About this episode
What happens when a trade war meets bureaucratic red tape? In this episode, Blake and David dive into the explosive impact of 145% tariffs on Chinese goods and what it means for American businesses' bottom lines. Through real-world examples—from small retailers to tech giants like Apple—they break down how these policies could devastate supply chains and force difficult decisions for companies caught in the crossfire. Meanwhile, the Department of Government Efficiency is shaking up the IRS, transforming a login button change from a 103-day project into a 71-minute fix. But that's not all: CPAs at private equity-owned firms are now being told to remove their credentials from email signatures and LinkedIn profiles. Tune in to understand how these seemingly separate issues reflect larger battles over professional identity, government efficiency, and America's economic future. Sponsors RoboDebit - http://accountingpodcast.promo/robodebit Cloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/cas Bluevine - http://accountingpodcast.promo/bluevine (Bluevine is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking Services provided by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC.) Chapters (01:40) - Weekly News Roundup (03:03) - IRS Updates and Controversies (03:59) - Private Equity and CPA Titles (05:08) - Government Efficiency and IRS Hackathon (20:08) - Tariffs and Trade Wars (29:19) - Impact of Tariffs on Businesses (47:55) - Economic Impact of Tariffs and Debt (48:48) - Trump Administration's Strategic Challenges (49:36) - Job Loss Projections Due to Tariffs (52:31) - China's Economic Transformation and Future (56:05) - Human Impact of US-China Trade Policies (01:00:10) - IRS Sharing Tax Information with Homeland Security (01:04:28) - Private Equity's Influence on CPA Firms (01:17:51) - Shopify's AI Hiring Policy (01:30:47) - Conclusion and Announcements Show Notes Department of Government Efficiency – X posting on re-engineering a 103-day project https://x.com/DOGE/status/1910067646827057152 DOGE plans now reportedly include an IRS ‘hackathon’ https://www.theverge.com/news/644327/musk-doge-irs-hackathon-taxpayer-data-transfer-cloud IRS Workers Get Final Chance to Take Deferred Resignation Offer https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2025/04/07/irs-workers-get-final-chance-to-take-deferred-resignation-offer/158668/ Appeals Court Clears Path for Trump to Resume Firing ... https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/us/politics/trump-federal-workers-firing.html Elon Musk Secretly Working to Rewrite the Social Security Codebase Using AI https://futurism.com/elon-musk-rewriting-social-security-code-ai Pentagon hits Accenture, Booz Allen and Deloitte with contract cancellations https://www.nextgov.com/acquisition/2025/04/pentagon-hits-accenture-booz-allen-and-deloitte-contract-cancellations/404525/?oref=ng-homepage-river Here’s the iPhone. Here’s the iPhone With Tariffs. https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/iphone-apple-tariffs-china-bb20c7a3 Between tariffs and survival, American business owners are doing alarming math https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5352833/trump-tariffs-china-manufacturing-businesses At Home Group, Stung by Trade War, Explores Bankruptcy https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-home-group-stung-by-trade-war-explores-bankruptcy-853b9a83 How Much Revenue Can Tariffs Really Raise for the Federal Government? https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/universal-tariff-revenue-estimates/ IRS agrees to share tax information of undocumented immigrants with Ice https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/08/irs-ice-tax-data Acting IRS commissioner resigning after agency reaches data-sharing deal with immigration authorities https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/politics/melanie-krause-acting-irs-commissioner-resigning/index.html Accounting firm that sold out to private equity is now requiring CPAs that work for them to stop using "CPA" on their personal LinkedIn and in email signatures https://www.reddit.com/r/Accounting/comments/1jx2338/accounting_firm_that_sold_out_to_private_equity/?rdt=47047 Shopify CEO: No new hires, unless you prove AI can’t do the job https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5239841-shopify-ceo-ai-first-hiring KPMG’s new AI bot has cut interview scheduling time by almost 60% and saved more than 1,000 hours for the talent acquisition team https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kpmg-ai-bot-cut-interview-121831887.html Need CPE? Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.com Subscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.com Get in Touch Thanks for listening and the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary . Find us on Facebook and Instagram . If you like what you hear, please do us a favor and write a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser . Call us and leave a voicemail; maybe we'll play it on the show. DIAL (202) 695-1040. Sponsorships Are you interested in sponsoring the Cloud Accounting Podcast? For details, read the prospectus .