Talking Tax

A new slate of leaders is poised to make its mark on the US audit board and launch the next chapter for the embattled regulator. Among those set to serve on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are two administration officials who have held key roles at federal agencies targeted by a White House campaign to hobble federal agencies and derail regulations. Those agencies include the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Credit Union Administration. The PCAOB last year was also caught up in the administration’s efforts to rein in the federal bureaucracy. Republican lawmakers attempted to sunset the board and hand its duties over to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees the board and named the new leaders. On this episode of Talking Tax, Senior Reporter Amanda Iacone discusses the incoming board members and what this latest leadership shake-up means for the future of the independent audit regulator. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

A global minimum tax deal that exempts American companies from key provisions is a better outcome for European business than the alternative of US retaliatory taxes, the co-chair of the OECD’s business committee said. The package agreed to this month by more than 145 countries at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development headed off a threat of steep US taxes on foreign companies if global concessions weren’t made. In this episode of Talking Tax, Christian Kaeser, global head of tax at Siemens AG, told Bloomberg Tax reporter Ryan Hogg that some of his European counterparts regarded the deal as “lopsided” but welcomed new permanent safe harbors that were created with input from Business at OECD, known as BIAC. Kaeser is co-chair of BIAC’s tax committee. “I’m pretty happy with the outcome,” he said. Competitive disparities created by the deal can be remedied by simplification of the EU’s own rules, including scrapping of the bloc’s controlled foreign companies anti-tax avoidance regime, he said. As for Pillar One, the other main part of a 2021 OECD-led tax agreement, Kaeser saw little hope. Further talks on the pillar, which would reallocate taxing rights to countries where big companies make their profits, have stalled for years. It “should be called Pillar Zed, zed for zombie,” he said. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The OECD just published the parameters of a deal that would exempt US companies from two key enforcement rules in the global minimum tax framework. The deal, which spans 88 pages in the form of administrative guidance, includes a slew of safe harbor rules that address everything from how US companies can get the exemption to more advantageous treatment of substance-based tax incentives like the US R&D credit. It includes a permanent, simplified global minimum tax calculation. Other countries would be able to obtain carve-outs like the ones obtained by the US and its multinational companies—if they meet certain criteria. This week on Talking Tax, reporters Lauren Vella and Somesh Jha discuss why the deal and the timing of its release is important, what it means for multinational businesses, how key US lawmakers reacted, and what the deal means for the efficacy of the global minimum tax going forward. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

PwC's new training program aims to give early-career recruits hands-on experience integrating artificial intelligence tools into everyday work. The Big Four accounting and advisory firm started piloting AI immersion sessions in October, with a full rollout to new US associates slated for July. The sessions are happening across PwC's tax, assurance, and advisory business. "We truly believe that the role of the new associate will be changing with AI and that their role will become somewhat elevated, and we need to make sure that we're really training them on those skills to work and think differently," said Margaret Burke, the firmwide talent acquisition and development leader for PwC US. Like its competitors, PwC has recently funneled resources into next generation autonomous tools aimed at handling routine tasks solo. The firm said in November it shed about 150 jobs across marketing, human resources, and other US support roles as part of a longer-term effort modernizing its back-office unit, including through using new AI tools. In this week's Talking Tax, Burke and PwC US Tax Leader Krishnan Chandrasekhar sat down with Bloomberg Tax reporter Jorja Siemons to discuss how the AI trainings have gone so far and what skills they hope new employees learn. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Anyone thinking about pushing the boundaries of tax law should remember that there's no federal statute of limitations on prosecuting fraud, even with weakened IRS enforcement, said Carolyn Schenck, who spent 20 years at the agency primarily combating tax evasion. "If people think that a current administration or a past administration might go soft on tax fraud, that's still an awfully big gamble," said Schenck, who's now at Caplin & Drysdale. "And I know that that's not one I personally would want to take." The IRS is coming off a tumultuous year with deep staffing cuts from the Trump administration's efforts to downsize the federal government and a parade of new commissioners. But increasing IRS staff and resources would be one of the best ways the government could combat fraud and collect more of the money it's owed, Schenck said. On this episode of Talking Tax, Schenck sat down with Bloomberg Tax reporter Erin Schilling to discuss what Trump administration workforce cuts mean for IRS enforcement and how the agency could improve its efforts to go after illegal tax shelters, even with a diminished staff. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Congress is back after ending the longest shutdown in US history. But the bipartisan accord left funding for the IRS and Treasury Department ending in less than three months and the fate of the enhanced premium tax credits at the center of the crisis still unresolved. On this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax Congress reporter Zach C. Cohen and Bloomberg Government health policy reporter Erin Durkin discuss next steps for appropriating funds for the IRS and Treasury after current funding runs dry Jan. 30, and potential legislative solutions to rising health-care premiums. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Grant Thornton’s top audit leader is bullish on the practice’s future after a 2024 deal that sold a significant stake in the accounting and advisory firm to private equity investors led by New Mountain Capital. The audit practice has benefited from a boost in dedicated resources and also bolstered its safeguards against conflicts of interest. Those improvements stem from an operating contract between Grant Thornton’s legacy audit practice and its PE-backed business, said Ron Messenger, CEO of Grant Thornton’s audit business. The firm’s private equity deal ushered in a new two-part legal structure that created a corporate entity to provide its tax and advisory work while audit partners run the firm’s legacy assurance business. Nearly half of the largest 30 firms have cut PE deals and they all rely on what the industry calls the “alternative practice structure.” Underpinning that new operating structure is a services agreement spelling out the relationship between the two entities from governance to resources. Those agreements can’t be an afterthought, Messenger said. He spoke with Bloomberg Tax reporter Amanda Iacone about how Grant Thornton's services agreement came together, how regulators informed that document, and how it will influence the quality of the firm’s auditing. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Despite the ongoing US government shutdown, many at the Treasury Department remain on the job working on guidance related to the July GOP tax law. Those at Treasury handling the international provisions used to be coworkers of Beth Bell, who became a principal at PwC’s National Tax Service in Washington less than a month ago. On this week's episode of Talking Tax, Bell sat down with Bloomberg Tax senior reporter Chris Cioffi to discuss US efforts to secure agreements to allow the US tax system to coexist with the Pillar Two project, and what might prompt Republicans in Congress to reintroduce what came to be known as the "revenge tax" when the law was debated. Bell has deep experience with multilateral tax negotiations and worked as a staffer in both the House and Senate, playing a role in major tax legislation that passed in both the Biden and Trump administrations. Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.