Mute points; a twist on taking the AOTC; abolishing estate exclusions; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Hero hour

• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, a draft released Tuesday by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, is the first bid to provide additional economic relief to individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic and economic downturn. The raft of new provisions for businesses and individuals, and the key tax implications.
• Tax Girl (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/): The IRS will add 3,500 telephone reps to answer some of the most common stimulus questions — but reminds taxpayers that telephone assistance and other services will remain limited.
• Tax Warrior Chronicles (https://www.taxwarriors.com/blog): Many hoped the delay in guidance regarding Paycheck Protection program loan forgiveness meant that the SBA and Treasury were taking their time coordinating an application and associated guidance to provide borrowers clarity. Regrettably, on Friday evening, May 15, the SBA released the PPP Forgiveness Application with no additional guidance issued by the Treasury, leaving borrowers with more questions than answers. Here are some of the critical items the newly released application introduced.
• Intuit Tax Pro Center (https://proconnect.intuit.com/taxprocenter/): Now is the time for advisory services to help clients navigate the economic crisis. What you can do to get your firm up to speed.
• Solutions For CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): The importance of following.
• Sikich (https://www.sikich.com/insights/): Mass adoption of Zoom for consumers has resulted in the discovery of some important security flaws in the product, particularly if not further configured, as most consumers will not be. How to prevent Zoombombing.
• Summing It Up (http://blog.freedmaxick.com/summing-it-up): Ideas to “normalize” your environment to adapt to work style changes after the drastic changes over the past few weeks. Our favorite question: “To Mute or Not to Mute?”

Recalculations

• Rubin on Tax (http://rubinontax.floridatax.com): Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, new Code Section 67(g) was added to prohibit individual taxpayers from claiming miscellaneous itemized deductions through 2026. Questions have arisen as to what deductions of non-grantor trusts and estates come under this provision, including deductions that carry out to beneficiaries in the year of termination of the estate or trust. The IRS has issued proposed regulations to provide guidance.
• Procedurally Taxing (https://procedurallytaxing.com: The downside of the extension created by the decision in Guralnik v. Commissioner is that no one knows if the time to file a petition for those with a due date between March 19 and July 15 this year will be governed by a combination of Guralnik and Notice 2020-23 or by just one or the other. (The answer partially depends on when the Tax Court clerk’s office reopens.) Guralnik created a logical rule for a snowstorm that is a limited time event but does not work as well with an extended closure.
• National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): In the latest “You Make the Call,” can an American Opportunity Tax Credit be reclaimed after a denial of claim?
• Federal Tax Crimes (http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/): In United States v. Schwarzbaum, following through on its earlier opinion holding the calculation of willful FBAR penalties to be arbitrary and capricious, the court recalculated the willful FBAR penalties. A closer look at the numbers.

The good earth

• Turbotax (https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com): Being an in-home caregiver can be an emotionally difficult job as well as an expensive one. Being responsible for someone else’s well-being can be stressful, and it is often not inexpensive. A look at the tax breaks.
• Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/us/en/index.html): Some companies are required to collect sales and use tax. Others must instead collect and remit excise tax. But what happens when a business is liable for both?
• Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): Like most states. Michigan has a sales tax. And, like most states with sales taxes, Michigan provides for exemptions from its sales tax. How “soil” figured into one recent (and dirty, in a sense) request for a use-tax refund.
• TaxProf (http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/): A look at a proposal that our current estate and gift transfer taxes be abolished and that gifts, inheritances and bequests in excess of a lifetime exemption and various annual exclusions instead be includible for both income and payroll tax purposes.