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Harris has Trump on defense in sharp-elbowed presidential debate

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Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump sparred through their first debate, with the former president often on the defensive over abortion rights, the January 6 insurrection and on foreign policy.

The debate saw Harris draw from her past as a prosecutor, peppering in lines that appeared designed to needle Trump, including by taunting him over the size of his rally crowds. Trump, meanwhile, moved to tie Harris to more liberal policy positions from her past, hammering her for saying she no longer backs a fracking ban and flatly calling her a Marxist.

Broadly, the debate unfolded in stark contrast to the previous one in June, when President Joe Biden’s stumbles spurred calls that ultimately drove him to bow out of the race and endorse Harris as Democrats’ new nominee. 

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris at the second presidential debate in Philadelphia.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris at the second presidential debate in Philadelphia.

Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg

Trump allies criticized the moderators, while betting markets shifted in Harris’ favor, a signal that many expect her candidacy to earn a boost from Tuesday’s proceedings. Harris’ campaign called for a second debate shortly after the forum concluded.

“It’s time to turn the page,” Harris said at the debate in Philadelphia hosted by ABC News, at one point appealing to disaffected Republicans to back her candidacy.

The initial exchanges in the debate focused on the economy and immigration, with Trump attacking Harris over a porous border and warning that migrants will overrun towns across the U.S.

Harris, in turn, said her agenda was about “lifting up the middle class and working people of America,” addressing one of her biggest electoral vulnerabilities: the high prices and costs that have hammered U.S. households and left voters skeptical of Biden’s economic agenda. 

The vice president noted her plans for expanding the child tax credit, offering mortgage assistance to new homebuyers, and a deduction for small businesses — while attacking Trump over proposed tariffs. She defended the administration’s efforts on the economy saying she and Biden had to “clean up Donald Trump’s mess.”

“I had tariffs yet I had no inflation,” Trump countered. “Look, we’ve had a terrible economy because inflation — which is really known as a country buster, it breaks up countries — we have inflation like very few people have ever seen before.”

Trump in his opening remarks criticized Harris over the border, pointing to Springfield, Ohio, a town where an influx of Haitian immigrants has spurred widespread coverage, particularly in conservative outlets. 

Migrants “are taking over the towns. They’re taking over buildings. They’re going in violently,” he said, seeking to focus the conversation on immigration policy, another issue where polls show voters disapprove of the Biden administration’s response.

Later in the debate, Trump returned to the town — floating an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that migrants were eating pets, and earning a laugh from Harris.

“The people on television say ‘my dog was taken and used for food,'” Trump said. “The people on television are saying my dog was eaten by the people that went there.” 

“Talk about extreme,” Harris responded.

Across global financial markets, the response an hour into the debate was relatively muted. Riskier assets slipped, with stocks in Hong Kong down in early trading. The dollar edged lower, while havens such as the yen and Swiss franc advanced.

Bitcoin fell as much as 1.5% before paring some of the drop to trade at $56,983 as of 10:10 p.m. on Tuesday in New York. US equity futures and a dollar gauge edged down, while Treasuries were steady.

Harris’ odds of winning the election increased on the betting website PredictIt to 56%, from 53% before the debate.

The former president also found himself on the defensive over Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for his second term written by some of his closest allies — but which he has disavowed in the face of Democratic attacks.

“I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it,” Trump said after Harris jabbed him over the initiative. “This was a group of people that got together, they came up with some ideas, I guess. Some good, some bad. But it makes no difference.”

Abortion rights

Trump and Harris clashed at length over abortion — an issue which Democrats believe will mobilize suburban women and independents in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — a ruling that spurred restrictions on the procedure in states across the country.

Harris labeled abortion restrictions adopted by states in the aftermath of the ruling “Trump abortion bans” and said the former president was responsible for situations where women were denied abortion care or access to in vitro fertilization. She repeatedly pressed Trump on whether he would veto a bill imposing a national restriction on abortion.

“Trump abortion bans make no exception, even for rape and incest,” Harris said, prompting Trump to call her a liar. 

Trump said that while he is not in favor of abortion, the issue is now up to the states. Asked by the moderators if he would veto a national abortion ban, Trump deflected, stating, “I wouldn’t have to.”

“They wanted to get it out of Congress and out of the federal government, and we did something that everybody said couldn’t be done,” Trump said, praising the high court’s ruling.

Trump, for his part, claimed Harris would allow late-term or even post-birth abortion, earning a rebuke from the moderator, who noted no state allowed the killing of a baby post-birth.

“Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and in asking for an abortion, that is not happening,” Harris said. “It’s insulting to the women of America and understand what has been happening under Donald Trump’s abortion ban.”

Trump nominated three of the justices who voted to overturn Roe and has used that ruling to cement his grip on evangelical voters and the Republican party. But he’s also tried to neutralize abortion as an election issue in a bid to expand his electoral appeal.

The two both backtracked from previous positions on healthcare, with Trump stopping short of an explicit pledge to kill Obamacare, which he’s often promised to do. He said his team is looking at alternatives that are cheaper and offer better coverage.

“Until then, I’d run it as good as it can be run,” he said. Pressed on if he has a plan, Trump said “I have concepts of a plan.”

Harris was pressed on her past calls to support plans to extend government-funded healthcare to all Americans, or a version of it. “What we need to do is maintain and grow the Affordable Care Act,” she said, using the formal name for Obamacare, and adding that she supports private insurance.

Exchanging jabs

Trump spoke at length about the violent Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by supporters seeking to block the certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump cast the shooting death of protester Ashli Babbitt as “a disgrace” and blamed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not doing more to secure the situation, but sidestepped repeated questions about whether he regretted anything about his actions on that day.

Trump also attacked Harris for backtracking on some of her past policies. The vice president has distanced herself from some policies she supported in the 2020 presidential cycle when she sought her party’s nomination.

“Everything she believed three years ago or four years ago is out the window,” Trump said. “She’s a Marxist. Everybody knows she’s a Marxist.” 

As Trump delivered his jab, Harris brought a hand to her chin and stared at the former president quizzically.

Harris baited Trump by suggesting his iconic political rallies no longer have the same pull — even among his supporters.

“I’m going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump’s rallies,” she said, noting that he regularly talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. “You will also notice is people start leaving his rallies early, out of exhaustion and boredom. And I will tell you, the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you.”not supported.

Trump, who was asked about the border, instead veered back to the rallies in his response. “People don’t go to her rallies; there’s no reason to go,” he said.

Trump peppered in his own attacks to get under Harris’s skin — claiming Biden “hates” Harris, whom he endorsed; saying Biden “doesn’t know he’s alive”; and borrowing one of Harris’ own notorious lines.

“I’m talking now, if you don’t mind please. Does that sound familiar?” he said. Trump’s remark referred to a viral moment in Harris’ 2020 vice presidential debate with Republican Mike Pence, where she told him “I’m speaking.”

Harris was also asked about Trump’s repeated comments calling into question her racial identity as Black and Asian-American and sought to shift the focus away from herself. 

The vice president described Trump as someone who has “consistently, over the course of his career, attempted to use race to divide the American people,” including by calling into question former President Barack Obama’s birth and citizenship.

“I don’t care what she is,” Trump said during the debate, adding, without evidence, that he had “read” an instance of the biracial vice president claiming she wasn’t Black. “Either one was okay with me,” he added.

Pivotal debate

During one exchange, Trump said Harris “hates Israel” and added that she also “hates the Arab population” because of her suggestion that Israel needed to take greater care in the war in Gaza.

“That is absolutely not true,” Harris responded. “He is trying again to divide and distract from the reality.” 

Harris said Trump supported dictators and that he was easily swayed by their “flattery and favors.”

Harris sidestepped a question of whether she bore any responsibility for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which happened during the Biden-Harris administration under a timeline set in motion by the Trump administration.

“Four presidents said they would, and Joe Biden did,” Harris said of pulling U.S. troops from the country.

The debate, potentially the only face-to-face showdown between Harris and Trump this cycle, comes with early voting poised to begin in some states within days and as polls show the two candidates locked in a tight contest.

Hanging over Tuesday’s event was the shadow of one of the most consequential debates of modern U.S. history, a June forum where Biden delivered a calamitous performance against Trump, leading to his replacement by Harris atop the Democratic ticket.

During one exchange, Trump assailed Democrats for pushing Biden out of the race. “They threw him out of the campaign like a dog,” Trump said. 

“You’re not running against Joe Biden, you’re running against me,” Harris responded, looking Trump in the eyes.

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House passes tax administration bills

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The House unanimously passed four bipartisan bills Tuesday concerning taxes and the Internal Revenue Service that were all endorsed this week by the American Institute of CPAs, and passed two others as well.

  • H.R. 1152, the Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act, sponsored by Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Illinois, Suzan Delbene, D-Washington, Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania and Jimmy Panetta, D-California. The bill would apply the “mailbox rule” to electronically submitted tax returns and payments to allow the IRS to record payments and documents submitted to the IRS electronically on the day the payments or documents are submitted instead of when they are received or reviewed at a later date. The AICPA believes this would offer clarity and simplification to the payment and document submission process while protecting taxpayers from undue penalties.
  • H.R. 998, the Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act, sponsored by Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, which would require notices describing a mathematical or clerical error to be made in plain language, and require the Treasury to provide additional procedures for requesting an abatement of a math or clerical error adjustment, including by telephone or in person, among other provisions.
  • H.R. 517, the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, sponsored by Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tennessee, and Judy Chu, D-California. The process of receiving tax relief from the IRS following a natural disaster typically must follow a federal disaster declaration, which can often come weeks after a state disaster declaration. The bill would provide the IRS with authority to grant tax relief once the governor of a state declares either a disaster or a state of emergency and expand the mandatory federal filing extension under Section 7508(d) of the Tax Code from 60 days to 120 days, providing taxpayers with more time to file tax returns after a disaster.
  • H.R. 1491, the Disaster related Extension of Deadlines Act, sponsored by Rep. Gregory Murphy, R-North Carolina, and Jimmy Panetta, D-California, would extend the amount of time disaster victims would have to file for a tax refund or credit (i.e., the lookback period) by the amount of time afforded pursuant to a disaster relief postponement period for taxpayers affected by major disasters. This legislative solution would place taxpayers on equal footing as taxpayers not impacted by major disasters and would afford greater clarity and certainty to taxpayers and tax practitioners regarding this lookback period.

“The AICPA has long supported these proposals and will continue to work to advance comprehensive legislation that enhances IRS operations and improves the taxpayer experience,” said Melanie Lauridsen, vice president of tax policy and advocacy for the AICPA, in a statement Tuesday. “We are pleased to work closely with each of these Representatives on common-sense reforms that will benefit taxpayers, tax practitioners and tax administration and we’re encouraged by their passage in the House. We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to improve the taxpayer experience.”

The bills were also included in a recent Senate discussion draft aimed at improving tax administration at the IRS that are strongly supported by the AICPA.

The House also passed two other tax-related bills Tuesday that weren’t endorsed in the recent AICPA letter. 

  • H.R. 1155, Recovery of Stolen Checks Act, sponsored by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-New York, would require the IRS to create a process for taxpayers to request a replacement via direct deposit for a stolen paper check. If a check is determined to be stolen or lost, and not cashed, a taxpayer will receive a replacement check once the original check is cancelled, but many taxpayers are having their replacement checks stolen as well. Taxpayers who have a check stolen are then unable to request that the replacement check be sent via direct deposit. The bill would require the Treasury to establish processes and procedures under which taxpayers, who are otherwise eligible to receive an amount by paper check in replacement of a lost or stolen paper check, may elect to receive such amount by direct deposit.
  • H.R. 997, National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act, sponsored by Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, would prevent IRS interference with National Taxpayer Advocate personnel by granting the NTA responsibility for its attorneys. In advocating for taxpayer rights, the National Taxpayer Advocate often requires independent legal advice. But currently, the staff members hired by the National Taxpayer Advocate are accountable to internal IRS counsel, not the Taxpayer Advocate, creating a potential conflict of interest to the detriment of taxpayers. The bill would authorize the National Taxpayer Advocate to hire attorneys who report directly to her, helping establish independence from the IRS. 

House  Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Missouri, applauded the bipartisan House passage of the various bills, which had been unanimously passed by the committee.

“President Trump was elected on the promise of finally making the government work better for working people,” Smith said in a statement Tuesday. “This bipartisan legislation helps fulfill that mandate and makes improvements to tax administration that will make it easier for the American people to file their taxes. Those who are rebuilding after a natural disaster particularly need help filing taxes, which is why this set of bills lightens the load for taxpayers in communities struck by a hurricane, tornado or some other disaster. With Tax Day just a few days away, we must look for common-sense, bipartisan ways to make filing taxes less of a hassle.”

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Accounting

In the blogs: Many hats

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Teaching fraud; easement settlement offers; new blog on the block; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Many hats

  • Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): There’s sure an “I” in this “teamwork:” What to know about potential IRS and ICE collaboration.
  • Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox): How IRS data would likely be unhelpful validating SNAP eligibility.
  • Yeo & Yeo (https://www.yeoandyeo.com/resources): How financial benchmarking (including involving taxes) can help business clients see trends, pinpoint areas for improvement and forecast future performance.
  • Integritas3 (https://www.integritas3.com/blog): One way to take a bite out of crime, according to this instructor blogger: Teach grad students how to detect, investigate and prevent financial fraud.
  • HBK (https://hbkcpa.com/insights/): Verifying income, fairly distributing property, digging the soon-to-be-ex’s assets out of the back of the dark, dark closet: How forensic accounting has emerged as a crucial element in divorces.

Standing out

Genuine intelligence

  • AICPA & CIMA Insights (https://www.aicpa-cima.com/blog): How artificial intelligence and other tech is “Reshaping Finance,” according to this podcast. Didem Un Ates, CEO of a U.K.-based company offering AI advisory services, tackles the topic.
  • Taxjar (https:/www.taxjar.com/resources/blog): How AI and automation can help even the knottiest sales tax obligations and problems.
  • Dean Dorton (https://deandorton.com/insights/): Favorite opening of the week: “The madness doesn’t just happen on college basketball courts — it also happens when your finance team is stuck using a legacy on-premises accounting system.”
  • Canopy (https://www.getcanopy.com/blog): Top client portals for accounting firms in 2025.
  • Mauled Again (https://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): Despite what Facebook claims, dependents have to be human.

New to us

  • Berkowitz Pollack Brant (https://www.bpbcpa.com/articles-press-releases/): This Florida firm offers a variety of services to many industries and has a good, wide-ranging blog. Recent topics include the BE-10, nexus and state and local tax obligations, IRS cuts and what to know about the possible bonus depreciation phase out. Welcome!

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Accounting

Is gen AI really a SOX gamechanger?

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By streamlining tasks such as risk assessment, control testing, and reporting, gen AI has the potential to increase efficiency across the entire SOX lifecycle.

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