Federal
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
May 21, 2024
22 States Tell 11th Circ. Corp. Transparency Act Goes Too Far
The federal Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutionally displaces state authority and its enforcement would economically harm states and their residents, attorneys general from 22 states told the Eleventh Circuit, urging it to uphold a ruling that struck down the law.
-
May 21, 2024
Senate Dems Float Tax-Advantaged Child Savings Accounts
Senate Democrats want to create tax-advantaged savings accounts to help children save from the time they are born, they said during a Finance Committee hearing Tuesday, but their Republican counterparts are unlikely to support proposals to create the accounts, claiming it would be too costly.
-
May 21, 2024
Ways And Means Seeking Input On Possible TCJA Expiration
The House Ways and Means Committee is asking members of the public to share how increased taxes brought on by the possible expiration of the 2017 federal tax overhaul would impact them, the committee's Republican members said Tuesday.
-
May 21, 2024
Valero Brings $37M Refund Claim Over Fuel Credit, Crude Tax
Energy company Valero is seeking $37 million in tax refunds for biomass fuel mixtures it said should've qualified for the alternative fuel tax credit and for claimed overpayments of crude tax, according to a complaint in Texas federal court.
-
May 21, 2024
IRS Audit Selection Process May Introduce Bias, GAO Says
The Internal Revenue Service's process for auditing returns claiming refundable tax credits uses a measurement that may introduce unintentional bias against Black and low-income people into its automated selection system, according to a Government Accountability Office report made public Tuesday.
-
May 21, 2024
Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023
The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.
-
May 21, 2024
The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms
The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.
-
May 20, 2024
Ex-IRS Agent, Five Others Sentenced In COVID Fraud Scheme
A former Internal Revenue Service agent, his brother and four other defendants have pled guilty to participating in a scheme that netted more than $3 million in fraudulent COVID-19 pandemic relief loans.
-
May 20, 2024
Transparency Act Violates Constitution, Groups Tell 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act's reporting requirements violate the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination and other constitutional provisions, libertarian think tank Cato Institute and others said Monday in urging the Eleventh Circuit to uphold an Alabama district court's ruling against the law.
-
May 20, 2024
Opportunity Zones Helped Restore Pa. City, House Panel Told
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's provisions, especially the law's opportunity zones aimed at boosting economic investment in distressed communities, have been integral in the economic restoration of Erie, Pennsylvania, panelists told the House Ways and Means Committee's tax policy subcommittee Monday.
-
May 20, 2024
Lawmakers Ask IRS For Broader, Permanent Free E-File Plan
More than 135 Democratic and Independent members of Congress urged Internal Revenue Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a letter to expand the IRS' pilot program for free electronic tax return filing and make it permanent.
-
May 20, 2024
2 House GOP Chairs Seek Study Of Premium Tax Credit Plan
The Republican chairmen of the House Ways and Means and Budget committees want the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation to study the impact of making the expanded Affordable Care Act premium tax credits permanent.
-
May 20, 2024
IRS Guidance Plan Should Cover Corp. AMT, AICPA Says
The Internal Revenue Service should provide guidance on the definitions and applications of the 15% corporate alternative minimum tax, among other topics, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants said in comments published by the agency Monday.
Expert Analysis
-
IRS Will Use New Resources To Increase Scrutiny In 2023
The new year promises to be a busy one for the Internal Revenue Service, which is poised to apply the boost in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act to bolster and expand its enforcement capability, and there are four areas to watch, say attorneys at Skadden.
-
How Cos. Can Prep For Alcohol Beverage Excise Tax Changes
The Craft Beverage Modernization Act will soon undergo a transition in administration to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and importers or producers should address any issues that may arise under the act, such as foreign producers not being familiar with the mechanics of the TTB, say Louis Terminello and Bradley Berkman at Greenspoon Marder.
-
New R&E Capitalization A Costly Change For Companies
Unless modified by legislation in the coming weeks, radical new capitalization rules for research and experimentation costs mean companies should brace for the loss of a major tax break starting with their 2022 tax returns, says Nancy Dollar at Hanson Bridgett.
-
Congress Is Right To Advance Comprehensive Retirement Bill
As 2022 comes to a close, Congress' move to include the Secure 2.0 Act, a comprehensive retirement bill, in its omnibus spending package will bring retirees and those nearing retirement more peace of mind regarding their 401(k)s, IRAs and pensions, while reducing red tape for employers, says Andy Banducci at the ERISA Industry Committee.
-
10 Pre-Deal Considerations In Cross-Border M&A Transactions
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Sergio Galvis and Benjamin Kent at Sullivan & Cromwell discuss steps that can be taken to preemptively address important issues that acquirers of foreign businesses encounter in cross-border M&A transactions, including tax planning and political risk.
-
Clean Hydrogen Developers Should Track Incentives, Risks
Clean hydrogen project developers and investors should be aware of new funding opportunities from the U.S. Department of Energy and tax benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act, but must also guard against risks associated with new and evolving technologies, say Pamela Wu and Kirstin Gibbs at Morgan Lewis.
-
IRS Starts Clock On Energy Projects' Labor Rule Exemption
A U.S. Department of the Treasury notice published this week started the 60-day clock for clean energy projects seeking to be grandfathered from having to meet new labor requirements to qualify for enhanced tax credits, and uncertainty about how the provisions will apply should be incentive for some investors to begin construction soon, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
-
Foreign Tax Credit Proposal Is Some Help, But More Is Needed
New foreign tax credit regulations proposed by the U.S. Treasury Department provided some measure of relief on cost recovery and royalty withholding, two of the most troublesome aspects of the 2021 final foreign tax credit regulations, but the final regulations are still harmful to many taxpayers, making litigation inevitable, say attorneys at Fenwick.
-
Anticipating The New Congress' Private Sector Investigations
With Republicans claiming a new majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming Congress, corporates and individuals should expect a sea change in Congress' investigative priorities and areas of focus — and private sector entities can take prudential steps in the near term to best prepare for and mitigate risk, say attorneys at Latham.
-
Tax Equity Requires Reinstating The Home Office Deduction
Congress should restore the home office deduction for W-2 workers in the interest of tax equity because permanently remote workers now bear the cost of creating quiet, dedicated work spaces, a pandemic-related shift unforeseen when the deduction was eliminated by 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, say James Mahon and Samantha Lesser at Becker.
-
Keys To IRA Tax Breaks For US Green Energy, EV Production
The Inflation Reduction Act includes three powerful tax incentives for domestic production of renewable energy projects and electric vehicles — but there are key questions that investors and manufacturers must ask when evaluating whether they can take advantage of these incentives, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
-
Crypto Case Failed To Clarify Taxation Of Staking Rewards
A Tennessee federal court's recent dismissal of Jarrett v. U.S. — after the IRS issued a refund for taxes paid on cryptocurrency and mooted a greater question about the tax treatment of staking rewards — leaves the crypto industry in need of guidance on the IRS’ position, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
-
How The IRS May Define 'Clean Hydrogen'
The Internal Revenue Service is still taking comments on how to define "clean hydrogen" for purposes of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, but developers can look to the IRA's legislative history — as well as the European Union's struggle to define "green hydrogen" — as guideposts, says Ben Reiter at Nixon Peabody.