☕ The taxman faces the chop

It’s Thursday.

The most popular national park in America is Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with more than 12.1 million visitors in 2024. It was more than double the visitors to Zion National Park in Utah, which came in second with 4.9 million visitors.

The least visited park, you ask? That would be the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska, with only 11,907 visitors. Perhaps that is because there are no trails, no roads, and insane temperatures. Just a thought.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

The Director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe has confirmed the US will no longer share its intelligence with Ukraine, ending a relationship that has existed since Russia’s 2022 invasion. It comes only days after the US restricted military aid to Ukraine, which followed last Friday’s Oval Office meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The exact extent of the restrictions remains unclear. Ratcliffe told Fox News the pause on the exchange of intelligence and military aid would “go away” should Ukraine return to the negotiating table with a new settlement proposal. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a meeting of European army heads in Paris next week, saying in a televised speech that France “must be ready” to defend Ukraine without US support.

Frederick Mertz, likely to be Germany’s next Chancellor, has announced a €500 billion fund to boost military and infrastructure spending. He was joined by leaders from the CPD, the center-left party expected to form a government with his center-right party. Mertz expressed confidence that the U.S. would continue supporting Europe’s defense but acknowledged the need to strengthen the continent’s military capabilities in the face of Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine - a response to recent signals from the Trump administration that U.S. support for Europe may be scaled back.

A group of volunteers, including software coders and public health experts, have restored an archived Center for Disease Control (CDC) website to its original state before it was removed following executive orders signed by President Trump earlier this year. The website, displaying public health data, was revived after a federal judge ruled last month that public health websites taken down during the Trump administration’s cost-cutting efforts must be reinstated. The website is called RestoredCDC and the project’s organizers emphasize that publicly accessible health data is essential for U.S. citizens to make informed health decisions.

Denmark’s postal service, PostNord, will stop delivering letters at the end of this year, bringing to a close a 400-year period of letter delivery. The service said a 90% decline in letter volume since 2000 led to the close, and means it can focus more thoroughly on parcel delivery. Some experts are concerned with the consequences of the decision on Denmark’s elderly population who still rely on letter delivery for non-technological communication.

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President Donald Trump has given a one month exemption on Canadian and Mexican auto industries who import to the US from the 25% tariffs imposed on imports on the US neighbours on Tuesday, reacting to pleas from US auto manufacturers who heavily rely on the imports.

Why are auto prices affected so much - and why the pause? 

NAFTA was a deal known as the North American Free Trade Alliance, negotiated between the US, Canada and Mexico in 1991 which made it easier and cheaper to buy and sell things between these three countries. In 2020, a largely similar deal called the USMCA was negotiated to replace the decades old treaty - incorporating conditions which accounted for the contemporary economy

If you’ve ever bought a car, eaten fresh produce in winter, or wondered why some American factories shut down, you’ve felt the effects of NAFTA and USMCA.

The auto industry, which before NAFTA and the USMCA manufactured vehicles in the US, has become heavily reliant on the manufacturing power of Mexico and Canada.

Why has the pause happened?

Three leaders from the two top US car manufacturers - Ford Motors and General Motors - pleaded for an exemption in a conference call with President Trump on Tuesday. The executives outlined how the tariffs would cost the auto industry billions of dollars in profit, also emphasising that auto companies, despite using Mexican and Canadian manufacturers, support US car part manufacturers, car dealers and other auto affiliated businesses.

What now?

The industry is exempted for at least a month, but Karoline Levitt, the White House Press Secretary, told top car retailers to make long term plans which accounted for the tariffs, encouraging them to develop manufacturing plants in the US.

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is preparing to cut over half of its 90,000 staff, reported first by the Associated Press. These preparations come as over 7,000 IRS probationary staff have already been let go. The further cuts will be achieved through firings, incentivised voluntary quitting and pressure to leave the organisation from White House and IRS bosses. Catch up on why these cuts are happening and how it will affect the organisation's effectiveness below.

What does the IRS do?

The IRS is the government agency who checks if you have done your taxes correctly and processes your tax return. They are responsible for collecting federal taxes and enforcing tax laws. While the IRS provides resources to help taxpayers understand their obligations, tax laws can be complex, and enforcement depends on available resources.

Why are staff being sacked?

The cuts are part of the current administration's effort to cut government spending, headed by the newly minted Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) headed by billionaire Elon Musk.

The IRS has been an apparent focus since DOGE’s inception with multiple requests being made from the non-governmental department for access to internal IRS data including highly sensitive tax payer data.

So far two top IRS leaders have stepped down as the pressure to make cuts has mounted and the current commissioner of the IRS Melanie Krause put the organisation's head of human capital on administrative leave this week.

Can the IRS function with 50% of its staff?

John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner, said and the drafted cuts would render the IRS “dysfunctional.”

The IRS has already struggled in past years to retain staff and carry out their listed responsibilities. The cuts may mean that Americans expecting a speedy tax return will have to wait for longer as a reduced staff struggle to keep up with processing.

When will the cuts happen?

At the moment the plan is just being drafted, according to anonymous internal IRS sources quoted by the Associated Press. Representatives from the White House and spokespeople from the IRS have refused to comment on the reports.