Juneteenth; ERP programs; compliance drift; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.
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The rich are different
Tax Vox : A fashionable theory of how the rich avoid taxes captures something real — but it misses what's mostly going on. Consider two of the wealthiest billionaires in the U.S.: Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. The theory says they never sell their stock and never draw a real salary. Instead, they borrow against their appreciated shares to finance yachts, jets and everything in between. When they die they'll pass their unsold stock to heirs on a "stepped-up" tax basis, resetting the stock's value to its price at their death and wiping out any capital gains during their ownership. Buy, borrow, die? A catchy, scandalous story.ITEP : On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Texas belatedly learned that they were free, an event that is still commemorated as Juneteenth. But if Juneteenth is to mean anything beyond symbolism, it must also be a call to confront the policies that continue to shape racial inequities today. One of the most powerful drivers of that inequity is our tax system.Eide Bailly : With more states introducing taxes and surcharges on millionaires (and billionaires!), and capital gains tax regimes, taxpayers are increasingly asking how (and when) they can change their state tax residency. States like Washington and California are driving many recent conversations around residency and planning. At the same time, proposals targeting high-wealth individuals continue to gain attention, including a high-profile billionaire tax initiative currently under consideration.Trout CPA : Trump accounts were created by the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill to help children build wealth early. Unlike 529 plans, these accounts don't require earned income and funds can eventually be rolled into a traditional or Roth IRA. For many families, especially those with lower incomes, the combination of a government seed contribution and tax‑deferred growth offers a rare opportunity to give kids a financial head start.
Catastrophic violation
Wiss : The call comes from a newly hired executive director inheriting years of compliance drift. Some Form 990 filings were late. Financial records lacked consistent restriction tracking. A board member's company had been providing services to the organization without documented fair market value support. Nothing appears intentionally fraudulent. Much of it is still a problem. This is how exemption risk often develops.The Tax Times : On June 8, a federal judge in Massachusetts vacated President Trump's controversial $100,000 "fee" on certain H‑1B petitions, calling it an unauthorized tax on U.S. employers and setting it aside under the Administrative Procedure Act. The decision in State of California et al. v. Markwayne Mullin et al., Civil No. 25‑13829‑LTS, is a major win for employers that rely on high‑skilled foreign talent.U of I Tax School Blog : What started out as a claim for a refund could potentially be one of the most significant procedure tax cases in recent years. This is why the U.S. courts of Federal Claims decision in the Kwong v. United States case is getting a lot of attention, not because of the underlying facts, but because of how the court interpreted IRS disaster relief authority.-
Baker Tilly : The SEC has proposed rescinding its 2024 climate-related disclosure rules, which were stayed before taking effect. If finalized, the proposal would eliminate the disclosure requirements contained in the rule. The proposal affects public companies that would have been subject to the 2024 climate-related disclosure requirements. It is also relevant to investors, boards of directors, audit committees and corporate reporting functions responsible for SEC disclosures.
Drag on for months
Canopy : Choosing accounting practice management software isn't something most firms do all the time. When they do, the decision touches nearly every part of the business: how work gets assigned and tracked, how clients exchange documents, how invoices go out and how firm leaders stay informed. The right platform clears the path. The wrong one creates a new layer of friction in the form of duplicate data entry, integration headaches and adoption problems that drag on for months.Taxing Subjects : State tax policy continues to move quickly. Legislatures, departments of revenue and courts are addressing pass-through entity taxes, economic nexus, income tax rate reductions, digital products taxation and conformity to recent federal tax legislation. For tax professionals, these developments create both planning opportunities and compliance risks.MeyersBrothersKalicka : Heirs don't have to report inheritances to the IRS. However, an estate's executor must file a final income tax return for the deceased person and, if the estate is large enough, must file an estate tax return and pay estate taxes. If assets produce dividends, interest or other income after they are inherited, that income is usually subject to income tax and must be reported. If an inherited asset is sold, generally tax on any gains will be owed — but only to the extent attributable to appreciation after the asset is inherited.
Can we trust it?
Sovos : Transactions: Are they taxable or exempt? If taxable, at what rate? Does the customer's intended use matter? Is there pending legislation that may change the answer? These are just some of the questions sales tax practitioners face on a daily basis. AI can cut time spent on researching legislation, laws and regulations as opposed to starting the process manually from scratch. But can we trust it?Yeo and Yeo : It seems like every conversation about the future of work eventually turns to artificial intelligence. Some people see AI as a revolutionary tool that will unlock new levels of productivity and innovation. Others worry about job displacement, workforce disruption and what role people will play in an increasingly automated world. As with most major workplace shifts, the truth is somewhere in the middle.National Association of Tax Professionals : The IRS recently announced the creation of the Tax Professional Management Office, a new office intended to improve coordination between the agency and the tax professional community. Effective June 28, the TPMO will oversee the Return Preparer Office and the Office of Professional Responsibility. Although the change doesn't create new requirements for tax professionals, the IRS believes that it will strengthen its engagement with practitioners and improve internal operations.Vertex : In many ERP programs, tax is simply introduced too late. By the time tax requirements are fully understood, core system decisions have already been made, from data structures to integrations and workflows. At that point, what could have been designed into the foundation becomes something teams have to retrofit. That shift — from design to retrofit — is where complexity begins, leading to rework, project delays and increased cost as teams try to adapt systems that were never built to support tax requirements in the first place.
