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Republicans are gearing up for an ambitious 100-day agenda following President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House. Key proposals include renewing $4tn in expiring tax cuts, which have historically favored higher-income households. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said: “What we're focused on right now is being ready, Day 1.” The agenda also aims to roll back Biden-era subsidies and cut safety net programs, sparking debates on income inequality and government size. Critics, including Lindsay Owens of Groundwork Collaborative, argue that the tax cuts have exacerbated income disparities, with the top 1% benefiting the most. The GOP plans to use reconciliation to push through these changes, despite potential resistance from Democrats. House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised a “breakneck” pace in implementing these policies.

 

Los Angeles Times

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Barry Melancon is to retire from AICPA on December 31st, after leading the organization for almost three decades. “Adaptability is essential to keep pace with the ever-evolving landscape. Still, Barry has always reminded us of our purpose and the keys to our success: transforming with a steadfast commitment to integrity, competence, and objectivity, as we hold the public’s trust,” commented Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA, and current AICPA chair. The Journal of Accountancy notes that among his achievements during his tenure, Mr. Melancon "saw a need for AICPA to expand its focus beyond the public audits dominated by large firms and to fully embrace the types of work being done by most CPAs, those employed in small firms or in small companies, working to build the U.S. economy through entrepreneurial efforts sparking successful small businesses."

 

Journal of Accountancy

Black Friday spending in the U.S. highlighted a shift towards online shopping, with e-commerce sales rising by 14.6%, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, while brick-and-mortar store sales saw a minimal 0.7% increase year-over-year. Facteus reported a sharper contrast, with in-store sales dropping 5.4% and online sales growing by 11.1%. Adjusted for inflation, these figures translate to 8.5% online growth and an 8% decline for physical stores. Overall spending on Black Friday rose by 3.4% compared to the previous year, according to Mastercard, though this figure does not account for inflation. Salesforce, which tracks spending across different categories, reported $17.5bn in U.S. online sales on Black Friday, a 7% year-over-year rise, with significant purchases in home appliances and furniture. The shift to online shopping reflects growing consumer preference for convenience and digital deals, reducing foot traffic in physical stores. From November 1st to December 24th, Mastercard projects a 3.2% year-over-year increase in combined in-store and online spending, indicating cautious consumer behaviour amid economic concerns.

 

Reuters

Credit and debit card fees are putting increasing pressure on retailers, with sellers paying a total of $172bn in processing fees in 2023, an increase from around $116bn four years earlier. The coronavirus pandemic and resulting decrease in the use of cash has seen a 48% increase in the amount of fees retailers must pay. Callum Godwin, chief economist at payments consulting firm CMSPI, notes that Visa and Mastercard have increased charges for certain credit card transactions at least once since the pandemic, and that card companies are now offering more premium rewards cards with “substantially higher” fees for retailers.

 

New York Times

President Joe Biden has granted a pardon to his son Hunter, shielding him from potential prison time related to federal felony gun and tax convictions. The decision marks a significant shift from Biden's earlier stance, where he had ruled out any clemency for Hunter, stating: “Our answer stands, which is no.” The pardon comes just weeks before Hunter was scheduled to face sentencing following his trial conviction in Delaware and guilty plea in California. This development concludes a lengthy legal battle that began when Hunter publicly acknowledged being under federal investigation in December 2020.

 

CNN

Chicago Tribune

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Wall Street Journal

Recent tax cases have led to significant convictions, including a wholesale clothing importer, C'est Toi, and its executives, Si Oh Rhew and Lance Rhew, who were found guilty of avoiding over $8m in customs duties and laundering money. The jury also convicted them of multiple counts related to false statements and fraudulent papers. C'est Toi's operations involved concealing over $17m in cash transactions from the IRS. In another case, Alisha Warrick was sentenced to 10 years for wire fraud and filing false tax returns. Tax preparer Michael Ewell Sr. received a year in prison for submitting false returns, resulting in $824,835 in inflated refunds. The cases highlight the ongoing battle against tax fraud, with the IRS actively pursuing offenders.

 

Accounting Today

Allegations of bribery in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment have been denied by Adani Group finance chief Jugeshinder Singh. He stated that “We believe it is not warranted, we know for sure 100% that nothing of this sort happened. If we were paying that amount of cash to someone I would certainly know, so we know nothing happened." This comes after the DOJ claimed that bribes of over $250m were paid to secure solar power sale contracts.

 

MSN

An expected interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to represent an important transition point for finance chiefs, the Wall Street Journal suggests, with lower rates requiring new approaches to borrowing. Ira Kalish, chief global economist at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu remarked: “The initial rate cut itself won’t have much impact. It’s the expectation of future cuts in the months to come that will have an impact on the calculus for businesses.” The article notes that "CFOs may be guided by the need to preserve agility and flexibility, maintaining a robust balance sheet to safeguard strategic options," while Prashant Patri, a principal at Deloitte & Touche said lower interest rates will signify a “return to normal” for finance executives.

 

Wall Street Journal

Isabelle Wang, chief financial officer at Legion Technologies, writes on CFO.com on how the ability of CFOs "to foster a meaningful partnership with chief human resources officers (CHROs) is essential to healthy operations." She argues that CFOs have traditionally been "deeply analytical, grounded in logic and focused on financial rigor and business outcomes" while CHROs have prioritized empathy, culture and people-centric strategy. The article says that CFOs and finance teams must go beyond traditional metrics and pursue deeper engagement with HR to better understand how employee experience affects engagement, productivity, and retention.

 

CFO.com

The Italian tax system is skewed in a way that lets the country's wealthiest 7% pay proportionately less tax than low and middle-income earners, according to a study by five economists including former Treasury official Alessandro Santoro. "There is evidence that regressivity in Italy is remarkable compared with similar economies and affects incomes above €76,000 ($80,000) with wealth of about €450,000," Santoro told Reuters.

 

Reuters

Several federal employees have told CNN that they are afraid their lives will be forever changed as Elon Musk, who President-elect Donald Trump has announced will co-lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” makes government staff into personal targets. Last week, Musk reposted two X posts that revealed the names and titles of people holding climate-related government positions. “These tactics are aimed at sowing terror and fear at federal employees,” said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 800,000 of the 2.3m civilian federal employees. “It’s intended to make them fearful that they will become afraid to speak up.” Mary “Missy” Cummings, a former senior adviser at the National Highway Traffic Safety who angered Musk because of her criticisms of Tesla, said she already knows of federal employees who are quitting their jobs. “He intended for them, for people just like this, to be intimidated and just go ahead and quit so he didn’t have to fire them. So his plan, to some extent, is working,” she said.

 

CNN