Talking Tax

Tax enforcement has entered a new age.

The decades-old Justice Department Tax Division is now split between the broader civil and criminal divisions. Critics say the reorganization sends a signal that tax enforcement won't be a priority.

While the reorganization may mean tax attorneys are pulled into different DOJ priorities, it also could mean more investigations will include tax charges, said Karen Kelly, who was the top official at the DOJ Tax Division before she joined Kostelanetz as a partner in August.

DOJ tax attorneys are prioritizing immigration, fraud, and investigations into tax-exempt organizations that may have ties to "Antifa," Kelly said. The latter refers to an informal collection of people with left-leaning views that was a focus of a recent directive from Attorney General Pam Bondi.

On this episode of Talking Tax, Kelly sits down with Bloomberg Tax reporter Erin Schilling to discuss DOJ's tax enforcement priorities, changing strategies, and how taxpayers should prepare.

Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Data centers have emerged as a major political target in state capitals as they proliferate across the country and elected officials hear complaints from their voters about the massive, energy-guzzling warehouses.

That has put tax breaks for data centers—which can amount to hundreds of millions of dollars annually in some states—squarely in the legislative cross hairs.

State lawmakers in more than a dozen states have introduced legislation to repeal sales tax exemptions or raise the bar to qualify for them. Support for rolling back incentives cuts across party lines, with Republicans and Democrats expressing opposition to subsidizing a rapidly growing industry.

But the industry's boosters also cross party lines, and two Republican governors have vetoed attempts in previous years to repeal the tax breaks.

On this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax reporter Daniel Moore discusses how these tax exemptions work, why they've grown so much, and how they could change this year.

Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

A new slate of leaders is poised to make its mark on the US audit board and launch the next chapter for the embattled regulator.

Among those set to serve on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are two administration officials who have held key roles at federal agencies targeted by a White House campaign to hobble federal agencies and derail regulations. Those agencies include the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Credit Union Administration.

The PCAOB last year was also caught up in the administration’s efforts to rein in the federal bureaucracy. Republican lawmakers attempted to sunset the board and hand its duties over to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees the board and named the new leaders.

On this episode of Talking Tax, Senior Reporter Amanda Iacone discusses the incoming board members and what this latest leadership shake-up means for the future of the independent audit regulator.

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Trump administration cuts to federal funding are trickling down to cities and states across the country—and a top public-sector accounting leader is taking note.

Governmental Accounting Standards Board Chair Joel Black is leading his team in crafting public sector financial reporting rules at a time when local governments are assessing resource constraints following cuts to funding resulting from the 2025 GOP tax law.

The board establishes financial reporting and accounting rules for state and local governments that follow generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. Municipal bond insurers, taxpayer groups, and research institutes are among those that use government financial reports to analyze fiscal health.

The board's work during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic informs its efforts now during another period of strain for governments.

"It really honed us in to be sure we're working on only those things that are significant improvements, only those things our stakeholders are really asking us to work on," Black said.

Black's board is currently undertaking a project that aims to improve financial reporting rules for governments grappling with fears they won't be able to meet their financial obligations.

In this week's Talking Tax, Black sat down with Bloomberg Tax reporter Jorja Siemons to discuss GASB's financial stress-related project and the resource challenges accounting teams are facing.

Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

A global minimum tax deal that exempts American companies from key provisions is a better outcome for European business than the alternative of US retaliatory taxes, the co-chair of the OECD’s business committee said.

The package agreed to this month by more than 145 countries at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development headed off a threat of steep US taxes on foreign companies if global concessions weren’t made.

In this episode of Talking Tax, Christian Kaeser, global head of tax at Siemens AG, told Bloomberg Tax reporter Ryan Hogg that some of his European counterparts regarded the deal as “lopsided” but welcomed new permanent safe harbors that were created with input from Business at OECD, known as BIAC. Kaeser is co-chair of BIAC’s tax committee.

“I’m pretty happy with the outcome,” he said.

Competitive disparities created by the deal can be remedied by simplification of the EU’s own rules, including scrapping of the bloc’s controlled foreign companies anti-tax avoidance regime, he said.

As for Pillar One, the other main part of a 2021 OECD-led tax agreement, Kaeser saw little hope. Further talks on the pillar, which would reallocate taxing rights to countries where big companies make their profits, have stalled for years.

It “should be called Pillar Zed, zed for zombie,” he said.

Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.