Like Steve Martin, Tax Take strongly believes in the power of the written word. This week, we check in on the status of two of our favorite tax-related publications.

The Treasury Greenbook

The Greenbook (styled as "General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year Revenue Proposals") is an annual publication by the Department of the Treasury that outlines revenue proposals and tax policy changes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY). Traditionally, the Greenbook is released simultaneously with the administration's annual budget proposal, but the Trump administration broke precedent in declining to publish Greenbooks during the president's first term. This week, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Kenneth Kies confirmed that this practice will continue and that the administration will not be publishing a Greenbook in connection with the release of its pending FY 2027 budget proposal, anticipated in late March or early April. It has been suggested that this is an indication that the administration's budget will not contain significant tax proposals, as the administration continues to focus on developing guidance under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Nevertheless, a Greenbook would provide valuable insight into the administration's priorities, revenue proposals, and overall fiscal direction.

The Joint Committee on Taxation Bluebook

The Bluebook (styled as a "General Explanation") is an official post-enactment report developed by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) that provides detailed explanations, legal context, and budget effects of tax legislation passed by Congress. For each tax provision, the document includes a description of present law, an explanation of the provision, and the provision's effective date. 

The Bluebook will be an invaluable resource in explaining congressional intent behind the enactment of the tax provisions of the OBBBA. This Bluebook will be especially important given the accelerated process under which the OBBBA was considered and enacted, which precluded the development and release of committee reports, conference reports, and other supplemental legislative materials. It will certainly have a significant influence on the development of administrative guidance, particularly as Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) do their work on the many pending proposed regulation packages. It will likely also identify potential technical corrections – this has become a standard and closely watched feature of the Bluebook.

Bluebooks are typically released at the end of a Congress to address all laws enacted during the two-year term (i.e., General Explanation of Tax Legislation Passed By the 118th Congress) but JCT, on occasion, does release a Bluebook dedicated to a single significant piece of enacted tax legislation, such as the Bluebook dedicated to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). It is our understanding that an OBBBA-dedicated Bluebook is in process (including a preliminary version being submitted for proofing by the Government Printing Office) and there is hope it will be released soon. #TaxTake

Upcoming Speaking Engagements 

Mike will speak at the Tax Executives Institute (TEI) 2026 Midyear Conference today, March 16, and The Tax Council Spring Tax Policy Conference on March 19-21. He will also co-chair the Practising Law Institute (PLI) program "Tax Controversy 2026: Navigating the New Enforcement Landscape" on March 23.

Layla and Rocco will speak at the American Petroleum Institute (API) Federal Tax Forum on April 21-22.

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