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Global businesses are facing growing tax complexity and compliance demands, with nearly 40% of tax and finance leaders identifying rising reporting, administrative, and compliance requirements as the most significant tax-related challenge, according to Deloitte’s 2026 Global Tax Policy Survey. Based on responses from 1,010 executives across 28 jurisdictions, the survey found that measures such as Pillar Two tax rules and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism are increasing complexity, while 41% of respondents said further simplification of Pillar Two compliance should be a priority. Although 85% expect AI-powered tax tools to improve accuracy and reduce costs, confidence that digitalization will simplify compliance has fallen from 59% in 2024 to 36% in 2026, reflecting concerns about the cost and complexity of implementation. The survey also highlighted intensifying competition for skilled workers and growing interest in tax incentives to support sustainability and talent attraction initiatives.

 

International Accounting Bulletin

Expense Fraud Is Evolving Beyond Traditional Audits

Finance teams are under growing pressure to reduce risk, improve efficiency, and do more with fewer resources, all while financial activity becomes harder to monitor across fragmented systems and rising transaction volumes. At the same time, expense fraud is becoming more sophisticated through AI-generated receipts, subtle policy abuse, and tactics designed to evade traditional audits.

Join Oversight’s Resolution Services team to learn why manual reviews and rules-based approaches are no longer enough and how leading organizations are using AI-powered Finance Risk Intelligence to identify risky transactions earlier, prioritize true risk, and strengthen controls through continuous operational intelligence.

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U.S. employers are preparing to raise employee healthcare costs in 2027 as insurance expenses continue to climb, with two-thirds of large companies expecting to increase monthly premiums and nearly half planning additional changes that will raise out-of-pocket costs for workers. According to a Mercer survey of companies with at least 500 employees, employer healthcare benefit costs are projected to exceed $18,500 per employee in 2026, a 6.7% increase from 2025 and the largest annual jump in 15 years. Health insurance costs are expected to rise by more than 6% for a fourth consecutive year, well above the roughly 3% annual increases that prevailed for much of the past decade. Many employers are responding by increasing employee contributions through higher premiums, deductibles, and copays, while also steering workers toward lower-cost plans with narrower provider networks. The financial impact on employees will vary depending on healthcare usage, with those enrolled in more comprehensive plans potentially seeing costs rise by as much as 8%.

 

Bloomberg

A Reuters/Ipsos poll ‌reveals that more than half (53%) of Americans worry that the ​rise of AI could put them or someone in their household out of work. The survey of 4,531 U.S. adults nationwide found that the fear was spread fairly evenly across respondents by age, gender and education level. The poll found college graduates said they use AI more, with 50% saying they employ it regularly, compared to 34% of people without degrees and 40% of people overall.

 

Reuters

A U.S. appeals court has extended its block on ​a lower court ruling against the Trump ‌administration's 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act. President Trump imposed the new levy after the Supreme Court invalidated his previous emergency tariffs as exceeding his authority. The decision from the ⁠Federal Circuit appeals court allows the U.S. ​to continue collecting tariffs from three importers - two small businesses and the state of ‌Washington, ⁠which paid tariffs on purchases by the University of Washington - while ​the government's appeal plays out. “We conclude that the federal government has made a sufficient showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits,” the court wrote.

 

The Hill

Reuters

A U.S. business lobby has warned that some critical minerals and rare earth elements remain “nearly unobtainable” from China despite recent trade agreements, with export controls and licensing delays continuing to disrupt supply chains. According to the U.S.-China Business Council, around three-quarters of affected companies are seeking alternative sources, although many have yet to find viable replacements. The group said minerals used in aerospace, defence and advanced manufacturing remain particularly difficult to access, and warned that diversifying supply chains away from China could take years. The report also highlighted weakening business confidence, with only 49% of surveyed U.S. companies planning to invest in China this year amid ongoing geopolitical and trade tensions.

 

Reuters

Jeff Bezos has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) company, Prometheus, with former Google executive Vik Bajaj, aiming to develop an “artificial general engineer” capable of designing and manufacturing complex products such as jet engines. The business, valued at approximately $41bn and backed by $12bn from investors including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock, plans to use AI to improve productivity across the engineering process. Mr. Bezos argued that AI will ultimately create a labor shortage rather than mass unemployment, saying productivity gains will generate more opportunities than the jobs displaced. He added that AI is ushering in “a multitude of golden ages” and described the current environment as “the best time to start a company.”

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Wall Street Journal

Initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased modestly by 4,000 to 229,000 in the seven days to June 6th, signaling continued labor market resilience despite signs of softer hiring activity. The latest figure from the Labor Department exceeded economists’ expectations of 219,000 claims, although seasonal factors related to school summer breaks may have contributed to the increase. The report follows three consecutive months of solid job growth and an unemployment rate that has held steady at 4.3%. However, signs of labor market cooling remain evident, with the four-week moving average of claims up 4,350 to 219,000, and continuing unemployment claims rising 24,000 to 1.795m, while the number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or longer reached its highest level since December 2021.

 

AP News

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

U.S. wholesale inflation accelerated sharply in May, with the Labor Department's Producer Price Index (PPI) rising 6.5% year-over-year, its largest increase since November 2022, driven primarily by a surge in energy costs following disruptions linked to the Iran war. Producer prices increased 1.1% month-over-month for a second consecutive month, while wholesale gasoline prices jumped more than 23% from April and nearly 70% from a year earlier. Excluding food and energy, core producer prices rose 4.9% annually. The report follows data showing consumer inflation reached 4.2% in May, reinforcing concerns that elevated energy costs are feeding through the economy. “The bottom line is that U.S. inventory levels remain above estimated minimum operating thresholds,’’ commented S&P Global Energy’s Aaron Brady. “However, with continued disruption to Middle East flows, draws are likely to extend into the third quarter, even in the event of a near-term diplomatic resolution.’’ 

 

CNBC

Los Angeles Times

US News and World Report

The IRS has released its 2025 Data Book, highlighting a year of strong tax collections, taxpayer assistance, and enforcement activity. The agency collected $2.9tn in individual income tax withholding and payments, $486.4bn in business income taxes, and issued 116.9m refunds totaling $516.4bn. The report noted that about 45% of individual tax returns filed during the 2026 filing season claimed at least one deduction introduced under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, including deductions for tips, overtime pay, car loan interest, and seniors, with average refunds on those returns exceeding $3,200. The IRS completed nearly 498,000 audits that resulted in $26.8bn in recommended additional taxes, conducted 2,850 criminal investigations, and collected $73.1bn in unpaid tax assessments. The agency also assisted more than 50m taxpayers, processed over 224m electronic filings, and operated with a budget of $19bn and a workforce of more than 95,000 full-time equivalent positions.

 

CPA Practice Advisor

A report from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike says China-linked hackers presented the biggest espionage threat to technology companies over the past year, observing that such hacking ​campaigns align with Beijing’s strategic priorities and a sustained interest in technology ‌development, intellectual property, and information with strategic and economic value. Meanwhile, the report said North Korean hacking campaigns have “posed a major threat” in the past year, and Russia and Iran-linked hacking groups also heavily target other countries’ technology sectors for intelligence ⁠collection ​and destructive malware attacks.

 

Reuters

Microsoft is limiting employees' use of Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 because of the AI startup's new data retention requirements. All other Claude models are still available internally at Microsoft, because they operate under Zero Data Retention (ZDR) rules. It is not ​yet clear whether Microsoft's legal teams will clear Claude ​Fable 5 for internal use, The Verge reports.

 

The Verge

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unanimously ​proposed to ditch the "order protection rule," a regulation that was first adopted in 2005 ​to prohibit so-called trade-throughs, which occur when a trade happens at a bid or ‌offering ⁠price that is worse than what is quoted on another venue. The SEC said the rule had driven up costs and complexity and was no longer necessary. "I've opposed the trade-through rule since its ⁠inception and have elaborated on my concerns from this very ​stage," SEC Chair Paul Atkins said.

 

Reuters

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has priced the largest U.S. initial public offering in history at $135 per share, raising $75bn and valuing the rocket, satellite, and AI company at approximately $1.77tn. The valuation makes SpaceX one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world, despite the company reporting a loss last year. The IPO, which begins trading on Nasdaq on Friday, surpassed Saudi Aramco’s previous record IPO and was structured in an unconventional way, with 30% of shares reserved for retail investors and Musk retaining 82% voting control. SpaceX sold 555.6m shares in the offering.

 

Reuters

The FASB has issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update aimed at improving how companies measure pension obligations for certain market-return cash balance plans, following concerns that existing guidance does not accurately reflect the economics of these arrangements. Based on recommendations from the Emerging Issues Task Force, the proposal would require qualifying plans to use the assumed interest crediting rate as the discount rate when calculating benefit obligations, rather than other discount rates that may produce inconsistent results. FASB said the change would generally align a plan’s reported benefit obligation with its hypothetical account balance, improve consistency in practice, and provide a more accurate representation of pension liabilities. Stakeholders have been invited to submit comments on the proposal by August 10th.

 

Bloomberg

Accounting Today

CPA Practice Advisor