POLITICS & GOVERNMENT Archives - Page 4 of 38

Accountants Turn Negative Amid Tariffs, Trade, Uncertainty

April 13, 2025

Survey respondents aren’t shy about placing blame.

By CPA Trendlines Research

If you’re getting a little nervous about the general business environment, you’re not alone.

The 2025 CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer has picked up a serious swing toward pessimism among the professionals who know the numbers.

MORE Barometer: What CPA Firms Could Do Better | SURVEY: Which Client Industries Will Grow This Year | Tax Preparers Share Advice for Your Clients | Staffing, Tech, Prices Top Tax Pros’ Concerns | Tax Pros Gear Up for a Better Busy Season | Tax Season 2025 Begins. Ready or Not. | MORE Surveys & Research
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Before the inauguration, the outlook for the nation’s economy was moderately hunky-dory. Almost 60 percent of respondents predicted the economy would get better over the next 12-18 months. Only 26 percent figured it would get worse.

Pessimism Doubles

That was then. This is now. By the Ides of March, 68 percent saw an economic downturn, and only 21 percent were optimistic. Now, by the second week of April, 74 percent are hunkering in the pessimist camp. In fact, the share of those who fear things will get “much worse” has doubled from 14.5 to 29 percent.

Talk Politics Professionally | Transformation Talks

March 27, 2025

By Center for Accounting Transformation

“Politics affects tax laws, compliance, and financial decisions. We can’t afford to ignore it.”

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, Gaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).

Transformation Talks
With Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

Politics and business have always been intertwined, but today’s climate of deep division presents new challenges for accounting professionals. Whether discussing tax policy, compliance, or broader economic issues, accountants often find themselves in conversations that can quickly become contentious.

MORE TRANSFORMATION TALKS

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In this episode of Transformation Talks, host Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA leads a discussion with Brian Tankersley, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Ron Baker, CPA (inactive), and Amy Welch, APR, CAE, on how accountants can navigate political differences while maintaining professionalism, respect, and productive dialogue.

Why Chaos at the IRS Spells New Work for Tax Professionals

March 21, 2025

By Eric Green

The three key IRS tools every pro must learn today.

By Eric L. Green, LLM

Between all of the back-and-forth between DOGE and the IRS, not to mention travel and credit line reductions, it raises questions about what exactly the fate of the IRS will be.

MORE: The IRS Tidal Wave Is Here | S Corp Clients Beware | Four Ways to Handle Federal Tax Liens | The IRS Is Coming! Get Your Clients into Compliance | Tax Chat: Eric Green Reveals The Tax Rep Guide to Tax Season | What I Wish Clients Knew about Tax Liens | Tax: Explaining the Bad News about Canceled Debt to Clients | Offers in Compromise Aren’t for Everyone
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In fact, the latest announcement is to cut the IRS by 50 percent by the end of 2025. So, if you are wondering just what the heck the game plan is, you are not alone. After speaking with close colleagues inside the IRS, I can say it is basically chaos at the moment.

Gaps Galore at the IRS

March 12, 2025

By CPA Trendlines Research

Some of the fixes are simple.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The word “gap” occurs 28 times in the National Taxpayers Advocate’s 2024 Annual Report to Congress. The report highlights a wide and crippling assortment of gaps in America’s favorite tax agency.

A tax gap
A salary gap

MORE: Is Voluntary Disclosure of Tax Noncompliance Working? | IRS Needs to Work Better with Its Workers | Why ITIN Applications Get Delayed | The Ouches of the Tax ‘Practitioner’ Scam | Could the IRS Do Better with the Phones? | IRS Sluggish on Identity Theft | Tax Preparers Share Advice for Your Clients | Check These 41 Items on Business Tax Returns | IRS Must Speed Up Tax Return Processing | First Tax Filing Reports Are In | Cut Down Your Tax Work in Progress | More Than 1 Million ERC Claims Still Not Processed
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A tax pro oversight gap
A hiring data gap

Is Voluntary Disclosure of Tax Noncompliance Working?

March 7, 2025

By CPA Trendlines Research

Maybe a better question: Is the IRS trying to make it not work?

By CPA Trendlines Research

For more than two decades, the IRS has been allowing tax dodgers to admit their delinquency and pay their back taxes, interest and penalties without fear of criminal prosecution. Reaping the revenues was preferred over locking people up.

But times have changed.

MORE: IRS Needs to Work Better with Its Workers | Why ITIN Applications Get Delayed | The Ouches of the Tax ‘Practitioner’ Scam | Could the IRS Do Better with the Phones? | IRS Sluggish on Identity Theft | Tax Preparers Share Advice for Your Clients | Check These 41 Items on Business Tax Returns | IRS Must Speed Up Tax Return Processing | First Tax Filing Reports Are In | Cut Down Your Tax Work in Progress | Steve Yoss: Unlocking Business Insight with Power BIs | Quick Tax Tip | More Than 1 Million ERC Claims Still Not Processed | Art Werner: The Godfather and Tax Issues | Quick Tax Tip
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This act of grace is called the Voluntary Disclosure Practice (VDP). The purpose is to induce the intentionally noncompliant to come forth with what they owe and come back into the fold of patriots who support their nation. In essence, the VDP is an escape hatch out of the crime of tax evasion.
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