Federal
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August 23, 2024
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, included proposed regulations that outline when foreign taxes under the Pillar Two international minimum tax agreement could trigger long-standing U.S. rules that aim to prevent companies from what is known as double-dipping the same economic loss.
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August 23, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Latham, Wachtell, Paul Weiss
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Arch Resources merges with Consol Energy in a deal worth $5.2 billion, Advanced Micro Devices agrees to purchase ZT Systems for $4.9 billion, and Japanese tobacco company JT Group inks a deal to buy Vector Group for $2.4 billion.
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August 22, 2024
5th Circ. Says No Tolling For COVID, Trims Atty's Conviction
The Fifth Circuit on Thursday knocked a false statement charge off Houston attorney Richard Plezia's conviction for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar ambulance-chasing kickback scheme but upheld the rest of his conviction, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by helping another lawyer evade federal income taxes.
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August 22, 2024
Justices Disfavor External Consistency Test, Mass. Atty Says
The U.S. Supreme Court likely will decline to hear a construction company's argument that South Dakota's refusal to apportion use tax on its equipment was unconstitutional, a Massachusetts tax agency attorney predicted Thursday, saying the justices have no appetite for applying the external consistency test anymore.
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August 22, 2024
NC Hot Rod Shop Owner Admits To Not Paying $2M In Taxes
A North Carolina automotive business owner has pled guilty to failing to pay more than $2 million in employment taxes and not filing employment tax returns, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.
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August 22, 2024
Tax Co. Owner Didn't Fraudulently Fail To File, Tax Court Says
An owner of financial and tax services companies who earned about $1 million annually and failed to file returns for four years doesn't have to pay a roughly $1.2 million fraud penalty assessed by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday.
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August 22, 2024
Tax Court OKs IRS Rejection Of Tax Liability Compromise
An Internal Revenue Service settlement officer didn't abuse her discretion when she decided to reject an offer from a Maryland couple to settle their more than $103,000 in outstanding tax debts by paying just over $1,800, the Tax Court said Thursday.
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August 22, 2024
IRS Secretly Targeted Some ESOPs, Court Told
The Internal Revenue Service secretly promulgated rules that treat certain employee stock ownership plans as potentially abusive, an ESOP and its related parties told a Wisconsin federal court in accusing the agency of exceeding its authority and violating the Administrative Procedure Act.
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August 22, 2024
Guardrails Needed To Thwart Abuse Of Tax-Free Tips Law
Without restrictions to prevent it, including limits on incomes of eligible workers, legislation to exempt tips from taxes — something both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and some congressional lawmakers are proposing — could be gamed by reclassifying income as tips.
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August 22, 2024
Meet The 'Larger Than Life' Atty Defending Hunter Biden
The renowned attorney representing Hunter Biden at his upcoming criminal tax trial is a "larger than life" figure whose ability to connect with a jury, legal acumen and media savvy have made him a go-to lawyer for celebrities and high-profile cases, according to those who know him.
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August 21, 2024
Hunter Biden Can't Link Trauma, Drug Abuse To Tax Charges
Hunter Biden can't tell jurors in his criminal tax trial that traumatic events like his brother's death caused his addiction, which led to a diminished mental capacity and his failure to pay taxes, a California federal judge said Wednesday, noting the information was irrelevant and not backed by expert opinion.
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August 21, 2024
Ariz. Man Should Pay Full $2.7M FBAR Bill, Gov't Says
An Arizona man who failed to report his foreign bank accounts in Switzerland owes approximately $2.7 million in recalculated penalties and interest to the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. told an Arizona federal court.
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August 21, 2024
9th Circ. Upholds FBAR Penalty, Imposes Contested Interest
A woman who operates a New Zealand winery must pay $238,000 in penalties and an extra $105,000 in interest and fees for failing to report her New Zealand financial accounts to the U.S. government, the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
3 Questions Raised By Harris' Support For 28% Corp. Tax Rate
Vice President Kamala Harris has proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% to boost revenue if she's elected president, but the proposed hike raises questions about changes to the corporate tax base, the future of the OECD's global tax deal and the potential impact on workers.
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August 21, 2024
Tax Interest Rates To Stay Same In 4th Quarter
The Internal Revenue Service's interest rates for overpayments and underpayments of tax won't change in the fourth quarter of 2024, the agency said Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
Senior House Dem Tax Writer, Trump Critic Dead At 87
A long-standing Democratic member of the House Ways and Means Committee who pressed for the release of former President Donald Trump's tax returns and for the repeal of the cap on state and local tax deductions died Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
Wisconsin Latest State To Join Direct File For 2025
The Internal Revenue Service's free electronic tax filing program, Direct File, will be available in Wisconsin for the 2025 tax filing season, the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
Scrap Metal Dealer Cops To Converter Theft Conspiracy
A North Carolina scrap metal dealer has pled guilty to theft and tax charges associated with a catalytic converter theft conspiracy spanning several states, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
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August 21, 2024
Pros Tell IRS To Ease Off Foreign Gift Reporting Penalties
The Internal Revenue Service should take a more lenient approach when considering penalty abatements for certain individuals who fail to report large foreign gifts under proposed disclosure regulations, practitioners told the agency Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
Tax Biz Owner Says Any Errant Returns Were Honest Mistakes
The owner of a Miami tax preparation business rejected the government's claim that she deliberately falsified client returns, telling a Florida federal court that she relied in good faith on the information provided to her by her customers.
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August 21, 2024
IRS Issues Corrections For Credit Transfer Rules
The Internal Revenue Service issued corrections Wednesday to final regulations concerning the election under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to transfer certain tax credits.
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August 20, 2024
Mich. Man To Face Loan, Wire Fraud Charges Despite Mistrial
A Michigan business owner already accused of COVID-19 loan fraud cannot have a superseding wire fraud charge tossed even though a mistrial was declared in the loan fraud case, a Michigan federal judge has ruled.
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August 20, 2024
IRS Fee Hikes Threaten Tax Justice For Small Businesses
The Internal Revenue Service is expected to continue raising the cost for private letter rulings that clarify tax matters and provide taxpayer certainty, prompting concerns among tax professionals that economic justice may become unattainable for small businesses unable to bear these escalating costs.
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August 20, 2024
Insider Trading Won't Impact Pilot's Tax Sentencing Guidelines
A Manhattan federal judge found Tuesday that insider trading allegations won't bump up the guidelines sentencing range for a pilot for U.K. billionaire Joe Lewis who pled guilty to tax evasion.
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August 20, 2024
Temple Law Prof, Kostelanetz Atty To Lead ABA Tax Section
A longtime professor at the Temple University Beasley School of Law and a seasoned tax controversy partner at Kostelanetz LLP will together helm the American Bar Association Section of Taxation for the 2025-2026 term, the firm announced Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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How Associates Can Build A Professional Image
As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.
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Navigating New Safe Harbor For Domestic Content Tax Credits
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recent notice simplifying domestic content calculations for certain solar, onshore wind and battery storage projects, which directly acknowledges the difficulty for taxpayers in gathering data to support a domestic content analysis, should make it easier to qualify additional domestic content bonus tax credits, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.
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Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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'Energy Communities' Update May Clarify Tax Credit Eligibility
A recent IRS notice that includes updated lists of locations where clean energy projects can qualify for additional tax credits — based 2023 unemployment data and placed-in-service dates — should help provide clarity regarding project eligibility that sponsors and developers need, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Alter Paraphernalia Imports
The Biden administration's recent proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana use raises questions about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement policies may shift when it comes to enforcing a separate federal ban on marijuana accessory imports, says R. Kevin Williams at Clark Hill.
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NCAA Settlement May End The NIL Model As We Know It
The recent House v. NCAA settlement in California federal court, in which the NCAA agreed to allow schools to directly pay March Madness television revenue to their athletes, may send outside name, image and likeness collectives in-house, says Mike Ingersoll at Womble Bond.
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Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.