I partnered with @planetmoney.bsky.social to trace the lifecycle of a tax loophole that began in Malta. We listen to the secret tapes that show how the wealthiest Americans fought back against the IRS with help from a top Trump administration official. Listen to the episode: n.pr/4uBJDM6

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

The IRS has begun the process of firing a special agent leading investigations into abuse of Malta pension plans and Puerto Rico’s Act 60 tax incentives, raising questions about the future of those enforcement efforts. Read the story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4u6pr4p

Unwatched: How State Audit Selection Systems Bypass Oversight bit.ly/4tLcyMU The latest @taxnotes.com investigation from Paul Jones and Emily Hollingsworth, outside the paywall

Treasury missed the March 16 deadline to post an annual report online that is used to evaluate whether it is fulfilling its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act. The delay comes during #SunshineWeek and amid ongoing concerns about the Trump administration’s transparency. bit.ly/4smwjKA

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein established tax-advantaged trusts that could help shield his assets after he was indicted in 2006 for soliciting prostitution in Florida, according to documents released by the Justice Department. Read the story for free in @taxnotes.com : bit.ly/4lr3V7q

The IRS has awarded millions of dollars’ worth of contracts to Palantir Technologies, a company embroiled in controversy over reports that it is helping the Trump administration build a searchable database of tax data and other information about U.S. citizens. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4roK8Ye

Citizens for Equality in Tax Enforcement has urged @ronwyden.bsky.social to investigate why the IRS has failed to finalize proposed regulations that would designate Malta pension plans as a listed transaction. Read the story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4a9F2ZR

When the IRS moved to curb abuse of Malta pension plan arrangements, advisers turned to a powerful Washington tax lobbyist for help. @laurenloricchio.bsky.social & @chandrawallace.bsky.social explain how Kenneth Kies was engaged by a company offering Malta pension plans: https://taxnotes.co/4aEAN8O

When the IRS moved to curb abuse of Malta pension plan arrangements, advisers turned to a powerful Washington tax lobbyist for help. Read the investigation for free in @taxnotes.com taxnotes.co/4aEAN8O

Don't miss @cadystanton.bsky.social's two-part series Priced Out: How a 1990s Housing Policy is Worsening the Housing Crisis Congress Gave Developers Flexibility. It’s Costing People Their Homes. bit.ly/49H0ANk Absent Congress, Protecting LIHTC-Funded Housing Has Fallen to States bit.ly/4keXnIn

Tax Notes is launching a #FOIA newsletter in the new year! If you work in tax, law, public policy, or journalism, this newsletter is for you! Subscribe to get access to the latest documents and stories based on our findings. @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4jetKq7

Investigations initiated by the IRS into abusive tax schemes fell by 63 percent from the previous year, according to an annual report released December 12. Read the story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4oWaiQ8

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. Story in @taxnotes.com taxnotes.co/3XdFjUq

Our latest @taxnotes.com investigation into Puerto Rico's Act 60 tax incentives examines legal opinions used by wealthy investors to dodge their tax obligations. Check out the story from me, Sarah Paez, and @chandrawallace.bsky.social, now outside the paywall: bit.ly/4ouqd96

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

An IRS effort to increase audits of passthrough entities had just launched when a conservative lobbying effort was mobilized to dismantle it. Read the story outside the @taxnotes.com paywall bit.ly/47i6ou7

A Texas resident is having buyer’s remorse after purchasing “sovereign tribal tax credits” and learning the credits may not be respected by the IRS. Story in @taxnotes bit.ly/3INo3li

A Look Inside the IRS Response to Trump’s DEI Orders Read the story for free in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/3IrqcTv

A Texas lawyer concluded that the tribal tax credits being sold by White River Energy Corp. “are real and recognized by the U.S. Congress and Government,” even though the IRS says the credits don’t exist. Story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4gnXyz3

Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers who are victims of identity theft and are facing long waits to get their refunds. Staff reductions and budget cuts could make things worse. My latest for @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4fL6wGc

The IRS’s largest compliance division is poised to have less staff than it did in 2018, after its employees have left through voluntary separations imposed by the Trump administration. Story in @taxnotes bit.ly/4m4HZOI

Andrew De Mello has been removed as acting IRS chief counsel and replaced by Kenneth Kies, Treasury assistant secretary for tax policy, a move that was announced internally last month by IRS Commissioner Billy Long. Story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/46ODdAc

Reviews of the IRS’s artificial intelligence and data analytics may be limited under changes implemented by the Trump administration. Story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4nHYMIJ

Congressional Republicans are poised to pass an expansion of a popular 40-year-old tax credit. But shortcomings in data and reporting mean no one is sure exactly how effective it is. The latest from @cadystanton.bsky.social bit.ly/3I6YMlq

The National Taxpayer Advocate calls for improvements to the IRS's FOIA program in her 2026 objectives report to Congress. The report cites the @taxnotes series Faults in FOIA, which highlighted problems with FOIA at the IRS. Read the series: taxnotes.com/tax-notes-ex...

ICYMI: Staffing cuts at the IRS may be limiting oversight of the clean energy credit transfers even before Congress votes on whether to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act provisions that authorized them. Story from @chandrawallace.bsky.social and me: bit.ly/4n2Rn6D

An information sharing agreement between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security allowing the DHS to request address information from the IRS for purposes of immigration enforcement has sowed fear among immigrants, complicating return filing this year. Story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/45vJ64F

President Trump and the GOP have vowed to cut off federal benefits for undocumented immigrants and ensure that funding goes to U.S. citizens in need. The changes would be felt by children who are citizens, experts and advocates say, and tighten eligibility for federal health insurance programs.

Artificial intelligence tools like chatbots are supposed to become more effective over time. Data indicate the IRS’s are getting worse, just as the agency is increasingly relying on them amid staffing cuts. Read @laurenloricchio.bsky.social's latest investigation: www.taxnotes.com/featured-new...

Artificial intelligence tools like chatbots are supposed to become more effective over time. Data indicate the IRS’s are getting worse, just as the agency is increasingly relying on them amid staffing cuts. Story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/3Fk7QSS

Probationary IRS employees who were fired and later placed on paid administrative leave have been directed to return to work by the end of the week. Read more: www.taxnotes.com/featured-new...

The IRS acting chief counsel has indicated that a reduction in force could affect attorney positions in associate chief counsel offices, according to an email obtained by Tax Notes. @laurenloricchio.bsky.social has the story: www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to...

The IRS acting chief counsel has indicated that a reduction in force could affect attorney positions in associate chief counsel offices, according to an email obtained by @taxnotes.com bit.ly/3S7IXfX

White House Pressure Forces Some LB&I Employees Out Now outside the paywall bit.ly/44r0oj7 IRS and Treasury employees can reach @taxnotes.com reporters securely via the Signal app at TaxNotesNews.09

IRS employees in the division responsible for ensuring that large businesses, complex partnerships, and wealthy individuals pay their taxes say pressure from the Trump administration is causing people to leave. Story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4lOC40E

The number of #FOIA requests received by the IRS has been declining, but response times haven’t improved, frustrating tax attorneys who say they may not be able to use records by the time they’re issued. Read the story in @taxnotes.bsky.social bit.ly/4cfxbtg

Changes at the Justice Department Tax Division — including the loss of entry-level attorneys and senior personnel — could affect refund litigation and the tax system as a whole, tax attorneys told Tax Notes. Read more: www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to...

Implementation of the IRS’s return-to-office mandate has been rocky, with inadequate space for some employees and new requirements that requests for disability accommodations get additional levels of approval. Story in @taxnotes.bsky.social bit.ly/4bM2mw8

The loss of employees at the #IRS is becoming noticeable, with tax professionals observing fewer employees available to collect taxes and complete audits. Outside the @taxnotes.bsky.social paywall bit.ly/4iuX22q

Former IRS Chief Human Capital Officer Traci DiMartini said she was placed on leave for resisting the firing of thousands of probationary workers and for delays in onboarding staffers from DOGE. Read more: www.taxnotes.com/featured-new...

Trump administration efforts to use the IRS in its crackdown on undocumented immigrants are giving rise to worry that the government could improperly use tax data to help with deportations. Read more in @taxnotes.bsky.social. Now outside the paywall bit.ly/4bH1lFn

Trump administration efforts to use the IRS in its crackdown on undocumented immigrants are giving rise to worry that the government could improperly use tax data to help with deportations. Check out the story in @taxnotes.bsky.social bit.ly/3DlXtNn

The IRS has been removing and replacing information on its website, sometimes without notice, raising concerns that important public information could be lost. Story in @taxnotes.bsky.social bit.ly/3QKVTYh

Since taking office, the Trump administration and DOGE have been seeking to unilaterally override the spending plans set by Congress. Can they do that under the U.S. Constitution?

The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department is departing after a clash with allies of Elon Musk over access to sensitive payment systems. David A. Lebryk has served in nonpolitical roles at Treasury for several decades. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Sections of the IRS’s Internal Revenue Manual outlining its policies and procedures have disappeared from its website, alarming some tax professionals. @laurenloricchio.bsky.social explains. Read for free: www.taxnotes.com/featured-new...

JUST IN: IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel has announced that he will resign when President-elect Trump is sworn in to ensure a smooth transition for Trump’s choice for commissioner. Read more: www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to...

RIP David Lynch. You were truly one of a kind.

State legislators appear open to accepting tax payments in the form of cryptocurrency in the coming years. Read more: www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to...