Business Frame Weekly - Intuit Expects Above-Guidance Fiscal Year 2023 / Supreme Court May Challenge SEC, FTC / IRS Tax Gap to Increase

In this newsletter:

• Intuit Reiterates Operating Income and Earnings Per Share Guidance for Fiscal Year 2023
• Supreme Court Signals It May Allow Court Challenges to SEC, FTC
• Growing Tax Gap Shows Need for Better Service, Compliance, IRS Says
• Report: Hourly Earnings Growth Continues to Moderate
• National Taxpayer Advocate has Concerns about $400,000 Audit Promise
• Employers Should Fear the Truth Behind Quiet Quitting. Here’s Why.

Global financial tech platform Intuit Inc., which consists of TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, expects to report results for the first quarter fiscal 2023 above guidance ahead of its Nov 29 earnings announcement.

The U.S. Supreme Court may create a new avenue for companies and people to fight off complaints made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Justices are debating whether these people can take their complaints to federal court with constitutional challenges.

According to the IRS, based on projections for 2017-2019, the estimated average gross tax gap is projected to be $540 billion per year. This will be an increase from the annual tax gap averaging $496 billion for tax years 2014 through 2016.

Business Frame Weekly - November 08, 2022

Intuit Reiterates Operating Income and Earnings Per Share Guidance for Fiscal Year 2023

Intuit Inc., the global financial technology platform that makes TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, reiterated its full fiscal year 2023 operating income and earnings per share guidance. Ahead of its first quarter fiscal 2023 earnings announcement on Nov 29 2022, the company expects to report results for first quarter fiscal 2023 above guidance that it reiterated at Investor Day on Sept 29 2022. “We continue to be bullish on our small business and tax businesses, which made up 86 percent of our revenue last year, and we expect each of these segments to meet our previously issued revenue guidance for the year as we continue to accelerate innovation across the company,” said Sasan Goodarzi, Intuit’s chief executive officer.

Supreme Court Signals It May Allow Court Challenges to SEC, FTC

The US Supreme Court signaled it may open a new avenue for companies and people to fight off complaints by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), hearing arguments in cases that could undercut the clout of two powerful market regulators. The justices are considering whether those facing agency claims can go straight to federal court with constitutional challenges -- including attacks on the use of in-house judges to handle cases. Critics say the system gives agencies an unfair home-field advantage.

Growing Tax Gap Shows Need for Better Service, Compliance, IRS Says

The annual tax gap averaged $496 billion for tax years 2014 through 2016, and that figure is likely to grow, the IRS said in its latest set of tax gap estimates. The gross tax gap is the difference between the estimated tax liability for the period and the amount that taxpayers pay on time. Based on projections for 2017–2019, the estimated average gross tax gap is projected to be $540 billion per year, the IRS said. "These findings underscore the importance of ensuring fairness in our nation's tax system," outgoing IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement released Friday. "The increase in the tax gap estimates reflects that the IRS needs to do more, both in improving taxpayer service as well as working to improve tax compliance."

Report: Hourly Earnings Growth Continues to Moderate

The pace of hourly earnings growth for U.S. small business workers moderated for the second consecutive month to 5.01 percent, according to the latest Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch. One-month annualized hourly earnings growth stands below four percent. The Small Business Jobs Index, which measures the rate of small business job growth, slowed 0.32 percent in October to 99.43. “The compensation landscape is shifting. Hourly earnings growth remains at five percent, but is slowing,” said John Gibson, Paychex president and CEO. “At the same time, we’ve seen a significant increase in hours-worked in recent months, possibly a sign that small businesses are adapting to labor market pressures and looking to leverage existing staff. The growth in hours worked is having a positive impact on weekly earnings growth, which increased to 4.88 percent in October.”

National Taxpayer Advocate has Concerns about $400,000 Audit Promise

One of the constant reassurances about the $80 billion allocated to the IRS from the Inflation Reduction Act, P.L. 117-169, has been this: The agency will not use the money to focus on small businesses or households earning less than $400,000 a year. Last week, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins expressed doubt about that promise, because taxpayers could use it to assume they will not have to pay their fair share of taxes. “We want a fair system…” said Collins, “Do I want a huge percentage of people audited? No. But we want the right taxpayers audited." Collins spoke during a Q&A session with Jan Lewis, CPA, chair of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee.

Employers Should Fear the Truth Behind Quiet Quitting. Here’s Why.

Quiet quitting seems like odd terminology since it has nothing to do with actually ditching your job for greener pastures. Many argue that there's no such thing as quiet quitting because it simply refers to workers doing their assigned job during their typical workday. What they're not doing is taking on any extra duties, or participating in extracurriculars at work. It's about rejecting the idea that work has to take over your life. There are three main components that you can work on to improve that will ultimately benefit your company and team: value, wellbeing and communication. 1. Ensure your staff feels valued. 2. Invest in the wellbeing of your employees. And 3. Focus on connecting people to their work.

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