Have you checked out the IRS website lately?

The IRS has made progress toward a more digital tax system, but the latest report from the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) makes clear that modernization is still very much unfinished. The committee’s 2026 Annual Report to Congress includes 18 recommendations aimed at improving electronic tax administration.

Some of the recommendations will sound very familiar to anyone who has ever tried to resolve an IRS issue by phone, fax, or mail. ETAAC wants taxpayers to have better online accounts and tax professionals to have more access to client information, including notices and transcripts. The committee also pushes for less paper (IRS’s kryptonite) and more practical digital tools, including better return tracking and clearer explanations when an e-filed return is rejected.

The report also leans into artificial intelligence (AI). ETAAC supports IRS use of AI for things like fraud detection, identity verification, and faster service, but says taxpayers should be able to understand how AI is being used. To make that happen, the committee recommends a plain-language AI dashboard and town hall-style meetings to explain projects that could affect taxpayer rights or safety.

That transparency question matters because AI is not just a tax-administration issue, it is also driving broader tax-policy conversations.

In a recent episode of Tax Notes Talk, Tax Notes contributing editor Carrie Brandon Elliot discussed the renewed interest in universal basic income amid concerns about worker displacement and long-term unemployment as AI advances. Universal basic income is typically a cash payment to individuals that is not tied to work, household size, geography, or means testing, and the idea has gained attention in part because high-profile technology figures have floated it as one possible response to shake ups in the labor market due to AI.

The tax question, of course, is how to pay for it. Elliot noted that UBI proposals often come back to tax, whether through broad-based surtaxes, carbon taxes, payroll-tax-style mechanisms, changes to tax expenditures, or consolidation of existing cash and near-cash transfer programs. One law review model she discussed estimated that a $500-per-month payment to about 314 million people would cost roughly $1.8 trillion a year, which helps explain why UBI is still a policy debate instead of a near-term legislative reality.

Of course, AI is not the only place where technology, money, and tax compliance are colliding this summer. Digital betting platforms have made it easier than ever to put money on sports, and the World Cup is expected to be a major test of just how big that market has become. With the World Cup expected to drive billions in wagers, plenty of fans may be tempted to put a little money on a match. If you do, remember that gambling winnings are taxable whether the bet is placed through a legal sportsbook or through an illegal operation.

The risks are not limited to bettors—federal investigators also follow the money behind illegal wagering operations. This month, Jason Noah Feinman, 52, of Calabasas, California, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison after admitting that he operated an illegal Costa Rica-based gambling business, laundered cash proceeds, and evaded federal income taxes on more than $4 million in income. Prosecutors said Feinman maintained websites that allowed unlicensed gambling businesses to take bets from customers, including customers in California.

In the case, which was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security, the feds investigated not only the underlying crimes but what happened after. They followed the money behind illegal wagering........

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