In the blogs: To put it simply

Incentives and resistance; inspiring staff ambition; the keys to change; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

To put it simply

• Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): Favorite headline of the week: "IRS Announces Simple Notice Initiative; Boy, Is It Needed."
• Gordon Law (https://gordonlawltd.com/blog/): There's been an increase recently in IRS CP2000 notices, particularly affecting users of Robinhood and BlockFi. What to tell affected clients.
• Procedurally Taxing (https://www.taxnotes.com/procedurally-taxing): Various parties regularly sue the IRS in state court, and the agency, through its attorneys at the Justice Department, regularly removes suits from state to federal court. But in McEachern v. McEachern, "a quiet title action," the federal district court refused to accept the removal because the request to remove was filed too late.
• National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): This week's "You Make the Call" looks at Joe, a new tax pro who agrees to represent Wanda, a friend who is not his client, in an IRS audit of her small sole proprietorship. The IRS is requesting all actual receipts for her claimed business expenses. Wanda explains that she scans her receipts into commercially available software as she receives them and then all physical receipts are shredded. Will the IRS accept printouts from the software? 
• Summing It Up (http://blog.freedmaxick.com/summing-it-up): The Community Reinvestment Act, enacted in 1977, requires federal banking regulators to encourage financial institutions to help meet credit needs of communities in which they do business. A look at provisions of the new rule that reflect the current CRA regulations and that become effective this April.
• Vertex (https://www.vertexinc.com/resources/resource-library/filter/field_asset_type/blog?page=0): A recent webinar digs into year-end sales tax rates and rules, including a record number of increases, decreases and new taxes coming online in districts, cities, other locales and states — and a 10-year high.
• Peisner Johnson (https://peisnerjohnson.com/blog/): Before the Empire State Strikes Back Dept.: The ins and outs of New York sales and use tax.
• Taxjar (https://www.taxjar.com/resources/blog): Does North Dakota charge sales tax on services?
• Virginia – U.S. Tax Talk (https://us-tax.org/about-this-us-tax-blog/): "Related troubles" of when foreigners die holding American assets.

Wydening the gap

• Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox): The tax plan drafted by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Missouri, has re-ignited debate over about whether a generous Child Tax Credit would prompt people to leave the workforce. "Some of these claims lack context that both policymakers and taxpayers should understand."
• Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (https://itep.org/category/blog/): Does an income of $250,000 constitute "rich?" Does $400,000? Those are the floors set by Presidents Obama and Biden on who would be affected by the tax increases they proposed. But one reason people resist being labeled "rich" is that a lot of them do still work for a living. 
• Global Taxes (https://www.globaltaxes.com/blog.php): Wyden has joined 15 Democratic senators in introducing the Billionaires Income Tax Act, a bill to close tax loopholes for the ultrawealthy. The legislation could also effectively increase the "exit tax" on wealthy people who want to expatriate.
• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): Kansas has begun another legislative session under politically divided government. Republicans hold a slim supermajority in the legislature and the Democratic governor is starting her second term. The state has substantial cash reserves, but one party's plan for income tax reform seems to promote greater long-term economic growth.

Unto the breach

• Marcum (https://www.marcumllp.com/insights): January's Big Four cyberattacks, starting with a breach of Microsoft.
• Withum (https://www.withum.com/resources/): Employees Must Wash Their Data Dept.: How to practice good "cyber-hygiene."
• Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): The enticement of quick cash or some other benefit, coupled with a lack of understanding of how economics works, makes it easy for marketing ploys such as the one recently used by Liberty Tax to succeed. 

R you ready?

• Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/us/en/blog.html): How tax teams can manage exempt items more efficiently, starting with automation.
• The Rosenberg Associates (https://rosenbergassoc.com/blog/): Workplace ambition is declining, surveys say. How managers can address this problem at the individual staff level.
• Sovos (https://sovos.com/blog/): CFOs are pivotal in steering companies, and one crux of their responsibilities is tax compliance. A survey delves into how CFOs perceive and leverage tax technology. 
• Taxing Subjects (https://www.drakesoftware.com/blog): A look at banking products, including those for payment processing, for tax pros.
• Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): The pros and cons of flat fee versus per-hour billing.
• Canopy (https://www.getcanopy.com/blog): Does change come hard in your practice or a client's organization? A look at the five "Rs" to provide.
• Tax Pro Center (https://accountants.intuit.com/taxprocenter/): Some "complex scenarios" you might encounter with clients this season and how to spot the scenarios before they morph into problems.