If there is any one thing that has characterized translation and interpreting (both as professions and industries) in the United States in the first eight decades of the twentieth century, it has been the good fortune of having existed and operated, and perhaps even thrived in a ‘safe harbor’ environment, i.e., free of certain problems of an economic and legal nature, particularly taxation-connected, that have beset numerous other professions and industries. However, the 1990s saw some radical changes come about in the wake of new tax regulations, new court decisions and perhaps more significantly, changes in the socio-linguistic fiber in the US that thrust both translators and interpreters into a position of being more essential. This article discusses some of those changes and attendant concerns for language professionals.