Tax News & Views Noodles a New IRS CEO Roundup

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Bessent Picks Social Security Chief Frank Bisignano as IRS CEO - Brian Schwartz and Richard Rubin, Wall Street Journal:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has appointed Frank Bisignano to be the chief executive officer of the Internal Revenue Service, creating a new position to help run the beleaguered tax agency.

Bisignano will retain his job running the Social Security Administration while managing the IRS’s day-to-day operations, according to senior administration officials. He will report directly to Bessent, who will remain the formal head of the IRS as acting commissioner. The move lets the administration install a Trump appointee at the IRS quickly without going through the Senate confirmation process.

Bisignano will help implement the administration’s vision for the IRS, which emphasizes upgraded technology and retreats from the heavier enforcement initiatives started under President Joe Biden. He’ll face two immediate challenges: getting ready for the early 2026 tax-filing season and managing a government shutdown. The IRS is fully open for the first five business days of the shutdown using money outside of annual appropriations; it is less certain what happens beyond that.

If we count Mr. Bisignano as the new "head" of the IRS, he is the eighth one the IRS has had just this year. President Trump named the hapless Billy Long as his nominee for IRS Commissioner shortly after the 2024 election, but the Senate didn't get around to approving the nomination until June 16 of this year. In the meantime, the IRS churned through acting commissioners as a result of its attempts to share data with ICE and via internal Treasury infighting.

Only a few weeks after Mr. Long was confirmed, the administration decided his social media skills were best employed waiting as Ambassador to Iceland. Treasury Secretary Bessent took on the Acting IRS Commissioner title as a side hustle to his full-time job. He is keeping the title, but apparently not the heavy lifting.

When or whether the administration fills the IRS Commissioner position, which is a congressionally-mandated post, is uncertain.

Treasury Department Announces Frank Bisignano as Chief Executive Officer of the IRS - Treasury Department Press Release:

Frank J. Bisignano, the 18th Senate-confirmed Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration, is a proven leader with more than four decades of experience guiding some of the world’s largest financial institutions and technology companies through transformation and growth. Prior to leading SSA, Bisignano served as Chairman and CEO of Fiserv, the world’s largest financial services and payment technology company. In 2019, he led the merger of Fiserv and First Data while he was serving as CEO of the latter company. While at J.P. Morgan Chase in the 2000’s, Bisignano was the co-Chief Operating Officer and served as the CEO of its Mortgage Banking unit. He also previously held several roles at Citigroup, including Chief Administrative Officer and CEO of the company’s Global Transaction Services unit.

Apparently the Social Security gig isn't so demanding that he can't take on another full-time job.

Shutdown Lowdown

Shutdown Day 6: Will Democrats blink? - Andrew Desiderio, Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan, Punchbowl News:

The Senate is scheduled to vote this evening — for the fifth time — on advancing the House-passed bill to fund federal agencies through Nov. 21. There are no indications yet that additional Senate Democrats will vote for the GOP funding measure. Only three have done so up to now.

But Senate GOP leaders continue to believe that enough Democratic senators will cross the aisle eventually to pass the Republican CR, so they aren’t abandoning their strategy of forcing successive votes. If Democrats block the measure again, Senate Majority Leader John Thune can set up another vote for Tuesday. If that fails, the next vote wouldn’t be until Thursday.

Remember: These are cloture votes at a 60-vote threshold. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is a no, meaning eight Senate Democrats would have to vote yes to move forward. Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Angus King (I-Maine) are the only yes votes. King, an independent, caucuses with Democrats.

Shutdown Showdown - Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns, Politico:

The dynamics of this deadlock are fascinating, with Republicans supremely confident in public, believing they hold the moral high ground after putting forward a clean CR for Dems to support — but increasingly anxious in private over the political salience of Dems’ Obamacare demands. Democrats, meanwhile, are nervous about the real-world impact of the shutdown — and painfully aware of their own lack of off-ramp — yet increasingly determined to put up an unprecedented fight, as WaPo’s Naftali Bendavid and Yasmeen Abutaleb report. It’s very hard to see how it ends.

Capitol Hill Recap: Taxes and the Shutdown - Alex Parker, Eide Bailly:

The Internal Revenue Service issued a plan last week stating that it could use unspent Inflation Reduction Act funds to continue normal operations for at least five days after the lapse begins. It hasn’t spelled out any further shutdown plans. During the shutdown that stretched from December 2018 to January 2019 the IRS furloughed most of its staff, but recalled about half for the start of filing season. This year, the agency is already entering the shutdown with a reduced workforce following cuts by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.

According to the Department of the Treasury’s shutdown plan, many offices, including the Office of Tax Policy, will continue to perform core functions with reduced staff. (Which could include coordinating with Congress about tax policies that might be part of an agreement to open the government, the plan notes.) If the shutdown stretches beyond five days, it may recall “policy experts to address issues related to domestic and international economic affairs,” the plan states.

Past experience has shown that shutdowns can be chaotic and unpredictable—in Congress and in federal agencies. That will likely be even more true this time around, with an administration that has not been hesitant to revisit past practices.

Shutdown and the IRS

IRS to Furlough Nearly Half of Workers If Shutdown Persists - Erin Slowey, Bloomberg ($):

About 40,000 employees critical to the agency’s operations— just over half the agency’s workforce of roughly 75,000— will remain working if lawmakers can’t hammer out a deal to fund the government by the middle of next week, which is growing unlikely.

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The furloughs are a shift from the current plan having IRS maintain normal operations for the first five days using funds from the 2022 tax-and-climate law. In past administrations when employees were proposed to be furloughed, audit functions, examinations of returns, non-automated collections, and answering taxpayer phone calls were to stop.

The shutdown comes as the IRS works to implement President Donald Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax-and-spending package, and as the Oct. 15 deadline approaches for individuals and companies filing taxes with extensions.

AICPA calls for fully staffed IRS regardless of shutdown length - Martha Waggoner, The Tax Adviser:

The IRS should keep all employees on the job even during a government shutdown that extends beyond the five working days covered in the agency’s contingency plan, the AICPA said Friday.

The Senate is set to vote again on a funding bill today, one day before IRS funding is scheduled to end. Taxpayers, C corporations, and tax advisers must meet an Oct. 15 filing deadline, then work begins on the next tax filing season, Melanie Lauridsen, the AICPA’s vice president–Tax Policy & Advocacy, said in a news release.

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The combination of tax deadlines, the start of a new filing season, and guidance needed for H.R. 1 means the consequences of a drastically reduced IRS workforce would be dire, the AICPA said.

IRS Capacity For 2026 In Danger Due To Cuts, TIGTA Warns - Anna Scott Farrell, Law360 Tax Authority ($):

Staffing losses at the Internal Revenue Service could cause tax refund delays and allow $360 million in fraudulent returns to go unchecked this coming tax season, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration warned Thursday.

In a report, the IRS' federal watchdog said it was concerned about how workforce reductions that began under President Donald Trump would potentially impact the 2026 filing season, noting that key departments have lost 17% to 19% of their staff.

TIGTA projected that the loss of 2,000 employees from the agency's accounts management section, which processes tax returns and inventory, "may affect the IRS' ability to timely process tax returns during the 2026 filing season."

Life after EV Credits

Tax Credits Are Gone But Cheaper EVs Are Coming - Alan Ohnsman, Forbes:

Ford CEO Jim Farley said EV’s current record high market share could fall by half now that the government incentive is gone. He could be right, but there are also indications that automakers are compensating by rolling out lower-priced models and keeping lease deals affordable. GM and Ford essentially bought up lots of their own EV inventory before the quarter ended so that they can lease models to customers this year with the tax credit already baked in.

An even more helpful move could be Hyundai’s decision to slash prices for its Georgia-built Ioniq 5 by as much as $9,800, setting the base price for the electric hatchback at just $35,000 (slightly above the South Korean brand’s Kona EV, at about $33,000). Nissan is rolling out a restyled version of its Leaf with a starting price just below $30,000 that offers 300 miles of range per charge. GM is also preparing to sell a revamped version of its battery-powered Chevrolet Bolt in early 2026 that’s expected to have a base price below $30,000. The company’s EV sales surge this quarter was led by its electric Equinox compact crossover, which starts at about $35,000, in line with what similarly sized gasoline-powered models sell for. Add in Tesla’s Model 3 sedan, starting at $42,490, and Kia’s EV6 crossover, priced from $43,000, and U.S. consumers have a growing number of options that are all less expensive than the current average new vehicle price of just over $49,000.

Prices would go even lower if the U.S. reversed restrictions on imported Chinese EVs, which would put sub-$30,000 models from BYD, Xpeng and Xiaomi on the market, but there’s little chance of that happening in the foreseeable future.

Supreme Court Returns With Some Tax Work

SCOTUS to Hear Michigan Takings Case Involving Equity Loss - Cameron Browne, Tax Notes ($):

The Supreme Court will review the Sixth Circuit’s holding that a taxpayer’s estate was not entitled to a repayment for lost equity after its property was sold at a tax foreclosure sale for less than the fair market value.

In an October 3 order in Pung v. Isabella County, the Court agreed to review whether Isabella County, Michigan, violated the Fifth Amendment's takings clause by giving a deceased taxpayer's estate compensation that was based on a property's depressed auction price rather than the fair market value.

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The property was sold at a tax foreclosure sale for only $76,008, which was less than the county’s annual property valuation of $194,400. After the auction, the purchaser sold the property for $195,000. The county retained all the proceeds from the tax foreclosure sale.

Of course, the biggest tax case on the Supreme Court docket is the consolidated challenge to the Trump Administration "Liberation Day" tariffs.

Tariffs: Higher Home, Coffee, Shrimp Prices

UBS: U.S. lumber tariffs could add $8,900 to cost of building a home - Seeking Alpha:

The Trump administration’s latest tariffs on housing materials could raise the average cost of building a single-family home by nearly $9,000, according to a report Tuesday from UBS.

Research analyst John Lovallo said the new levies include “an incremental 10% Section 232 tariff on softwood timber and lumber imports, as well as 25% levies on kitchen cabinets, vanities and upholstered wood products.”

UBS estimates the lumber tariff will add about $720 per home, while cabinet and vanity tariffs could tack on another $280. Upholstered wood products were not included in the calculation because they are generally purchased by homeowners rather than builders.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Coffee Drinker in 2025 - Rachel Louise Ensign, Wall Street Journal:

Roasted coffee prices at the grocery store are up 22% in the past year, more than any other item tracked by the government. Prices at some coffee shops are going up too. $10 latte, anyone?

Lots of things are more expensive, but coffee isn’t like cereal or chicken. The daily fix is all that’s keeping millions from a throbbing headache and foul mood. So while people may wince at the price, they’re buying it anyway–and reserving the right to rant.

Shrimp caught in tariff net as US buyers are forced to shell out more - Taylor Nicole Rogers, Financial Times:

US shrimp prices are surging amid tariffs on the country’s largest supplier, India, making the crustacean one of the first foods to see major price impacts from Donald Trump’s trade policy.

The price of the most popular seafood in America is “going up not gradually, but quite drastically”, India-based shrimp importer Avanti Feeds warned last month. Imports from Ecuador, another major exporter, have a 21.9 per cent average tariff.

The average wholesale price of a pound of peeled and deveined tail-on white shrimp rose to $6.25, a 21 per cent increase since April. Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on India this summer over its purchases of Russian oil, which he doubled to 50 per cent in August.

If Trump’s Tariffs Are Ruled Illegal, Businesses Expect Refund Chaos - Laura Curtis, Bloomberg News:

President Donald Trump has warned of disaster if the Supreme Court overturns his signature tariffs. For starters, it would unleash a bureaucratic nightmare involving reams of refund paper checks.

Should Trump’s country-based tariffs be deemed illegal, the US could owe the bulk of the $165 billion in customs duties collected so far this fiscal year back to companies that paid them. But they won’t have an easy time getting their money back; refunds are typically issued slowly with paper checks and while the administration could streamline the process to repay the funds en masse, experts fear that’s unlikely.

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Importers could be required to file what’s called a protest or post-summary correction, along with proof of every payment made and copies of all the importer-data that the government already has.

Blogs and Bits

ACA subsidies and the current government shutdown - Kay Bell on Substack. "The contentious component is the federal tax credit available to individuals who buy health care coverage through Affordable Care Act (ACA officially and informally still Obamacare to many) marketplaces."

What Is A Value Added Tax? - Pierre Lemieux, Econlog:

A VAT is equivalent to a domestic retail consumption tax that is not meant to (and cannot) be charged to foreigners. A tariff is also a consumption tax, but it discriminates against imported goods. A VAT does not discriminate between imported and domestically produced goods and does not hit inputs. The typical “border adjustments” in VAT-countries are precisely meant to keep this tax non-discriminatory.

The unraveling of Obamacare? - Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution. "By the way, how are we supposed to pay for all of this? Repealing the recent Trump tax cuts and raising taxes on the rich doesn’t seem to come close to bringing the budget into balance. Endorse a VAT if you wish, but then do so! And let us have that debate. In the meantime everyone is just playing games with us."

Op-ed: Shutdown theatrics just distract us from the REAL problem - Romina Boccia, The Debt Dispatch. "They rarely cut government spending, they don’t rein in the debt, and they don’t force lawmakers to make the tough choices our nation desperately needs."

Quotable

In any case, here are some hard truths for America and Europe: we can’t afford a massive middle-class welfare state. Our safety net can only support the needy and unlucky—and should do that well. Even then, there aren’t enough rich people to pay for it all. And they have a pesky habit of responding to incentives.

- Allison Schrager, Known Unknowns.

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Tax News & Views Noodles a New IRS CEO Roundup

Make a habit of sustained success.

Joe B. Kristan, CPA