Free Republic

Is it finally lights out for the Council on American-Islamic Relations? Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, has sent a letter to the Treasury Department and IRS calling for scrutiny of the tax-exempt status of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its California chapter—citing evidence of prohibited election interference that I detailed in May 2024. Rep. Smith’s letter primarily focuses on the California chapter of CAIR, which was accused of improperly applying for and spending $7.2 million in federal taxpayer money granted by the state of California. However, the letter also draws attention to...

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can share tax information with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to aid immigration enforcement efforts. The unanimous decision struck down the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction, which attempted to block the IRS from providing addresses of suspected criminal illegal immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The three-judge panel, comprised of Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Senior Circuit Judge Harry Edwards, and Circuit Judge Patricia Millet, ruled on Tuesday that the appellants "are unlikely to succeed on the merits of...

🚨 HOLY SMOKES. President Trump and his sons are suing the IRS and Treasury for $10 BILLION DOLLARS over the leaking of his tax records YES! It's time for everybody who wronged President Trump to FAFO, INCLUDING the IRS. 🔥🔥 “The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people.”

For many Americans, charitable giving peaks in December. It is driven by holiday generosity, end-of-year reflection, and for some, last-minute tax planning. But a quiet change in the tax code is about to reshape how millions of taxpayers should think about charitable donations. Timing now matters more than ever. Starting in tax year 2026, Americans who do not itemize deductions will once again be able to deduct charitable donations. This time, the benefit is permanent and more generous than before. For the roughly 90 percent of filers who typically take the standard deduction, waiting until January instead of donating in...

Recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Frank Bisignano predicted that "94% of taxpayers will see tax reductions from President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' legislation. Many families will receive annual income tax reductions in the $10,000 to $20,000 range. Social Security recipients will see annual net increases in benefits ranging up to $6,000 due to the legislation's elimination of taxes on benefits." Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) called these tax reductions "inherently unfair. Only the richest 50% of Americans pay income taxes. Those too poor to pay these taxes and those on welfare will get no...

The first CEO of the Internal Revenue Service is reinforcing signals from the Trump administration that Americans could see the "biggest tax refund ever" in the new year. "We should expect exactly what the president said, as always happens," Frank Bisignano – also the commissioner at the Social Security Administration – said on "Mornings with Maria" Tuesday. "And the great leadership of the Treasury secretary has positioned us to be able to deliver in a whole bunch of ways for America." Bisignano confirmed that major tax refunds are expected in 2026, echoing President Donald Trump’s end-of-year address last week in...

A federal judge on Friday blocked the IRS from giving ICE the home addresses of taxpayers who might be undocumented immigrants — dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. The ruling is a significant victory for immigrant-rights group and liberal activists who are trying to resist the mass deportations that President Donald Trump has made a top priority for the first year of his second term. The Trump administration can appeal the decision, and it has a decent track record this year of overturning lower-court losses. A separate federal judge in a related case previously declined to...

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has filed two liens on claims of unpaid taxes by Senator Jim Justice and his wife Cathy, adding up to more than $8 million. The filings were first reported by Politico’s Ry Rivard. MetroNews reached out to Justice through his Senate office and through the communications team at The Greenbrier Resort, owned by the Justice family, but received no response. The full amount claimed by the IRS across two filings is $8,053,554.37, and the sums go back years. $3,060,855.27 is listed for the tax year 2009. $4,957,763.72 for 2017. $24,044.80 for tax year 2017. And...

The far-left extremists at the Southern Poverty Law Center already have seen the FBI announce it is cutting all ties with them. And a petition is demanding that the Department of Justice take the same step. Now a complaint has been filed with federal authorities calling for a full review of the SPLC’s status as a “charitable” organization that gives it huge tax breaks. According to the Federalist, the Center to Advance Security in America has submitted a legal complaint asking for the full review because of the SPLC’s “hyper-partisan political activity.” In fact, the complaint calls for the organization’s...

The IRS has unveiled higher federal tax brackets for 2026 to adjust for inflation. The standard deduction will increase to $32,200 for married couples filing together and $16,100 for single taxpayers. There are also changes to the long-term capital gains brackets, estate tax exemption, child tax credit eligibility and more. The IRS announcements come a day after the agency said it would furlough nearly half its workforce due to the ongoing government shutdown.

A top aide and confidante to former Obama official Lois Lerner who targeted conservatives and conservative groups was fired by the Internal Revenue Service, Fox News Digital has learned. Sources told Fox News Digital that Holly Paz, who served as the IRS Commissioner of Large Business and International Division, was terminated Monday. Paz was placed on administrative leave last month and was subsequently fired following an internal review, sources say.

A company owned by Tim Mynett, the multimillionaire husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), failed to pay its fair share of taxes in 2021, according to a tax lien obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Mynett's company, EStreetCo, accumulated nearly $206,000 in unpaid income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes in 2021, the IRS charged in a tax lien filed against the company in Sonoma County, Calif., in January 2023. Omar, who introduced legislation in February to "make corporations pay their fair share," was married to Mynett when the IRS says the company failed to pay its taxes. In her...

The Trump administration has issued $6.1 billion in fines to immigrants it says have ignored deportation orders. Now it is moving to collect those penalties. In recent weeks, the government has threatened immigrants with lawsuits, debt collectors and ruinous tax bills if they don’t pay financial penalties. If the recipient self-deports, Homeland Security says the fine will be waived ... “It’s driving immigrants to the point where they feel like they will lose everything if they remain in the United States, so it’s better to cut their losses, pack up and self-deport,” said immigration attorney LaToya McBean Pompy… “These fines...

U.S. Tax Court judge had tentatively set a Dec. 1 trial, and the petitioners are facing opposition from Trump's IRS, largely on the basis of procedural and administrative law. Future filings and a possible trial may disclose more facts about the Clinton Foundation that have not yet been tested as true or false. ============================================================== AU.S. Tax Court judge has tentatively scheduled a Dec. 1 trial allowing two whistleblowers to show they were wrongly denied an award for identifying alleged tax irregularities inside Bill and Hillary Clinton’s foundation, but the case is meeting resistance from an unexpected source: the Trump administration....

There will be no changes to individual information returns or withholding tables for the 2025 tax year while the IRS implements the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) in a phased manner, the agency said in an Aug. 7 statement.The IRS building in Washington on July 21, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch TimesInformation returns are documents that businesses must file with the IRS, reporting transactions such as wages paid to employees. The IRS’s withholding tables describe how much an employer must withhold from an employee’s paycheck for taxes, Social Security, and Medicare.The OBBB was signed into law by President Donald Trump...

Trump removed Billy Long from post months after agency said it couldn’t release information on some taxpayers The removal of the Internal Revenue Service commissioner Billy Long after just two months in the post came after the federal tax collection agency said it could not release some information on taxpayers suspected of being in the US illegally, it was reported on Saturday. The IRS and the White House had clashed over using tax data to help locate suspected undocumented immigrants soon before Long was dismissed by the administration, according to the Washington Post. Long’s dismissal came less than two months...

President Trump sent shockwaves throughout Washington, DC after making Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent the acting IRS Commissioner. Now, we may know why. As The Gateway Pundit reported, Trump removed Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Billy Long from the position and installed Bessent. Long had been in the job for less than two months. As a consolation, Long was awarded the U.S. Ambassadorship to Iceland, not exactly a plum position. But it was either Iceland or the unemployment line. The Washington Post reported Saturday that Long was booted from his position after he refused to hand over certain taxpayer data on suspected...

The change comes just two months into the former Republican congressman’s tenure leading the tax agency.President Trump is removing Billy Long from his job leading the Internal Revenue Service just two months after he was confirmed as commissioner, according to four people familiar with the matter. Mr. Long, a former Republican congressman and staunch ally of Mr. Trump, is expected to be nominated to an ambassadorship, the people said. It is unclear who will next lead the I.R.S., which has had six different people in charge this year. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting commissioner until a permanent...

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Bill Long said the agency will end its Direct File program after a limited pilot and one full filing season. President Donald Trump’s massive spending and policy bill includes funding to research and “replace any direct e-file programs run by the Internal Revenue Service.” Already, the program is “gone,” Long said at a tax professional summit on July 28, Bloomberg Law reports. “You’ve heard of Direct File, that’s gone,” Long said. “Big beautiful Billy wiped that out. I don’t care about Direct File. I care about direct audit.” The agency has not confirmed the future of...

Federal agents descended upon a California home connected to the “TikTok Cult” pastor who was the subject of a recent Netflix documentary series Friday — as part of an investigation into sex trafficking and other criminal claims. Several people were detained after a Tujunga home partially owned by Pastor Robert Shinn was raided by agents from the FBI, IRS, US Postal Service and Department of Labor, the Los Angeles Times reported. Officials served warrants related to allegations of sex trafficking, money laundering, mail fraud, tax evasion and COVID-19-related fraud, according to the outlet. The identities of those detained were not...