A new taxpayer advocate. Treasury and the IRS named Erin Collins to serve as the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA). Early in her career, she worked in the IRS chief counsel’s office. Later she was a Managing Director of KPMG’s Tax Controversy Services practice for the Western Area. In recent years, she worked to build mentorship programs for teenage girls from underserved communities. She will succeed Nina Olson, who retired as in July 2019 after 18 years in the post.
Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chris Van Hollen take aim at deferred executive compensation. They released legislation yesterday to curb the tax benefits of deferred compensation in executive retirement plans. Their bill would tax income in the plans when the money vests, rather than when an employer distributes it. The change might alter the structure of executive compensation, but is unlikely to reduce overall pay, according to one executive pay and benefits attorney.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers savings guidance for tax refunds. The Bureau launched a website this week that encourages taxpayers to save their refunds, and details types of deposit accounts they can use. Said a CFPB official: “Tax time is a great opportunity to take that first important step of building your savings. Increased savings can enhance a consumer’s financial well being.”
Proposed in Nebraska legislature: A bill to broaden the sales tax base and lower the rate. State Senator Tom Briese introduced a bill to eliminate sales tax exemptions on dozens of services in exchange for a lower sales tax rate. Briese argues that the trade-off would reflect a more service-oriented economy. The bill would lower the state’s sales tax rate from 5.5 percent to 4 percent and broaden the base starting in October 2021.
South Africa plans to reduce corporate taxes. In an effort to attract business investment South Africa plans to reduce its 28 percent corporate tax rate. It hopes the rate cut would dissuade companies from shifting profits to lower tax jurisdictions. Corporate taxes account for 16 percent of South Africa’s tax revenue. Despite recent increases in investment taxes, the nation faces a revenue shortfall of $4.2 billion for the year ending March 31, about $700 million more than originally forecast.
Call for papers for the Taxation and Gender Equality Conference, September 14-15, 2020. The Tax Policy Center, the American Tax Policy Institute, the American Bar Foundation, and other groups are cosponsoring a conference to spotlight gender issues in taxation. It will focus on both the US and other countries and address the relationships of all taxes to gender. Learn more about the research, round table, and policy program, and how to contribute to it, here. Expressions of interest are due March 15.
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