House Ways & Means Committee to mark up five tax-related bills today. Among the legislative items, one bill would repeal the $600 Form 1099-K reporting requirement and return the threshold to $20,000. Another would exempt certain devices from firearms and ammunition taxes, while another would provide a tax credit for donations to nonprofits that offer workforce training. House tax writers teed up a handful of Republican-led tax bills related to gig economy employees, tax-exempt organizations with ties to terrorism, and donations to organizations providing scholarships.
Property owners in Houston may soon face higher taxes. Property tax rates have fallen for years in the city, but city officials are now considering property tax increases to address the costs of recent natural disasters. Houston officials are exploring an increase from about 52 cents per $100 valuation to about 55 cents.
GAO releases report on IRS workforce diversity. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports on the demographic composition of the IRS workforce as it related to promotion, salary, and separation outcomes over the last ten years. It found that disparities persisted in the representation of women, employees from historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities across ranks, occupations, and divisions. GAO has recommended that the IRS expand efforts to diverse its workforce. It further recommended the IRS establish a unified strategic plan to improve diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility with associated performance measures. The IRS concurred with all GAO recommendations.
Apple, Google, lose in EU court. The European Court of Justice has ruled against Apple and ended the tech giant’s years-long legal battle. It confirmed a 2016 ruling by the European Commission, which ordered Ireland to recover $14.4 billion in back taxes from Apple after deeming Ireland had offered the tech giant illegal tax benefits. Google also lost its final legal challenge to a $2.7 billion EU penalty, assessed when Google gave its own shopping recommendations an illegal advantage over rivals in search results.
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