Big day for tax-related ballot measures yesterday. 1) Missouri voters overwhelmingly reject measure that would authorize personal income tax repeal 2) Florida court rules that November ballot measure cutting property tax is described, on ballot, in a misleading way & must be changed before election

In one important way, the new detailed FASB corporate tax disclosures can be LESS detailed than the old stuff. Example: Hyster-Yale (which makes forklifts). Last year they disclosed FDII/GILTI/BEAT separately. Now all in one "effect of cross border tax laws" category. www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Arch...

Fun opioid settlement tax puzzler: Albertsons took a FY26 charge of "$773.8 M ($599.8 M net of tax)" for opioid settlement. They say "first payment of $136.6 M is expected to be made on April 30, 2026." FY26 ends 2/26. None paid, ergo none is deductible in FY26. (1/2) www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Arch...

Great thread from @dsmitch28.bsky.social summarizing a terrific paper here. And *such* a great one-sentence summary of where we are fiscally as a nation.

David S. Mitchell@dsmitch28.bsky.social · 6d ago

To summarize: the U.S. is not a broke household one missed paycheck from ruin! It's the wealthiest society in human history, one that has funneled an ever-larger share of its gains to the top and then told itself it can't afford to invest in everyone else.

No jaw-dropping revelations from a Jeff Tweedy cover of "Tom Sawyer" other than that I would do this ALL THE TIME if I had the skillz. open.substack.com/pub/jefftwee...

Tom Sawyer (Rush cover)

Rush is fucking great

open.substack.com

Microsoft's new financial report is also notable b/c its bean-counters appear to have abruptly forgotten how to count. Just a month ago they disclosed, in a European Union filing, having 201 subsidiaries scattered around the world. This week they told American shareholders they have a total of 8.

Sesame Street: The Count Laughs

ALT: Sesame Street: The Count Laughs

static.klipy.com

Wrote about Microsoft's new disclosure of a super-low 2.4% tax rate on its 2026 U.S. profits here. Since I've been asked: this is *not* the biggest single-year profit I've ever seen from a US multinational corporation. 2 others (Nvidia at $123 B and Alphabet at $141 B) beat them this year. (1/3)

ITEP@itep.org · 7d ago

NEW: Microsoft’s latest annual financial report shows the company achieved record profitability while avoiding federal income tax on almost all of its U.S. income for fiscal year 2026. Microsoft reported $101 billion in profits but paid a federal tax rate of just 2.44%. itep.org/microsoft-ea...

Not surprising to see House GOP ready to take away the rights of DC residents to make tax changes. But why on earth is Doordash supporting this profoundly anti-democratic legislation? Because of something more important than self-determination: a 20 cent Doordash delivery fee.

Matthew Gardner@mindthegaap.bsky.social · 2w ago

Nothing to see here, just House Republicans attempting to take away all taxing power from a jurisdiction bigger than Vermont or Wyoming. itep.org/congressiona...

Nothing to see here, just House Republicans attempting to take away all taxing power from a jurisdiction bigger than Vermont or Wyoming. itep.org/congressiona...

Congressional Republicans Say D.C. Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Run Its Own Tax System

This week a U.S. House of Representatives committee approved a bill that would effectively take away Washington, D.C.’s fiscal autonomy, requiring Congressional approval of any new D.C. laws that incr...

itep.org

WaPo picking up @richardrubindc.bsky.social 's big story from last week, which really should be drawing more attention. Trump appears to be doing exactly what Nixon did 50 yrs ago: ordering IRS audits of his political enemies & firing those who object to this. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Democrats demand probe into ouster of IRS lawyer who reportedly clashed with White House

The lawyer, Kenneth Kies, was forced out after raising concerns about White House involvement in tax audits, according to the Wall Street Journal.

washingtonpost.com

All true. But our housing shortages are also hyper-local, as the NIMBY acronym hints. My neighborhood, just 2 miles from the building in which this law was passed, will remain underdeveloped as long as locals uncritically prioritize "historic preservation" claims over housing as a human right.

Elizabeth Warren@warren.senate.gov · 3w ago

We just proved that Congress can pass big bipartisan legislation that helps Americans, even if the President doesn’t care. We can’t stop now.

This is, not to state the obvious, the difference b/t 1st-term and 2nd-term Trump. In the first term, a high-ranking Administration official could point out that a Trump idea was illegal and sometimes the idea would be abandoned. This term, the official gets fired. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Exclusive | Top Treasury Tax Official Ousted After Clashes With White House Over IRS Audits

Kenneth Kies warned that political officials risked breaching a law that limits who can influence tax enforcement.

wsj.com

Two ships passing in the night: just as Trump's Treasury is calling corporate tax disclosure "very dangerous," Sen. Chris Van Hollen reminds us that danger is his middle name, introducing a bill that would mandate country by country disclosure for US corporations. itep.org/new-legislat...

New Legislation Would Require Big Multinationals to Tell Shareholders Where They’re Hiding Offshore Profits

Sen. Chris Van Hollen introduced legislation requiring big multinational corporations to tell shareholders and the public what they’re already telling tax authorities behind closed doors: how much inc...

itep.org

This seems incredibly bad. @wsj.com reports that Ken Kies, certainly one of the best tax policy brains remaining at Treasury, was forced out because he pushed back against Trump administration attempts at politically motivated IRS audits. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Exclusive | Top Treasury Tax Official Ousted After Clashes With White House Over IRS Audits

Kenneth Kies warned that political officials risked breaching a law that limits who can influence tax enforcement.

wsj.com

With all due respect for the men's side who had some great moments in this year's WC, what I'm really looking forward to watching @uswnt.ussoccer.com at the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. And this fall's friendly against Spain in DC!

U.S. Women's National Soccer Team@uswnt.ussoccer.com · 3w ago

#1 🆚 #2 👀 DC & Philly, we're headed to you for a match up against Spain 🇪🇸 🔗 ussoc.cr/octmatches

So here's a fun* thing about the new EU country-by-country tax reports Microsoft etc are now filing. In these reports, the companies appear to be telling a truth about a thing they don't come clean about in their usual reports to shareholders: subsidiaries in tax havens. *tax policy sense of 'fun'

This is hysterical. Trump administration tells a roomful of European policymakers something is "very dangerous" and it's not rising sea levels or the Strait of Hormuz or our woefully-understaffed air traffic control system: it's public corporate tax disclosure. news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...

Public Tax Transparency Rules ‘Very Dangerous,’ US Official Says

New tax reporting rules in the European Union for multinationals deter growth and risk creating a “culture of damnation,” according to a US official.

news.bloombergtax.com

Tapestry corporation (which makes Kate Spade handbooks and Coach stuff) discloses, in its first-ever country-by-country report to the EU, "earning" $650 million in the British Virgin Islands despite having zero employees and zero sales there. tapestry.gcs-web.com/static-files...

We're only a day into the new EU country-by-country reporting regime, but it's already yielding some fun results beyond Microsoft's mega-productive Irish employees. Parker Hannifin discloses $47 million of Luxembourg profits, generated by a total of zero Luxembourg employees. 9.5% tax rate.

ITEP@itep.org · last mo.

New corporate transparency rules are giving us a clearer picture of offshore tax havens. Microsoft’s latest disclosure shows just 3% of the company’s full-time employees were in Ireland last year, but they somehow generated 38% of worldwide profits. itep.org/microsoft-ta...

Western Digital appears to be following Microsoft's Irish low-tax recipe. Just 27 of the company's worldwide employee are in Ireland, but they cranked out $400 million in earnings last year, fully 25% of the company's worldwide income. investor.wdc.com/static-files...

Matthew Gardner@mindthegaap.bsky.social · last mo.

And Ireland is what jumps out at you. 3% of Microsoft worldwide employees are in Ireland, but those 3% somehow generated 38% of the company's worldwide profits last year. The company reports a 14% current tax rate on those Irish profits.

Oh boy! Microsoft has published its first country-by-country public data on EU income and tax. This is the first taste we're getting, from the new EU rules anyway, of how the big tech companies are using countries like Ireland. cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/m...

Ha: Alexis Lalas, says @theguardian.com, "would absolutely dominate karaoke night at a conference on infrastructure finance." www.theguardian.com/football/202...

The French aristocrat and the all-American idiot: Henry v Lalas is the World Cup’s most compelling battle

Fox’s broadcast at the tournament has become a story of two contrasting styles. And there is one clear winner

theguardian.com

Was hoping @theguardian.com would do this again and here it is: their quadrennial guide to every single player in this year's World Cup. Total madness but a great way to familiarize yourself with the dreamers. Also, support independent media! www.theguardian.com/football/ng-...

World Cup 2026: guide to all 1,248 players

Everything you need to know (and more) about every squad member. Click on the player pictures for more information

theguardian.com

$1.9 billion in dubious tax breaks is not a small number. It's just getting crowded out of the sunlight by all the budgetary tall trees in the SpaceX IPO. Musk's SpaceX claimed $1.9 B of tax breaks they thought tax authorities would disallow on audit, and then Musk used DOGE to dismantle the IRS.

ITEP@itep.org · 2mo ago

Elon Musk's SpaceX has claimed nearly $2 billion in tax breaks that the company believes would likely be disallowed if audited. DOGE’s massive cuts to the IRS make audits for SpaceX and other huge corporations even less likely. itep.org/elon-musk-sp...

Venality takes many forms, & public attention to the impending SpaceX IPO has largely focused on the absurdly high valuation Musk has attached to this company. But, as is always the case, there's a tax angle too. SpaceX has $1.9 billion in uncertain tax benefits. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

SpaceX heads for record $1.78tn float amid fears it is overvalued

Analysts say IPO that could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire has a ‘major disconnect’ on price

theguardian.com

Surely I'm not the only person who immediately thought "well of COURSE they picked the lead singer of AC/DC to run the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau." www.reuters.com/world/us/bri...

Brian Johnson picked by White House to head consumer watchdog

The ​White ‌House has sent ​Brian ​Johnson's nomination ⁠for ​director ​of Consumer Financial Protection ​to ​the U.S. ‌Senate, ⁠according to a notice ​published ​on ⁠Wednesday.

reuters.com

There is, as they say, no bingo card I will ever see that would have "Jeff Bezos goes on TV to criticize 'corporate welfare" on it. The man is the human embodiment of tax avoidance, and the company he founded owes its dominance to successfully leveraging the tax system. www.cnbc.com/2026/05/20/c...

CNBC Exclusive: Transcript: Jeff Bezos Speaks with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on “Squawk Box” Today

cnbc.com

Didn’t know: before Senators were directly elected by voters, the state legislatures whose job it was to select them would sometimes fail to do so for years at a time, meaning that some states would be entirely without representation in the US Senate. jlepore.scholars.harvard.edu/publications...

Call me a Pollyanna, but I would have guessed that an art form as organic and inclusive-spirited as EDM wouldn’t have as egregious a gender imbalance as the population of Fortune 500 CEO’s. <15% of DJ headliners and producers are women. youtu.be/4xQ-sghgLZ0?...

What The Data Really Says About Electronic Music in 2026

YouTube video by International Music Summit

youtu.be

This was really nice to see-- and hear. Sullivan missed the '24 playoffs with an ACL tear, then was gone all last season on maternity leave. The Audi crowd did not forget her.

NWSL@nwslsoccer.com · 3mo ago

Andi Sullivan back on the pitch for the first time at home since her maternity leave 🫶💛