Talking Tax

The House Ways and Means Committee is gearing up for a vote on tax legislation this April. A measure to rework parts of the Internal Revenue Service is seen as the likely choice, but other bills to boost retirement savings and renew expired tax breaks are also in the mix. Anything that isn’t included in the markup will have to be addressed later in the year. Bloomberg Tax’s Allyson Versprille and Kaustuv Basu talked about the path forward in the latest episode of Talking Tax. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

Improving the country’s infrastructure system is just one of the possible places where Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin could align with congressional Democrats. An infrastructure plan is a priority in Congress, though there isn’t agreement on funding a package. Mnuchin appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee on March 14. Bloomberg Tax’s Kaustuv Basu and host Amanda Iacone talk about what to take away from the hearings, and what to watch for in the coming weeks, in this episode of Talking Tax. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch,

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will make his first appearance before the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee on March 14 to talk about the administration’s fiscal year 2020 budget. Mnuchin will also appear before the Senate Finance panel the same day. A Ways and Means subcommittee will discuss temporary tax breaks at a hearing March 12. And while the tax-writing committees stay busy, chatter continues about the request for President Donald Trump's tax return. Bloomberg Tax’s Kaustuv Basu and Allyson Versprille talked to host Amanda Iacone about tax policy in Congress. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

The House Ways and Means Committee will have its hands full this week with hearings on the nation's infrastructure needs and the ongoing tax filing season. Lawmakers are likely to butt heads over ideas to pay for better roads and bridges and messaging over the size of taxpayer refunds. Bloomberg Tax’s Allyson Versprille and Kaustuv Basu joined host Amanda Iacone in the latest episode of Talking Tax to lay out the agenda for the week. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

The House Budget Committee will hold a hearing on the 2017 tax law Feb. 27, part of an effort by the Democratic majority in the House to shine a spotlight on the new code and build a case to change provisions. Smaller tax refunds during the current filing season continue to befuddle taxpayers, giving Democrats yet another chance to criticize the new code. Bloomberg Tax’s Kaustuv Basu talked to host Amanda Iacone about tax policy and Congress in the latest episode of Talking Tax. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

A House Ways and Means subcommittee that deals with tax policy is set to hold a hearing on the effects of the 2017 tax law. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of lawmakers want to make a tax break for alcohol producers permanent as some of these companies turn up the heat on Congress. Bloomberg Tax’s Kaustuv Basu and Allyson Versprille joined host Amanda Iacone to discuss the latest in this episode of Talking Tax. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

A House Ways and Means subcommittee will meet Feb. 7 to discuss presidential tax returns, with all eyes on Democrats’ possible plan to request them from Presidential Donald Trump. The committee’s chairman Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.) has taken a measured approach so far. Meanwhile, pressure is building for Congress to renew temporary tax breaks called extenders. Tax filing season lasts into April. Bloomberg Tax reporters Kaustuv Basu and Allyson Versprille joined host Amanda Iacone to talk about the latest in tax developments on Capitol Hill—including the strength of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I.Vt.) estate tax proposal—in this episode of Talking Tax. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

Marc Bekerman joins Andrea L. Ben-Yosef in a two-part podcast about post-mortem estate planning. Marc is a solo practitioner in Long Island, New York, and an adjunct professor of law at New York Law School where he formerly served as the Associate Director of its Graduate Tax Program. Marc is also a member of the Estates Gifts and Trusts Advisory Board for Bloomberg BNA. It may be surprising to know that the death of a person does not end the ability to refine their estate plan. Marc discusses how estate planners can still take actions after a person’s death to maximize the benefit to the beneficiaries. Part 2 covers income tax planning opportunities. Part 1 covered estate tax considerations, such as whether to elect alternate valuation of assets and where and when to deduct administration expenses. Part 1 is available at https://soundcloud.com/user-627250371/fine-tuning-an-estate-plan-after-death-part-1.

Democrats in the House will consider fixing errors in the 2017 Republican tax law but only after “heavy negotiation,” a top Democratic aide said at a Jan. 29 Washington tax conference. Meanwhile, Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) wants to prepare carefully if he moves forward with a request for President Donald Trump’s tax returns. Bloomberg Tax’s Kaustuv Basu joined host Amanda Iacone to talk about tax policy developments in Congress in this episode of Talking Tax. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

The tensions and jousting in Washington in an era of divided government was evident the week of Jan. 14 as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared to decline a request by House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) to testify at a committee hearing on the partial government shutdown and the upcoming tax filing season. The shutdown began Dec. 22. Bloomberg Tax’s Kaustuv Basu joined host Amanda Iacone to talk about what’s brewing in Congress in the latest episode of Talking Tax. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

Congressional steering committees have tapped lawmakers to join the tax-writing panels in the House and Senate, and those new additions are starting to set priorities. Bloomberg Tax’s Lydia O’Neal and Kaustuv Basu join host Amanda Iacone to discuss the news in Congress while negotiations to end the partial government shutdown have stalled. New Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has announced his intent to look into what authority he has to access President Donald Trump’s tax returns, though it is unclear whether he wants to release them or counter efforts by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.). Neal’s committee added new members, including six members of the Progressive Caucus who could shift the panel’s agenda leftward. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

In the third and final episode of The Over/Under, Richard Auxier of the Tax Policy Center gives Bloomberg Tax’s Ryan Prete a 2019 outlook. Next, Ryan discusses a newly released federal sports betting framework. Ryan then takes a look at betting totals from 2018 and gets a 2019 sports betting prediction from Ted Leonsis, owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals. Host: Ryan Prete. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

Marc Bekerman joins Andrea L. Ben-Yosef in a two-part podcast about post-mortem estate planning. Marc is a solo practitioner in Long Island, New York, and an adjunct professor of law at New York Law School where he formerly served as the Associate Director of its Graduate Tax Program. Marc is also a member of the Estates Gifts and Trusts Advisory Board for Bloomberg BNA. It may be surprising to know that the death of a person does not end the ability to refine their estate plan. Marc discusses how estate planners can still take actions after a person’s death to maximize the benefit to the beneficiaries. Part 1 covers estate tax considerations, such as whether to elect alternate valuation of assets and where and when to deduct administration expenses. Part 2 will cover income tax planning opportunities. Part 2 is available at: https://soundcloud.com/user-627250371/fine-tuning-an-estate-plan-after-death-part-2.

Thousands of furloughed employees could soon be called back to join the Internal Revenue Service’s skeleton staff as the partial government shutdown enters its third week. The IRS is poised to release an updated contingency plan for the tax filing season, when more employees will be considered essential and allowed to work during a funding lapse. Bloomberg Tax’s Lydia O’Neal joins host Amanda Iacone to discuss the shutdown and the latest developments on Capitol Hill. Last week, the Senate Finance Committee added some new members, while House Democrats introduced legislation that would require presidential candidates to disclose 10 years of tax returns. In the coming days, watch out for a decision on who will fill open spots on the tax legislation-writing House Ways and Means Committee under new Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass). Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.

The 115th Congress is coming to a close and many of the tax items lawmakers hoped to address during lame-duck are still on the table. Bloomberg Tax’s Allyson Versprille discusses the measures that may get picked up again by the new Congress beginning Jan. 3 and other priorities that could garner bipartisan support in a split Congress. Host: Amanda Iacone. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.