About this episode
Congressional tax writers are aiming to shore up several tax issues—retooling the Internal Revenue Service, dealing with temporary tax provisions, and requiring online retailers to collect sales tax—left out of the 2017 tax act. The House just passed a package of bills that would establish an independent Office of Appeals at the IRS, boost cybersecurity, and update online systems. House Ways and Means Committee members also met to discuss the future of temporary tax credits and deductions, with an eye to release a plan by this summer about which should be made permanent and which should be eliminated. The U.S. Supreme Court also heard oral arguments in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., a case that seeks to undo the court’s 1992 ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, prohibiting states from collecting sales tax from vendors without an in-state physical presence. The decision, which may come in June, could cause Congress to address the issue, after years of debate about state sales taxes and e-commerce. The question, as often happens, is how will the Senate react to what the House sends them. Reporters Laura Davison, Allyson Versprille, and Kaustuv Basu spoke with Talking Tax host Matthew Beddingfield on April 20 about the possibility for these tax ideas to gain traction this year.