Over the course of my legal career, I have never missed a filing date or court appearance. I’ve never failed to return an important phone call or postmark a letter by the due date. And I’ve never missed a client appointment. My document signings have typically gone off without a serious hitch with just the right number of documents and pens (blue ink, always).
I’m not bragging. At least, not about me.
You see, those things aren’t the result of any special powers that I possess. They are because I have been lucky to be surrounded by fantastic staff for most of my career.
This has not always been the case. Early on, I didn’t have such luck. My first legal secretary rationed office supplies as if they were made of precious metals and marked the trash bags to ensure that the cleaning crew actually replaced them instead of just dumping out the bins.
And at another firm, I had a rotating crew of temps that would put Murphy Brown to shame. One revised all of my documents, including named fiduciaries, to be completely different, explaining that she felt like they were better that way. When I questioned whether this was the best career option for her, she admitted that she was just paying the bills while waiting for her break into a career in (I’m not making this up) standup comedy.
While those stints were a bit stressful, I am grateful for the miscues. It helped me realize very early on the importance of finding and retaining quality staff. When I started my own firm and was in charge of hiring, I focused on finding a team that was not only capable but also dependable—and flexible, a trait that’s important when working directly with clients. With very few exceptions, my staff proved to be outstanding.
I think about the importance of working with the right people a great deal at this time of year. When we’re frazzled, especially during a busy tax season, having a great staff can make all of the difference.
And it’s important to recognize those contributions. Because it’s never just about you, right? It’s also about the people who help you stay on track.
Fortunately, there’s time set aside every year to serve as a reminder to say “thank you.” While I’m a big proponent of expressing gratitude all year round, I understand that our profession is deadline-driven, and having a designated date to show your appreciation is helpful. And this year, as every year, Administrative Professionals Week will be celebrated the last full week in April. In 2022, that’s the week of April 24. If you prefer just one date, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, is Administrative Professionals Day.
Administrative Professionals Week has been around for 70 years. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer first recognized it in June 1952, then called National Secretaries Week.
The name was changed to Professionals Secretaries Week in 1981. Another switch in 2000 resulted in Administrative Professionals Week to acknowledge changing job titles and expanding responsibilities of the administrative workforce.
It’s an excellent opportunity to show those in your office how much you appreciate what they do—because, let’s face it, none of us do this alone.
That’s true at Bloomberg Tax, too. We’re fortunate to have a great community of tax professionals who offer insights into important tax issues. This week, as always, our experts will help you stay informed with great commentary and insightful analysis on federal, state, and international tax issues, giving you time to focus on your work.
The Exchange… It’s where great ideas intersect.
—Kelly Phillips Erb
Quick Numbers Trivia
How many workers in the U.S. identify as secretaries and administrative assistants?
Answer at the bottom.
Our Roundup
Our experts touched on a wide range of topics, from electric vehicles to problems at the IRS. For a look at what’s making news, here’s our roundup.
Cannabis
Last week, many in the country took notice of 4/20, a day focused on cannabis culture. While the day used to be celebrated in hushed tones, marijuana doesn’t have the same taboo as it once did, mostly thanks to legalization efforts. It’s still prohibited by federal law (possession can lead to fines and jail time), but many states currently have laws legalizing marijuana for either medical or recreational use. The conflict between federal and state laws has created tricky tax and accounting issues. Last week, our experts tackled some of these issues, offering both cautions and potential solutions.
- The discrepancy between federal and state law concerning cannabis creates significant challenges, risks, and potential pitfalls. Cannabis businesses would be wise to routinely assess their compliance under tax code Section 280E and promptly amend prior-year tax returns to reflect reporting changes, Akerman’s Irán Hopkins writes in Cannabis Under Federal Law—What’s the Fuss About Section 280E?
- In awarding its recreational cannabis licenses, the state of New York is attempting to right generations of wrongs caused by the war on marijuana, say AB FinWright’s Simon Menkes, Abraham Finberg, and Rachel Wright, who look at New York’s vision for licensing recreational cannabis in New York’s Cannabis Social Experiment and How You Can Participate.
- Section 280E was enacted to take the profit out of trafficking illegal narcotics, but it instead has led to heavy taxes for state-legal cannabis businesses. As legal cannabis markets mature, they deserve equality and the right to leave the trappings of federal prohibition behind, say Moxy Accounting’s Katye Maxson-Landis and Katie Scates in Marijuana and Tax: The Dark Reality of Cannabis Taxation.
Cryptocurrency
In OECD Proposals on Crypto Asset Reporting Framework and Common Reporting Standard, Alfredo Collosa looks at the OECD’s recently released public consultation document on creating a crypto asset reporting framework for fiscal transparency and amending the common reporting standard.
Earth Day
April 22 marked Earth Day. The first Earth Day was held in 1970 in the U.S. to raise public awareness about air and water pollution. That year, activists helped form the Environmental Protection Agency and the pass laws like the National Environmental Education Act and the Clean Air Act, according to EarthDay.org. Today, Earth Day is observed worldwide, with a focus on global issues like climate change. Here’s a look at environmental and tax matters making news.
- In The Changing Landscape—ESG and Taxation, Simon Crookston of Crowe looks at how organizations need to take an active interest in sustainable, ethical, and responsible corporate policies, and how these interact with their tax strategy, focusing on some U.K. measures.
- Recalculating the price to emit carbon every two years based on changes in damage and stretching out payments could be a powerful yet affordable incentive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, environmental attorneys Michael H. Levin and Alan P. Loeb say in Tackling the Great Climate Unmentionable.
- A reimagined electric vehicle credit system would immediately improve middle-class fuel expenditures, subsidize cleaner energy, and help ensure an equitable distribution of benefits during a trying time, says tax and technology attorney Andrew Leahey in Rehabbing Electric Vehicles’ Image Problem—Refundable EV Credits.
IRS
Bloomberg Tax is taking a deep dive into the problems plaguing the Internal Revenue Service. We asked current and former government officials, agency watchdogs, and tax professionals to break down how the IRS landed in such a dire situation and offer their plan for how the agency can fix itself.
- The pandemic shined a spotlight on obstacles in our tax system, the antiquated nature of our tax administration system, and the need for modernization at the IRS, but the agency could take immediate action to help alleviate some of the burden, writes Edward S. Karl of the AICPA in The IRS Is Long Overdue for Substantial and Systemic Changes.
- The IRS has lost about 20% of its full-time workforce since 2010. In Rebuild IRS With Hiring, Training, More Pay, Appeal to Service, NTEU President Tony Reardon says that reversing that trend will take a commitment to hire employees faster, train them better, offer them higher salaries, and appeal to their sense of public service.
- In Our Tax Ecosystem Needs a Modern Refresh, Starting With the IRS, Jackson Hewitt CEO Gregory Macfarlane says that allowing tax preparers to help clients validate certain key data points before filing a return, passing regulatory standards for paid tax preparers, and increasing funding for technology would all help to modernize the IRS.
- Public trust in the IRS remains fairly high. Still, decades of underinvestment have affected public perceptions of its effectiveness and level of service, writes Charles O. Rossotti, former commissioner of the IRS, in Longstanding Funding Shortfalls Fuel Public Perception of IRS.
Global Economies
In Keeping the U.K.'s R&D Environment Globally Competitive, Carrie Rutland of BDO reviews current plans to raise public investment in research and development in the U.K. and considers what the government would need to do to support early-stage businesses, boost economic growth and jobs, and maintain the U.K.'s competitiveness.
While the marketplace facilitator tax laws are not clear cut, the marketplaces’ options are, says Quaderno’s Annie Musgrove in Marketplace Facilitator Tax Laws Are Here—So Is ‘Build vs. Buy,’ and the business dilemma commonly known as “build vs. buy” has now arrived in the tax sector.
A Closer Look
Changing settlement language sometimes doubles what a plaintiff keeps without any cost to defendants, and language can reduce taxable income, increase deductions, defer tax liability, and even secure a tax subsidy. But tax strategies can fail when defendants object. In the latest edition of “A Closer Look,” Lane Powell PC’s Jeremy Babener; Don Engels of Ringler Associates, Inc., and the Settlement Tax Group; and C&L Value Advisors’ Deborah Hresko share the importance of plaintiff tax strategies, defendants’ role in effecting those strategies, why defendants object, and how to overcome their objections.
Columnists
For months, we’ve been reading about IRS processing delays. But what do those numbers really mean? Here’s a look at some of the real-life problems taxpayers are reporting due to the delay.
Listen In
As millions of Americans completed their annual tradition of filing taxes earlier this week, they again connected with a sprawling government agency besieged by issues that money alone can’t solve. The IRS is still working through a backlog of unprocessed tax returns and can’t keep up with a flood of phone calls from taxpayers looking for help.
On the latest episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax reporters David Hood and Naomi Jagoda spoke with former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen and Carlos Lopez, founder of the Latino Tax Professionals Association, about what the agency can do to get back on the right track.
Student Writing Competition
Do you have an original take on current events and issues in tax practice and policy—but you’re not yet a tax professional? Our second annual tax writing competition is the perfect opportunity to show off your work: The competition is intended to highlight the very best of student writing.
Our Wish List
What’s on our Bloomberg Tax Insights wish list right now?
For May, we’d love to see nonprofit pieces, including best practices for nonprofits and Form 990 updates. We’re also looking for smart takes on charitable giving incentives, donor-advised funds, donor privacy issues, and estate and gift planning techniques. And, of course, we’re interested in charity and government-related concepts like unrelated business income taxes (UBIT) and payments in lieu of tax (PILOT).
Our Insights articles—about 1,000 words—are written by tax professionals offering expert analysis on current issues in tax practice and policy, tax trends and topics, and tax and accounting firm practice and management.
If you have an interesting, never-published article for publication, we’d love to hear about it. You can contact our Insights team by email (TaxInsights@bloombergindustry.com).
Get Caught Up
Bloomberg Tax is taking a deep dive into the problems plaguing the IRS. We asked current and former government officials, agency watchdogs, and tax professionals to break down how the agency landed in such a dire situation and offer their plan for how the agency could be fixed.
- Paper Addiction Remains Agency’s ‘Kryptonite’
- IRS or Waffle House? Hot Market Fuels Struggle to Fill Key Roles
- IRS Hits Gridlock in Collision of Tax and Social-Services Roles
- Troubled Agency’s Needs Run Deeper Than Funding
- Trust Still Broken at IRS, Leaving Rettig in Messaging Muddle
*Note: Your Bloomberg Tax login will be required to access Tax News.
Spotlight
Our Spotlight series highlights the careers and lives of tax professionals across the globe. This week’s Spotlight is on Amanda Pedvin Varma, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington.
Lunch and Learn
Are you dreaming about getting a better job? One with higher compensation, better benefits, and greater fulfillment? Don’t let a poorly written or badly organized resume block your path to the next step in your career. Let us help!
Bloomberg Tax Insights is relaunching its virtual Lunch & Learn series with “How to Firm Up Your Resume as a Tax Professional” on May 19 from noon to 1 p.m. ET. Tax lawyers and general counsel are also encouraged to participate.
We’re bringing in two experts from Robert Half, a global talent solutions and business consulting and talent solutions firm with more than 300 locations worldwide. They’ll share the latest news about the job market, what tax firms are looking for, and how you can position yourself through your resume to get noticed.
You can join us for this free virtual event, no registration required, by signing on here at noon on May 19.
Upcoming
This tax season has been, well, taxing. But now that it’s over, maybe you can use that extra energy for the Bloomberg Tax Insights Virtual 5k. Run, walk, or run/walk 5k—that’s 3.1 miles!—any time between June 6 and June 12 to support a great cause. For the second year in a row, we’re donating the proceeds to World Central Kitchen, which works to fight hunger around the world and is serving meals to Ukraine families in need. We’ll make the registration link available soon!
Career Moves
Financial services lawyer Sameer Patel has joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in its Chicago office.
Tax controversy and litigation attorney Jennifer Benda has joined Holland & Hart LLP as a partner in the Denver office.
Attorney Kevin T. Keen has joined Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP as a partner in the private wealth practice in Dallas.
If you are changing jobs or being promoted, let us know. You can email your submission to TaxMoves@bloombergindustry.com for consideration.
Quick Numbers Answer
According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3,363,900 workers identified as secretaries and administrative assistants in 2020. Of those, 538,800 identified as executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants, while 160,400 identified as legal secretaries and administrative assistants.
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