Federal
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May 23, 2024
Yellen Opposes Global Redistribution Of Billionaires' Wealth
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen repeated Thursday that she opposes a global minimum tax on billionaires and added that she does not support basing a redistribution of the revenue from such a tax on damage from climate change and related financing needs.
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May 23, 2024
G7 Should Agree On Frozen Russian Assets, Yellen Says
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that the Group of Seven countries should agree now on a concept of how the capital of frozen and immobilized Russian state assets should be used to support Ukraine's war against Russia.
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May 23, 2024
Akerman Brings On Kilpatrick Tax Ace In LA
Akerman LLP is boosting its tax team, bringing in a Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP corporate tax and energy tax credit expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.
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May 22, 2024
Justices' CFPB Alliance May Save SEC Courts, Not Chevron
A four-justice concurrence to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme last week carries implications for other cases pending before the court that challenge the so-called administrative state, or the permanent cadre of regulatory agencies and career government enforcers who hold sway over vast swaths of American economic life.
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May 22, 2024
Hunter Biden's Calif. Tax Trial Pushed From June To Sept.
A California federal judge on Wednesday moved Hunter Biden's criminal tax trial from June 20 to September over objections from the government and after Biden's attorney said the upcoming date is too close to his client's June 3 gun trial in Delaware, although the judge said no more extensions will be given.
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May 22, 2024
Disposal Co. Manager Owes Tax With Ex, Tax Court Says
A disposal company manager who accused his ex-wife of committing fraud in preparing their tax return owes his share of taxes with her for a disallowed deduction they took for a vehicle his employers provided for his job, the U.S. Tax Court said.
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May 22, 2024
Taxpayers Received $90M In Refunds In Direct Filing Pilot
Taxpayers who used the IRS' Direct File pilot program this year took an average of 20 minutes to file a return and received more than $90 million in refunds, but no decision has been reached on whether to expand the free program or make it permanent, the agency said Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
IRS To Extend Free File Program For 5 Years
The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to a five-year extension of the Free File program, in which tax software businesses offer their return preparation and filing products free to the lowest 70% of taxpayers by adjusted gross income, the agency announced Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
IRS Didn't Honor Partnership's Audit Election, Tax Court Says
The U.S. Tax Court invalidated a tax liability determination by the IRS for an Ohio partnership for 2016, saying in a ruling Wednesday that the partnership had made a valid election to undergo a special audit process and the agency had failed to honor it.
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May 22, 2024
Bipartisan Bill Would Make US Presidents' Tax Returns Public
Presidents and vice presidents would be required to disclose their tax returns for the two years preceding their time in office under legislation introduced Wednesday by House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer.
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May 22, 2024
Judge Not Entitled To Deduct Expenses, Tax Court Says
A part-time administrative law judge for the state of California can't deduct $25,000 in unreimbursed employee business expenses because his wages are not considered the sort of fees that would allow it, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
IRS Opens $6B Advanced Energy Tax Credit Allocation Portal
The application portal is open through June 21 for manufacturers seeking a share of a second-round $6 billion tax-credit allocation for their development projects that support the clean energy industry, the Internal Revenue Service announced Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
IRS Again Delays Reporting Rules for Certain BEAT Payments
The Internal Revenue Service is deferring until 2027 the applicability date of requirements for reporting certain intercompany payments that are exempt from the base erosion and anti-abuse tax, the agency announced Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
IRS Misses 10% Improper Payment Goal Again, TIGTA Says
The Internal Revenue Service again failed to reduce the rate at which it makes incorrect payments to 10% in 2023, a goal set by 2019 legislation, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
'Ghost' Prepper, Feds Agree To Shut Down Tax Businesses
A Connecticut businessman accused by the federal government of "ghost preparing" his customers' taxes and inflating their refunds by putting false information on their IRS paperwork has agreed to shut down his businesses in a cashless settlement.
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May 22, 2024
BofA Deserves Tax Refunds On Merger Interest, 4th Circ. Told
The IRS should not have been allowed to keep the interest paid on 23 years' worth of tax underpayments by seven companies that merged into Bank of America, the company told the Fourth Circuit, arguing that the underpayments should be offset by overpayments under merger law.
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May 22, 2024
IRS Again Delaying Dividend Anti-Abuse Regs
The Internal Revenue Service is again extending the transition period for rules that govern certain financial transactions that could avoid withholding on dividend payments to foreign taxpayers, it announced Wednesday.
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May 21, 2024
FTC Noncompete Ban Raises Stakes For Nonprofit Hospitals
The Federal Trade Commission seems eager to apply its employee noncompete ban to healthcare, with a key target in mind: nonprofit healthcare providers that, in the agency's view, act more like for-profit businesses.
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May 21, 2024
House Sends Disaster Tax Relief Bill To Senate
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday that would exclude disaster relief payments from a taxpayer's gross income, sending the bill to the Senate.
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May 21, 2024
Nixing Green Energy Tax Perks Would Be Tough For Trump
Former President Donald Trump has vowed to scrap Democrats' signature 2022 climate law should he get reelected in November, but following through on that campaign promise could prove difficult amid bipartisan support for many of the law's clean energy tax incentives and a potentially divided Congress.
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May 21, 2024
Wyden Expands Pharma Tax Investigation With Pfizer Inquiry
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden asked Pfizer to provide details on its tax practices to explain how the drug company has consistently paid tax rates that are significantly lower than the corporate tax rate in a letter released by the committee Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
Option Agreement In $6.9M Sale Not A Sham, Tax Court Says
A Delaware gravel company and related companies that sold a freeway pit for $6.9 million under an option agreement, and then used it to enter into a like-kind exchange for another property, deferring the tax, was not a tax-avoidance sham, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
CohnReznick Adds PwC Partner To International Tax Practice
CohnReznick has a new principal in its international tax practice who previously served as a partner at PwC, the firm announced.
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May 21, 2024
Decision On Direct File Future Is Close, Werfel Says
The Internal Revenue Service is nearing a decision on the future of its free electronic tax return filing pilot program, Commissioner Daniel Werfel told reporters Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
Oil Estate Off The Hook For $9M Gift Tax, Tax Court Rules
The estate of a woman who owned an oil company with her husband then terminated marital trusts after he died does not owe more than $9 million in gift taxes on the related transactions as the IRS had claimed, the U.S. Tax Court ruled.
Expert Analysis
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IRS Announcement Will Aid Cos. In Buyback Tax Planning
Recent IRS transitional guidance regarding current requirements for reporting and payment of the stock repurchase excise tax will help corporate taxpayers make decisions about records retention and establishing reserves for future tax payments, say Xenia Garofalo and Kyle Colonna at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Mallory Opinion Implicitly Overturned NC Sales Tax Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review Quad Graphics v. North Carolina Department of Revenue, but importantly kicked the legs from under Quad's outcome a week later, stating in its Mallory decision that the high court has the prerogative to overrule its own decisions, says Richard Pomp at the University of Connecticut.
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How NIL Collectives Could Be Tax-Exempt After IRS Curveball
Since the Internal Revenue Service recently announced that numerous collectives creating paid name, image and likeness deals for collegiate student-athletes do not qualify for tax exemption, for-profit entities and alternative collective structures with incidental student-athlete benefits may be considered to fund NIL ventures, says David Kaufman at Thompson Coburn.
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Is This Pastime A Side-Gig? Or Is It A Hobby?
The recent U.S. Tax Court decision in Sherman v. Commissioner offers important reminders for taxpayers about the documentation and business practices needed to successfully argue that expenses can be deducted as losses from nonhobby income, says Bryan Camp at Texas Tech.
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Recent Provider Relief Fund Audits Are Just The Beginning
Though the Health Resources and Services Administration's initial audits of the Provider Relief Fund program appear to be limited in scope, fund recipients should prepare for additional oversight, scrutiny and disallowances as the HRSA ramps up its efforts, say Brian Lee and Christopher Frisina at Alston & Bird.
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Flawed Analysis Supports Common Law Tax Deficiency Ruling
The Colorado federal district court’s recent decision in Liberty Global, holding that the U.S. Department of Justice may assert a common law tax claim without the notice of tax deficiency required by the Internal Revenue Code, relies on a contorted reading of the statute and irrelevant case law, say Loren Opper and Christie Galinski at Miller Canfield.
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Review Of Repatriation Tax Sets Justices On Slippery Slope
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to review the constitutionality of the repatriation tax in Moore v. U.S. has implications for many tax rules involving unrealized amounts and could leave the court on the brink of invalidating large swaths of the Internal Revenue Code, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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IRS Guidance Powers Up Energy Tax Credit Transfers
Recent IRS guidance on the monetization of energy tax credits provides sufficient clarity for parties to start negotiating transfer agreements, but it is unclear when the registration process required for credits to change hands will be up and running, say attorneys at Shearman.
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Using Agreements To Cover Gaps In Hydrogen Storage Regs
The Inflation Reduction Act's incentives for energy storage have spurred investment in hydrogen storage and production, but given the lack of comprehensive regulations surrounding the sector, developers should carefully craft project and financing agreements to mitigate uncertainties, say Omar Samji and Sarah George at Weil, and attorney Manushi Desai.
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Secure 2.0 Takeaways From DOL's 2024 Budget Proposal
The U.S. Department of Labor’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal provides insight into the most pressing Secure 2.0 implementation issues, including establishment of a search database for finding lost retirement savings and developing guidance on the execution of newly authorized emergency savings accounts, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.
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Avoiding Negative Tax Consequences In Loan Modifications
Borrowers who may be caught in the dramatic uptick in nonperforming commercial real estate loans should consider strategies to avoid income and capital gains tax that may be triggered by loan modifications, says Aman Badyal at Glaser Weil.
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Benefits And Beyond: Fixing Employee Contribution Failures
Employers must address employee contribution failures promptly in order to avoid losing significant tax benefits of 401(k) or 403(b) plans, but the exact correction procedures vary depending on whether contributions were less than or greater than intended, say attorneys at Seyfarth Shaw.
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Now Is The Time For State And Local Sales Tax Simplification
In the five years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, state and local governments increasingly rely on sales tax, but simple changes are needed to make compliance more manageable for taxpayers, wherever located, without unduly burdening interstate commerce, says Charles Maniace at Sovos.