This week’s Tax Advisor Weekly covers key updates for financial professionals. First, we cover the reinstatement of 7,000 recently laid-off Internal Revenue Service (IRS) probationary employees who have been placed on administrative leave pending legal proceedings. We also highlight a report on unruly crowds at IRS tax assistance events last year. Additionally, we dive into the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) 2025 tax priorities, including a push to raise the Form 1099-K reporting threshold to $10,000, provide essential guidance on succession planning for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firms, and analyze road tax funding across states for 2025.
Did you miss last week’s edition? You can find it here.
Industry News
7,000 IRS Workers ‘Reinstated’ — But Not Yet Returning to Work
(Martha Waggoner, The Tax Adviser)
The federal government will pay about 7,000 IRS probationary employees, who were laid off less than a month ago, not to work while lawsuits over layoffs wind their way through the court system, the agency said Tuesday in an email. Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause said in the email sent to all IRS employees that the probationary workers, who were laid off on February 20th, would be reinstated and placed on administrative leave until further notice.
Crowds Became Unruly During IRS Tax Events Last Year
(Michael Cohn, Accounting Today)
Internal Revenue Service employees faced threats of assault during Saturday tax assistance events last year, according to a recent report. The report, issued earlier this month by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, found that some of the special tax help events organized by the IRS last year drew large crowds who became disorderly during the long waits for assistance at IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers.
Higher Threshold for Form 1099-K Reporting Among AICPA Priorities
(Martha Waggoner, Journal of Accountancy)
The AICPA’s 2025 tax priorities include increasing the reporting threshold for Form 1099-K to $10,000 from the $600 that would go into effect next year, according to a letter Monday to congressional finance leaders. Other priorities include providing permanent and consistent tax relief to individuals and businesses affected by natural disasters and the extension of some provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, the AICPA said in the letter to the leaders of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees.
The Death of a CPA: What Happens to the Firm? Time to Make a Plan
(Issac M. O’Bannon, CPA Practice Advisor)
“Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” When a CPA firm owner or other tax practitioner dies, leaving behind clients, employees and a practice, there can be many questions and much uncertainty about the preparations beforehand and the consequences for clients and those responsible for administering their estate. Legal obligations may vary from state-to-state and also depend on the practitioner’s status as an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent. Section 10.33 of Treasury Circular 230 sets forth rules of conduct for attorneys, and addresses aspirational best practices tax practitioners should consider. But what about the death of a tax practitioner?
Road Taxes and Funding by State, 2025
(Jacob Macumber-Rosin and Adam Hoffer, Tax Foundation)
Federal, state, and local governments raise revenues for road infrastructure and maintenance through a combination of taxes on motor fuel, fees on vehicles like registration or licensure, and direct levies on drivers like tolls. This system constitutes a relatively well-designed user fee system, where roadway expenditures are largely furnished by the people who use the roads generally in proportion to the extent of their use. However, these road taxes and fees are far from a perfect user fee, especially as inflation, electric vehicles, and fuel efficiency gains erode gas tax revenues per mile of road driven. Most states fail to collect enough in user fees to fully provide for roadway spending. This necessitates transfers from general funds or other revenue sources that are unrelated to road use to pay for road construction and maintenance.
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