In the blogs: Chips are falling

R&D and China; billable versus subscription; trailblazers; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Chips are falling

• Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): What you need to know about the recent smackdown between the Federal Trade Commission and H&R Block. ("The issue at hand is not just about tax preparation. It's about consumer trust and the integrity of the marketplace.") 
• The Tax Times (https://www.thetaxtimes.com): Let the U.S. Treasury make this perfectly clear: Small businesses not directly involved in that case where the judge in Alabama ruled the CTA unconstitutional better just keep on beneficial ownership information reporting requirements.
• Vertex (https://www.vertexinc.com/resources/resource-library/filter/field_asset_type/blog?page=0): A ruling on a snack food's tax treatment generated a massive and immediate response from the tax profession as well as from headline writers and armchair psychologists. Seems a British legal tribunal has ruled that Walkers' Sensation Poppadoms are technically "crisps" (potato chips to American readers) and subject to VAT. 
• Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america.html): Amazon's been found liable for marketplace sales tax in South Carolina … again.
• Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (https://itep.org/category/blog/): Some states have improved tax equity by raising new revenue from the well-off and creating or expanding refundable tax credits for low- and moderate-income families. Other states have gone in the opposite direction.
• Sovos (https://sovos.com/blog/): What to remind them (if not outright shock them) about mushrooming indirect taxes.
• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): As the Senate debates a deal that would restore neutral tax treatment for most R&D expenses, the People's Republic of China has adopted an aggressive policy to subsidize that nation's investment. China's move puts the U.S. at even more of a disadvantage if America doesn't fix its own R&D tax system. 
• Procedurally Taxing (https://www.taxnotes.com/procedurally-taxing): In a case of first impression brought by the Syracuse University College of Law Tax Clinic, the Court of Federal Claims recently held in Bell v. United States that a non-resident alien was not entitled to a personal exemption when computing income connected to a U.S. trade or business. This case lacks economic underpinnings that would support anything but pro bono representation but does demonstrate clinics' ability to raise issues that would otherwise not be litigated. 

Pearls of wisdom

• Summing It Up (http://blog.freedmaxick.com/summing-it-up): In a model for many who've been cyberattacked, the hack of Change Healthcare hit providers' claims processing, billing and prescription services, putting patient care at risk. It's critical that providers act now to maintain complete, accurate and contemporaneously documented data regarding the impact of outage on their businesses.
• Tax Pro Center (https://accountants.intuit.com/taxprocenter/): Billable hours and annual contracts face a new challenge — not from a regulatory body or a ruling from the top, but from the way other sectors transformed their business models: the membership-based subscription.
• Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox): The American Rescue Plan temporarily expanded the federal Child Tax Credit, and child poverty fell. Since then, policymakers have worked on constructing a CTC for their own states; the structure and size of these credits varies significantly. The bloggers used the Tax Policy Center state tax model to analyze 36 versions of a hypothetical CTC in four states that currently don't provide one. Here are three lessons.
• Sikich (https://www.sikich.com/insights/): With the recent influx of international students in U.S. colleges and universities, institutions must become aware of tax-reporting considerations.
• Palm Beach Accounting and Financial Services (https://www.pbafs.com/blog): Everybody knows about sound minds and bodies, but here's what to remind them about how — and, more important, when — to simply update beneficiaries.
• Meyers Brothers Kalicka (https://www.mbkcpa.com/insights): From matching student loan repayments to "starter" 401(k)s, what to remind them of the many gems in SECURE 2.0.
• TaxConnex (https://www.taxconnex.com/blog-): Companies rent and lease everything from camera lenses to designer clothes to heavy machinery these days. Many jurisdictions charge sales tax for the rental or lease of tangible personal property. What, then, ignites nexus for rental or leasing companies?
• The Rosenberg Associates (https://rosenbergassoc.com/blog/): In celebration of the pearl anniversary of Rosenberg Associates, 30 highlights, "captivating reads" and inspirational ideas. Some touch on the past, some on the future and plenty on the present day.

Swagger

• Taxjar (https://www.taxjar.com/resources/blog): This year's ever-expanding list of state sales tax holidays. 
• Peisner Johnson (https://peisnerjohnson.com/blog/): Every penny always counts. Is sales tax deductible?
• Turbotax (https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com): In the wake of the recent Oscars (the night's sweeper was the movie version of "The Big Bang Theory" …), the always delectable look at the taxability of the swag bags.
• HBK (https://hbkcpa.com/insights/): What medical practice clients look for in a tax firm.
• National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): This week's "You Make the Call" looks at Robert and Patrice, a married couple who file jointly. Robert, 62, retired last year after many years as a teacher; his only source of income for 2023 was his teacher's retirement plan. Patrice, 49, is still working and contributes to her 401(k) through her job. For 2023, they are facing a tax bill of nearly $2,000. When meeting with their tax pro, the couple asked if contributing to traditional IRAs would reduce part or all this debt. Their 2023 MAGI is $125,000, and when their preparer illustrated the impact funding traditional IRAs might have, "covered by a pension plan" became a thorny question. Does Robert receiving his teacher's retirement benefits result in him being considered "covered by a retirement plan" for traditional IRA deductibility? 
• Marcum (https://www.marcumllp.com/insights): What to remind them about justifying the cost of an internal audit.
• Canopy (https://www.getcanopy.com/blog): A new group of women trailblazers who are redefining success, 10 professionals who excel as mentors, innovators and leaders in a traditionally male-dominated industry.