"This settlement and this taxpayer privacy lawsuit and the release of claims are part of a broader story of the breaking down of guardrails designed to prevent politicization of federal tax administration," Brandon DeBot of @taxlawcenter.org said.

Americans often remember the Revolution as a tax revolt. So why does the Declaration of Independence mention taxes only once? As the U.S. celebrates its 250th birthday, @joethorndike.bsky.social explains the hidden tax argument in our nation's founding document.

As Trump accounts near their July 4 launch, the American Institute of CPAs urged taxpayers to do their research to avoid unexpected tax liabilities. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4aUI2Jy

Several bills aimed at improving IRS service, strengthening taxpayer protections, and creating more transparency for tax-exempt hospitals were advanced to the full House for consideration. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4eVNMns

Allowing equitable tolling of the Tax Court’s 90-day deadline for deficiency petitions would destabilize the entire tax collection system, the IRS told the Tenth Circuit.

A taxpayer claiming that her reliance on TurboTax is to blame for her failure to report almost $300,000 in foreign gifts lacks a colorable reasonable cause defense, the government told a federal court. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4v2TPgc

The Trump v. IRS settlement is "part of a broader story about the breaking down of guardrails designed to prevent politicization of federal tax administration" says Policy Director Brandon DeBot in a conversation with @taxnotes.com. taxnotestalk.taxnotes.com/124942/episo...

The OECD’s updated global minimum tax impact assessment indicates that although the so-called side-by-side package mostly safeguards pillar 2’s goal of curbing profit shifting, tax revenue estimates have decreased, an OECD tax official said. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4vEmDNa

"No obstacle will deter Trump from taxing imports — not an adverse court decision, not a public opinion poll, and certainly not economic data suggesting that these taxes have failed to revitalize America’s manufacturing base," Robert Goulder writes.

The IRS performed “better than expected in most respects” during this year’s filing season despite navigating scores of code changes made by last year’s tax bill, according to National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/43Rv63l

The effect of the European Commission's tax simplification omnibus on member state budgets is negligible compared to the €8 billion it will save companies, EU Tax Commissioner Wopke Hoesktra said in an exclusive interview. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4uRNGmI

🚨 LAST CALL: The deadline to enter the 2026 Tax Notes Student Writing Competition is June 30. Every year we recognize superior student writing on unsettled questions in tax law or policy. Learn more: taxnotes.com/students

The U.S. government would get a 50 percent equity stake in the country’s largest artificial intelligence companies under a tax proposed by Senate Finance Committee member Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4uVp7Wj

In his latest perspective piece, tax historian @joethorndike.bsky.social examines Colonial tax law through the lens of critical tax theory and discusses Anthony Infanti's book, "The Human Toll: Taxation and Slavery in Colonial America." Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4ej7rik

Meta is seeking to block a $16 billion tax liability tied to a 2010 cost-sharing arrangement, arguing that the IRS is attempting to relitigate valuation issues the court already resolved in the case of Facebook I. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4uF8WfH

"When you have a discussion about universal basic income, you automatically need to talk about how you're going to want to fund it," Carrie Brandon Elliot explains. "And the different ways to fund it definitely often come back to some form of tax."

The National Treasury Employees Union sued the IRS in district court, alleging that a directive ordering the removal of union materials from agency workplaces violates the First Amendment. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4xwVbSI

⌛ There's only two weeks left to enter this year's Tax Notes Student Writing Competition! The competition is open to any student enrolled in a law, business, or public policy program during the 2025-2026 academic year. Learn more: taxnotes.com/students

The plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization” Fund told a district court that the government’s words alone aren’t enough to revoke the fund. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/43QilWR

Canadian and U.S. tax authorities have reached a consensus aimed at preventing double taxation of prize money and participant compensation at the upcoming FIFA World Cup, according to the IRS. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4e3G4bW

The end of the IRS’s collective bargaining agreement is fostering job insecurity and rigorous schedules for some employees, according to union leaders. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3QuRb4y

The IRS announced it will combine the Return Preparer Office (RPO) and the Office of Professional Responsibility into one unit, solidifying a planned reorganization that has drawn some skepticism from tax professionals. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3RXx3sj

"The semi-novel approach to resolving President Trump’s case against the IRS may test boundaries in several areas where the tax rules were considered relatively well established," Marie Sapirie writes.

Thirteen IRS positions have been grouped into a new personnel category created by President Trump that makes it easier to fire individuals in those roles. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3PWclsc

Plaintiffs suing to block President Trump’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization” Fund said the administration’s reported decision to drop it falls far short of resolving their legal challenges. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4uNUfI5

The Ohio Tax Authority has stopped considering any new data center tax exemption applications so lawmakers can study the rapidly growing industry and its impact on the state. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4flONXU

The California Assembly has approved a large package of legislation to counter President Trump’s immigration crackdown, in part by imposing higher taxes on detention centers and businesses that contract with the Department of Homeland Security. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4fTx4qZ

Thirty-five former federal judges filed a motion asking a Florida federal court to reopen President Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, arguing that the parties perpetrated a fraud on the court by dismissing the case before a judge could determine whether it was a legitimate lawsuit.

It was great working with @fountain.bsky.social on this!

Check out today's episode of NPR's Planet Money, featuring Tax Notes investigations editor @laurenloricchio.bsky.social. 👇 In this collaboration with Tax Notes, Lauren helps trace the lifecycle of a tax loophole that began in Malta.

"Carter’s defeat may seem like ancient history, and most members of Congress have probably never heard of it," @joethorndike.bsky.social writes. "But it echoes through Washington even today. Indeed, it’s the missing prehistory of today’s debate over a gas tax holiday."

"If we are talking about ways to tax the digital economy that are perhaps less discriminatory than a DST, one thing or one area that comes to mind would be implementing VAT on digital transactions," Nana Ama Sarfo said. Check out the full discussion. 👇

The OECD’s common understanding on filing relief for initial global minimum tax information returns is welcome, but its inconsistent implementation and operational delays could still expose multinational enterprises to penalties, Business at OECD said. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4dog3Uh

House Democratic taxwriters introduced legislation that would impose a 100 percent excise tax on the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” settlement that was established after President Trump dropped his lawsuit against the IRS. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3PATMtk

Overtime pay for IRS employees rose by an estimated $27 million last year after federal cost-saving efforts triggered the departure of one-fourth of the agency’s workforce, according to a watchdog. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4tEKsm5

JUST IN: President Trump has dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax return information, for which a federal judge was set to hold a hearing on regarding whether a valid controversy existed. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4dgXilF

"Under the old model, scandal brought reform, not punishment," @joethorndike.bsky.social writes. "The lesson of the 1950s reforms was not that the IRS automatically deserved trust. It was that trust had to be rebuilt through a cleaner, stronger, more disciplined, and adequately funded agency."

The IRS has begun hiring Appeals officers to work complex cases and mediate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs a year after the office lost nearly 30 percent of its staff. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4uhMtpE

The IRS’s sharing of taxpayer data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement might have constituted final agency action, running afoul of statutory provisions, questioning from a panel of three D.C. Circuit judges indicated. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4fj27w0

Enacting a federal gas tax holiday in response to rising prices is picking up steam in Congress after President Trump said he supports the idea. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3Phtwnu

The IRS is on the cusp of launching a program to automatically abate penalties for taxpayers who have a clean compliance record, according to the national taxpayer advocate. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4tnxtoJ

Oil and gas giant Shell PLC reported a $163 million income tax charge related to the global minimum tax in the first quarter of 2026, as other companies logged increased tax rates from pillar 2. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4dfeIhk

Tax professionals said they found it difficult to deal with untrained IRS staff during a filing season characterized by new tax provisions, and some are wondering how data will be captured by the agency’s new service metrics.

IRS CEO Frank Bisignano brushed off worries about agency staffing levels voiced by enrolled agents, who said they noticed some employees lacked proper training this filing season. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4wbvW7M

The Tenth Circuit’s opinion in Liberty Global Inc. v. United States will likely create more uncertainty on where to draw the line between legitimate and abusive tax planning under the codified economic substance doctrine, according to tax professionals. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/49pMyPk

The IRS under the Biden administration selectively enforced the Johnson Amendment against churches and tax-exempt organizations with “traditional Christian views,” according to a new report.

A New York hedge fund is disputing the Justice Department’s claim to the Second Circuit that the Tax Court had jurisdiction to decide a dispute over the limited partner exception in a partnership proceeding. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4t6IURK

A proposed one-time wealth tax on billionaires is likely headed to the November ballot in California after backers submitted more than 1.5 million signatures in support of the initiative.

Tax Analysts Chief Economist Martin A. Sullivan has announced his retirement. This week in the pages of Tax Notes, we're honoring Marty's career with a small sampling of his work, reflections from his colleagues, and a note from Tax Analysts President and CEO Cara Griffith. 👇

The Justice Department is doubling down on its argument to the First Circuit that the Tax Court had jurisdiction to decide a dispute over the limited partner exception in a partnership proceeding. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4cLSnro