21 videos from our c-span studentcam documentary competition. every morning, before washington journal, we will hear from one of our studentcam winners, whose documentary told us how the federal government impacted their life. you can watch all the winning documentaries anytime online at studentcam.org. washington journal continues. host:host: welcome back to washington journal. it is our saturday podcast segment. i'm joined by david stewart, host of the tax notes talk podcast. he is the tax notes today international editor-in-chief. welcome to the program. nice to have you in the studio. guest: thank you for having me. host: first, tell us about the podcast. when and why did you started? guest: we started in november of 2017. we were coming from a print journalism background, so this

was a chance to branch out into something new and potentially reach a new audience besides our normal subscriber base, and it had a very good reaction and we are quite pleased with how it turned out. host: what kinds of topics do you talk about? to were the guests you would have on your program? guest: next week, appropriate for tax season, we will have irs commissioner charles rettig. that's a crossover episode with our series tax issues. we've also had a lot of discussion about international tax and the attempts to reform corporate tax on an international basis, which feeds well into my other job as the editor-in-chief of a publication, and we have spoken with the head of tax at the oecd for that as well as the cochairs

of the inclusive framework, which is the group working on the nuts and bolts of those proposals. host: i want to tell viewers how they can talk to you. you can call us according to your region. in the eastern or central time zone, (202) 748-8000 call us on (202) 748-8000. if you are in mountain pacific, (202) 748-8001. don't forget, you can tweet us and send us a text. so the deadline for taxes is monday, not this coming one, but next monday. so if you have already filed your returns, what can you expect? guest: we heard from the irs commissioner this week that he was on the hill discussing this filing season that there is actually two different expectations. if you are an e-filer, it is being handled quickly, and if

you are a paper filer, not so much. there's been a long backlog of paper filings and, as this tax year began, there was a significant backlog of previous year tax filings on paper. host: what are we looking at if you filed on paper? how long of a backlog is it? guest: according to commissioner rettig's testimony, they still have -- it was several million tax returns that they had not gotten to on paper from last year, so he has promised congress that the irs will work through their backlog by the end of this year, so how that plays out for individuals, i couldn't speculate. host: let's take a look at that testimony. we have it here, of irs commissioner charles rettig at the senate. [video clip] >> with respect to our current filing season, we are off to a healthy start in terms of tax

processing and the operation of our i.t. systems. through april 1, we have processed more than 89 million returns, processed 60 million refunds totaling more than $204 billion. however, there are essentially two distinct filing systems -- seasons. filers who do so electronically receive refunds, many of them, within three or four days of submission of their electronic file. for taxpayers who submit paper returns, it is first in, first out. we are processing approximately 2.7 million returns still that we received in calendar year 2021, so taxpayers who this season choose to file a paper return end up at the end of that stack. host: why is the irs having such a hard time with paper returns? today not have enough people working there -- do they not

have enough people working there? guest: it is a people and money issue that's been building for a while, and the pandemic also caused a significant disruption. divide administration -- the biden administration proposed an increase in the budget of the irs. they also received enhanced hiring capability. during his testimony, commissioner rettig i believe discussed the additional hiring they are doing, something on the order of 2500 new hires or thereabouts, with the goal of getting 5000 new hires in, and that is part of his plan to try and deal with that backlog. host: do you think that is enough? will that take care of the backlog? guest: i personally don't know. it is a very large problem. the commissioner seems to think you can do it. i know there are some who are skeptical. host: i mean, it seems like people really need to move to

the electronic if they can, because these paper filings are taking a long time. guest: yeah, and in his testimony he discussed that a significant majority, over 90% of filers, are using the electronic system. and that definitely helps with the irs system, with trying to work through these things, because as has been explained, there is a manual process of taking these paper returns and inputting that information. they have discussed other methods that they could use to avoid that, barcodes discussed by the national taxpayer advocate, which would allow for an electronic creation of a tax return and a barcode to be created to the information does not have to be manually reentered. host: there's a headline here from the washington post that says "fighting a red-hot job market, the irs struggles to

rebuild." let's talk to some viewers. cheryl is up in brookline, massachusetts. hi, cheryl. caller: hi. thank you for taking my call. i have a question that i have not been able to get a consistent answer to. i cannot get any answer from the irs and from one of the major online tax preparer systems. my husband and i both get social security from the state. he also is a dual citizen in the u.k. please work 30 years here but he also gets social security -- he has worked 30 years here but he also gets social security from the u.k., a state pension. we cannot get an answer as to whether or not he should pay taxes on that. the cpa says yes, the major online tax preparer says absolutely not, there's a u.k.-u.s. trade agreement, but

just because we didn't know what to do, we have been paying taxes on that british social security, which doesn't seem fair, because if it was u.s. social security, it would not be fully taxed. host: ok, cheryl. let's get a response. guest: i cannot speak to your specific situation other than to recommend finding an expert who can interpret the u.k.-u.s. tax treaty. i definitely am not an expert in that area. host: all right. tom is calling us from denver , colorado. good morning. caller: can you hear me ok? host: yes. we can hear you. guest: -- caller: i am using turbotax online. what i did is i moved some money from one ira company to another

one, i took part of that, put it into a roth, and i got my 1099(r) back and everything like that but it took my gross income up way too much money and i'm getting a huge amount back that doesn't make any sense. i guess it is, well, it should be neutral as far as i'm concerned. i'm curious how they are working through it. host: what do you think? guest: again, i cannot give tax advice. i cannot speak to your situation. if this is a situation where you will need to find someone who understands these particular nitty-gritty issues, i'm sorry. host: all right. skip is in washington, d.c. good morning, skip. caller: hello. i have missed filing my 2020

filing deadline and 2021 because of the pandemic and all you people. i just had so much other things that i was dealing with, so what should i do at this point? because, you know, i want to avoid penalties and things like that. i would like to file for all three years this one time, so can i still do that? host: do you know? guest: we're falling into specific advice. host: i wonder if there's any relief, though, for the pandemic, for the tax filing, or was it just -- guest: there have been many extended -- in the first year of the pandemic, they extended the filing season automatically. this last year, there was not an extension, but for people in particular situations like hurricane ida,

unfortunately i cannot give tax advice or speak to specific issues. host: we got a tweet from steve and he says this. "i don't know who is still filing via mail but they need to join the 21st century. i got my refund in a week filing electronically." this is a text from sean in massachusetts, "can the guest explain the difference between the rich elite who don't pay taxes and break the law and rich elite who use laws passed by congress to pay as little as possible? does your guest think attacked overall are out of control?" guest: i don't have any opinion

on if taxes are out of control. there are interesting conversations about how to tax the very wealthy. the biden administration put out its latest budget which includes a billionaires' tax. those with more than $1 billion of assets will be subject to a 20% minimum tax. that is to any issue that republicans have been talking about where the very wealthy only pay tax when they sell their assets. they pay capital gains rate at the time that they sell their assets. for some, they almost never have to sell their assets. they can borrow against them and

when they pass on their assets, the assets have the new basis. there is never capital gains recovered on those assets. what the new administrative proposal does cents it would to percent minimum and every year those assets are measured to find out what gains are built into them. for person to has a very large fortune, they will have to look every year and see how much they are worth is here, how much they were worth last time i recorded this and that factors into their total income for the 20% minimum tax which has a multiyear payment period. that is one of the many proposals out there. there are several market to market proposals.

the alternative would be a wealth tax which elizabeth warren has suggested. that has a potential constitutional question that is more acute than the constitutional question on market to market proposals. with market to market, you could argue it is a timing and taxing income with a wealth tax. it is not clear that it falls within what congress is allowed to pass. host: let's look at those numbers on the screen. this is biden's 2023 budget proposal. that is the minimum tax rate on households worth more than $100 million. that relies -- and would raise $360 billion in revenue over 10 years according to the white house. let's talk to john in penn

valley, california. caller: good morning. two questions, one is what is the maximum amount i can give to an individual that they will not have to pay taxes on? the second part of the question is, if there are three individuals in a family, can i independently send a check to each one of those individuals they will not have taxes on them? guest: we are falling into advice again. [laughter] there is an inclusion amount, i don't know it at the top of my head and it is per donor per person exclusion amount. host: so you could give to as many people as long as he does not exceed that amount. guest: i would not go as far to get that advice.

i recommend discussing it with a tax professional before making a move like that. host: marion is in at this, georgia -- is in athens, georgia. caller: i have a question regarding electronic filing. i filed a paper return in 2019 and they did not process it until after i submitted electronically my 2020 return and it was rejected. now i am stuck. they finally got to my 2019 return my 2020 return -- i don't want to file it by paper and have the same issue because i have 2021 ready. is there a way i can go back and filed electronically my 2020 return?

guest: i don't know that but that does speak to the issue the commissioner was discussing, the massive backlog. it is smaller than it was last year, but it is still an ongoing challenge. host: that was marion in athens, georgia. let's talk to mary in philadelphia, pennsylvania. caller: i would like to let mr. stewart know that i would encourage everyone to file taxes. even if you are below the operative guidelines, you may be entitled to the earned income credit, child tax credit, and student loans. i am a retired government worker . people think because they are below the poverty guidelines we end up paying you more than what

you actually pay into the system. because people are not aware of the tax laws, they really don't file their taxes if they think i did not make that much, i make $10 an hour, nine dollars an hour. we pay you more just like we pay businesses and corporations and they don't pay taxes. we actually pay them more because they hire employees based on that tax system. the problem is with seniors we have no right off -- no write off to take advantage of the tax system because we do not have businesses, a lot of us. we do not have a nonprofit. we have to pay the full tax amount. please, make sure you take

advantage if you have student loans. you file your taxes. it is to your benefit. i have seen people that have gotten $7,000 back, below the poverty guidelines and had student loans. make sure you take advantage of our tax laws. host: any comments on that? guest: i will note that there is a significant portion of what the irs does to distribute money for specific purposes. the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit which was expanded last year and has reverted back to where it was before. there are these refundable tax credits. a tax credit is a one to one production on your tax bill. a refundable tax credit means you don't need liability for

that account. -- for that to count. many people get money back without having tax liability to begin with. host: we have a text from california, "the irs backlogged? no excuse. it is understaffed. americans have been threatened their refunds will be delayed. when any other country asks for money, the check goes out that night." let's talk to sean in california. caller: i wanted to ask a question about the little people who want to pay taxes, like myself. during the pandemic, i paid taxes back to the irs. this year i am looking to pay again. i filed single but my job is saying i need to file zero now because i'm not paying enough

taxes to the irs. they are taking 10% of taxes. can you explain to some people that our children are grown and we don't have write-offs but we own homes. what tax write-offs that are from the irs are for us? the irs just got a lot of money and i feel like they got a lot of money to come after people like me who work ever keeping this country going. host: i am sorry to hear it -- guest: i am sorry to hear about your situation. the one piece of advice i can give -- i think it is just good standard advice that in a given tax year you end up with either a large refund or a large bill, revisit your w-4 to make sure

your withholding is correct for your particular situation. host: this is from axios, a graph showing tax audits drop for the highest earners. the number of irs audits for those earning one million or more has been dropping. this shows from 2012 to 2021. you can see that trend going down. why would the audits be going down for higher earners? guest: this falls into the same discussion about resources of staffing at the irs. it is very difficult to do complex audits. that is one of the proposals in president biden's build back better bill. the irs is one of the few agencies where if you put money into it, you get more money back. maybe he meant is the only other

one -- may be the mint is the only other one. build back better was to pay for spending without enforcement of the irs. there is a tax cap, the amount collected versus the amount that should be collected. that may be between $600 billion and $1 trillion depending on who is estimating. there is a lot of money to be had through enforcement. the question is, there were many questions about the estimates that were used as offsets in that bill. it is likely more audits could be performed on this complicated tech situations with additional funding at the irs. host: florida, nina. hi, nina. judge jackson: -- caller: good morning.

a lot of these people calling in have specialty questions that your guest either legally cannot say or whatever. mine is very simple. how do i efile? guest: i can point you to the irs website. there are resources for free efiling. there is an income cap on that. beyond that, you are looking at finding individual preparers and services. there was one more i would be remiss -- i remember having a discussion in one of our podcast episodes with the former taxpayer advocate who points out that there are free fillable forms that you can file with the

irs directly online. host: let's talk to joan in rochester, minnesota. caller: i have a question. since corporations consider themselves citizens or people rather than a different entity, how come they are not subject to the same usury laws i am? if they were subject to israel laws like the average citizen is, interest rates by companies with drop down to as low or high as we have to pay. i want to know why only certain make citizens and certain's are totally avoided like the user rely. -- our user rely. host: that is a little outside our topic. guest: i don't have much to say to that. it is a very complicated world

when you are talking about what exactly a corporation is. host: constance is coming from cape coral, florida. caller: the last caller, i think she was right. this trickle-down bull is just bull. they overtax things and forget the people who really can't break this country, like people who put fire outs -- who put fires out and police officers. children deserve free education. i am 69 years old and i had free education. all it did was make want more education. i broke open every library book i could find. there is hardly in thing about the law i don't know so they can't pull the wool over my

eyes. i am a very smart woman. i have a 154 iq and i want to hear marcia blackman -- marcia brennan tell us what is her definition is of a woman. host: how does this relate to taxes? caller: taxes need to be fair. i think children should have free education. you want them to be good citizens? give them free education. the only people that benefit on children being stupid are republicans. host: all right. david, you have an episode called tax mythbusters. what you think is the most common tax myth today? guest: the nefarious smith of the tax world is that as people are filling up their tax forms this year, the idea that if i get something wrong i am going to jail.

we discussed that on the podcast . it is best to get everything correct and get it right the first time. but making a mistake is not something that is going to get any ordinary person in jail. the people who are going to prison really worked at it. host: they were really trying. guest: correct. it is different than i forgot to add an interest statement. host: but there could be fines. guest: there are repercussions for it. the irs will definitely send a letter and you can pay penalties and interest. for the most part, it is not a

criminal matter to simply get something wrong on your tax return. host: let's go back to the irs commissioner. he answered a senator's question on fixing returns that have errors and the impact on customer service. [video clip] >> returns fallout for a matter of reasons, failure to reconcile impact payments, mismatches, and whatnot. last year at this point, we had 7.7 million returns in error resolution. as of march 31, we have 741,000 returns in error resolution, less than 10%. our efforts are working we are trending in the right direction. during the summers, we will start seeing the impact of this. beyond a telephone call with a live irs employee which i keep

trying to make the point that the same employee in other times is processing paper returns, inventory, and thanks in that context. >> i am just trying to understand, what you said invokes the image of a person who processing tax returns in some form and they have to drop what they are doing and pick up the phone. >> not at all. they are taken off the phones and moved to the paper. host: thomases calling from delray beach, florida. caller: thank you for having me on. since we are talking about tax myths, i would like to raise this point. one of the criticism towards --'s towards trump's tax cuts is they only applied to the rich.

anybody working a minimum wage job paid less income taxes under trump's tax cuts. why are not democrats demanding that he repealed those tax cuts if they believe it was unfair? they should be calling for joe biden to repeal that law but they are not doing it. in my opinion, it is because if joe biden repealed the trump tax cuts, the working middle class would be paying more taxes. i would like to ask the expert if my understanding is correct. would you agree? guest: the trump tax cuts were very broad. they affected many different taxpayers. there was an increase in the standard deduction. there were reductions in the tax brackets on the other side of the ledger.

there was a cap placed on deductions you could take for state and local income tax. the biden administration has a firm line from the campaign promise that the administration will not support any increases in taxes for households making less than $400,000 per year. a broad repeal of that tax bill is very unlikely anytime in the near future. host: how do you rate is divided's first year in office -- rate president biden's first year in office with regards to tax policy? host: the first year, everything -- guest: the first year, everything was temporary. we looked at the extended payments and the child tax credit which itself was an interesting experiment. it was a much bigger tax credit

for children mood from $2000 to $3600 and was made fully refundable. everybody got the full benefit of it. that has been essentially the changes we have seen so far. there are other proposals in the build back better act such as the extension of the child tax credit going into the future and extension of tax credits for electric vehicles. those have not passed. we are seeing not a lot in the way of change on tax policy. as we saw in that clip, those impact payments and child tax

credits are causing a bit of trouble this year during filing season. some filings are falling out for -- out from reconciling those payments. host: let's talk to jason in honolulu, hawaii. caller: aloha. how is everybody doing? i consider myself pretty tax savvy, but paper filing all the way. there are so many resources for efiling, it is meandering. i consider myself tax savvy and i will still fire paper taxes until they tell us not to. host: it is going to hold everything up and you will not get your refund if you are do a refund -- if you are due a

refund. caller: i know. there's nothing more secure than having the photocopy and all of these stories about hacking, i will be sitting pretty once the russians hack the irs. it is any option and i like it my point is, i am to be tongue and -- tongue in cheek about this. but just read through your 1040 forms. there is a lot in there that needs to be reformed. one of them is -- and i will is this saying i don't have to worry about this. if you procure funds illegally, government wants that. i don't know how that is not seen as a conflict of interest. the second is more important to me. if you need a calculation done

based on what your taxes are, there is a blurb in the instructions saying if you want the irs to figure this out for you, send us $1000. i paid the government enough taxes would you guys to figure this out. mr. stewart, telus if there is any significant tax reform to go over -- this is ridiculous. no matter if you have a tax attorney filing your taxes or you are filing your own taxes, the needs to be more tax reform to make it even simpler. thank you, c-span. guest: as far as reporting illicit gains, i would have recommended al capone to that because it's gotten into a lot of trouble. as far as making the tax system

simpler, the difficulty is that in the u.s., we do a lot through the tax system. there are payments like child tax credit or money that is used to encourage clean air vehicles. it does mean that there is inevitably going to be a certain amount of complexity. host: some people have argued that her to bring down inflation, tax rates need to come down. what do you think of that? guest: tax rates coming down might work against you because that would put more money into the economy. we had an episode a few weeks ago with a chief economist, martin sullivan, who was discussing how over the last several years with all of these rescue plans and various payments that have gone out,

that personal balance sheets on average have improved significantly. at the same time, there are significantly fewer goods to be bought with that extra money because of all of the supply chain issues. we currently have too much money in the system. that is causing inflationary pressures. reducing taxes, i would be open to learning specific ideas on it. host: do you think raising taxes would help with inflation? guest: i would never come out and say that. [laughter] what i said to marty in our episode, it is a very difficult problem. probably the best thing for inflation would be for the supply to work itself out -- the supply chain to work itself out. host: bill will be our last call

from johnstown, pennsylvania. caller: i will try to make three quick points. if you have a 1090 what you convert a traditional ira to a roth ira or going to get a 1099, it is going to increase your gross income. number two, inflation, i think some of this is gouging. they're taking advantage -- some companies are taking advantage of the situation and upping prices more than they need to. third, the tax system in this country has been around over 100 years and we pile on and add to it and modify it and change it. is it time to scrap it and start over? thank you. guest: the last time there was a major civil litigation of the tax system was 1986 -- a major

simplification of the tax system was 1986. the trendline is always towards more complexity. as much as -- even if we did have a moment where everything was cleaned out & five, i don't know how long that would last because everyone is always looking to make changes to deal with particular issues. host: if you enjoy listening to podcasts, look at our c-span podcast. they are available on our website, our mobile app, or where ever get your podcasts. david stewart, host of "tax notes talk podcast," thank you for coming in. guest: thank you for having me. host: that is it for today's "washington journal." we will be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. have a great saturday. ♪

dave leventhal talks about his own going investigation into financial conflicts of interest for members of congress. watch washington journal 7:00 eastern thursday morning on c-span or c-span now our free

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