Federal
-
July 16, 2024
Tax Court Grants Installment Gain Recognition On Stock Sales
The U.S. Tax Court rejected Tuesday a claim by the IRS that a man and his cousin who had each sold stock in 2002 to an employee stock ownership trust for more than $4 million had to recognize the entirety of their deferred gain the following year.
-
July 16, 2024
Connecticut Contractor Fined $1.75M For Tax Evasion
A Connecticut contractor was ordered to pay a $1.75 million fine for evading federal corporate and individual income taxes from 2006 through 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
-
July 16, 2024
DC Circ. Upholds Dismissal Of Tax Whistleblower Award Case
The D.C. Circuit upheld Tuesday the U.S. Tax Court's dismissal of a Mississippi man's case seeking review of the denial of his whistleblower claim for 30% of the revenue collected by an Internal Revenue Service offshore voluntary disclosure program.
-
July 16, 2024
Tax Court Says Deductions Properly Disallowed By IRS
A New York couple was properly denied tens of thousands of dollars worth of deductions on their federal income taxes by the Internal Revenue Service, since the pair neither qualified nor adequately substantiated their claims, the U.S. Tax Court said Tuesday.
-
July 16, 2024
Contractor Asks Justices To Review $1.3M R&D Credit Suit
A construction company's shareholders asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision revoking their tax refund for the company's $1.3 million in claimed research credits, saying the Fifth Circuit wrongly deferred to the Internal Revenue Service in stopping their case from going to trial.
-
July 16, 2024
Rising Star: Skadden's Melinda Gammello
Melinda Gammello of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has advised numerous clients before the U.S. Tax Court and elsewhere on complex tax matters, including transfer pricing issues and the treatment of financial transactions within a company, earning her a spot among the tax law practitioners under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
July 16, 2024
The 2024 Diversity Snapshot: What You Need To Know
Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.
-
July 16, 2024
These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships
Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.
-
July 16, 2024
Applicable Federal Interest Rates To Drop In August
Applicable federal rates for income tax purposes will decrease in August, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday, the second month-to-month drop in a row.
-
July 16, 2024
3 Tax Reg Groups That May Be Shaky After High Court Rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court issued two rulings that, when combined, open up long-standing federal regulations to challenges without judicial deference to agencies — a pairing that could weaken several categories of tax rules, including guidance issued under the 2017 federal overhaul. Here, Law360 looks at three batches of tax regulations that may be vulnerable in the aftermath of the high court's decisions.
-
July 15, 2024
Israeli Firm Seeks To Amend Suit Against GILTI Regs
The owner of an Israeli law firm asked a D.C. federal court to let him amend his challenge to regulations for the U.S. tax on global intangible low-taxed income after the D.C. Circuit determined parts of his arguments went unconsidered.
-
July 15, 2024
4th Circ. Rejects Couple's $5.1M Easement Deduction
The Fourth Circuit rejected Monday a married couple's bid to revive a claimed $5.1 million conservation easement deduction, saying it represented a "remarkable" attempt to inflate the value of a 41-acre property that was worth just $652,000 the year before they donated it.
-
July 15, 2024
Former Doctor Seeks Jail Release In FBAR Fight
An incarcerated former doctor asked a Michigan federal court Monday to lift its order of civil contempt for his failure to pay about $1 million in foreign account reporting penalties, saying he has done all he can to repatriate offshore securities.
-
July 15, 2024
Widow To Pull $1.7M From Swiss Bank To Pay FBAR Penalties
A logger's widow agreed to pull about $1.7 million from her Swiss bank account to pay down penalties that her late husband's estate owes the IRS for his failure to report offshore accounts, according to a filing Monday in a Colorado federal court.
-
July 15, 2024
AICPA Suggests Revising Foreign Trust Loan Anti-Abuse Rule
The U.S. Treasury Department should scrap or revise significantly an anti-abuse rule for nonresident aliens who receive loans from foreign trusts, which was included in proposed regulations on how to report foreign trust transactions, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants said in a letter published Monday.
-
July 15, 2024
IBM Taps Jones Day To Take NY Royalty Tax Fight To Justices
IBM asked the U.S. Supreme Court for more time to submit a petition for review of a New York high court decision that upheld tax on royalties received from foreign affiliates, saying it recently retained Jones Day to handle the case.
-
July 15, 2024
Akerman Brings On Chamberlain Hrdlicka Tax Pros In Atlanta
Akerman LLP announced Monday that it picked up a pair of new partners for its tax practice group in Atlanta who were previously with Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry.
-
July 15, 2024
TIGTA Says IRS Can Improve Digital Currency Enforcement
While the IRS has carried out some enforcement actions related to virtual currency noncompliance and has launched a program focused on identifying taxpayers who leave digital assets off their returns, the agency has lots of room for improvement, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Monday.
-
July 15, 2024
Truck Co. Qualifies For $500M Tax Safe Harbor, 6th Circ. Told
A Tennessee company asked the Sixth Circuit to shield it from more than $500 million in excise tax liabilities, saying a lower court correctly found that its refurbished trucks qualify for the safe harbor from the heavy-truck excise tax.
-
July 15, 2024
Rising Star: Davis Polk's Dominic Foulkes
Dominic Foulkes of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP has advised companies on several multibillion-dollar transactions, including a technology-maker's $4.9 billion initial public offering, the largest in the United States in the last three years, earning him a spot among the tax law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
July 12, 2024
Rising Star: Quinn Emanuel's Emily Au
Emily Au of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has been the lead attorney on several high-profile cases, including a key case across the U.K. construction industry in terms of HMRC's Value-Added Tax policy, earning her a spot among the tax law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
July 12, 2024
Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40
Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
-
July 12, 2024
Chevron's End Doesn't Bear On 3M's Case, IRS Tells 8th Circ.
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent overturning of Chevron deference doesn't warrant a reversal of a U.S. Tax Court ruling in 3M Co.'s transfer pricing case, the Internal Revenue Service told the Eighth Circuit on Friday.
-
July 12, 2024
Payments To Ex-Wife Should Be Deductible, 11th Circ. Told
A Georgia man told the Eleventh Circuit on Friday that his payments to his ex-wife as part of a marital settlement should qualify as alimony and therefore be deductible from his federal income taxes, asking the court to reverse a U.S. Tax Court decision.
-
July 12, 2024
Mo. Says IRS 'Stonewalling' On Worker Credit Freeze Records
The Internal Revenue Service violated public records law in failing to release documents related to its decision to stop processing new employee retention credit claims, the state of Missouri said Friday in a complaint that accuses the agency of "stonewalling."
Expert Analysis
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
BF Borgers Clients Should Review Compliance, Liability
After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enforcement proceedings against audit firm BF Borgers for fabricating audit documentation for hundreds of public companies, those companies will need to follow special procedures for disclosure and reporting — and may need to prepare for litigation from the plaintiffs bar, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
-
What Updated PLR Procedure May Mean For Stock Spin-Offs
A recently published Internal Revenue Service revenue procedure departs from commonly understood interpretations of the spinoff rules by imposing more stringent standards on companies seeking private letter rulings regarding tax-free stock spinoff and split-off transactions, and may presage regulatory changes that would have the force of law, say attorneys at Skadden.
-
Proposed Cannabis Reschedule Sidesteps State Law Effects
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act provides certain benefits, but its failure to address how the rescheduling would interact with existing state cannabis laws disappointed industry participants hoping for clarity on this crucial question, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.
-
How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.