Things of Caesar

Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

-- Matthew 22:21

I've always been fascinated by this Bible verse, which seems to capture important truths not only about faith, but about civic responsibility and the very nature of taxation. What is the moral obligation to pay taxes, and how do we define what is Caesar's?

In Biblical times you looked to whose face was on the coins, but in today's dynamic, digital economy, defining the tax base--especially across international boundaries--gets much more complex.

I created this newsletter because I wanted to continue to explore these issues in international taxation, as I've done for Bloomberg Tax and Law360. In the past 10 years I've covered the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and efforts to reform the global tax rules at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. I've seen public outrage over alleged corporate tax havens and non-taxation of digital transactions reach a boiling point across the globe, and spurred policymakers to make unprecedented changes to rules going back 100 years.

This will be a weekly newsletter, with occasional special issues as events arise. I'm sure the format will evolve as I learn more about this new type of media.

It's not my goal to compete with the excellent coverage provided by Tax Notes, Bloomberg Tax, Law360 or any of the other tax publications. I view this as an outlet for me to provide some perspective on tax developments and hopefully help others make sense of the latest news.

If you subscribe, I hope you can provide feedback on how I'm doing. And if you're on the fence, you can take a look at some of my tax writing below, as well as what's public on this site.

Proposed Foreign Tax Rule Raises Blacklist Fears
Law360
June 4, 2021

OECD Draft Reveals Pitfalls Of Merging Tax, Financial Data
Law360
August 28, 2020

To Bring Pharma Onshore, Biden Takes Aim At TCJA
Law360
July 17, 2020

Corp. Tax Rates In Political Sights Amid Presidential Race
Law360
February 24, 2020

You can read more of my work here.

SOME DISCLAIMERS: The views expressed in this newsletter and site are my own personal opinions, and do not reflect the views of any former employer or their clients.

I am not an attorney or a certified public accountant. Nothing here should be considered tax advice.