax in New York, effective July 1, 2025. Fiore succeeds Kevin Flynn, who has led the business since 2022 and is retiring at the end of the fiscal year. Fiore had previously served as EY Americas Deputy Vice Chair – Tax. Fiore is based in New York and will oversee tax strategy and all client services, leading a group of more than 18,000 people across the Americas and Israel. Greenberg Traurig, LLP has announced the addition of Michelle Rosenblatt to the Private Wealth Services Practice as a shareholder. Rosenblatt joins the firm's Austin office from Jackson Walker LLP, and focuses her practice on U.S. and international tax, estate, business, and wealth preservation planning for high-net-worth individuals, families, and family offices. Baker Tilly and Moss Adams announced merger plans to create the sixth-largest advisory CPA firm in the US. The deal is expected to close in June. Jeff Ferro, CEO of Baker Tilly, will serve as CEO of the combined firm through his retirement, with Eric Miles, currently Moss Adams CEO, to assume the role of CEO on January 1, 2026 (Ferro will remain a director on Baker Tilly's board). Ferro helped steer Baker Tilly's private equity deal in 2024. Indiana is raising its cigarette tax. Lawmakers approved a $2 per-pack increase as part of the state's new budget. The tax hike, which takes effect July 1, will bring the total state cigarette tax to $3 per pack. Twelve states have sued the Trump administration for 'illegally imposing' tax hikes on Americans through tariffs. The lawsuit seeks a court order to stop the tariffs, claiming that Trump does not have the authority to raise them under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The lawsuit is filed by the attorneys general of New York, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont. — If you have tax and accounting career or industry news, submit it for consideration here or email me directly. Here's what readers clicked through most often in the newsletter last week: You can find the entire newsletter here. The answer is (A) Gianluigi Buffon. VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - AUGUST 13: Pope Francis exchanges gifts with Gianluigi Buffon of Italy (L) during an audience at The Vatican on August 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Photo by) Buffon is a former Italian soccer player, considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world. While Buffon was not accused of tax fraud, he was involved in a betting scandal in 2006. He denied betting on Italian football matches and was cleared of all charges by the Italian Football Federation. Diego Maradona was an Argentine professional soccer player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players in history. Maradona was charged and found guilty of not paying taxes on his image rights while playing for Napoli in the 1980s and 1990s. He was cleared of the charges by Italy's highest court in 2023, nearly two years after his death. Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional soccer player, regarded by many as the best in the world. In 2013, Spanish tax authorities alleged that Messi's father used a series of shell companies in tax havens to shield Messi's royalties and licensing income from tax. Messi consistently maintained that he did nothing wrong, but in 2016, a Spanish court found Messi and his father guilty of tax fraud. Messi unsuccessfully appealed the ruling in 2017. Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, known simply as Ronaldinho, is a former Brazilian soccer player. In 2019, Ronaldinho had properties seized and his Brazilian and Spanish passports confiscated, among reports of unpaid taxes and fines. Following the seizure, the case was placed under judicial secrecy rules. How did we do? We'd love your feedback. If you have a suggestion for making the newsletter better, submit it here or email me directly.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
IRS takes center stage in political controversies, partisan battles
The IRS has become ground zero for some of the most heated political battles of President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office. The tax collection agency is the site of controversies ranging from the use of taxpayer data for an immigration crackdown, the tax exempt status of a major American university that has refused to comply with Trump's demands, access to Americans' financial information by a government cost-cutting panel, and an audit review request for one of Trump's friends. The IRS has long been a hot spot of partisan rivalry but is increasingly becoming the face of Washington's political polarization, experts say. At the policy level, the IRS has endured one of the hardest political pendulum swings between successive administrations of any government agency, going from a massive operational refurbishment and hiring spree during the Biden administration to layoffs and unobstructed attrition under Trump that could cut as much as 40 percent of the agency's workforce. 'The controversies at the IRS right now are unheard of if you take them all into account at the same time,' Vanessa Williamson, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and taxation scholar, told The Hill. 'We've seen issues with the politicization of the IRS and we've seen workforce cuts before, but these are really on another order and they're all happening at once.' On Friday, acting IRS commissioner Gary Shapley left his position atop the agency after a disagreement between presidential adviser Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who reportedly complained to President Trump that he was left out of the decision to appoint Shapley. Shapley gained favor with Republicans in 2023 after criticizing a Biden administration investigation into the business activities of Hunter Biden, the president's son. In February, Senate Finance Committee member Chuck Grassley (Iowa) sent a letter to Bessent praising Shapley's 'bravery, courage, expertise and integrity.' Shapley's exit continues a merry-go-round at the top of the IRS. In the 91 days since Trump has been in office, no fewer than four people have helmed it. Before Shapley, who was replaced by Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender, IRS career agents Melanie Krause and Douglas O'Donnell each served as acting commissioner. Before taking office, Trump announced he would replace Danny Werfel, who was the last Senate-confirmed commissioner and whose background in operations management, as opposed to private sector legal practice, was specifically suited to the Democratic project of modernizing the agency. Werfel resigned in January before Trump took office. Werfel's ousting was unusual. IRS commissioners serve five-year terms to detach them from the electoral cycle, and they usually serve beyond their terms. Charles Rettig, who was Werfel's predecessor, was appointed to lead the agency by Trump during his first term but served for most of Biden's presidency as well. During Trump's first 100 days, the IRS has been rocked by controversy after controversy. Arguably the two most significant pertain to the vast amounts of data that the IRS keeps on American taxpayers, including bank account information, data on business operations, Social Security numbers, pieces of personal identification, and heaps of other sensitive financial data. The presidential cost-cutting panel led by Elon Musk known as 'DOGE' has reportedly gotten access to this legally protected data, leading policymakers to ask why and even setting off public protests. 'I don't like Elon's intervention in our government, nor his budgeting, nor anything to do with any of the data that he gets to see,' Scott Mayer, a New York City resident who was out protesting in front of a Tesla showroom over the weekend, told The Hill. 'We're trying to point out that his intervention really does not belong in our government.' While the Treasury and White House have reportedly agreed to limits on DOGE's access to IRS data, critics have been up in arms. 'The presence of DOGE affiliates at the IRS could create even bigger risks to taxpayer privacy,' attorneys with the Tax Law Center at New York University wrote in February. 'These concerns are heightened when viewed together with personnel changes at DOJ's Tax Division.' Data sharing between the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a wider immigration crackdown by the Trump administration reportedly led to the resignation of top IRS officials and produced an outcry from rights groups. 'Congress was clear that immigration officers cannot obtain tax data from the IRS to locate immigrants,' Nandan Joshi, who sued to block the data agreement for the Public Citizen Litigation Group, said in a statement at the end of last month. 'Trump administration officials should respect the limits that Congress imposed instead of looking for ways to skirt them.' Other IRS controversies revolve around the uses of the agency to punish political foes and reward political allies, something the tax agency isn't allowed to be used for. Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status after the university declined to comply with an order from the administration to crack down on alleged antisemitism. 'Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting 'Sickness?'' Trump wrote on social media on April 15. Harvard President Alan Garber said the orders from the Trump administration aren't really about fighting antisemitism but have more to do with controlling the intellectual climate at the university. 'Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard,' he wrote in an April 14 letter to staff, students and alumni. 'We will not accept their proposed agreement,' he said. Former Harvard president and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers responded to Trump's threat by suggesting that resignations were in order over the conduct. 'Any self-respecting Treasury Secretary would resign rather [than] have the Department be complicit in the weaponization of the IRS against a political adversary of the President,' he wrote. On the flip side, administration officials are also facing reports that they've used the IRS to do political favors. Treasury official David Eisner asked the IRS to review an audit the agency was performing on MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, whom Eisner described as 'a high-profile friend of the President,' according to the New York Times. IRS officials referred the request from Eisner to the agency's inspector general, according to the Times. In addition to the numerous political controversies now roiling the agency, the IRS has made a 180-degree turn from the Biden to Trump administrations at the level of administrative policy. Democrats gave the IRS $80 billion in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), most of which was meant to increase tax enforcement on large corporations and the rich. The tax collector even set up a new unit in its Large Business and International Division specifically to target tax avoidance among complex partnerships, a business designation that has proliferated in recent decades and where the government fails to collect a significant portion of the revenue it is owed. Republicans over the course of the Biden administration were able to claw back and eventually freeze out nearly the entirety of those enforcement funds, much of which would have gone to hiring auditors. Under Trump, the agency has announced wave after wave of layoffs at the tax collector, getting rid of trial employees and then announcing additional cuts for tax compliance staff. By the end of its staffing reduction, the IRS could lose 40 percent of its workforce, going from a staff size of around 100,000 employees down to 60,000, according to a report by the Federal News Network. Biden's bill was supposed to lead to transformational change for the IRS. 'Now what we're seeing is transformational change to the IRS but in a different direction,' Janet Holtzblatt, a former deputy director in the Treasury's office of tax analysis, told The Hill. Every year, the agency fails to collect around $700 billion in taxes, an amount known as the 'tax gap' that could actually be as large as $1 trillion, according to former commissioner Charles Rettig. The IRS has a long and murky history of both suspected and proven involvement in political battles, even though it's against the law. Former FBI officials James Comey and Andrew McCabe both found themselves receiving a rare and invasive type of audits in 2022 after incurring the wrath of President Trump. A controversy involving the head of the IRS exempt organizations division during the Obama administration enraged conservatives, who felt unfairly targeted by the IRS. Allegations about the misuse of the IRS by former President Richard Nixon came to light during the Watergate scandal. The U.S. has one of the most complicated sets of tax laws in the world, spanning millions of words and tens of thousands of pages, excluding myriad pages of case law. It even contains alternative tax codes that kick in when the mainline tax code has been so successively exploited by sophisticated taxpayers that they've reduced their taxes to effectively nothing. Historians of taxation say this makes it susceptible to politicization. 'Taxes are more boring in other countries,' Brookings' Vanessa Williamson said. 'But it's also been more boring in the past in the United States. In the mid-20th century, tax policy was not a major part of the campaign platform of either party. That's hard to imagine now.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
IRS takes center stage in political controversies, partisan battles
The IRS has become ground zero for some of the most heated political battles of President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office. The tax collection agency is the site of controversies ranging from the use of taxpayer data for an immigration crackdown, the tax exempt status of a major American university that has refused to comply with Trump's demands, access to Americans' financial information by a government cost-cutting panel, and an audit review request for one of Trump's friends. The IRS has long been a hot spot of partisan rivalry but is increasingly becoming the face of Washington's political polarization, experts say. At the policy level, the IRS has endured one of the hardest political pendulum swings between successive administrations of any government agency, going from a massive operational refurbishment and hiring spree during the Biden administration to layoffs and unobstructed attrition under Trump that could cut as much as 40 percent of the agency's workforce. 'The controversies at the IRS right now are unheard of if you take them all into account at the same time,' Vanessa Williamson, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and taxation scholar, told The Hill. 'We've seen issues with the politicization of the IRS and we've seen workforce cuts before, but these are really on another order and they're all happening at once.' A cavalcade of commissioners On Friday, acting IRS commissioner Gary Shapley left his position atop the agency after a disagreement between presidential adviser Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who reportedly complained to President Trump that he was left out of the decision to appoint Shapley. Shapley gained favor with Republicans in 2023 after criticizing a Biden administration investigation into the business activities of Hunter Biden, the president's son. In February, Senate Finance Committee member Chuck Grassley (Iowa) sent a letter to Bessent praising Shapley's 'bravery, courage, expertise and integrity.' Shapley's exit continues a merry-go-round at the top of the IRS. In the 91 days since Trump has been in office, no fewer than four people have helmed it. Before Shapley, who was replaced by Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender, IRS career agents Melanie Krause and Douglas O'Donnell each served as acting commissioner. Before taking office, Trump announced he would replace Danny Werfel, who was the last Senate-confirmed commissioner and whose background in operations management, as opposed to private sector legal practice, was specifically suited to the Democratic project of modernizing the agency. Werfel resigned in January before Trump took office. Werfel's ousting was unusual. IRS commissioners serve five-year terms to detach them from the electoral cycle, and they usually serve beyond their terms. Charles Rettig, who was Werfel's predecessor, was appointed to lead the agency by Trump during his first term but served for most of Biden's presidency as well. Fights for access to taxpayer data During Trump's first 100 days, the IRS has been rocked by controversy after controversy. Arguably the two most significant pertain to the vast amounts of data that the IRS keeps on American taxpayers, including bank account information, data on business operations, Social Security numbers, pieces of personal identification, and heaps of other sensitive financial data. The presidential cost-cutting panel led by Elon Musk known as 'DOGE' has reportedly gotten access to this legally protected data, leading policymakers to ask why and even setting off public protests. 'I don't like Elon's intervention in our government, nor his budgeting, nor anything to do with any of the data that he gets to see,' Scott Mayer, a New York City resident who was out protesting in front of a Tesla showroom over the weekend, told The Hill. 'We're trying to point out that his intervention really does not belong in our government.' While the Treasury and White House have reportedly agreed to limits on DOGE's access to IRS data, critics have been up in arms. 'The presence of DOGE affiliates at the IRS could create even bigger risks to taxpayer privacy,' attorneys with the Tax Law Center at New York University wrote in February. 'These concerns are heightened when viewed together with personnel changes at DOJ's Tax Division.' Data sharing between the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a wider immigration crackdown by the Trump administration reportedly led to the resignation of top IRS officials and produced an outcry from rights groups. 'Congress was clear that immigration officers cannot obtain tax data from the IRS to locate immigrants,' Nandan Joshi, who sued to block the data agreement for the Public Citizen Litigation Group, said in a statement at the end of last month. 'Trump administration officials should respect the limits that Congress imposed instead of looking for ways to skirt them.' Allegations of using the IRS to punish and reward Other IRS controversies revolve around the uses of the agency to punish political foes and reward political allies, something the tax agency isn't allowed to be used for. Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status after the university declined to comply with an order from the administration to crack down on alleged antisemitism. 'Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting 'Sickness?'' Trump wrote on social media on April 15. Harvard President Alan Garber said the orders from the Trump administration aren't really about fighting antisemitism but have more to do with controlling the intellectual climate at the university. 'Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard,' he wrote in an April 14 letter to staff, students and alumni. 'We will not accept their proposed agreement,' he said. Former Harvard president and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers responded to Trump's threat by suggesting that resignations were in order over the conduct. 'Any self-respecting Treasury Secretary would resign rather [than] have the Department be complicit in the weaponization of the IRS against a political adversary of the President,' he wrote. On the flip side, administration officials are also facing reports that they've used the IRS to do political favors. Treasury official David Eisner asked the IRS to review an audit the agency was performing on MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, whom Eisner described as 'a high-profile friend of the President,' according to the New York Times. IRS officials referred the request from Eisner to the agency's inspector general, according to the Times. From renovation to degradation In addition to the numerous political controversies now roiling the agency, the IRS has made a 180-degree turn from the Biden to Trump administrations at the level of administrative policy. Democrats gave the IRS $80 billion in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), most of which was meant to increase tax enforcement on large corporations and the rich. The tax collector even set up a new unit in its Large Business and International Division specifically to target tax avoidance among complex partnerships, a business designation that has proliferated in recent decades and where the government fails to collect a significant portion of the revenue it is owed. Republicans over the course of the Biden administration were able to claw back and eventually freeze out nearly the entirety of those enforcement funds, much of which would have gone to hiring auditors. Under Trump, the agency has announced wave after wave of layoffs at the tax collector, getting rid of trial employees and then announcing additional cuts for tax compliance staff. By the end of its staffing reduction, the IRS could lose 40 percent of its workforce, going from a staff size of around 100,000 employees down to 60,000, according to a report by the Federal News Network. Biden's bill was supposed to lead to transformational change for the IRS. 'Now what we're seeing is transformational change to the IRS but in a different direction,' Janet Holtzblatt, a former deputy director in the Treasury's office of tax analysis, told The Hill. Every year, the agency fails to collect around $700 billion in taxes, an amount known as the 'tax gap' that could actually be as large as $1 trillion, according to former commissioner Charles Rettig. A history of politicization The IRS has a long and murky history of both suspected and proven involvement in political battles, even though it's against the law. Former FBI officials James Comey and Andrew McCabe both found themselves receiving a rare and invasive type of audits in 2022 after incurring the wrath of President Trump. A controversy involving the head of the IRS exempt organizations division during the Obama administration enraged conservatives, who felt unfairly targeted by the IRS. Allegations about the misuse of the IRS by former President Richard Nixon came to light during the Watergate scandal. The U.S. has one of the most complicated sets of tax laws in the world, spanning millions of words and tens of thousands of pages, excluding myriad pages of case law. It even contains alternative tax codes that kick in when the mainline tax code has been so successively exploited by sophisticated taxpayers that they've reduced their taxes to effectively nothing. Historians of taxation say this makes it susceptible to politicization. 'Taxes are more boring in other countries,' Brookings' Vanessa Williamson said. 'But it's also been more boring in the past in the United States. In the mid-20th century, tax policy was not a major part of the campaign platform of either party. That's hard to imagine now.'
