If you build a mini business empire and it subsequently fails, a small consolation prize might be a net operating loss carryover that will shelter some or all of your more modest income for many years. Of course NOLs are only one among many carryovers that need tracking. In my experience the tracking often leaves much to be desired. Changes in tax preparers or even software can result in the loss of valuable carryovers. But that is not the worst of it...
Worrisome Messages Subtly Delivered Via Recent Tax Developments
Annette Nellen, CPA, CGMA, Esq.
Tax professionals are inundated with tax developments from all branches of the government and from all levels of government on a daily basis. Our technical tax knowledge expands weekly. Given the immensity of tax law changes in P.L. 119-21 (July 4, 2025), informally named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), and the guidance we’ll continue to get over the next few years along with non-OBBBA updates, we might run out of time and bandwidth to step back and ask what additional relevance this guidance, as well as various reports issued by the government every day, mean for the well-being of our tax system. This article unpacks select tax law changes and government documents to offer four subtle messages within them. Generally, the messages don’t bode well for an effective tax and revenue system. The article ends with some suggestions on what can help improve our tax system.
