March 16, 2023
Closing the Earned Income Tax Credit Audit ‘Doom Loop’
The American Prospect
Quoted: Kathleen Bryant and Chye-Ching Huang explained what might be causing disparities between Black and non-Black tax filers in the IRS's audit selection process, and discussed their report that offers next steps for policymakers.
March 13, 2023
Some Universities to Miss Out on Monetizing Clean Energy Tax Credits
Bloomberg Tax
Quoted: Mike Kaercher discussed the importance of providing instrumentalities access to the IRA's direct pay provision.
March 6, 2023
Report: Changes Needed to Address Racial Bias in Audit Selection
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang summarized a recent working paper that found racial audit disparities between Black and non-Black tax filers in the audit selection process, and discussed a report co-authored with Kathleen Bryant that offers next steps for policymakers to address the findings.
February 24, 2023
Conservative Group Targets Treasury’s Equity Plan
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang on the importance of examining features of the IRS’s algorithm for selecting tax returns for audits for potential bias.
February 23, 2023
Werfel’s Promised Report on Racial Disparities Seen as First Step
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Quoted: Kathleen Bryant spoke about how the IRS needs to take action in response to a recent study that identified significant racial disparities between Black and non-Black tax filers in the audit selection process.
February 20, 2023
Legislative and Interpretive Tax Rules and Rulemaking
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Authors: Peter Richman and Taylor Cranor examine the role of the Administrative Procedure Act’s distinction between legislative and interpretive rules in the federal tax system. After reviewing some recent high-profile litigation addressing this issue, they explore potential options for the government to bring greater certainty to the tax regulatory process.
February 15, 2023
Purpose “Unknown”: Proposed Forms Would Undermine Corporate Transparency Act’s Ownership Reporting Regime
Just Security
Author: Sophia Yan explains the reasons why the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)’s proposed forms implementing the CTA’s beneficial ownership reporting regime would undermine the purpose of the new law.
November 28, 2022
ABA Tax Section Applauds Continued Use of Videoconferencing by Appeals
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Mentioned: The Tax Law Center’s comment, which articulates why the proposed regulations regarding the IRS Independent Office of Appeals correctly exclude from Appeals’ consideration (1) decisions regarding certain types of letter rulings; and (2) certain cases concerning challenges to the constitutionality of a statute or the validity of regulations or administrative guidance. The comment also recommends strengthening the second exclusion.
November 23, 2022
Tax Law Center Recommends Increased Limitations on Mega-IRAs
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Mentioned: The Tax Law Center recommended Treasury to strengthen protections against investments in non-public assets and self-dealing in “Mega-Roths” in a comment on the fiscal 2024 green book.
October 31, 2022
IRS finds number of unpaid taxes rises, fueling growth of 'tax gap'
The National Desk
Quoted: Kathleen Bryant explains the importance of strengthening information reporting requirements and the Inflation Reduction Act's investment in the IRS for reducing tax non-compliance.
October 13, 2022
SEC Statement Highlights Role of Auditors in Corporate AMT Regime
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Quoted: Peter Richman mentions the important role of auditors and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in the new corporate AMT regime and Treasury’s authority under section 56A(c)(15)(A) “to address any issues that might flow from fraud or nonfraudulent misstatements.”
October 11, 2022
Researchers Eye Transparency in Clean Energy Tax Credits
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Quoted: Michael Kaercher said that Treasury should adopt appropriate recordkeeping and information reporting requirements to ensure compliance with the law, and to evaluate the impacts of the climate tax provisions.
September 29, 2022
EY Asks Treasury to Exempt More M&A Gains From Corporate AMT
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Mentioned: The Tax Law Center’s comment letter with initial recommendations for guidance concerning corporate alternative minimum tax implementation.
September 26, 2022
The 2022 Corporate AMT
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Mentioned: In the Tax Law Center’s blog piece, “Last Corporate Tax Provision Standing: The Corporate Minimum Tax,” authors Chye-Ching Huang, Peter Richman, and Sophia Yan describe the corporate minimum tax as imperfect but a sound compromise, given political constraints.
September 8, 2022
Backlog Thwarted IRS’s ‘Well-Planned’ IT Modernization Strategy
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang explains how a new Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) report underscores the importance of stable, long-term funding to rebuild the IRS.
September 6, 2022
How I Learned to Stop Worrying about Stock Buybacks
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Mentioned: Peter Richman’s “Tax Notes cover article” was referenced as an example of a proposal to regulate buybacks.
August 26, 2022
Despite U.S. stalling, global-minimum-tax plan rolls forward elsewhere
National Journal (Subscription required)
Quoted: David Kamin and Rose Jenkins discuss the path forward for the global minimum tax.
August 18, 2022
Tax Specialists Seek IRS Guidance on New Stock Buyback Tax
Bloomberg Tax (Subscription required)
Quoted: Peter Richman notes how the IRS and Treasury will have to determine what constitutes an “economically similar” transaction for purposes of the newly enacted excise tax on stock buybacks.
August 18, 2022
Armed ... auditors? The IRS becomes the latest target of GOP misinformation
The Guardian
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang explains how the Inflation Reduction Act is intended to reverse the disproportionate decrease in audits for high-income individuals and higher-wealth businesses.
August 17, 2022
Tim Scott mangles false GOP talking point on IRS hounding average taxpayers
PolitiFact
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang explains the misleading use of analysis from a 2021 Joint Committee on Taxation letter.
August 13, 2022
Billions in New IRS Funding Won’t Be Easy to Spend
Wall Street Journal (Subscription required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang notes limitations on government pay compared to the private sector as a factor in assessing performance.
August 11, 2022
What the Inflation Reduction Act does and doesn't do about rising prices
NPR
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang notes that the tax increases on corporations are unlikely to have a significant impact on wages, based on recent evidence.
August 11, 2022
Democrats Play Whack-a-Mole as GOP Rages Against IRS Funding
Tax Notes (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang and Michael Kaercher discuss the impact of IRS funding provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.
August 9, 2022
Estate Tax Proposal Could Lead to Disparities, Lawyers Say
Bloomberg Tax (Subscription required)
Quoted: In a comment, Tabetha Peavey made recommendations on how the IRS and Treasury could modify a deathbed transfer rule in their anti-abuse estate tax guidance to “make the application of the Proposed Regulations consistent across similarly situated taxpayers”.
August 8, 2022
A Regulatory Proposal For Stock Buybacks
Tax Notes
Author: Peter Richman proposes regulatory and subregulatory reforms to improve the federal income tax treatment of corporate stock buybacks.
August 6, 2022
Democrats Eye a Major Shift in How Corporations Are Taxed
New York Times
Quoted: Peter Richman talks about the corporate minimum tax.
August 4, 2022
Senate Democrats’ spending bill is raising corporate tax questions
Marketplace Morning Report
Interviewed: Chye-Ching Huang on the benefits included in the Inflation Reduction Act for low- and middle-income filers.
August 2, 2022
Funding in Democratic bill could help IRS close $200B-plus tax gap
The National Desk
Quoted: Michael Kaercher explains the need for the IRS funding proposal in the Inflation Reduction Act.
August 1, 2022
Manchin fends off GOP attacks that his $740 billion climate and healthcare bill would raise taxes on Americans
Business Insider
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang notes how the legislation includes substantial tax benefits to help households afford health insurance coverage, as well as clean energy efficient homes and vehicles.
August 1, 2022
Expensing and loopholes: Gaming out what's next for the Democrats' tax plans
POLITICO Pro (Subscription required)
Mentioned: David Kamin argued corporations are able to pay less than the statutory 21 percent through a menu of actions under current law
August 1, 2022
Tax Orgs Split on Deathbed Planning Rule in Anti-Clawback Regs
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Mentioned: In a comment, Tabetha Peavey made recommendations on how the IRS and Treasury could modify a deathbed transfer rule in their anti-abuse estate tax guidance.
July 28, 2022
The huge, hidden bonanza in getting Joe Manchin to yes
Washington Post
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang notes that IRS funding in the proposed reconciliation package aims to ensure wealthy filers and large corporations pay taxes owed under the law.
July 27, 2022
One more reconciliation curveball?
POLITICO Pro (Subscription required)
Quoted: Michael Kaercher on Sen. Toomey and Sen. Sinema’s latest crypto tax proposal.
July 24, 2022
Biden's global promises held back by politics at home
Washington Post
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang notes the rockier path forward on international corporate tax reform.
July 14, 2022
Land Conservation Tax Break Under Increasing Scrutiny
Bloomberg Tax: Talking Tax Podcast
Interviewed: Tabetha Peavey explains what syndicated conservation easements are, how they work, and the work the IRS has done about them.
June 13, 2022
White House Adviser Hopeful US Follows EU On Minimum Tax
Law360 (Subscription required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang spoke on a panel about current tax laws for US multinationals and proposals to change them.
June 13, 2022
Oh my: BBB, international tax and Wayfair
POLITICO
Mentioned: Chye-Ching Huang's and Rose Jenkins’ paper, co-authored with Wendy Edelberg and focused on key proposals related to the international corporate tax system.
May 19, 2022
Watchdog report finds IRS conducting fewer audits, especially on wealthy
The National Desk
Quoted: Kathleen Bryant, on the revenue lost from lower audit rates on higher-income tax filers and the need for additional IRS funding.
May 16. 2022
Panelists Trash IRS’s EITC Correspondence Audit Process
Tax Notes (Subscription required)
Quoted: Kathleen Bryant explains the complexity of the correspondence audit process, which is especially challenging for tax filers with low incomes to navigate.
April 20, 2022
IRS woes continue as agency pleads for more funding to handle your taxes
The National Desk
Quoted: Mike Kaercher explains the need for stable, long-term funding for the IRS to modernize and improve tax administration
April 14, 2022
How companies like Amazon, Nike and FedEx avoid paying federal taxes
CNBC
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang was interviewed for this video, which aims to explain how companies avoid paying federal taxes.
April 12, 2022
Proposed Payment Watchdog Could Pose Tax Privacy Risk
Law360 (Subscription required)
Quoted: Kathleen Bryant, on needed statutory changes that can reduce error rates for refundable credits.
April 12, 2022
How Strengthening the Corporate Transparency Act Can Help the IRS Follow the Money
Just Security
Author: Sophia Yan explains the critical role of the IRS in enforcing sanctions and combatting illicit financial activity, and how lawmakers and regulators can help by strengthening the Corporate Transparency Act.
March 23, 2022
IRS unit gets no funds to enforce sanctions on rich Russians
AP News
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang, explaining that the IRS Criminal Investigation division, and the agency at large, needs adequate funding given the federal government’s reliance on the IRS during national and international emergencies.
February 26, 2022
A New Limit on Monetizing Divisive Reorganizations
Tax Notes
Author: Peter Richman analyzes a proposal in the Build Back Better Act that would significantly change the tax treatment of corporate spinoffs.
February 22, 2022
Weekly tax: How much do you like those credits?
POLITICO
Quoted: Rose Jenkins, on the interaction of the undertaxed payment rule and credits.
February 15, 2022
Social Spending Plan's Demise Risks Reviving ACA 'Tax Cliff'
Law360
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang, noting that using the tax code to administer social benefits can get more complicated if the funds are targeted towards specific costs.
February 14, 2022
Shale King Harold Hamm Is Passing Billions to His Heirs Tax-Free
Bloomberg
Quoted: Tabetha Peavey on how wealthy families evade estate taxes using holes in the tax system.
February 3, 2022
Global Tax Deal Would Undercut U.S. Tax Breaks, Businesses Warn
Wall Street Journal
Quoted: Rose Jenkins, on the interaction of the global tax deal with US credits.
December 31, 2021
Tax Professionals to Follow on Social Media in 2022
Bloomberg Tax
Mentioned: Chye-Ching Huang (@dashching) as someone to follow on Twitter for tax news and information.
November 19, 2021
Taxing Back Better
Vox: The Weeds
Interview: Chye-Ching Huang discusses the tax provisions in the Build Back Better package.
November 19, 2021
Kevin McCarthy misleads about Build Back Better legislation and IRS audits
PolitiFact
Quoted: Michael Kaercher points to language in the Build Back Better as well as other administration statements and notes that "funding [for the IRS] will likely increase audit rates, but those increases will be directed to large corporations and high-income filers."
November 19, 2021
Op-ed: As Democrats score a big BBB win, Republicans unleash the dumbest attack ever
Washington Post
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang noting "The 2017 tax law capping the SALT deduction was used to pay for tax cuts that were overall even more tilted to the wealthiest filers."
November 18, 2021
Ultra-Rich Skip Estate Tax and Spark 50% Collapse in IRS Revenue
Bloomberg Wealth
Quoted: Tabetha Peavey explains that recent aggressive estate planning was spurred by the higher tax exemption enacted in 2017 and fears of near-term rule tightening.
October 28, 2021
How Biden’s $2 Trillion in Tax Increases Target Companies and the Rich
New York Times
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang, on the proposal for a minimum tax on corporations, cautions that “financial statements where book income is reported could become the new ‘locus for tax avoidance.’”
October 25, 2021
Ultrawealthy foreigners are hiding their millions in the US, and they're going to keep getting away with it until Congress does something about it
Business Insider
Author: Chye-Ching Huang points to ways US lawmakers can respond to the Pandora Papers by tackling tax evasion and corruption: including disclosure of the ownership of certain entities, information reporting on certain financial accounts, and improving taxation of trusts and partnerships.
October 15, 2021
IRS reform proposal would not require banks to hand over info on routine transactions
PolitiFact
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang explains the information-collecting proposal for the IRS is limited to an annual snapshot of only two numbers on covered accounts: (1) the total amount flowing in over a year and (2) the total amount flowing out.
October 15, 2021
Billionaires Barely Pay Taxes — Here’s How They Get Away With It
Teen Vogue
Interview: Chye-Ching Huang explains how income from wealth is taxed differently than income from work in ways that allow some people to pay little or no income tax on vast incomes.
October 12, 2021
What’s Behind the Tax Deal of the Century
Barron's
Author: Chye-Ching Huang explains a “once-in-a-century moment” that sees countries embracing a more constructive approach to the complicated economics and politics of taxing cross-border business.
October 7, 2021
Biden wants IRS to monitor people’s bank accounts more closely — will it catch tax cheats, or invade privacy?
MarketWatch
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang comments on how a proposal to require limited information reporting on financial accounts is “a critical part of the compliance effort” to ensure that taxes owed under law are paid.
September 29, 2021
Key Biden Administration Pieces Still Missing Ahead of Reg Surge
Tax Notes (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang notes the high expectations on the tax regulatory process no matter the outcome of ongoing reconciliation negotiations, and the need to implement a new analytical framework for assessing tax regulations as soon as possible.
September 24, 2021
White House Puts New Numbers on Tax Rates of the Ultrarich
Tax Notes (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang, “…A big source of income of the wealthy that’s invisible to the tax code [i.e., capital gains and step-up basis] is also… invisible to lawmakers and the public, because data…don’t show how low tax rates on this income undermine a supposedly progressive federal income tax.”
September 19, 2021
How Accounting Giants Craft Favorable Tax Rules From Inside Government
New York Times
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang notes the Treasury and IRS must rely in part on lawyers with private sector experience to understand how companies and wealthy individuals navigate around the tax code, “If you want to know where the bodies are buried, you’ve got to get some of those people.”
September 16, 2021
Democrats may leave a tax loophole billionaires love untouched. Closing it would dent the fortunes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
Business Insider
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang, "The [current] proposal fails to end the ability of the wealthiest filers to go through life without paying any taxes on the vast bulk of their incomes from assets, and this should be revisited as the reconciliation process continues."
September 15, 2021
In House Tax Bill, Companies Get Return of Higher Rates but Not the Breaks
Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang clarifies that the Democratic proposals in the House raise the domestic tax rate on corporations but also raise the cost of generating profits in low-tax jurisdictions, because “The direction these proposals are going is to reduce the gap.”
September 14, 2021
The Expanded Child Tax Credit Was a Godsend to Struggling Families. Will Democrats Save It?
The New Republic
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang cites new research that “the impact of lifting children out of poverty has really long-reaching benefits” and responds to concerns the Child Tax Credit disincentivizes recipients from working, noting that those who do leave the workforce tend to do so only temporarily for reasons including caregiving.
September 14, 2021
House Bill Raises Chance for Global Pact to Curb Corporate Tax Havens
New York Times
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang cautioned that retaining some benefits in the current House proposal could be “an incentive to locate profits and investments offshore” and argued that the plan should be strengthened.
September 13, 2021
Wyden Looks to Tighten Rules Partnerships Use to Sidestep Taxes
Tax Notes (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang, “Underreporting of [business] income is ~1/4 of the tax gap, and a big reason why the top 1%, who disproportionately get income from sources like partnerships that aren’t well-reported on and not well-audited, are responsible for 27% or more of taxes not paid.”
August 12, 2021
Infrastructure Bill's Crypto Crackdown May Yet Be Tamed
Law360 (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang. No matter the ultimate decision on who is defined as “broker,” lawmakers and the White House can ensure “people involved with crypto pay the taxes they owe, like everybody else.”
August 10, 2021
Crypto Industry Finds Bright Side after Infra Bill Amendment Fails
Cryptonews
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang explained that details on which cryptocurrency players will be required to report to the IRS are the type of tax administration decisions that can be made well by Treasury when implementing regulations.
July 28, 2021
Republican fear of taxes helps the rich, hurts the rest
The Jerusalem Post
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang. The underfunded IRS is “increasingly unable to detect or address blatant tax cheating by high-income filers and the largest businesses.”
July 28, 2021
What Can The IRS Do To Enforce Tax Laws?
NPR
Interviewed: Chye-Ching Huang discusses the impact of budget cuts to the IRS.
July 8, 2021
An ugly new right-wing attack poses a test for populists like J.D. Vance
Washington Post
Mentioned: Chye-Ching Huang notes that more IRS spending would make it less likely that “honest filers” face “unnecessary audits,” because it would allow for beefed-up staff and technology that better “targets audits to tax cheats.”
June 7, 2021
Biden wants to raise corporate taxes. He might need the world's help.
Vox
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang explains, via recent testimony before the US Senate, how despite provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to get at some international corporate profits, “multinationals still shift hundreds of billions in profits offshore each year.”
June 2, 2021
Billionaires are racing to sidestep President Biden's plan to raise their taxes
Vox recode
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang noted that research on previous capital gains hikes shows there is often a temporary spike in realizations in the year before the new tax takes effect.
May 4, 2021
Biden tax rule would rip billions from the biggest fortunes at death
Bloomberg Tax (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang, “There are ways to draft and implement [an effective tax on capital gains] so it doesn’t allow for large, inefficient tax shelters.”
April 29, 2021
Biden's Capital-Gains Tax Plan Would Upend Estate Planning by the Wealthy
Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang on the current treatment of capital gains, “It’s one of the biggest, most inefficient and hardest-to-justify tax breaks that exists in the code. There’s just a tiny, tiny sliver of people that have that kind of gain.”
April 27, 2021
Biden Seeks $80 Billion to Beef Up I.R.S. Audits of High-Earners
New York Times
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang, on a proposal to ramp up the IRS’ funding and authority: “The plan is good news for honest filers and businesses, the budget, and the rule of law. Stopping tax cheats from having an unfair advantage helps honest businesses to compete and thrive.”
April 22, 2021
STEP Act Highlights Difficulty of Tackling Stepped-Up Basis
Tax Notes (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang praised the proposed Sensible Taxation and Equity Promotion (STEP) Act, particularly the provisions directed at trusts, for “filling out, in a very thoughtful way… detailed design decisions that are needed to turn this… policy into sound, workable law.”
April 16, 2021
Biden plan may not guarantee more big firms pay taxes
Washington Post
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang noted that many of the Fortune 500 corporations not currently paying federal tax would face higher tax burdens under the administration’s proposal to increase taxes on overseas earnings.
April 9, 2021
Biden Seeks 10% IRS Funding Hike to Spur More Audits of Wealthy
Bloomberg Tax (Subscription Required)
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang emphasized the importance of funding the IRS: “You can change the underlying tax rules in a way that makes gaming less attractive” but you also need “a basic functioning tax revenue collection system to ensure that those rules are followed.”
March 29, 2021
Biden's next big move could blow up one of the silliest myths in D.C.
Washington Post
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang, “We just don’t see in the historical record that tax increases lead to reduced jobs.” Rather, as also seen in several other countries, high-end tax hikes support public investments that “strengthen economies in a way that benefits workers and families.”
March 29, 2021
Booker, Van Hollen, and Colleagues Announce New Legislation to Close the Stepped-Up Basis Tax Loophole
Insider NJ
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang calls the STEP proposal “a big step in addressing one of the most inefficient and inequitable tax breaks on income generated by extraordinary fortunes” and applauds its “sound solutions to the detailed technical decisions” needed for implementation.
March 12, 2021
The IRS is behind in processing nearly 7 million tax returns, slowing refunds as it implements new stimulus
Washington Post
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang comments on the IRS’ plight: “When you take so much money out of an agency, it will do less with less, and that’s showing up across the [agency] — from the time it takes to process a return to how many calls it can answer to lower enforcement.”
March 11, 2021
A new attack on Biden's stimulus gives Democrats a way to call the GOP's bluff
Washington Post
Quoted: Chye-Ching Huang's op-ed is cited for laying out a good case for IRS reform and the need for a multiyear stream of funding to rebuild, modernize, and fortify the agency.
March 10, 2021
How Biden Funds His Next Bill: Shrink the $7.5 Trillion Tax Gap
New York Times
Author: Chye-Ching Huang explains how adequately funding the IRS would increase tax compliance, raise revenue, and help honest filers and businesses.
January 26, 2021
The new Tax Law Center at NYU Law aims to protect and strengthen the tax system
NYU School of Law
Mentioned: With Chye-Ching Huang at the helm, the new Tax Law Center at NYU Law, conceived by NYU faculty, Lily Batchelder and David Kamin, will bring a public interest perspective to tax law issues that have profound implications for government, businesses, and individuals.
2021
Get Wealthy Americans to Pay Their Taxes
Bloomberg Businessweek
Author: Chye-Ching Huang. New estimates show more than 20% of wealthy people’s income goes unreported. Yet rates of audits on highest-income individuals and wealthy corporations has been cut in half since 2010. It is time to rebuild an underfunded IRS.