"The Brazilian digital detox tax is drafted in a manner that, under the parameters of section 899, appears like a 'discriminatory tax,' even though it is framed as a child-protection measure rather than a classic DST," Nana Ama Sarfo writes.

"Most histories of American democracy start with voting rights or constitutional design," Joe Thorndike writes. "But Vanessa Williamson begins with a different focus: She wants to know who’s picking up the tab." Read the review of @vanessawilliamson.bsky.social's book: https://taxnotes.co/4qfVZHm

Exclusive: The IRS has expanded the scope of prerevenue businesses that can qualify for tax-free treatment in a spinoff to include mining and extraction. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/48VU1og

The Trump administration has redirected money allocated for subsidizing military housing to provide a one-time, tax-exempt bonus for certain active members of the armed forces. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4oZC2mZ

NEW: The EU seems ready to move forward with the OECD's pillar 2 plan after its three most resistant member states — Estonia, Poland, and the Czech Republic — lifted their reservations to the side-by-side package system. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4pEzewN

Transparency has always been part of our mission. Now it has its own newsletter. Introducing FOIA Findings — where we unpack records obtained via the Freedom of Information Act to shed light on tax policy and tax administration. 📬 Subscribe: https://taxnotes.co/4p1PTcz

A circuit court seemed torn during oral arguments as it considered its ability to hear a collective bargaining case brought by a labor union that represents federal employees at Treasury and the IRS. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/44xlX0y

Whether Treasury and the IRS will issue proposed regulations on passthrough entity tax (PTET) workarounds to the individual cap on state and local tax deductions — as announced in a 2020 notice — remains a mystery. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4aivMmG

A taxpayer’s attempt to reclassify her dog as a dependent for tax purposes lacks merit and is likely to fail, a federal magistrate judge ruled. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4969mUx

The IRS is canceling employees’ outstanding requests to telework because of a temporary hardship and will impose new restrictions on the program as part of the Trump administration’s return-to-office mandate. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3MxjrRN

"Roosevelt devoted his presidency to building the large-scale, activist government that Trump has been eagerly dismantling these past 11 months," @joethorndike.bsky.social writes. "Even more problematic, Roosevelt was an energetic champion of redistributive taxation."

It's the most wonderful time of the year — the opening of the Tax Notes Student Writing Competition! Every year we recognize superior student writing on unsettled questions in tax law or policy. Learn more and check out past winning papers here: taxnotes.com/students

The distribution of so-called tariff dividends to millions of taxpayers could be a job for the IRS, but observers are skeptical about saddling the already burdened agency with another responsibility. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4azSJlh

The IRS is sitting on a growing backlog of employee requests for telework as a reasonable accommodation, raising concerns that federal disability laws aren’t being followed. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4aE2S0i

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is proposing a new tax deduction for healthcare costs as lawmakers face an end-of-year deadline to address an expiring Affordable Care Act tax credit. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/48llQHP

Over 100 companies — including Costco, Oakley, and Revlon — have joined in federal lawsuits to obtain refunds of International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs, claiming that their refund options could be in jeopardy. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4iwHwnE

In response to the SALT cap, 37 states enacted “passthrough entity taxes” to help business owners sidestep the cap & pay less in federal tax. But are PTETs actually consistent with the federal tax code? It’s complicated! We explain in @taxnotes.com: www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-st...

🚀 Help us celebrate tax visionaries! ICYMI, nominations are now open for the Tax Analysts Award of Distinction for Contributions in U.S. Federal Taxation. Learn more and submit a nomination: awards.taxanalysts.org

JUST IN: President Trump has signed legislation that will require the IRS to explain any math or clerical errors made in assessing federal tax returns and to notify taxpayers about the opportunity to abate wrongly assessed taxes. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4oswVeS

"The government’s lawyers brought a nontextual knife to a textualist gunfight," Robert Goulder writes.

The government’s shifting stance in agreeing to lift political activity prohibitions on religious organizations has created doubt about the true agenda of the parties involved in litigation on the matter, observers say. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4omMynT

"The Russian businessmen who funded the policies and were insured under them used a complex structure of tiered trusts and shell companies ... The policy arrangements involved Swiss Life subsidiaries in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein" - @taxnotes.com + @icij.org www.taxnotes.com/featured-new...

Before Switzerland’s largest life insurance company agreed to pay the U.S. government more than $77 million for facilitating tax evasion, it arranged private placement life insurance policies for Russian oligarchs, leaked documents from @icij.org show. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3XdFjUq

I'm quoted in the latest @laurenloricchio.bsky.social + @chandrawallace.bsky.social @taxnotes.com investigation of the "offshore" life insurance industry, which found a Russian oligarch with a $430 million policy. Article here: www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to...

Another bill that would extend the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credit was introduced in the House before Congress left Washington for Thanksgiving break, but lawmakers have yet to coalesce around one proposal. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4o8dN5z

"Shutdowns are dramatic, inconvenient, and expensive. And they can be very hard on vulnerable populations," @joethorndike.bsky.social writes. "But as political factors, shutdowns probably don’t matter too much."

New paper on importance, challenges, and goals of progressive tax reform published in @taxnotes.com and now available outside paywall here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Recent analyses of President Trump’s pledge to repackage the revenue from his tariffs into “tariff dividends” for the public all come to the same conclusion: There isn’t enough money. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4ijIEuU

Intuit is partnering with OpenAI under a $100 million multiyear contract the companies say will improve taxpayer assistance and help with tax refund estimates using ChatGPT. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3LTm5AS

Maryland taxpayer dollars shouldn't be used to fund local law enforcement partnerships with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the state comptroller is arguing. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3JIZvuh

The giant tax bill of 2025 isn’t all that big, ranking sixth in tax-cutting impacts in the annals of tax legislation history and sliding to ninth if tariffs are counted as tax increases, according to findings from the Tax Foundation. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/485XC2N

Tax practitioners are bracing for delays with exams and appeals as IRS staff return to work following the end of the government shutdown. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/49efVoJ

New paper on tax reform in wake of OBBBA is out this week in @taxnotes.com. While that bill is (rightly) unpopular, risk that regressive and complex changes end up living on in years ahead if we follow past patterns. Paper begins to sketch out paths for progressive tax reform.

A threshold relevancy determination is required before applying the codified economic substance doctrine, the Tax Court unanimously held in a closely followed microcaptive insurance case. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/48i5yyf

📢 The 2026 submission period for the Tax Notes Student Writing Competition is now open! We're inviting students to submit their writing on unsettled questions in federal, state, or international tax law or policy. Learn more: taxnotes.com/students

What effects, good or not, will the tax policies of incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) have on New York City? Tax wonks weigh in: https://taxnotes.co/3JuxCGd

"Ultimately, the historical briefs reach a compelling conclusion: Upholding Trump’s claim to unbounded tariff authority would constitute a revolution in American governance," @joethorndike.bsky.social writes.

"If the Court were to overrule the IEEPA tariffs on the grounds that delegations related to taxes and tariffs must be more specific than other types of powers, the consequences for tax could be extensive," Marie Sapirie writes.

🗣️ IISD Tax expert Elisângela Rita recently spoke with @taxnotes.com about her journey into international tax, while discussing key tax issues and developments. Listen to the conversation now➡️ taxnotestalk.taxnotes.com/124942/episo...

The government shutdown and a lack of resources at the IRS are among the significant risks to the 2026 filing season, according to former IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3LpAuVk

Legal opinions argue that taxpayers can source gains to Puerto Rico that were accrued before establishing residency in Puerto Rico in some circumstances. That advice could put taxpayers on the wrong side of the IRS. Our latest @taxnotes.com investigation bit.ly/3Jj4rpy

NEW: The IRS has informed states participating in Direct File that the free filing tool won’t be offered in 2026, according to an email from the agency. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4qFxLY9

📢 Calling all innovators in U.S. federal tax! Tax Analysts is expanding our Award of Distinction program with a new category celebrating excellence in U.S. federal taxation. Submit a nomination for yourself or someone else today: awards.taxanalysts.org

The IRS is hiring criminal investigators to assist with President Trump’s efforts to ramp up law enforcement in Washington, D.C. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/49AWtTb

As federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) teeters amid the federal government shutdown, state officials and governors are highlighting direct tax and budget risks. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4qGno6e

🌍#ICRICT in @taxnotes.com key insight: Spain, Brazil, Chile - a coalition of countries is doubling down on a mission to tax the ultra wealthy. Read Nana Sarfo article on our event on extreme wealth inequality during IMF/WB Annuals #IMFMeetings. Full story: shorturl.at/ovSCj #TaxThePower

For the third day in a row, the Senate approved a resolution to undermine a portion of President Trump’s layered tariff regimes. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4nsWMmf

New legislation from House Democratic taxwriters would restore clean energy credits from the Inflation Reduction Act that were slashed in the Republican reconciliation bill earlier this year, while also maintaining some of its small enhancements. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/47mFEZm

"Ronald Reagan was no fan of tariffs. In fact, he was an ardent (if inconstant) champion of free trade and open markets," @joethorndike.bsky.social writes.

"If the economic burden of a tariff was passed on to you as a consumer through various price adjustments, there's no recovery for that," Robert Goulder said. "The only people who are entitled to a tariff refund is the importer who actually paid the tariff up front."