IRS PUNTS (AGAIN) ON GIG TAX: “The IRS will again punt on a stringent reporting requirement for gig workers and online sellers established by a 2021 law, the agency said Tuesday, delaying the requirement by one more year before starting to phase it in,” our Benjamin Guggenheim reports. — “Online platforms like eBay, Etsy and PayPal and gig companies now won’t have to issue 1099-Ks to users for the 2023 tax year unless they earn more than $20,000 and have more than 200 transactions. Congress lowered that threshold significantly in the American Rescue Plan, to any user racking up more than $600 in transactions.” — “But amid complaints from the industry and many lawmakers that the lower reporting threshold was too onerous, the IRS suspended the requirement for 2022 and says it is using administrative authority to do so once again, after Congress failed to move on potential fixes.” — “The agency says that it plans to lower the threshold to $5,000 in 2024 so that tax professionals and online marketplaces can figure out how to comply with the law and manage a flood of new tax forms issued to customers.” CORNERSTONE ADDS DNC AIDE: Cornerstone has added a top adviser to DNC Chair Jamie Harrison as the firm continues to build out its public affairs practice. Hyma Moore has served as chief of staff to Harrison’s office since last February, serving as his liaison to other departments of the DNC as well as Democratic campaigns, members of Congress and federal agencies, as well as his political adviser ahead of last year’s midterms. — Moore also previously served as vice president for external affairs for the regional economic alliance Greater New Orleans and as an aide to Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor who has served as the White House’s infrastructure czar for the past two years. ROLLING DEEP: The Washington Post’s Maxine Joselow reports that “representatives of the fossil fuel industry have attended U.N. climate talks at least 7,200 times over the past two decades, according to research released Tuesday by a coalition of advocacy groups.” — “The analysis underscores how the fossil fuel industry has increased its presence at summits focused on a climate crisis it helped create. It comes less than two weeks before the United Arab Emirates, a major oil producer, is set to host the next summit, with the head of its state-owned oil company serving as president of the Dubai gathering.” — The analysis from the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition found that “among major oil and gas firms, Shell sent the most staff to the talks, securing at least 115 passes from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change since 2003, according to the analysis. Shell’s chief climate change adviser, David Hone, previously bragged that the oil giant helped write the 2015 Paris climate accord.” — “Employees of fossil fuel firms around the world have attended the negotiations at least 945 times since 2003, the analysis found,” while “representatives for fossil fuel trade associations have attended COPs at least 6,581 times, the researchers said.” — “All of these numbers are likely a ‘significant undercount,’ Kick Big Polluters Out said in a news release. That’s because the United Nations has not historically required delegates to disclose their affiliation with a fossil fuel company or trade group, so any disclosures have been voluntary,” a policy that will change for the first time for next month’s COP28. SENATE TO HAUL TECH EXECS IN FOR KIDS’ SAFETY HEARING: “The Senate Judiciary Committee is subpoenaing the CEOs of X (formerly known as Twitter), Snap and Discord to force their testimony at an upcoming hearing over the platforms’ alleged failure to police online child sexual abuse content,” POLITICO’s Rebecca Kern reports. — “The committee subpoenaed the three companies’ CEOs — X’s Linda Yaccarino, Snap’s Evan Spiegel, and Discord’s Jason Citron — after the committee said all three refused to testify voluntarily. Meanwhile, the committee said it’s in talks with Meta and TikTok, and expects their CEOs will voluntarily testify. A hearing is currently set for Dec. 6.” — “Pressure is building on Congress to pass bills requiring platforms to strengthen online protections for kids as at least 5 states have passed their own laws in the meantime. More than 40 states sued Meta over claims the platform’s harmful and addictive products violated state consumer protection laws.” — “In a departure from typical procedure, the committee said X and Discord refused to accept the subpoenas on behalf of their CEOs and therefore the U.S. Marshals Service had to personally serve the subpoenas to Yaccarino and Citron.”
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