Aaron Blau, EA, CPA

Taxpayer First Act Last week, Congress passed the Taxpayer First Act, a tax reform bill that has several provisions championed by the National Association of Enrolled Agents. The Act establishes an Independent Office of Appeals to serve as an independent judiciary for administrative actions (examination and collection determinations) by the IRS. While an Office of Appeals exists within the current IRS structure, it is not a completely independent structure. The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate is strengthened as well. The Act also prescribes changes to the customer service strategy, allows for exceptions from user fees for low-income taxpayers, and changes [...]

The Congressional Research Service, a division of the Library of Congress, has released a preliminary report detailing the effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered marginal tax rates and made other modifications to the tax code for the 2018 tax year and beyond. The service reports that there was no discernible change in federal gross domestic product (GDP) and that "the growth effects tend to show a relatively small (if any) first-year effect on the economy." Neither GDP nor wages saw a statistically significant change. The Congressional Budget Office initially estimated that total revenues would fall [...]