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SALT write-off, Harvard tax, Medicaid cuts: What’s in Trump’s bill

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House Republicans narrowly passed President Donald Trump’s economic package after a series of all-night negotiations and 11th-hour compromises.

The legislation now heads to the Senate where lawmakers are looking to make their own stamp on the bill. The core of the package — an extension of the president’s 2017 first-term tax cuts — is likely to stay, but the senators could make some changes to a slew of new tax and spending measures that touch many aspects of the economy.

Here’s a rundown of the House bill’s main provisions impacting people and businesses: 

$40,000 SALT limit

The limit on state and local tax deductions would rise to $40,000, up from the current $10,000. The legislation places a new income test on eligibility for the tax deduction, phasing it out for individuals earning more than $500,000. Both the deduction cap and income threshold would increase by 1% a year for 10 years. 

The bill also separately creates a new limit on the value of itemized deductions for those in the top 37% tax bracket that partly erodes the value of the new SALT cap.

Tips, overtime and autos

Tips and overtime pay would be exempt from income tax through 2028, the end of Trump’s second term, fulfilling — at least for four years — his campaign promise. The GOP bill would also make interest on auto loans deductible through 2028, addressing another Trump pledge from the trail. All three provisions would be retroactive to the beginning of this year.

Medicaid

The bill would accelerate new Medicaid work requirements to December 2026 from 2029 in a gesture to satisfy ultraconservatives who wanted more spending cuts.

The December 2026 deadline would fall just one month after midterm elections, with Democrats eager to criticize Republicans for restricting health benefits for low-income households. In an appeal to conservative hardliners, the legislation prohibits Medicaid from funding gender transition therapies or procedures for minors or adults.

Food stamps

The bill aims to save $300 billion by forcing states to pay more into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It would also apply work requirements for longer. Beneficiaries must work through age 64, up from 54 under current law.

Interest expensing

Private equity and other heavily indebted business sectors won a major fight in the tax bill on interest expensing. The bill adds depreciation and amortization when determining the tax deductibility of a company’s debt payments. The maximum amount any company can get in such tax write-offs is calculated as a percentage of earnings. That’s why using EBITDA – which is typically bigger than EBIT — in this process would generate heftier tax deductions.

University endowment tax

Some private universities would face a dramatic tax increase on investment income generated by their endowments, posing a serious penalty to some of the nation’s wealthiest schools.

The provision would create a tiered system of taxation so that colleges and universities that meet a threshold based on the number of students would pay more. Under Trump’s 2017 tax law, some colleges with the most well-funded endowments currently pay a 1.4% tax on their net investment income. The levy would rise to as high as 21% on institutions with the largest endowments based on their student population.

The provision is a major escalation in Trump’s fight with Harvard and other elite colleges and universities, which he has sought to strong-arm into making curriculum and cultural changes that he favors. Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton and MIT would face the maximum 21% tax rate based on the size of their endowments in 2024, according to data from the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments.

Private foundation tax

Private foundations also would face an escalating tax based on their size: 2.78% for private foundations with assets between $50 million and $250 million, 5% for entities with assets between $250 million and $5 billion; and 10% for foundations with assets of at least $5 billion, such as the Gates Foundation, a longtime target for Republicans.

Sports teams

The bill would limit write-offs for professional football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer franchises that claim deductions connected to the team’s intangible assets, including copyright, patents or designs.

Electric vehicles

A popular consumer tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of an electric vehicle would be fully eliminated by the end of 2026, and only manufacturers that have sold fewer than 200,000 electric vehicles by the end of this year would be eligible to receive it in 2026. Tax incentives for the purchase of commercial electric vehicles and used electric vehicles would also be repealed.

Renewable tax credits

The legislation would cut hundreds of billions of dollars in spending by gutting a slew of clean energy tax incentives for clean electricity production. The bill would end technology-neutral clean electricity tax credits for sources including wind and solar starting in 2029.

It would also hasten more stringent restrictions that would disqualify any project deemed to benefit China from receiving credits. Those limits, which some analysts have said could render the credits useless for many projects, would kick in next year.

The legislation would also extend through 2031 tax credits for the production of biofuels.

Bonus for elderly

Americans 65 and older who don’t itemize their taxes would get a $4,000 bonus added to their standard deduction through 2028. That benefit would phase out for individuals making more than $75,000 and couples making more than $150,000. It would be retroactive to the beginning of this year.

Trump had campaigned on ending taxes on Social Security benefits, but that proposal would have run afoul of a special procedure Republicans are using to push through the tax-law changes without any Democratic votes. The higher standard deduction is an alternative way of targeting a benefit to the elderly but doesn’t fully offset Social Security taxes paid by many seniors.

Targeting immigrants

Immigrants would face a new 3.5% tax on remittances sent to foreign nations. Many immigrants send a portion of their earnings abroad to support family members in their home countries. Tax credits would be available to reimburse U.S. citizens who send payments abroad.

Factory incentives

The bill does not include Trump’s call for a lower corporate tax rate for domestic producers. Instead, it allows 100% depreciation for any new “qualified production property,” like a factory, if construction begins during Trump’s term — beginning on Jan. 20 and before Jan. 1, 2029, and becomes operational before 2033. That would be a major incentive for new facilities as Trump wields tariffs to drive production to the US.

Child tax credit

The maximum child tax credit would rise to $2,500 from $2,000 through 2028 and then drop to $2,000 in subsequent years. 

Trump Accounts

The bill would create new tax-exempt investment accounts to benefit children, dubbed Trump Accounts. An earlier version of the bill called them MAGA Accounts, referring to the president’s Make America Great Again campaign slogan. The accounts would allow $5,000 in contributions per year and adult children would be able to use the funds for purchasing homes or starting small businesses, in addition to educational expenses. The bill would authorize one-time $1,000 government payments into accounts for children born from 2025 through 2028.

Pass-through deduction

Owners of pass-through businesses would be allowed to exclude 23% of their business income when calculating their taxes, a 3-percentage-point increase from the current rate. The increase is a win for pass-through firms — partnerships, sole proprietorships and S corporations — which make up the vast majority of businesses in the US.  

Research and development

The bill would temporarily reinstate a tax deduction for research and development, a top priority for manufacturers and the tech industry. The deduction will last through the end of 2029. 

Oil, gas and coal

The bill would raise billions by mandating the Interior Department hold at least 30 oil and gas lease sales over 15 years in the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump ordered to be renamed to the Gulf of America. It would withdraw Biden-era restrictions on development in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The measure would also mandate at least six offshore lease sales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet region over six years. The legislation would also require Interior to offer at least four million acres of coal resources for lease in the West within 90 days of enactment.

Radio spectrum

The legislation would restore the Federal Communications Commission’s ability for the next decade to auction radio spectrum to telecommunications companies such as Verizon Communications Inc. and Elon Musk’s Starlink.

New spending

The bill would allocate $150 billion for the military and $175 billion for immigration and border security.

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Accounting

Continuous Auditing Transforms Corporate ERPs

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continuous auditing transforms corporate erps

As corporate accounting departments cross the threshold into late July 2026, the adoption of continuous, automated auditing systems has reached a definitive turning point. Driven by advances in artificial intelligence and deep integration with modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms, leading finance organizations are moving away from traditional, periodic post-hoc audits in favor of real-time, 100% transactional verification. This technological transition is redefining internal control environments, reducing compliance costs, and eliminating the structural delays inherent in legacy quarterly closing processes.

Unlike traditional auditing frameworks that rely on statistical sampling—a process that inevitably leaves operational blind spots—continuous auditing software monitors operational data feeds continuously. Every purchase order, electronic invoice, payroll disbursement, and cross-border wire transfer is automatically cross-referenced against established corporate governance parameters, regulatory tax schedules, and anti-fraud algorithms in real time. Anomalies or unauthorized ledger entries are flagged instantly, allowing internal audit teams to investigate and remediate compliance gaps immediately rather than months after the close of a financial period.

The implications for executive financial management are far-reaching. By embedding continuous verification directly into daily transaction workflows, chief financial officers gain uninterrupted visibility into the organization’s true financial standing. Real-time balance sheet auditing eliminates the severe operational bottlenecks associated with month-end and quarter-end financial reconciliations, freeing accounting professionals to focus on strategic financial modeling, tax planning, and capital allocation rather than manual data entry and spreadsheet consolidation.

However, implementing continuous auditing requires accounting leadership to invest heavily in data governance and technical upskilling. Internal audit teams must evolve from manual ledger reviewers into system architects capable of auditing complex algorithms and validating automated data pipelines. Accounting firms and corporate controllers that master continuous auditing will establish a resilient compliance framework capable of meeting stringent international regulatory standards with total transparency.

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Accounting

U.S. Imposes New 50% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Under Rare Legal Provision

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U.S. Imposes New 50% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Under Rare Legal Provision

WASHINGTON — In a major escalation of cross-border trade friction, U.S. President Donald Trump has signed executive orders imposing new 50% tariffs on a wide selection of Canadian exports, citing discriminatory practices by Ottawa targeting American auto, dairy, and beverage industries.

The new duties, announced Monday, will take effect in 30 days. They target a broad spectrum of consumer and industrial goods—ranging from wine, liquor, and milk products to commercial cement, furniture, clothing, and hockey equipment.

Untested Legal Mechanism

To enact the sweeping measures, the administration invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930—a rarely used legal provision allowing the executive branch to levy additional tariffs of up to 50% on foreign nations deemed to discriminate against U.S. commerce.

White House officials noted that Section 338 addresses trade discrimination rather than national security or economic emergencies. The move comes months after prior global emergency tariffs faced legal challenges in domestic courts, signaling Washington’s pivot toward alternate statutory authorities to maintain import duties.

Senior administration officials briefed reporters that the measure directly responds to Canadian provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, restrictions on American vehicle exports, and import quota disparities affecting U.S. dairy and cheese producers relative to third-party trading partners.

“While the administration continues to secure reciprocal trade agreements globally, Canada retaliated against efforts to protect domestic industry,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated.

USMCA Impact and Carve-Outs

Significantly, the newly ordered 50% duties will apply to designated items even if they otherwise comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

However, the administration confirmed key targeted exemptions:

  • Energy products (including oil and natural gas)
  • Potash and critical minerals
  • Fish and seafood
  • Goods already governed by sector-specific duties (such as existing steel and aluminum tariffs)

Administration representatives emphasized that the tariffs do not stem from recent disputes concerning drifting Canadian wildfire smoke, noting that policy options regarding environmental spillover remain under separate review.

Canadian Response and Market Reaction

Following the White House announcement, the Canadian dollar experienced a sharp decline against the U.S. dollar, falling approximately 0.4% during evening trading.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement emphasizing that Canada’s earlier counter-duties had merely matched previous U.S. trade actions. “Canada stands ready to engage intensively to address outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens,” Carney stated, pointing to detailed proposals Ottawa submitted to modernize the USMCA framework.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford took a firmer stance, urging a “dollar-for-dollar” reciprocal response if the measures go into effect on August 19.

With a 30-day implementation window before the duties officially lock in, industry associations and trade groups on both sides of the border are calling for urgent bilateral negotiations to avert further supply chain disruption across North America.

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Accounting

Automated Continuous Auditing: Transforming Compliance and Real-Time Financial Oversight

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Transforming Compliance and Real-Time Financial Oversight

The traditional accounting paradigm—defined by periodic monthly closures and post-hoc annual audits—is rapidly giving way to continuous, automated financial oversight. As of July 2026, forward-thinking accounting practices and multinational corporate finance departments are leveraging continuous auditing systems powered by advanced machine learning models. These systems monitor operational transactions in real time, shifting audit methodologies from sample-based post-analysis to absolute, 100% transaction-level verification.

The operational advantages of continuous auditing are transformative. Standard auditing procedures historically relied on statistical sampling, which, despite rigorous methodology, inherently left gaps where anomalies or fraudulent transactions could go undetected for months. Modern continuous auditing platforms integrate directly with enterprise resource planning (ERP) databases, instantly cross-referencing purchase orders, invoices, bank feeds, and tax records. Any deviation from established control parameters or unusual transaction behavior triggers immediate flags for internal audit teams, dramatically reducing detection lag from quarters to seconds.

Beyond fraud prevention, continuous auditing fundamentally alters internal reporting and decision-making. Executive leadership no longer has to wait weeks after the close of a quarter to evaluate precise financial standing; real-time verified ledger data provides an uninterrupted view of operating margins, tax liabilities, and cash flow dynamics. This real-time visibility enables corporate controllers to adjust capital allocation strategies dynamically, mitigating liquidity constraints and capitalizing on emerging commercial opportunities far more efficiently than competitors bound to legacy reporting cycles.

However, implementing continuous auditing requires accounting professionals to acquire new analytical capabilities. The role of the auditor is evolving from manual data reconciliation toward system validation, algorithmic model governance, and strategic risk interpretation. Accounting firms and corporate finance departments must invest in continuous technical education, ensuring that audit staff possess the data engineering skills necessary to design, maintain, and evaluate complex automated compliance systems.

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