There will be much overseeing

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Nov 21, 2022 View in browser   By Bernie Becker PROGRAMMING NOTE: We'll be off for Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday but back to our normal schedule on Monday, Nov. 28. STRAP IN: It's a fair question — if we're not expecting much in the way of tax legislating in the next Congress, how will tax writers pass the time? So, so much oversight. House Republicans won't have a particularly large majority come 2023. But they'll still have the committee gavels, so IRS officials can expect to answer a lot of questions on a wide variety of topics from multiple panels, as Pro Tax's Brian Faler reports. The biggest of those questions likely will be how Treasury and the IRS plan to implement the $80 billion in funding that Democrats approved over the summer — something the IRS is supposed to have a lot more information on by February, or early in the new House GOP majority. And that should be no surprise: Republicans have been trying to make political hay out of the huge funding influx for months now, though it's not clear whether all that attention had much impact during the recent midterms in which the GOP actually won the House. MORE ON THAT in a bit, but first thanks for coming to the " get the ball to Pulaychek " version of Weekly Tax. (It's a World Cup reference, everyone.) Staten Island, for the win: Today marks 58 years since traffic first traveled the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which was at the time the longest suspension bridge in the world. (It's now 18th, just ahead of the Golden Gate Bridge.) Connect us with the news. Email: bbecker@politico.com , bfaler@politico.com , bguggenheim@politico.com and teckert@politico.com . You can also reach us on Twitter at @berniebecker3 , @tobyeckert , @brian_faler , @ben_guggenheim , @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Tax . Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro . You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories.   GO INSIDE THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO is featuring a special edition of our "Future Pulse" newsletter at the 2022 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit from Dec. 6 to 8. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of health industry leaders and innovators solving the biggest global health issues to ensure a healthier, more resilient future for all. SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE .     ALL FLOWS FROM THERE: In fact, lots of lawmakers' questions will relate in some ways to that $80 billion, and not just those from Republicans. Officials in both parties have had longstanding concerns about taxpayer services at the IRS , which was far from good in recent years before essentially falling off a cliff because of the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has vowed that the agency will do a much better job answering the phone during next year's filing season, largely because of new staffers hired from that $80 billion. So chalk that up as something else that Congress might get some concrete answers on not too long into 2023. What else? GOP appropriators will also get to have a word with IRS officials, given that they control the purse string for the agency's yearly regular funding bill. (In fact, you certainly can't rule out some kind of partisan showdown next year over IRS spending, tagged to either the debt limit or a government funding deadline.) And let's just say that might be far from it — there's improper payments on refundable tax breaks like the Child Tax Credit, a longtime GOP bugaboo. Tax issues are reportedly one reason that Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son, is under federal investigation, so you can't rule out the House Ways and Means Committee getting involved there. Then you've got the news outlet ProPublica obtaining and reporting on confidential tax information of the very, very rich last year. And on the Democratic side, lawmakers will be interested in the recent reports that former President Donald Trump wanted to use the IRS to target his political enemies. A few more odds and ends: Speaking of oversight, no word yet on when Senate Democrats will be ready to proceed on Danny Werfel's nomination to be IRS commissioner. Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said last week that his committee would move as quickly as it could on the matter. And speaking of Trump, there's been no further word from the Supreme Court after Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked the House Ways and Means Committee from obtaining the former president's tax returns. Wyden was coy last week about whether he would file his own Trump tax return lawsuit, given that House Republicans will be dropping the Democrats' suit the first chance they get. But the Finance chair also noted that he was one of the loudest voices seeking to force Trump to release his returns even before he was elected, suggesting that he doesn't want to just let the issue die. TALKING ABOUT THOSE NEXT TWO YEARS: There might not be much in the way of tax legislating in 2023 and 2024. But as we've noted, there likely will be a fair bit of tax positioning, with individual tax cuts that Republicans enacted in 2017 set to expire at the end of 2025. Politically speaking, the GOP's 2017 tax cuts have been a mixed bag at best for the party. But Republicans continue to go out of their way to plug the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Now, to be fair, it shouldn't come as much surprise that former House Speaker Paul Ryan continues to sing TCJA's praises, considering the tax bill was essentially the capstone of his congressional career. (Ryan told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that he was proud of the tax bill and other achievements during Trump's presidency, as he argued the former president was now an electoral liability.) Former Vice President Mike Pence sounded a similar note on NBC's "Meet the Press," saying he thought the GOP would have better options in 2024 while also praising Trump's "direct engagement on Capitol Hill with members of Congress that saw us pass the tax cuts." YEAR-END UPDATE: Things can happen quickly in a lame-duck session of Congress, but there seems to be a lot still up in the air over what kind of tax measures can pass before the end of the year. With that in mind, keep your eye on all the various advocacy groups mobilizing for their favorite benefits. For instance: Hundreds and hundreds of businesses, nonprofits and other organizations wrote to congressional leaders in a letter dated today, asking them to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit before 2022 comes to a close. House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) is among those who has talked up doing more on the LIHTC this year, after a previous expansion expired. The groups signing the letter acknowledged that a year-end tax bill could be "limited in scope," so they urged congressional leaders to at least increase the amount of the credit and offer more flexibility on financing for projects funded by the LIHTC. Around the World Financial Times: " Santander boss hits out at bank windfall taxes." Bloomberg: "The UK Already Has a Nasty Wealth Tax ." Reuters: " India scraps export tax on low-grade iron ore, some steel intermediates." Around the Nation NYT: "Their Budgets Flush, Many States Are Sending Checks to Residents ." Insider: " Homebuyers who fled to Florida to escape high taxes are now shocked at their massive tax bills." The State Journal: " Appetite for tax reform remains , despite West Virginia voter's rejection of Amendment 2." Also Worth Your Time Bloomberg: " Global Corporate Tax Rates Stabilize After Decades of Decline." Also Bloomberg: " Reselling Taylor Swift Tickets? You're Going to Have to Pay Taxes." Tax Notes: " States Get Partial Win in Sixth Circuit ARPA Disputes." Did You Know? Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill in 2018 to correct the spelling of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which is named after the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano. (It had been spelled the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.)   POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP .       Follow us on Twitter Toby Eckert @tobyeckert Bernie Becker @berniebecker3 Brian Faler @brian_faler   Follow us

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