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April 15, 2026

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Good morning, and Happy(?) Tax Day. Here are three goofy tax facts to drop in any conversation today:

In ancient Rome, Emperor Vespasian imposed a tax on the urine collected from public urinals, which was used in wool production.
From 1784 to 1811, the British government levied a tax on men’s hats. The more hats you owned, the more taxes you paid. (This is not a joke.) Pharrell Williams would owe a lot.
In Germany today, most municipalities charge a dog tax to encourage responsible pet ownership, which they might want to consider doing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

—Matty Merritt, Sam Klebanov, Dave Lozo, Molly Liebergall, Adam Epstein

In today’s newsletter, we’ll dive into...

Americans cheating on taxes | United floats merger with American | Dolly Parton’s popularity

MARKETS

Nasdaq

23,639.08

+1.96%

S&P

6,967.38

+1.18%

Dow

48,535.99

+0.66%

10-Year

4.256%

-4.0 bps

Bitcoin

$74,345.51

+1.41%

CarMax

$41.65

-15.14%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Stocks did an impression of Rory McIlroy at the Masters and landed on the green yesterday, as optimism for a truce in Iran grew. CarMax wasn’t as fortunate, imploding by 15% after investors dismissed its plan to cut prices to boost dreary sales.

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COME AND TAKE IT

Is everyone claiming a fake home office?

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This tax season has the vibe of sneaking into your sister’s closet to borrow the sparkly top she says she loves, but never wears: It might be wrong, but how is she going to find out?

As the Trump administration continues to chip away at the IRS’s resources, tax professionals say they are seeing more and more filers who are willing to fudge their numbers, in hopes that the agency will be too understaffed to catch them.

On one hand, they’re kind of right. In a pivot from his first-term goals, President Trump has zeroed in on thinning out the IRS during his second term:

The IRS started 2025 with 102,000 employees. After cuts to probationary workers (those who have been there for less than a year) and buyouts, the IRS ended the year with about 74,000.
The White House has also snatched back nearly $54 billion of the promised $79.4 billion from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to enforce the tax code over the next 10 years.

Tax pros have raised concerns that defunding the IRS—especially its enforcement arm—would kneecap already declining audits of complex cases and high-income individuals.

Audits have already been declining for over a decade. Last year, the IRS completed 497,541 audits, a historic low and a huge slide from an average of 1.7 million per year from 2010–2012. Partnership audits (which inspect private equity firms) and audits of Americans making $10 million or more declined last year, too.

This could have a big impact on the US’ bottom line: While IRS budget cuts may have freed up an estimated $46 billion in federal spending over the next decade, they could also lead to a loss of $643 billion in revenue collections, according to The Budget Lab at Yale, a nonpartisan group.

How’s this year looking? Refunds are slightly up—just not as much as people anticipated. A number of new deductions from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill have increased the average refund check by 11% from last year to $3,462. But Americans still feel like they are paying too much.—MM

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WORLD

Tour de headlines

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Lebanon and Israel held talks in DC. The two countries engaged in their first direct diplomatic dialogue in more than 30 years yesterday, meeting in Washington to lay the groundwork for future negotiations as Israeli strikes in Lebanon—where Iran-backed Hezbollah is based—have displaced more than 1 million civilians, per the UN. Hezbollah has said it will not abide by any agreements reached between Israel and Lebanon. Meanwhile, several Iran-linked ships appeared to pass through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, though the US said no ships got through its blockade on Iranian ports. With a ceasefire barely holding, Iran and the US could reportedly meet for another round of in-person talks as soon as this week, and not a moment too soon: Citadel CEO Ken Griffin said yesterday that a recession is inevitable if the Strait stays closed for the next six to 12 months.

JPMorgan Chase had a champagne-worthy Q1. Revenue for the biggest bank in the US grew 10% to hit nearly $50 billion for the first three months of the year, smashing Wall Street’s expectations as market volatility and elevated dealmaking generated record hauls for big banks. JPMorgan’s trading fees hit a record high, investment banking fees rose more than those of any other global bank, and M&A advising fees surged by a whopping 82%. Still, the firm slightly revised down its full-year guidance for net-interest income, a central earnings driver. CEO Jamie Dimon said that the US economy is resilient, but “an increasingly complex set of risks” lies ahead, including “geopolitical tensions and wars” and “energy price volatility.” Elsewhere on Wall Street, strong trading also propelled Citigroup to an earnings beat, but Wells Fargo fell short of expectations.

💲 Fed nominee Kevin Warsh would be the wealthiest chair ever. Warsh, President Trump’s pick to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, is worth between $135 million and $226 million, according to financial disclosures released ahead of his nomination hearing next Tuesday. That would make him significantly richer than Powell, who is currently worth between $19 million and $75 million and was considered the wealthiest chair when confirmed in 2018. If Warsh becomes the next chair, he said he would divest from assets that may pose a conflict of interest and resign from other positions he holds. Warsh also disclosed millions of dollars in holdings belonging to his wife, Jane Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder fortune. Forbes pegs her net worth at $1.9 billion.—ML

STRONGER UNITED

United tells Trump ‘what if we buy American?!’

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

The States are united and American, so why can’t that be true of an airline? That’s probably what United CEO Scott Kirby said when he recently floated the idea of his company acquiring American Airlines to President Trump, several news outlets reported yesterday.

The marriage of the two rivals—which control over 40% of the domestic market—would create the world’s largest airline and take the revenue crown from Delta. But any deal is likely to trigger antitrust alarms.

Instead of flying solo

Kirby reportedly told Trump the tie-up would help the carriers compete on international routes. He previously noted that two-thirds of long-haul seats to and from the US are offered by foreign airlines, while 60% of the flyers are Americans.

Plus, American has underperformed rivals in recent years, while United recently said it sees an opportunity to buy airlines buckling from rising fuel prices. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared to be open to the idea, saying he thinks there’s room for airline consolidation, while adding that any deal would face scrutiny.

But you might pay more and have longer layovers: Airline experts warn that American and United no longer competing would push up airfare and reduce passenger choice. Industry observers don’t expect antitrust regulators to approve the deal, unless the airlines divest from overlapping routes, of which there are hundreds.—SK

US trivia

What is a characteristic shared by Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming (and no other states)?

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ANSWER

They don’t have a state personal income tax of any kind. Happy Tax Day!

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: municipalities, meaning “defined areas, like cities or towns, with their own local governments.” Thanks to Jonathan from Lancaster, PA, for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

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