Tax professionals are so busy during tax season, they barely have time to eat, and quick meals usually involve unhealthy fast food.
A new report,
Fast, but unhealthy meals are frequently the only food options around during the tax season crunch, with 27% saying they replace full meals with snacks like granola bars. Female respondents were 20% more likely than male respondents to eat snacks as meals. Convenience was another big theme, with 24% turning to frozen meals and 36% eating fried, fatty, sugary comfort foods.
Tax professionals indicated they would like balance and better food options, and 37% desire more accessible healthy food during tax season, while 31% wish restaurant meals were more available. Gen X respondents were 86% more likely than Gen Z to turn to comfort food during the busy season.
Firms are generally expected to provide the meals for free. An overwhelming 98% of tax professionals who get free meals during tax seasons said it makes them feel appreciated. 66% of those fed for free say it helps them eat healthier food, and over half (55%) who don't get free meals say they would feel less stressed if they did.
Indeed the abundance of free food makes long hours feel less grueling, with 82% of those given free meals during busy seasons saying it provides a break from their work, while 75% indicated it encourages them to interact with other employees, and 72% of those provided with free meals said it enables them to work extra hours.
"When meals are provided to tax professionals, they can take a much-needed pause in their day to take a breath, connect with colleagues, and, most importantly, eat," said Diane Swint, chief revenue officer at ezCater, in a statement Tuesday. "The takeaway for employers is that providing meals for their staff makes them feel appreciated, keeps them fueled, and can serve as a powerful retention tool. In fact, seven in 10 people surveyed say free meals during tax season make them more likely to stay at their current company."
Corporate tax challenges
Separately, Bloomberg Tax & Accounting released its own
Tax professionals noted increasing pressure to comply with complex tax regulations, while roughly half of the survey respondents believe their companies face greater tax-related risk now than five years ago. While this number is on a downward trend, a majority of participants expect more aggressive enforcement from taxing authorities.The survey also found that many corporate tax departments are investing in technology and automation to help them manage the increasing volume of data and comply with regulatory requirements. Additionally, tax departments are also focusing on building stronger relationships with other departments within their organizations to improve communication and collaboration.
Some 45% of the respondents cited the overall compliance burden as being the top challenge their department faces, while nearly three-quarters (73%) reported that keeping up with reporting and control requirements related to tax has become somewhat or much more difficult. Bloomberg surveyed nearly 400 tax managers, directors, vice presidents, and C-suite executives in public and private companies across the U.S.
At 41% each, management of tax data and legislative tracking tied for the second biggest challenge within tax departments in 2022. Despite ongoing global and local tax reforms, legislative tracking — which was last year's top challenge at 56% — dropped to be on equal footing with the other issues in 2022. On the other hand, the problem of managing tax data has increased since 2021 (41% versus 33%, respectively). Private corporations and tax departments with 10 or fewer employees were more likely to report that managing tax data was an issue. In fourth place, implementing new technology was cited as a top challenge by 38% of the respondents, a slight decrease from a high of 45% in 2020 and 2018. Midsized tax departments and those in the manufacturing industry were the most concerned with implementing new or better technologies.
"Our annual survey provides valuable insights into corporate tax leaders' top priorities and areas of focus as they navigate today's environment of constant change and work toward automating their departments' workflows," said Lisa Fitzpatrick, president of Bloomberg Tax & Accounting, in a statement. "Corporate tax leaders are exploring tools and technologies to transform how their teams work, while they continue to face challenges in recruiting and retaining tax talent."
Taxpayer pressures
Taxpayers as always are facing their own challenges this tax season. According to a new
Overall, nearly one-quarter (24%) expect a smaller refund this year compared to last year, given the expiration of many pandemic-related tax benefits last year. Survey respondents said they estimate receiving approximately $1,560 this year. (In contrast, the average refund in 2022 was $3,176, according to the IRS, while the average in 2021 was $2,791.) Some 28% of the respondents don't expect to receive a refund at all this year.
Two out of 10 of the respondents said they plan to spend their tax refund as soon as they receive it, while 36% said they plan to save it. Similarly, two out of 10 respondents plan to spend their refund on essentials like groceries and gas, while 25% say they'll use their refund to pay debts like credit cards and student loans.
Among the top reasons why Americans procrastinate on filing their taxes, 48% say it's too complicated and stressful, 37% say it's too time consuming, and more than one-quarter (28%) say they're not in a rush to file because they won't get a refund. Over two-thirds of the respondents (69%) don't know the Tax Day deadline happens on April 18 this year.
The top five states with the most tax-filing procrastinators, according to the survey, were California at No. 1, followed by Colorado (2), Georgia (3), Washington (4) and Maryland (5).
