Matthew Gardner
@mindthegaap.bsky.social
I work with the fine folks at @itep.org. State/fed tax policy, corporate tax, financial accounting, dogs, surf, go Washington Spirit. Glass half empty but trying to fill it.
Bloomberg's Lauren Vella has a fun* financial accounting article today: US multinationals that are subject to the global minimum tax are going to have to report their tax expense in quarterly reports in a way that assumes it's really going to happen. (1/x) www.bgov.com/news/T5LXRVG...
November 12, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Bloomberg's Lauren Vella has a fun* financial accounting article today: US multinationals that are subject to the global minimum tax are going to have to report their tax expense in quarterly reports in a way that assumes it's really going to happen. (1/x) www.bgov.com/news/T5LXRVG...
Re-watched "The Insider" (25 yrs later!) on a whim this weekend; seemed appropriate as my kid and I were lodging in a Winston-Salem neighborhood of former tobacco warehouses. What a great film. Simultaneously a valentine to the heroism of the news media and a foreshadowing of future failures.
November 10, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Re-watched "The Insider" (25 yrs later!) on a whim this weekend; seemed appropriate as my kid and I were lodging in a Winston-Salem neighborhood of former tobacco warehouses. What a great film. Simultaneously a valentine to the heroism of the news media and a foreshadowing of future failures.
I say this with love, as someone ecstatic about the win: @washingtonspirit.com should pay us to go thru such excruciating games, not the other way around. Will be there with bells on for semis next week, but games like that reduce your lifespan.
November 8, 2025 at 9:45 PM
I say this with love, as someone ecstatic about the win: @washingtonspirit.com should pay us to go thru such excruciating games, not the other way around. Will be there with bells on for semis next week, but games like that reduce your lifespan.
Honestly I just think it's so nice these two found each other. It's as symbiotic a relationship as you'll ever see.
www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...
www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...
FIFA to award new peace prize at World Cup draw in Washington
FIFA has announced the creation of a peace prize, which it plans to award for the first time at the World Cup draw on Dec. 5 in Washington.
www.pbs.org
November 7, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Honestly I just think it's so nice these two found each other. It's as symbiotic a relationship as you'll ever see.
www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...
www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...
Spare a thought for the anti-tax guys in Texas who, having just shepherded through a constitutional ban on financial transaction taxes this week, are now left wondering "what taxes are there left for us to constitutionally prohibit?"
open.spotify.com/track/0TLD1R...
open.spotify.com/track/0TLD1R...
Is That All There Is?
open.spotify.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Spare a thought for the anti-tax guys in Texas who, having just shepherded through a constitutional ban on financial transaction taxes this week, are now left wondering "what taxes are there left for us to constitutionally prohibit?"
open.spotify.com/track/0TLD1R...
open.spotify.com/track/0TLD1R...
Among the more ludicrous of the 17(!) ballot measures approved by Texas voters this week is a boost in the property tax homestead exemption from $100,000 to $170,000. This is bad in roughly the same way that eating an entire wedding cake is bad.
www.texastribune.org/2025/11/04/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/11/04/t...
All 17 Texas Constitution amendments on verge of approval
The propositions include restrictions on the creation of certain taxes, new tax exemptions, investments on water infrastructure and dementia research.
www.texastribune.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Among the more ludicrous of the 17(!) ballot measures approved by Texas voters this week is a boost in the property tax homestead exemption from $100,000 to $170,000. This is bad in roughly the same way that eating an entire wedding cake is bad.
www.texastribune.org/2025/11/04/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/11/04/t...
RE NYC Mayor Mamdani's ambitious tax plans: remembering the day when then-Mayor Bloomberg proposed a plastic-bag tax; then as now, NYC tax hikes had to be approved by the state legislature and the leg signaled its disapproval, so Bloomberg backed down.
www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/n...
www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/n...
In Mayor’s Plan, the Plastic Bag Will Carry a Fee (Published 2008)
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:28 AM
RE NYC Mayor Mamdani's ambitious tax plans: remembering the day when then-Mayor Bloomberg proposed a plastic-bag tax; then as now, NYC tax hikes had to be approved by the state legislature and the leg signaled its disapproval, so Bloomberg backed down.
www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/n...
www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/n...
Robert Plant at Lincoln Theater tonight. I was 10 when Zep stopped touring; never thought I'd get a chance to hear him sing "Ramble on" or "Rain Song," both of which he reinvented with his new band tonite.
Also a cover of Neil Young's "For the Turnstiles," which surely no one has ever dared cover.
Also a cover of Neil Young's "For the Turnstiles," which surely no one has ever dared cover.
November 4, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Robert Plant at Lincoln Theater tonight. I was 10 when Zep stopped touring; never thought I'd get a chance to hear him sing "Ramble on" or "Rain Song," both of which he reinvented with his new band tonite.
Also a cover of Neil Young's "For the Turnstiles," which surely no one has ever dared cover.
Also a cover of Neil Young's "For the Turnstiles," which surely no one has ever dared cover.
Posted on Bloomberg Tax this morning: media folks, please stop reporting that Meta's $16 Billion tax hit on quarterly earnings is due to the Trump tax law. It's entirely a product of the Biden-era corporate minimum tax, and it's a big win for the rest of us.
news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...
news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...
Trump Meta Tax Giveaway $16 Billion Less Thanks to Biden-Era Law
Opinion: Meta's $16 billion earnings setback is entirely attributable to an important tax reform championed by the Biden administration in 2022.
news.bloombergtax.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Posted on Bloomberg Tax this morning: media folks, please stop reporting that Meta's $16 Billion tax hit on quarterly earnings is due to the Trump tax law. It's entirely a product of the Biden-era corporate minimum tax, and it's a big win for the rest of us.
news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...
news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...
Obscure 1040 Q: state income tax refunds are includible in federal gross income for itemizers, to the extent the refund reflects a state inc tax deduction that reduced taxable inc. After 2017, the SALT cap means state income tax refunds including in fed gross income can't exceed $10,000, right?
October 30, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Obscure 1040 Q: state income tax refunds are includible in federal gross income for itemizers, to the extent the refund reflects a state inc tax deduction that reduced taxable inc. After 2017, the SALT cap means state income tax refunds including in fed gross income can't exceed $10,000, right?
Meta's quarterly earnings report turned some heads this week for its disclosure of a $16 billion tax hit related to Trump's OBBBA tax law, which was first& foremost a gigantic tax giveaway. The earnings call didn't give much detail on the source of this. (1/x)
investor.atmeta.com/investor-eve...
investor.atmeta.com/investor-eve...
Meta - Q3 2025 Earnings Call
investor.atmeta.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Meta's quarterly earnings report turned some heads this week for its disclosure of a $16 billion tax hit related to Trump's OBBBA tax law, which was first& foremost a gigantic tax giveaway. The earnings call didn't give much detail on the source of this. (1/x)
investor.atmeta.com/investor-eve...
investor.atmeta.com/investor-eve...
This was a lot of fun. So glad to have @factcoalition.bsky.social doing a deep dive on oil/gas tax avoidance. Their new report is incredibly timely and very well executed.
We all have our own rock stars but Ian/Zorka/Erich/Amy are among mine even if none of them can sing. What a great panel.
We all have our own rock stars but Ian/Zorka/Erich/Amy are among mine even if none of them can sing. What a great panel.
On Thursday, FACT will host @whitehouse.senate.gov , @erichpica.bsky.social of @friends-earth.bsky.social and @mindthegaap.bsky.social + @amyhanauer.bsky.social of @itep.org for the launch of our new report. Register now to attend in-person or online:
thefactcoalition.org/report-launc...
thefactcoalition.org/report-launc...
Report Launch: “How US Tax Policy Subsidizes Oil and Gas Extraction Abroad”
Register now for the in-person and online launch of FACT’s new report analyzing the tax disclosures of 11 U.S. oil and gas multinational companies, and calling for the elimination of harmful subsidies...
thefactcoalition.org
October 24, 2025 at 11:40 AM
This was a lot of fun. So glad to have @factcoalition.bsky.social doing a deep dive on oil/gas tax avoidance. Their new report is incredibly timely and very well executed.
We all have our own rock stars but Ian/Zorka/Erich/Amy are among mine even if none of them can sing. What a great panel.
We all have our own rock stars but Ian/Zorka/Erich/Amy are among mine even if none of them can sing. What a great panel.
Reading Justice Roberts' opinion in last year's Loper Bright case. I'm having trouble remembering a time when a passage in a Court decision stopped me as completely in my tracks as did "agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do."
October 14, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reading Justice Roberts' opinion in last year's Loper Bright case. I'm having trouble remembering a time when a passage in a Court decision stopped me as completely in my tracks as did "agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do."
Who among us hasn't wondered: if scoring directly from a corner kick is called an "olimpico," and the first olimpico was scored (and given that name) in 1924, how come an olimpico wasn't scored in the actual Olympics until Megan Rapinoe did it in 2012?
Answer here: www.espn.com/soccer/story...
Answer here: www.espn.com/soccer/story...
Celebrating the Olimpico, one of soccer's most audacious goals
Oct. 2 is an auspicious date in soccer history: in 1924, the first goal direct from a corner was scored. Known forever as an Olimpico, here are some of the very best.
www.espn.com
October 14, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Who among us hasn't wondered: if scoring directly from a corner kick is called an "olimpico," and the first olimpico was scored (and given that name) in 1924, how come an olimpico wasn't scored in the actual Olympics until Megan Rapinoe did it in 2012?
Answer here: www.espn.com/soccer/story...
Answer here: www.espn.com/soccer/story...
CBO's new end-of-year report on the fed govt's finances got a little attention for its finding that corporate taxes went down 15% relative to FY24. Less prominent was discussion of the jump in interest paid on the national debt, which hit $1 trillion for the first time.
www.cbo.gov/system/files...
www.cbo.gov/system/files...
www.cbo.gov
October 14, 2025 at 12:57 AM
CBO's new end-of-year report on the fed govt's finances got a little attention for its finding that corporate taxes went down 15% relative to FY24. Less prominent was discussion of the jump in interest paid on the national debt, which hit $1 trillion for the first time.
www.cbo.gov/system/files...
www.cbo.gov/system/files...
Fascinating story of a guy who just *knew* there was life on Mars, & was able to parlay his family wealth into an observatory dedicated to finding it. Maybe I should be embarrassed to admit I didn't know there was (and still is?) a "Lowell family of Boston" of repute.
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Mars Is Heaven! | Nathaniel Rich
Percival Lowell was convinced that he had found proof of life on Mars, but his real achievement was to make Americans dream of a future there.
www.nybooks.com
October 12, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Fascinating story of a guy who just *knew* there was life on Mars, & was able to parlay his family wealth into an observatory dedicated to finding it. Maybe I should be embarrassed to admit I didn't know there was (and still is?) a "Lowell family of Boston" of repute.
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Ongoing fun project: following quarterly earnings calls where corporate execs are asked to quantify the effect of OBBBA on their cash taxes. This generally only comes up when a industry analysts ask. The candor is, in turns, refreshing and horrifying. (1/x)
itep.org/trump-tax-la...
itep.org/trump-tax-la...
Well, That Was Fast: Trump Tax Law’s New Corporate Breaks are Already Worsening the Deficit
Corporate income taxes for the fiscal year that ended in September are $77 billion lower than in the previous year, a 15 percent drop.
itep.org
October 9, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Ongoing fun project: following quarterly earnings calls where corporate execs are asked to quantify the effect of OBBBA on their cash taxes. This generally only comes up when a industry analysts ask. The candor is, in turns, refreshing and horrifying. (1/x)
itep.org/trump-tax-la...
itep.org/trump-tax-la...
This was only the second-prettiest Spirit goal scored in this game. Great afternoon at Audi.
October 5, 2025 at 8:29 PM
This was only the second-prettiest Spirit goal scored in this game. Great afternoon at Audi.
Wow, what a great lineup of speakers for @itep.org 's webinar on how the new federal tax changes will affect states-- and how states should respond. Hanauer/Davis/Mazerov/Hauser is like the starting lineup for the 1927 Yankees, if the Yankees could do your taxes. Don't miss it, Weds 10/8, 1 PM ET!
The new Trump tax law could throw state tax systems out of balance.
Our webinar will explore how states can chart their own course.
Learn more on our homepage, or sign up here:
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Our webinar will explore how states can chart their own course.
Learn more on our homepage, or sign up here:
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
September 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Wow, what a great lineup of speakers for @itep.org 's webinar on how the new federal tax changes will affect states-- and how states should respond. Hanauer/Davis/Mazerov/Hauser is like the starting lineup for the 1927 Yankees, if the Yankees could do your taxes. Don't miss it, Weds 10/8, 1 PM ET!
There's a lot of nuance in talking about tax policy. It's not always black and white.
But sometimes people just lie. And Donald Trump is lying *incessantly* right now about what the new tax law does to the federal income tax treatment of Social Security.
itep.org/trump-lying-...
But sometimes people just lie. And Donald Trump is lying *incessantly* right now about what the new tax law does to the federal income tax treatment of Social Security.
itep.org/trump-lying-...
President Trump is Still Lying About Ending Taxes on Social Security
Why is Trump saying that he has eliminated taxes on Social Security?
itep.org
September 12, 2025 at 12:12 AM
There's a lot of nuance in talking about tax policy. It's not always black and white.
But sometimes people just lie. And Donald Trump is lying *incessantly* right now about what the new tax law does to the federal income tax treatment of Social Security.
itep.org/trump-lying-...
But sometimes people just lie. And Donald Trump is lying *incessantly* right now about what the new tax law does to the federal income tax treatment of Social Security.
itep.org/trump-lying-...
Imagine making a $1 billion drafting error. That's what the authors of the 2017 Trump tax cut did when they failed to coordinate the timing of 2 related corporate tax changes that were part of the tax law's move to a territorial corporate tax system. More here:
itep.org/billion-doll...
itep.org/billion-doll...
Who Can Make a Billion Dollar Mistake and Not Lose Their Jobs? Congressional Tax Writers
A drafting error in the 2017 tax law will cost U.S. taxpayers over $1 billion in unintended tax cuts for big multinationals.
itep.org
September 5, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Imagine making a $1 billion drafting error. That's what the authors of the 2017 Trump tax cut did when they failed to coordinate the timing of 2 related corporate tax changes that were part of the tax law's move to a territorial corporate tax system. More here:
itep.org/billion-doll...
itep.org/billion-doll...
"Don't Look Up" isn't just a movie. Nebraska Dept of Revenue just released its estimate of how the new Trump tax law will affect state revenues; $216 M budget hole over next biennium. NE Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Obv) says this will be "great for Nebraska families."
revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/defaul...
revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/defaul...
revenue.nebraska.gov
September 4, 2025 at 12:48 PM
"Don't Look Up" isn't just a movie. Nebraska Dept of Revenue just released its estimate of how the new Trump tax law will affect state revenues; $216 M budget hole over next biennium. NE Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Obv) says this will be "great for Nebraska families."
revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/defaul...
revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/defaul...
In 25 years of looking at some pretty dumb tax laws, I don't think I've ever applied the adjective "sycophantic" to a bill. Until this one. Per Trump's request, the new tax law extends bonus depreciation retroactively to January 20, the date of his inauguration.
www.congress.gov/119/plaws/pu...
www.congress.gov/119/plaws/pu...
www.congress.gov
August 26, 2025 at 5:39 PM
In 25 years of looking at some pretty dumb tax laws, I don't think I've ever applied the adjective "sycophantic" to a bill. Until this one. Per Trump's request, the new tax law extends bonus depreciation retroactively to January 20, the date of his inauguration.
www.congress.gov/119/plaws/pu...
www.congress.gov/119/plaws/pu...
The ongoing Colorado special legislative session to deal with an estimated $1B budget shortfall is interesting for a few reasons.
#1 is that they're acknowledging the shortfall. Most states haven't come to grips with the budget hole induced by the new tax law.
coloradonewsline.com/2025/08/24/c...
#1 is that they're acknowledging the shortfall. Most states haven't come to grips with the budget hole induced by the new tax law.
coloradonewsline.com/2025/08/24/c...
Colorado special session 2025: Updates from the Capitol | Colorado Newsline
The Colorado Legislature is meeting in a special session to address a nearly $800 million hole in the state budget. Work began on Thursday morning and is expected to last through the weekend. After Re...
coloradonewsline.com
August 25, 2025 at 11:55 AM
The ongoing Colorado special legislative session to deal with an estimated $1B budget shortfall is interesting for a few reasons.
#1 is that they're acknowledging the shortfall. Most states haven't come to grips with the budget hole induced by the new tax law.
coloradonewsline.com/2025/08/24/c...
#1 is that they're acknowledging the shortfall. Most states haven't come to grips with the budget hole induced by the new tax law.
coloradonewsline.com/2025/08/24/c...
The new tax law instructs the IRS to probe public opinion on whether they'd like to keep the Direct File program, which lets many taxpayers file their tax returns for free through the IRS, or whether they'd rather pay Turbotax for that privilege instead.
IRS survey on this question is now live:
IRS survey on this question is now live:
IRS Free Online Tax Preparation Feedback Survey
IRS Free Online Tax Preparation Feedback Survey
irsresearch.gov1.qualtrics.com
August 25, 2025 at 1:23 AM
The new tax law instructs the IRS to probe public opinion on whether they'd like to keep the Direct File program, which lets many taxpayers file their tax returns for free through the IRS, or whether they'd rather pay Turbotax for that privilege instead.
IRS survey on this question is now live:
IRS survey on this question is now live: