Federal
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August 28, 2024
Greenberg Traurig Builds PE Team With Kirkland Hires
Greenberg Traurig LLP has brought on two fund formation partners from Kirkland & Ellis LLP to continue its growth into the private equity space, according to an announcement this week by the firm.
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August 28, 2024
IRS Art Advisory Panel To Discuss Appraisals In Sept.
The Internal Revenue Service's Art Advisory Panel will meet next month to discuss fair market appraisals of pieces of art for tax purposes, the agency said Wednesday.
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August 28, 2024
Virgin Islands Tax Deadlines Delayed After Tropical Storm
Taxpayers in the U.S. Virgin Islands will be given until Feb. 3 to file individual and business tax returns and make payments after the area was hit by Tropical Storm Ernesto this month, the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.
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August 28, 2024
Atty Can't Escape Danish Tax Agency's $2.1B Tax Fraud Suit
An attorney in a $2.1 billion tax fraud case brought by the Danish tax authority cannot argue that a suit filed against him as an individual should be dismissed because it was filed late, a New York federal court ruled.
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August 27, 2024
Gov't Says Doctor Can't Escape Contempt Fine In FBAR Case
A doctor challenging his $20,000 civil contempt fine for failing to follow a court order to repatriate money from his foreign bank account to cover $1.1 million in tax liabilities shouldn't be allowed to escape the penalty, the U.S. government argued Tuesday.
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August 27, 2024
TIGTA Flags Due Process Issues In IRS' Lien Practices
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that the Internal Revenue Service had numerous issues that affected due process for taxpayers whom it filed lien notices against, according to a report published Tuesday.
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August 27, 2024
Treasury Asked To Scrap Stock Buyback Tax's Funding Rule
Business groups urged the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday to remove what's known as the funding rule in forthcoming final regulations on the stock buyback tax, saying the provision would go beyond Congress' intentions for the levy, which aims to deter companies from giving outsize rewards to shareholders.
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August 27, 2024
TIGTA Calls For Better Guarding Of Shared Tax Info
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration identified ways Tuesday it said the Internal Revenue Service should work with state agencies to improve the handling of federal tax information it shares with them, including nudging them to file required security reports.
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August 27, 2024
Candidates' Plans To End Tip Taxes Spark Fairness Concerns
The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have both proposed eliminating taxes on tips for restaurant and hospitality workers, but tax experts say such a policy would unfairly pick winners and losers among workers and its benefits would be unevenly spread.
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August 27, 2024
Gov't Urged To Stem Abuse Of Carbon Capture Credits
The federal government should take measures to stop the abuse of tax credits for carbon capture and storage, more than 100 environmental groups told the U.S. Treasury Department and the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter released Tuesday.
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August 27, 2024
Biz Owner Gets 22 Months For Keeping $2.5M In Payroll Tax
A man who ran construction companies was sentenced to nearly two years in prison and ordered to pay about $2.5 million in restitution to the federal government after admitting he didn't pay employment taxes, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia said Tuesday.
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August 27, 2024
Ex-Trooper Asks To Delay Prison In OT Scam Amid Appeal
A former Massachusetts state trooper asked to stay his five-year prison sentence for stealing overtime pay, lying on his taxes and cheating to get student aid for his son — a request prosecutors said was "yet another attempt to delay justice in this case."
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August 27, 2024
Maine Joining IRS' Free E-File Program In 2025
The Internal Revenue Service's free electronic tax filing program, Direct File, will be available in Maine for the 2025 tax filing season, the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday.
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August 26, 2024
Ex-Braves Tell 11th Circ. Easement Appeal Not Premature
A partnership created by former Atlanta Braves players urged the Eleventh Circuit to review its $47 million conservation easement lawsuit, saying the IRS' motion to dismiss the appeal for premature filing was a mere attempt to sow confusion in the proceedings.
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August 26, 2024
Varian Entitled To Foreign Dividend Break, Tax Court Says
California-based medical device company Varian Medical Systems is entitled to a deduction for dividends received from its foreign subsidiaries, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday in a unanimous opinion.
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August 26, 2024
US Should Extend Expiring TCJA Tax Cuts, Chamber Says
The expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2025 gives the next Congress an opportunity to pass pro-growth tax policies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Monday.
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August 26, 2024
Kyocera's Gross-Up Doesn't Grant $143M Tax Break, US Says
Electronics maker Kyocera cannot be allowed to take a $143 million tax deduction for distributions received under a 2017 tax law based on a separate statute's gross-up for paid foreign tax credits, the government told a South Carolina federal court.
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August 26, 2024
10th Circ. Won't Rethink Toss Of Insurers' $2M Tax Appeal
Captive insurance companies that claim the U.S. Tax Court improperly rejected their request to invalidate tax deficiency notices in their case challenging $2 million in liabilities must wait until the court issues a final decision before they can appeal, the Tenth Circuit reaffirmed.
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August 26, 2024
Netflix Can't Shut Off 'Varsity Blues' Defamation Suit
A private equity executive who largely beat charges in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case can proceed with a suit against Netflix claiming he and his son were defamed by the streaming giant's documentary about the scandal, a Massachusetts judge has ruled.
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August 26, 2024
Feds Want Prison For Ex-Atlanta CFO Who Stole City Funds
The former chief financial officer for the city of Atlanta who admitted to stealing city money and obstructing an IRS audit should spend at least about three years in prison, federal prosecutors argued ahead of his sentencing, saying he has been uncooperative since pleading guilty.
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August 23, 2024
Wash. Justices Affirm Convicted Ex-State Auditor Disbarment
The Washington Supreme Court affirmed a recommendation to disbar convicted former state auditor Troy X. Kelley after he was imprisoned on felony theft charges, finding that Kelley's crimes justified the disbarment sanction.
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August 23, 2024
Chamber Backs Doctor In Tax Court Economic Substance Suit
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce lent its support to an eye doctor and his wife's U.S. Tax Court case disputing accuracy-related penalties that the Internal Revenue Service plans to impose on their microcaptive insurance arrangements for lacking economic substance.
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August 23, 2024
Intended Financial Harm Counts In Sentencing, 4th Circ. Says
A split Fourth Circuit panel on Friday upheld a South Carolina woman's 30-month sentence for filing false tax returns and making false statements on applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans, finding that a sentencing range can be calculated using the total amount of intended financial harm.
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August 23, 2024
IRS Spinoff Guidance Sparks Worries About Short-Term Debt
Companies that intend to give creditors equity tied to a spinoff transaction won't get early tax-free approval if the exchange involves recently acquired debt under IRS guidance that practitioners say draws an arbitrary line without accounting for ordinary business operations.
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August 23, 2024
Alvarez & Marsal Adds Transfer Pricing Expert From EY
A former EY partner joined Alvarez & Marsal LLC to serve as managing director of its transfer pricing line of services in its New York office, the firm announced.
Expert Analysis
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Contract Disputes Recap: Preserving Payment Rights
Stephanie Magnell and Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions that together illustrate the importance of keeping accurate records and adhering to contractual procedures to avoid inadvertently waiving contractual rights to cost reimbursements or nonroutine payments.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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After Jarkesy, IRS Must Course-Correct On Captive Insurance
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision has profound implications for other agencies, including the IRS, which must stop ignoring due process and curtailing congressional intent in its policing of captive insurance arrangements, says Peter Dawson at the 831(b) Institute.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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After Chevron: Uniform Tax Law Interpretation Not Guaranteed
The loss of Chevron deference will significantly alter the relationship between the IRS, courts and Congress when it comes to tax law, potentially precipitating more transparent rulemaking, but also provoking greater uncertainty due to variability in judicial interpretation, say Michelle Levin and Carneil Wilson at Dentons.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.