NYSSCPA Members in the News

Fred Slater (Manhattan/Bronx)
Election Creates ‘Very Real Possibility’ of Tax Reform
Accounting Today
With Donald Trump having aligned his tax plans with those of Congressional Republicans over the course of the campaign, his election puts the GOP in a position to enact significant changes in the nation’s tax system.  “There’s no more reason for any delay for any type of tax reform,” explained Tony Nitti, a CPA, tax educator and partner at Top 50 Firm Withum. “You’ve got a Republican in the White House, control of the House and Senate, and a tax wonk as Speaker of the House in Paul Ryan. Their plans are fairly aligned between Trump and things that Ryan has proposed in the past, so there’s really no reason not to have significant change in the tax law – if that’s what they want to happen.”

Other Accounting and Financial News Stories

Relief Coming for Some Banks, But Not the Biggest
Wall Street Journal
Small and medium-size banks in the U.S. can look forward to regulatory relief under a Donald Trump administration, but risks loom for the biggest U.S. lenders. In the aftermath of Mr. Trump’s victory, one thing investors can likely be confident in is that substantial deregulation is coming for smaller banks. Bank stocks overall were trading higher Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of this. A bipartisan consensus has been building for some time that smaller banks are excessively burdened by the regulatory requirements of the Dodd-Frank legislation.

Donald Trump Victory Casts Clouds Over Fiduciary Rule
Wall Street Journal
New retirement rules set to take effect next year are now in jeopardy after Donald Trump’s upset presidential election win, leaving Wall Street unsure on how to proceed with implementation. Analysts and industry experts wondered Wednesday morning if Mr. Trump, who during his campaign called for a temporary moratorium on all new regulations from federal agencies, would follow through on his pledge to halt or dismantle the Labor Department’s so-called fiduciary rule.

IRS Chief’s Fate Foggy After Trump Victory
Bloomberg BNA
The startling outcome of the presidential election means an uncertain future for the head of the Internal Revenue Service, a figure tax practitioners have applauded and right-wing lawmakers have lambasted. It is possible President-elect Donald Trump, or his Treasury secretary, would seek IRS Commissioner John Koskinen’s resignation—though in practitioners’ eyes that decision may be unwise. Rather, a new president ought to focus on filling out cabinet spots, making appointments and embarking on top priorities, they told Bloomberg BNA Nov. 9 and in the days leading up to the election.

The IRS Gets Told to Work on Its Bitcoin Taxation Plan
CryptoCoinsNews.com
A review by the Treasury Inspector General toward evaluating the IRS’ strategy to address income streams produced via virtual currencies has determined that the IRS has done very little in this regard. In a newly released report [PDF], the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has determined that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)  has done very little to implement a program for noncompliance issues with potential taxpayers engaging in transactions with virtual currencies.

The Department of Labor Fiduciary Standard: Considerations for CPAs
CPA Practice Advisor
In April 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) released the long-awaited Final Rule (Rule) amending the definition of the term “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)[1]. The Rule includes a conflict of interest rule applicable to retirement investment advice, as well as various exceptions and amendments affecting retirement plan transactions. More than 1,000 pages in length, there is much to digest for those in the business of providing advice to businesses and individuals regarding benefit plans and benefit plan investments.

EU Banks Face 18% Provision Spike Under New Accounting Rules
Bloomberg BNA
European banks will need to increase provisions by 18 percent on average to meet new rules on accounting for potential loan losses, according to the European Banking Authority. The accounting standards known as IFRS 9, which are set to apply from 2018, will also take a toll on lenders’ balance sheets, shaving an average of 59 basis points from their top-quality capital ratios, according to the EBA study published on Thursday.

Taxes? Trade? How Trump Could Affect Key Areas of Economy
ABC News
Donald Trump won the presidency by pledging to restore a vanished and golden economic era, when growth roared, factory jobs flourished and America sat unchallenged atop the global economy. Yet he never offered much of a roadmap. Which is why it's far from clear how Trump will affect the economy, even though his agenda enjoys the advantage of Republican control of both the House and Senate. Trump has pledged to revitalize the mainly white working class that elevated him — a tough task given an aging U.S. workforce, dwindling options for people with little education and years of stagnant pay.

City workers got $25M in duplicate tax refund checks
New York Post
The city erroneously sent $25 million in checks to thousands of employees — but not one single recipient tried to cash in, the Post has learned. The city mailed over 24,000 checks to employees and then cancelled them because they were duplicate payments of tax refunds for 2015, officials said. Not one cop, firefighter, sanitation worker, correction officer or other public servant tried to cash their check, the Department of Finance said. “As of late yesterday, our bank vendor told us that none of the checks had yet to be cashed or deposited,” an email from the Department of Finance said.