Tax reform

They dodged a number of bullets, and other code changes could spur more giving, experts say.

Businesses—especially smaller firms—may scale back on treating clients to major league baseball games, golf outings and the like after Congress and President Donald Trump ended a tax break for such entertainment.

In liberal bastions like metro New York and California, the Trump tax overhaul has been criticized as economic warfare. But as elements of the plan come into focus, tax experts are concluding that some of the most dire predictions for high-tax blue states—particularly surrounding the treatment of state and local taxes—may not pan out as feared.

Even though Congress passed the biggest tax overhaul in more than 30 years only a few weeks ago, there’s likely to be more tax-related legislation coming out in the very near future.

The New Jersey Society of CPAs is warning taxpayers in the Garden State that the New Jersey Division of Taxation isn’t letting them deduct the 2018 property taxes they prepaid last year on their 2017 state return after passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, though the move could still be helpful in terms of federal taxes.

The Internal Revenue Service released updated tax withholding tables for 2018 Thursday to reflect changes for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, amid warnings that the tables may not be accurate and will need further refinements.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is boosting its starting hourly wage to $11 and delivering bonuses to employees, capitalizing on the U.S. tax overhaul to stay competitive in a tightening labor market.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued a one-page Q&A document Thursday from its staff letting private companies and nonprofits apply recent staff guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission on the tax accounting implications of the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and plans future Q&A documents, along with an accounting standards update.

Companies that stockpiled trillions of dollars offshore free of U.S. income tax may get one last break before paying up—provided their fiscal years don’t follow the calendar year.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson outlined concerns about how the Internal Revenue Service will be able to implement the new tax law after a series of budget cuts, in her new report to Congress.