Early In 2024: A New IRS Leadership Structure

Shutdown Averted, For Now

IRS does some restructuring at the top. Announced yesterday, the plan reflects the agency’s new transformation work underway thanks to Inflation Reduction Act funding. This will be the first change to the top of the IRS organization chart in two decades. There will be a single deputy IRS commissioner (instead of the current two), and four new positions will oversee taxpayer service, tax compliance, information technology, and operations. 

US Supreme Court to weigh in on the taxable value of certain life insurance payouts. The case involves a closely held corporation owned by two brothers. One of the brothers died, and the Court has agreed to decide how to categorize the payout of that brother’s life insurance policy for federal estate tax purposes.

Airbnb will pay $621 million in back taxes to Italian authorities. Airbnb’s agreement ends a long-running tax dispute. Italian prosecutors said Airbnb did not comply with a 2018 law that requires short-term rental platforms to collect Italian taxes applied to rental income. Airbnb said its settlement covers host withholdings between 2017 and 2021. The company is continuing discussions with the Italian government over tax obligations for 2022 and 2023. Airbnb also said it will not try to recover any funds from its hosts. 

Bermuda government is likely to pass key corporate tax legislation this week. The government will likely pass legislation setting its corporate income tax rate at 15 percent, in line with Pillar Two of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-brokered agreement reached among nations. 

Ukraine’s parliament is considering a tax increase. The government is considering a significant increase to its excise tax on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for vehicles. Ukraine is one of the five global leaders in LPG use for transportation. But the energy value of LPG is 20 percent lower than gasoline. The higher excise tax would aim to equalize the pricing of the two fuels.

 

For the latest tax news, subscribe to the Tax Policy Center’s Daily Deduction. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekdays at 8:00 am (Mondays only when Congress is in recess). We welcome tips on new research or other news. Email Renu Zaretsky at [email protected].

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *